Wednesday July 20th, 2016

Groups

Riley was pretty happy to discover that the grass was freshly cut in the yard today. She headed out to the yard and ran her nose through the clippings. Once Riley had finished getting a good sniff, she went over to see Caesar. She was quite fascinated by him. Riley spent a lot of time circling and trying to figure him out. When he headed off to tour around the yard Riley decided to tag along. Along the way Riley was distracted by Zak F. They had an instant connection and were soon bouncing around and goofing off. Riley C, Molly, and Dushka went racing past Riley and Zak. Riley quickly switched from playing with Zak to going racing after the others. Needing a breather, Riley went to go and have visit with Caesar once more. After that she decided to head out and do a little bit of exploring around the yard. Riley met up with Zak once more which quickly turned into them wrestling. Zak ended up leaving to go and play with Goliath, so Riley went to check on what some of the other dogs were up to. It wasn't long before Zak was back and the fun continued.

Bear wasted no time in making his way out to the far part of the yard. He ended up near the kennel and found lots of good smells there. He found it quite fascinating and made sure to check all the sides most thoroughly. Finally there was no more for him to investigate on the kennel so Bear headed out to check out more of the yard. He spent some time touring around the agility yard. When some of the others and myself made our way out to the main yard, Bear decided to tag along. Bear gave it a quick once over then quickly decided he preferred the smells back where we had previously been, so we made our way back to the agility yard. I called Bear over to the pool to see if maybe he wanted to hop in. He came over gave the pool a look and promptly walked away to do some more exploring. After Bear had checked out all the surrounding areas he headed back near the pool, but instead of getting in he headed for the soggy grass next to it, where the pool had been dumped earlier, and laid down. Bear looked pretty comfortable on the cool ground.

Bella and Jake were so excited to get outside. They went racing out the door bouncing all over each other. Realizing they'd ran right past me, Bella and Jake came racing back to say hi to me and get some pets. With that done, the two of them headed out to do some socializing while also doing some exploring. Jake eventually noticed I had made my way out to the far yard. He came tearing out to the yard and over to me for some love. Jake then went running off to check out one of the big rocks. He was soon joined by William and Tinkerbell. Jake then noticed that Benji and Ivy were playing and decided to go running over to see about joining in. He didn't have much luck at first, but when Benji needed a break, Jake was there for Ivy and couldn't wait to start playing. Bella made her way over to the gate to the far yard and watched her brother's antics. Ivy ended up running over to see what Bella was up to. Jake, now without a play buddy, turned his sights onto Flora. Bella wasn't quite ready to play with Ivy and so turned back to continue exploring around the main yard. Jake, after bouncing around with Flora for a bit, decided to go and check on his sister. With that done, he came charging back out to the far yard. Jake played some more with Flora then went running back out to Bella. Jake and Bella went trotting around the main yard together checking out anything that caught their attention. Soon Bella wanted to play and started pounce on her brother. Jake was more than happy to play with her and soon they were off racing around the yard.

Tinkerbell went trotting out to do some light exploring around the yard. It wasn't long before she decided to make her way  back to the rest of the group to see what they were up to. When Ivy and Benji started to make their way out to the far yard, Tinkerbell tagged along. Tinkerbell  continued to tag along with them even as they went to do some exploring around the yard. They ended up over by one of the big rocks and were giving it a very thorough once over. When Benji made his way over to me she decided to follow after him. After she gotten some pets, Tinkerbell made her way back to the rock that was now being looked over by Jake. Having gone over every inch of the rock by this point, she decided to go and check on what Ivy and Benji were now up to. Tinkerbell found them wrestling and playing and so decided to make her way back to me for some more pets. She was quite happy to climb into my lap and get lots of cuddles. Soon Tinkerbell was giving me lots kisses and love. Satisfied, she went trotting off to do some exploring near the jump.

Casper and William wasted no time in getting to their explorations, as per usual. William lifted his nose from the group to say hi hellos to Benji. Casper stood a few feet away waiting for William to hurry up. William was now feeling a bit more social and decided to go visit with a few of the other dogs. With that done, he got right back to his exploring. Casper, having thoroughly gone around the main yard, headed out to the far yard. He didn't make it very far into the yard when he was distracted by a scent near the fence. Once Casper had give it a very thorough once over, he headed off to check out more of the yard. William entered the yard not too much later and stopped at the same spot as Casper to give it a thorough once over of his own. William finished checking it out and like Casper set out to check out more of the yard. They two of them met up as they were going around and decided to head back to the main yard to continue exploring in their and also be able to hang out in the shade. I made my way over to join them, which got them both rather happy and excited. Casper sat practically vibrating his nub was wagging so hard. He also had to tell me all about everything.

Ryder made his way out to the yard and looked like he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do first. He ended up checking in with everyone while also doing a little exploring along the way. When I made my way out to the far yard, Ryder decided to tag along. I settled in the grass and he went off to do some exploring in the grass. Benji and Tinkerbell came trotting over and Ryder was quick to say hi to his friends. When Benji started to play with Ivy, Ryder headed out to do some more exploring around the yard. He didn't stay exploring long and soon went to visit with Flora before going to see about maybe joining Benji and Ivy's fun. Ryder didn't have much luck and so went back to Flora who started to play bow to him and try to get him running. They bounced around a bit, but Ryder became distracted when Benji made his way over to me for some pets. Ryder came over to check on him and see if maybe now he wanted to play. Ivy soon came over to steal Benji away. Ryder wasn't going to miss out this time and went running to join in. Eventually he needed a break so Ryder came and planted himself in my lap. When he was feeling refreshed Ryder was hit with the zoomies and went tearing around the yard.

