Saturday June 4th 2016

Tinkerbell and Charlotte have become just the best of friends over the course of today. They each got a very exciting walk around the trail to start off their mornings. Charlotte got to walk with a big goofy new friend this morning. She was excited to get to play around with a big dog for a change and happily trotted right out the door with them. Of course this lead to a big tangle of the leashes but they were both able to get themselves out every time. She almost seemed to have a crush on him as she followed him around and tried to bounce over him as well as play tackle him for the entire walk. By the end of it she was a little tired and decided to have a quick nap before her outdoor play time came around. Tinkerbell got a special one on one walk with one of our volunteers! She absolutely loved the attention that she got and was constantly trying to snuggled or get pet by the volunteer. Tinkerbell also had a good time sniffing and chasing after little bugs that she found in the long grass. She looked so funny nose diving into the long grass after whatever she was chasing. When it came time for their group outing the two girls were both so excited to see each other again. As soon as they saw each other it was immediately play mode. They started racing after one another all over the yard, over top of the agility jump, through the agility tunnel, and all over the grass yard. However as soon as Charlotte would jump into the pool, Tinkerbell refused to follow her and so the game would be put on hold until Charlotte hopped back out. When they weren’t playing with each other Charlotte always had a different toy in her mouth. She especially enjoyed playing tug of war with me and a rope toy that I brought to her. However once I got a Frisbee out we were immediately done playing tug of war and started playing fetch. She’s not too good at the whole bring it back concept but I was trying to teach her a little bit. We ended up also playing tug of war with it. Tinkerbell was obsessed with cuddles once she wasn’t playing with Charlotte. She was constantly right by my side waiting for a head rub or a belly scratch. The two of us spent the end of her group time sitting on the picnic table together while she got a good scratch.

Carter had an excellent first day back here at Tails & Trails. He began his morning on a fast paced walk around our trail with a couple of new friends. Carter was so excited that he raced right to the door when I let him out of his kennel before I could even put his leash on. He calmed down soon after so that I could and was then ready to start moving. Carter led the pack for the most part of his walk other than when he let his nose lead the way into the tall grass a few times. He also enjoyed coming back to give me a head butt to get me to pet him. Then he'd simply look up at me and continue back to the end of his leash, silly guy. When it came to his outdoor play group I think he must've been very excited to meet even more new friends as he was sitting right at the door of his kennel with his tail shaking non-stop. Once he got outside he did a few quick laps of the yard to get a sense of everything. He sniffed the fence line, greeted his new friends as they passed by, stop to test out some fun looking toys as well as chased a couple of little bugs in the grass. He seemed very intrigued with absolutely everything in the yard and ended up spending most of his time doing these things. For a little while I had him play catch with me and a Frisbee which he adored. He seems to excel at running and absolutely loved every second of our game. Every so often he'd stop by at the pool to get a cool drink and dip a paw in but never went fully in. By the end of the day he was snoozing away in his kennel from his action filled day.

Maverick and Shyla were surrounded by golden retrievers today and seemed to love it! They first began on their morning walk around the field with an intense high energy. Shyla trotted outside very calm at first but once we got on the trail it was go time. She was constantly at the end of her leash trying to go as fast as possible. She also must have wanted to cover as much ground as possible since she was zig zagging the path the entire walk time! Maverick had his own path figured out for the walk. He was cutting through the long grass as much as possible. He looked so funny trying to jump over all of it since it was up past his belly. Every so often he’d jump up and come back onto the trail with Shyla and I to sniff out a couple meters before returning to the long grass. When it came to their outdoor play group they were put into a very high energy, playful and mostly golden retriever group. It didn’t seem to bother Maverick and Shyla to be the minority and in fact they were actually very content with the group. Shyla was very active today. As soon as she got outside her nose was all over the place. She was following all of her new and old friends around the yard, sniffing along the fence line, and checking out the pool. Soon enough she was in a full fledge chase around the yard with a couple of new golden retriever friends. She had quite the speed but even she was getting beat around a few corners. I could just almost see her smiling every time she looked up at me whenever she’d have a break from running. However, that wasn’t often because there was always either someone new to chase or someone to chase her (including myself). She and I had a quick little game of tag between the two of us but that once again slowly increased to the whole group and let’s just say I’m not quite as fast as them! Maverick had a more relaxed type of day. He was never in any rush to do anything but was happy when he first got outside. Maverick greeted all of his good friends to start his group off and then went his separate ways. He spent a lot of his time sniffing around the yard and couldn’t quite decide if he wanted to be out in the sunshine soaking up the rays or sitting in the cool shade. I’d always see him trying to find the perfect spot to sit as he went from shade to sun and vice versa. I did however get him up and running which lead to a game between he and his friends before he returned back to one of his relaxing spots.

