Wednesday April 20th 2016

Tasha and Boris had the whole yard to themselves this morning when they went outside for their group together. Tasha used it to her advantage to explore and started sniffing right away. She kept her nose to the ground as she walked along the fence while Boris was on the other side of the yard doing some exploring on his own. I called Tasha over to me to give her some cuddles while Boris was wandering around, when I found a toy laying in the gravel. I picked it up and waved it in the air to get his attention and his head turned my way right as he saw it. Boris ran over to me as I threw it, then did a sharp turn to chase it on the other side of the yard. Once he caught it he dropped it and ran around the yard again. He seemed to be most excited about the chase itself!  I threw it for him a few more times before heading inside.

Maple is such a firecracker girl when she gets going outside! Especially when it has something to do with toys. Once she sees one and starts to play, there’s no holding her back and you can’t catch her without one in her mouth. She was running as soon as she got outside today and did a quick lap of the yard before she scooped up an old rope toy that was on the ground Immediately, Finnigan saw her pick it up and he quickly finished up his business to run over to see her. Finnigan is always full of beanswhen he’s in the yard and playing, and today was no exception. He ran around Maple in circles before they broke out into an intense game of tag as Finnigan wanted to get her toy from her. Maple doesn’t give up that easily though, and once he got a hold of it that didn’t mean she was letting go and they started to play tug a war with it! Eventually Maple lost her grip on it and the rope toy flew across the yard, luckily for Finnigan he got to it first and grabbed it before Maple got another chance.
He pranced around the yard after that with it in his mouth to show off to everyone.

Zak is always zipping around the yard like a lightning bolt when he's getting ready to play.  You never know when he's going to come zipping around the yard all over again! He was being really sweet when he first got outside and went around to each dog to give them a sniff before he met up with Will. Will has almost the exact same personality as Zak does and they got along great outside. They are both so playful and energetic, that once they started playing they couldn’t seem to stop and didn’t want to come back inside. They played tag around the yard and Will kept leading Zak to a puddle that he liked to splash around in. When Zak got out of it he decided to lay down and roll in the grass. Will then thought it was a good idea to jump on his back and begin to wrestle. They made a great duo and kept each other very entertained!

Charlotte and Sophie were both in such good moods today. Charlotte’s high energy was even rubbing off on Sophie out in the yard and she joined in on the playing. Sophie started wandering around the yard stopping occasionally at every puddle to take a sniff around while Charlotte was busy socializing with all of the dogs. Charlotte couldn’t seem to decide who she wanted to play with so she took turns playing with everybody. Maple and Finnigan were playing tag and chasing each other whenever they ran by Charlotte, she got excited and joined in as well. She chased them all the way through the agility tunnel and was waiting at the other side for Finnigan to catch him on his way out. Then she took a turn to play with Zak and Will in the puddle, she fit right in! Meanwhile, Sophie started to run around and go up to them as they were playing and joined in every now and then.

Baxter and Bella ran outside and straight into the agility yard today as they were following everyone else in their group, while Oakley took her time and walked beside me as we went in after them. Baxter went off to do some exploring right away as Bella decided she wanted to say hi to the dogs and give them a sniff before she started to play. Oakley was being such a good girl and all she wanted was lots of attention. Whenever the dogs ran up to her she stuck by my side as the others came to greet us. Bella ran over to Baxter to say hi and he got so excited and started to jump up on her, which instigated a game of chase across the yard. She ran right through the puddle, and Baxter splashed along behind her. I found a Frisbee on the ground and right as I picked it up to throw it for Baxter, he already made his way to me and gave it to him so he could continue chasing Bella with his new toy. I then went to go see Oakley again and gave her some cuddles when she was done wandering around the yard.

Nymeria is such a busy puppy. Whenever she first steps outside she gets so excited by everyone and just has to run up and take a chance to say hello to each and every dog. She says hi to them at least three times before she's ready to go off to explore and do her business. Meanwhile, Tennya was making her way around the yard to have a good look at everything before she decided it was time to play. Today while Tennya was in the further yard chewing on a bone in the sun, Nymeria ran up to see what she was doing while Pippin was running over to say hi. Nymeria kept on bugging Tennya to get up while I got Pippin to come over and see me as I was laying on the grass. When Tennya finally stood up they began to play a game of tag where Tennya and Nymeria were running as fast as they could in circles as Pippin trotted behind. Pippin loved to chat like a little referee as he bounced along.

Maverick and Shyla both seemed to take it easy today, while Hobart adopted a more playful mood. Hobart is usually one of the more calm dogs outside and likes to be on his own and explore, socializing as he makes his way around. But today as some of our huskies were outside with their group they seemed to be very interested in Hobart and got him in such a playful mood. They ran up to him and and bounced around before taking off running! They ran around the entire time before he finally came up to me like he usually does to say hi and to be pet. He sat at my feet with a big grin on his face as I gave him lots of love. Maverick and Shyla took it was during their group time today.  They both separated as they first got outside and sniffed along the fence before Maverick ran up to the girls to say hi. He finished his greetings to Ivy, Lucy and Rosie and put his nose to the ground and took off to explore the yard. Shyla ran over to me instead and I knelt down to pet her and give her cuddles. I called Maverick over to join in but he was too focused on the scent he had been investigating and kept on wandering.

Enhanced

Nymeria couldn't wait to get out and do some training. Today I decided to challenge her a bit and do her training in the hallway where she could see some of the other dogs as distractions. We started with the easy stuff like 'sit', 'down' and paw. When I knew Nymeria was ready and focused we moved on to some recall work. Which considering the distractions was amazing. Next we moved on to some 'look at me' and 'leave it'.

Boris and Tasha were both very eager when I took them out to do their enhanced, it took Boris a while to get used to sitting at doorways but once I took the treats out he did it every time on his own. He knows how to do all of his basic commands perfectly, the only thing he has trouble with the first time I get him to do it is place and stay. He responds well when I remind him of the commands using hand signals. I did it over a few times before he got it on the first try. Tasha did everything very well and I didn’t have to use any hand motions with her. Sitting and laying down has become a pattern for her when I take out treats, so I mixed up the order of the commands so that she wouldn't be able to anticipate the next move. It took her a couple times for her to stay but once she got it she did it well.