Saturday, June 25, 2016

 

Max and Sadie were so excited to get outside with their husky friends, Magic, Kyah and Justice. The group wasted no time sprinting the agility yard where they all dispersed to do some exploring on their own. Max headed to the far corner of the yard and sniffed around in the grass, until he noticed me taking pictures and came running over to say hello. Sadie had made her way to the opposite corner and was busy following her nose, with Magic right on her heels. Max decided to check out the pool and was a bit puzzled when he found that there wasn’t any water in it yet. I grabbed the hose and started filling the pool, while Max and Kyah tried to catch the water coming from the hose. Eventually the group joined up again and made their way to the main yard. Sadie ducked into the play structure for some shade. Suddenly the other dogs got a burst of energy, and Magic started racing laps around the play structure, while Max and Kyah chased after her. They were all plenty tired by the time we headed inside.

Autumn had a lovely walk this morning with her friend Helix. Both of them trotted side-by-side down the trail and Autumn occasionally stopped to smell the grass. She was delighted to get outside again when it was time for groups, and immediately set out to explore the yard. She teamed up with Boris to cover more ground. The two of them made their way to the fence, where they sniffed along the rocks and munched on some grass. Autumn then left Boris for a moment to have a drink from the pool and say hello to me. There was a flurry of activity on the other side of the yard and Autumn hurried over when she saw Boris was playing without her. She jumped into the middle of the dogs. Boris was quick to pounce right back. Autumn took turns wrestling with everyone and then they all went for a run around the yard, before heading over to the pool to cool down. Autumn was splashing around in the water right alongside everyone else.

Bella was so excited for her walk with Freya and Lipp; she could hardly stand still while I put the leash on. She and the other two had a lot of fun bounding through the grass, and sometimes Bella would stumble upon an interesting smell that had her zigzagging back and forth while she followed her nose. For groups, she was a bit quieter since it was so hot out, and spent some time exploring the yard and cuddling with me. She then bumped into Lipp, who was looking for a playmate. Bella and Lipp danced around for a while, and then caught the attention of Boris and Autumn. The four of them had a great time chasing each other around, and once they were finished everyone went to drink and splash around at the pool. Since it was hot outside, we split our time and played inside as well. Bella wrestled with Boris and Lipp in the playroom. She was quite the tired dog once it was over! For her extra attention, we headed back to the playroom and tossed around some of the toys. Bella had a lot of fun racing around with a rope toy. Once Bella had enough playtime, we just cuddled for a bit.

Lipp had so much energy today; it was great to see. He started out with a walk alongside Bella and Freya, who kept him moving at a good pace. Lipp was racing all over the trail trying to sniff everything, and then he would suddenly quiet down and go to walk with Freya, before leaping into the long grass again. He put his energy to good use during groups as well. First, Lipp jogged a lap around the yard to make sure everything was in its place. He then ran over to Bella and play-bowed to get her attention. The two of them wrestled with each other and then had a quick game of chase. They were later joined by Autumn and Boris. After Lipp and the others decided it was time for a break, he led them over to the pool, where a few of them immediately jumped in. Lipp wasn’t too sure about getting his feet wet and decided just to have a drink instead. Then we headed into the playroom, since it was too hot to stay outside for long, where Lipp played with a rope toy, and then wrestled more with Bella.

Boris and Tasha were great on their walk this morning. They were so excited it was a bit of a challenge to get them out the door, but once I had them calmed down, they both trotted happily outside and walked next to each other on the trail. Occasionally one of them would jump into the grass or dart back and forth if they caught an interesting scent. During groups, Tasha decided to keep things quieter. She explored the agility yard with the group and then headed to the main yard for some alone time. Tasha sniffed around the fence for a while and settled down in the play structure where there was some shade. Boris was busy playing with Lipp, Autumn and Bella in the other yard. He wrestled with each of them and led them on a big chase around the yard. Then they all headed to the pool, where Boris was quick to jump in. He attempted to bite the water and only succeeded in completely soaking himself instead. Once Boris was cooled down, he went to find Tasha, and ran around with her for a bit before we headed inside.