Riley and Kelly were always on the move throughout their entire day. They were so very excited to leave their kennels and go outside for their morning outing. The two of them were wagging their tails as fast as possible and wiggling their little butts until I let them out. Once I did, Kelly raced outside with Riley close on her tail. Each of them seemed to love the warm summer breeze in the air this morning and almost seemed as though they were simply soaking it in. When it came time for their walk around the field they were just as ready to get outside and moving. Kelly quickly took the lead in the walk as she ran to the end of her leash and insisted I move a little bit faster. Riley was right there behind her soon enough; he had stopped a few times to sniff around the field before joining Kelly. For most of the rest of their walk they were side by side no matter what they were doing. They’d move into the longer grass while following the scents that their noses picked up or they’d simply be walking at the end of their leashes. When it came time for their outdoor play group the two of them raced outside and immediately became super playful! Kelly had her eyes sent on me once she got into the yard. She followed me around for quite some time as we ran and chased each other around the yard. She loved getting the one on one playing time with me for that little bit of time. I tried to get her to play with a couple toys but she didn’t seem very interested in anything other than running and cuddles. Riley on the other hand loved this one rope toy that I brought to him. He didn’t seem to into it at first but soon enough he was grabbing and tugging on one end while I had the other. We played tug of war for quite some time. When they weren’t with me, Kelly and Riley loved playing in the pool! Riley especially enjoyed hopping right in and splashing the water with his paws. Kelly enjoyed mostly sticking one or two paws in but staying on top of the little ledge as to not get too wet. They also had quite a goof time racing around with the four other golden retrievers in their group as well as two very high active huskies. Overall they each had action packed days!

Molly K. Had another fun filled day today! She began her morning on a relaxing walk with two of her good friends. She was very excited to get outside in the warm summer air once I got to her kennel but patiently waited for me to put on her leash like a good girl. Once we got outside she was bouncing all over the place and trying to find a toy to play with; I guess she didn't realize it was walking time and not an outing, silly girl. Eventually she found a toy and picked it up to take with her on her walk. She only dropped it once to sniff something but ended up holding it in her mouth almost the entire time. When it came to her outdoor play group she was put into an awesome almost all golden retriever group where she met two new friends Honey and Lola. The three of them began racing around the yard together half way during the group. They were running in and out of the pool, through the agility tunnel as well as all over the yard in general. The three of them were side by side for quite a while. Whenever they weren't together Molly was absolutely obsessed with a green toy bone. She went everywhere with it with out ever dropping it and always proudly showed it off to everyone. She and I enjoyed playing fetch for quite some time before the end of her group time. When Lola wasn't playing with the other two girls she was right beside me as much as she could be of course. That little girl loves to get as much attention as she possibly can! She and I spent a lot of time cuddling in the shade to cool off and even dipped our feet in the pool for a little while. She started off her morning on a lovely walk with a couple of friends. However she didn't spend much time walking with them as she was typically by my side the entire time. She did however go an roll in the cool grass from time to time for a fun change, but she always came right back to my side while smiling up at me. Honey had an awesome first day here at Tails & Trails! She was the hit of the group and her walk right from the moment that she got here. She went for a walk around the field just after she got here with another high energy new friend. The two of them were all over each other immediately! They were racing from side to side on the trail, jumping over one another and play tackling on the trail. Honey was completely tangled up quite a few times but could quickly get untangled every time. By the end of her walk she seemed a little bit tired and went to have a quick morning nap before her outdoor play group. Once I came to get her she was up and ready within seconds. Her tail was wagging like crazy as she ran out the door to meet all of her new friends. Once she got outside she was completely surrounded by her new group as everyone was sniffing and greeting her. Soon after, she was racing around with almost everyone behind her trying to out run her but hardly anyone ever seemed to be able to catch her except for a husky named Shyla. These two girls were side by side for almost half of her group time before she raced around with Lola and Molly K. After she was sone playing with everyone she cooled off for the rest of the group time in our pool. She hopped in and laid right down in the water.

Khal and I first had the pleasure of seeing each other very early this morning when it was time for good morning group time. Khal, being his usual self, was bouncing around and barking while waiting for me to open his kennel. When we made it outside he was so excited to see his friends that they all started to run around chasing each other in greeting. They didn’t get very long to see each other since they had to go back in for breakfast, which is always fun. I saw Khal again after breakfast when it was time for walks. We went on a walk together just the two of us, but Khal didn’t mind since he loved all the extra attention I was giving him while walking. He had so much fun exploring and getting head scratches that he didn’t want the walk to end. After walks it was time for groups and boy was Khal excited to see his best friends Magic, Isis and Sky again. He raced them out the door obviously winning because of his awesome speed and once outside they went and ran around exploring the yard. After a while of exploring he thought it would be lots of fun to come and get some cuddles. He spent the rest of his time outside sitting beside me getting plenty of cuddles. Khal had a wonderful time today with lots of adventures.