Duke had a quieter day, which wasn’t a surprise as it was so hot outside! He was very cheerful when he said hello to everyone in his group and spent some time sniffing around with Oban and Tanner. Then he decided he would like some peace and quiet, and made his way to the grassy side of the yard where there were fewer dogs. Duke found the big rock and the agility jump quite interesting and gave both of them a good, long sniff. I went over to see if he wanted some attention and he happily licked my hand. We cuddled for a bit, before we headed over to the pool. Duke had a drink and stuck his nose in the water, but he didn’t feel like getting too wet and was content to just watch the other dogs climb in and out of the pool. Some of his group started running around, so Duke and I sat back to watch the action. Eventually he wandered off again to explore some more.

Helix was so happy on his walk this morning. He trotted down the trail beside his friend Autumn, with his tail wagging and his nose sniffing the air. Whenever Autumn stopped to sniff something, Helix would run back and forth between her and I as if to encourage us to keep going. He certainly didn’t want to sit still for very long! In groups, Helix went on a mission and was racing around the yard trying to track down every scent he came across. His feet never stopped moving. Eventually Helix decided that the warm weather warranted a dip in the pool, and climbed right in beside Bentley. He waded around in the water and had a big drink. Then Helix saw Tanner and Oban playing, and raced over with Bentley to join in. Bentley ran back and forth through the tunnel while Helix and the other two sprinted around it. Helix also had a brief wrestling match with Oban. Eventually they called it a tie and everyone went back to the pool.

Jake had a nice one-on-one walk this morning. He was excited to be out on the trail and couldn’t wait to use some of his abundant energy. Jake raced back and forth, and tried to sniff everything at once. If he reached the end of his leash, he would come bounding back to me as if to tell me to hurry up. Even after a long walk, he still had plenty of energy to spare for group time. He wasn’t very interested in the other dogs and only gave them quick sniffs before heading out to explore the yard. Jake wasted no time covering every inch of ground; he was running all over the place. His favourite spot was the tunnel, so he spent a bit longer sniffing around it and even poked his head inside. Then he ended up beside me. I found a toy for him to play with, and, thinking we would play fetch, tossed it to the other side of the yard. Jake went sprinting after it, ran around it and came hurtling back to my side. He decided to go over to the pool, where Jake had a big drink and put one foot in the water before deciding that he wasn’t in the mood to swim today.

Simon, Monte and Tessa all had a fantabulous first day back here at Tails and Tails! It took them a second to realize where they were, but once they did they raced down into their hallway and were ready to check out their kennel. Tessa plunked down on her tummy right away and got comfy on the cot that was already in their kennel. Monte and Simon on the other hand were sniffing everything possible before settling down. Soon enough they were ready to go out for their morning walk. Simon was absolutely ecstatic as he was jumping up and waiting at his kennel door; he must have known that it was their turn to go as soon as I walked down the hallway. Monte quickly joined his side while Tessa decided she’d hang back and wait for me to come to her. Once they were all ready, we headed out the door and on our way. Each of them had their own thing that they wanted to do throughout the walk. Tessa loved walking right beside me so that she could get the most attention. She kept getting the leash caught around her foot and decided that she couldn’t walk until I came back to fix it, silly girl. Monte was always at the end of his leash trying to go as fast as he could. He’d always see birds sitting on the trail in front of us and decided it was a must to go and catch them. He obviously never did, but he still enjoyed the chase. Simon was preoccupied the entire time buy his nose. He was constantly sniffing each side of the trail while going right to left over and over again. By the end of their walk it was safe to say they needed a short nap. When it came to their outdoor play group time Simon was still as energetic as ever with a slightly more relaxed Monte by his side. The two boys raced outside as I waited for Tessa to trot out of her kennel. Tessa said a quick hello to everyone in her group before deciding she was in quite a cuddly mood. The two of us ended up sitting on top of the picnic table here. She really enjoyed the long belly rub and chin scratch that I gave her while we were there. Tessa then bathed in the sun on top of the picnic table for most of the remainder of her group until Simon and Monte came and jumped on her. As soon as Monte had gotten outside he greeted each of friends and decided who he’d want to play with most of all. The two of them raced around the yard for quite some time; always switching who was chasing who. Monte is a natural at jumping over top of the short agility jump that we have set up in the small dog yard. He’d always jump over top of it while in a game of chase with a friend and whoever was chasing him always had to run around it to get to him. Simon played with Monte and his other friends for a bit at the beginning of the group. He did a couple quick laps around the yard before deciding it was too hot to run around that much and went over to the pool. He kept dipping his little paws in a couple times before he finally hoped in and laid down in all of the cool water. He definitely looked refreshed as he hoped out completely drenched and decided to shake all over everyone.

Charlotte had a blast throughout the entire day today! She began her morning on a one-on-one walk with our volunteer. Once she saw him come to her kennel with a leash her tail started wagging immediately but she remained patient like the good girl she is! She absolutely loved the one-on-one attention that she got and was constantly waiting for another pat on the head. Throughout her walk she kept running all over the trail, sniffing from side to side and even stopped a few times in a play bow towards our volunteer; she definitely kept busy! At one point she saw a fly buzzing around her head and that soon became her obsession. She had our volunteer walking as fast as he could to keep with her pace. She went through the tall grass, from side to side of the trail, jumping up and down and of course getting herself all tangled. It was quite funny to watch actually since she’d always manage to untangle herself. Charlotte went out with the little dogs today for her outdoor play group. As soon as she got outside she started making a lot of new friends. Since she was new to the group everyone wanted to see who she was. She was surrounded by new friends sniffing her for the entire beginning of the group but she looked as if she liked all the attention. Soon enough, when her group settled down a bit, she and I started playing with a few different toys around the yard. We played tug of war with a rope toy for quite some time before also playing with a bright green Frisbee. She doesn’t quite known how to bring back the toys once she’d fetched them but she’s learning bit by bit.

Freya was such a popular little girl throughout her entire day here! As soon as she came in this morning she went for her morning walk with two new friends Bella and Lipp. They were both instantly obsessed with her and wouldn't stop sniffing her for half of the walk. Freya didn't seem to mind as she trotted around the field with them on her tail. Once they had finished they're sniffing, Freya decided it was her turn as she followed each one of them for a good part of the walk while watching what they were doing the entire time. When it came to her outdoor play group, Freya was also the star of the show. Once she got outside her group crowded around her to sniff and play since she was new. She immediately got along great with everyone but especially Kai and another friend. Kai and Freya became best friends immediately. The two girls started off with a bit of play bowing then all of a sudden they were chasing each other all over the yard. Freya kept changing direction to try and slow Kai down but Kai always ended up catching her no matter what she did. Freya ended up getting quite hot I suppose as she dashed over to the pool to dip her paws in. I couldn’t convince her to jump in fully but at least she cooled down a bit. Overall she had a wonderful day! Eventually Kai decided that she had ran enough for one outing and came over beside me to lay down while soaking up the sun. It was great seeing her run around as much as she did today! Kai was a bit of a hog when it came to petting today. She ensured to follow me wherever I went and was always looking up at me with puppy dog eyes if I wasn’t already petting her. She’d even nudge her way in between and whoever else I’d be petting just so that she could get an extra back rub or head scratch. Kai got a special one on one walk this morning with one of our volunteers. She was such a good girl this morning and patiently sat while waiting for him to put on her leash before they left. Once it was on she was ready to go go go! She trotted to the end of her leash and took in the warm summer air. After a little bit she slowed down and walked beside him for the rest of their walk together. By the end of her day Kai was in need of long nap!