Leah and Poppy are both just so adorable and I love seeing them when I come in because they always put a smile on my face. Leah was quite excited this morning when she saw me making my way towards her kennel to let them out for groups. With Poppy following close behind, the two ran out of their kennel and straight out to their friends who were waiting for them. At the start of our time together Leah and Poppy didn’t want to move into the agility yard since there was a lot of water on the ground from filling up the pools. After a bit of coaxing the two bravely jumped the puddle to join their friends on the other side. Poppy was very proud of herself and went prancing around all of her friends to show what she had done. Leah was just happy to be across and decided to go and explore. Poppy saw how much fun Leah was having so she went and joined her sister in her adventure. The two of them took a break after a long time of searching to come and get some cuddles from me. They both had a great time outside today getting over their fear of the water, going on an adventure and getting lots of cuddles and kisses from me.

Jake is such a handsome man full of energy, and I love it when he’s in because he’s just so lively that he makes me laugh. We went outside for groups together today and as always he needed to be one of the first outside so he could see what was going on before anyone else. He ran around the yard a few times before making his way over to his friends to say hello. After greeting his friends Jake went on an expedition to explore the agility yard. In his explorations he found a large body of water which turned out to be the pool. He thought it was pretty cool so he decided to go plash around for a bit to cool off from all his hard work. His friend Drew joined him to cool off in the pool and the two sat lounging around in the water. Once he was all nice and soaked Jake continued on his expedition, but not before coming to see me and shaking so that I got covered in water. Jake loved his time outside and had a wonderful expedition where he got to spend time with his best friend.

George and Titan came in this morning and both were very excited to be back for another stay so that they could see their friends. Titan took the lead and ran straight outside this morning during groups with George following behind at a slower pace. Titan ran around and greeted all his new friends who were so excited to meet him and George. George went and said hello to everyone but he was more excited about all the exploring he was going to do. George was the first of the two to lay eyes on the wonderful pool that held cool water on this warm day. He went and tried to get into it but was to tired so he instead just stuck his head in the water to get a drink. Titan saw his brother playing in the pool so he went and jumped right into it which ended up in George getting splashed. Titan loved the water and was having lots of fun cooling off until he saw George getting cuddles with me and he thought it was only fair if he got some too. After both of them got their fair share of cuddles they both went on to explore the yard for the rest of the time.

Bandit is so adorable and he loves to play with his friends because he’s just so full of energy. He ran outside in excitement because he couldn’t wait to see his pal Roxy, who he absolutely loves. They ran around together for a little while until Bandit started getting tired so the two of them instead just went and wandered around for a little while together. Bandit loved having Roxy tag along with him and had lots of fun wandering around the yard exploring with his best friend. During their explorations they both came over for some one on one time with me Bandit got his one on one time first and he absolutely loved all the belly rubs and ear scratches he got. All in all he had a really great time outside exploring, playing and getting cuddles with his best friend Roxy. 

Teddy and Kizmet had lots of fun this morning with their groups. Teddy being the adorable boy he is came right over to me to say hello. I gave him lots of cuddles and head scratches before he made his way to the agility yard to explore. Kizmet is just so cute and right after his brother left he came straight over to see me for some cuddles too. He loved it and gave me big slobbery kisses as a thank you for the extra attention. After that he joined Teddy in his exploring around the yard when their friend Roxy came and joined them with her best friend Bandit. Teddy and Kizmet explored all around the yard searching high and low for something that they could smell and I couldn't. They all had lots of fun playing together and Teddy and Kizmet loved having extra cuddle time.

Kai is such a sweet heart and I love getting to see her. I saw her bright and early this morning and gave her a little extra attention in the form of cuddles before making our way outside. She had lots of fun exploring during first groups and didn't really pay attention to the others. When second group time came along she was very excited to see everyone this time around and she spent lots of time going around and saying hello to everyone. Once that was all settled she went and roamed around the yard with everyone. She did take a break in her exploring though to come and visit with me for some more extra attention which I gladly gave her.

Roxy had lots of fun with her best friend Bandit today and barely had time in her busy schedule to come and visit with me. She ran around with Bandit for a long time while one of them was the chaser and the other was the chasee. Roxy loved being the one chased so usually Bandit chased her around the yard. After a while they both got really tired so they went to the pool to cool off. Bandit jumped right in while Roxy stood at the side and drank while watching her friend. When they were both cooled they went and explored around the yard together. Roxy loved having her best friend accompany her through her travels. She had a wonderful time with him and was very tired by the end of the group time.