Xena was happy to join her other two pals outside today during their group together. She was very curious as soon as she got outside and began to sniff around the small dog yard as I was calling them over to the other side. The other two wasted no time and ran right behind me through the door in the fence, but Xena was taking her time and wanted to sniff along the grass before she joined us. Once we all got into the agility yard, she took off on her own to go and explore the big yard. She started off by walking along the rocks that were by the fence then headed to go wander around the big field of grass. I kept calling her over to come and hop in the pool but she was so distracted that she didn’t even lift her nose from the ground. Eventually, when she was done exploring and the other two ran over to her to say hi, she began to feel more playful. This girl skipped over to the pool and put one paw in at a time as she was getting used to the cool water. She roamed around in it for a little bit then jumped out to sniff around more. Before we went back inside she made sure to take another dip in the water before going back in her kennel.

Zak C. and Kaos are both two very high energy dogs that make a great pair on Wednesdays. They both love to play, especially with each other, so whenever they’re both outside together they can’t help but to run around the entire time. Today, as they stepped foot outside, Zak didn’t even wait a second before he bolted into the agility yard where Kaos and the others chased him with a big smile on their faces, ready to start the day. Zak and Kaos both calmed down as they began to roam around to do their business as they were sniffing around the grass. I called Kaos over to me and she ran over with her tongue hanging out and a big goofy smile on her face, ready to play. I could only pet her for a moment before she got too excited and began to run around in circles as she was looking for a play mate. Of course Zak ran right over to join in. The two began running around in circles aimlessly as some of the others joined in while the rest watched, very amused. Zak got pretty tired quickly and led Kaos and the others straight to the pool, where he hopped in and made a huge splash as he laid in the water. Kaos crowded around him and took a few sips of the water before pawing at Zak to get out so they could continue their game. Zak didn’t have enough of the water yet and rolled around in it a bit more as Kaos joined him. Eventually the two got out of the pool and ran right to the other side of the yard and everyone else joined in their game of tag again. All their energy got everyone active as well, as everyone seemed to be running around at this point.

Finnigan and Bella came outside with a rather calm energy today. Finnigan kept to himself when hee first entered the yard and wandered along the fence to sniff the rocks. The same goes for Bella, she was pretty relaxed and joined Finnigan as he explored around the yard for a little while before interacting with any of the dogs. Once Finnigan saw all of the others running around and playing a game of tag he decided to finally join in. He jumped right up and started to chase Kaos and Zak as if he was playing with them all along. Zak was really loving Finnigan and started to put him in the lead instead of himself so everyone began to try to catch him. Finnigan didn’t mind being chased at all and even though he’s smaller than the others. This boys legs run super fast, even though every so often he tends to trip on his own feet and trip and go for a roll, silly guy! Whenever that happens like it did today, the others crowd around him as he rolls and they paw at him, asking for him to hop back up. Bella didn’t join in their game right away and let Finnigan go ahead first. She watched them as they ran around the yard and she sniffed around the outdoor kennel. She seemed to be very interested in whatever she was smelling since she didn’t want to play right away. Finally once I walked over to her to give her a little cuddle she came out from by the fence and ran into the middle of the yard where she joined everyone in the game tag. Finnigan ran over to the pool with a Frisbee he caught and dropped it in the water as Bella trotted behind him and followed him over. She was hesitant to go in the water at first, but once all of the others got out she jumped in and splashed around for a little while as they jumped right back in after to join her.

Syrus and Stanley were both so happy to get out in the yard on a nice day like today, Syrus was so excited that he was basically jumping all over his kennel to come out, while Stanley only got excited once he got out the door as I had to wake him up from a little nap that he was taking in his kennel. Once they were outside they both trotted off into the agility yard where they walked over to the furthest side of the yard to begin exploring, Syrus kept to himself as he wandered along the fence and sniffed around the grass, he took his time as he explored each spot very carefully. Stanley decided to be a little social and went up to mostly all of the dogs in his group to say hi and give them a quick sniff before continuing on his journey of the yard. He trotted over to the other side once he was done exploring by all of his pals and started again over there. Syrus started getting a little playful once one of the dogs ran up to him and wanted to play, the two of the bounced around in circles together as they stayed very alert as if someone was about to run and begin a game of tag. But after a moment of them in this position, Syrus got distracted and headed over to the pool where Stanley noticed everyone was heading to and walked over from the other side of the yard to join in as well. Syrus only went in for a moment, but Stanley was longing the water, even though it took him a while to go in completely, once he got his feet wet he layed down to soak up the rest of the water before heading back out again.

Mel is such a funny boy. He loves to say hello to me in his kennel and runs around in circles whenever I walk by to show how excited he to see me. Once I let him out he gets the biggest rush of ecitement and he can’t help but to run around me in circles and jump up to give me lots of kisses. During groups today, Mel ran out into the agility yard but at the same time he made sure that I was following right behind him. He kept stopping and looking back at me until I caught up then would keep going. Once I got in the middle of the yard with him, Mel trotted off to the side where he began to explore along the rocks with the others. He took his time as he explored the yard and even went over to the agility tunnel that he circles around a few times to sniff. There was a bone inside the tunnel and he noticed it right away when he poked his head in. Getting that bone was Mel's mission from then on. This boy seemed a little unsure at first but ran right in the tunnel to get it and then back out the other end. He didn’t even seem that interested in the bone once he got it though and left it on the ground for someone else to find and went running through the tunnel again. After he was done with that he headed over to the pool where he spent the rest of his time cooling off and soaking in the water.

Joey and Jack are both so affectionate and are such sweet dogs. Once they came outside today to join their group, they split up immediately and began to wander around the yard in their own areas. Jack stood in the middle of the yard and looked around with a big smile on his face as he scanned the yard for places to go. Meanwhile, Joey already had a head start and was sniffing around the far end of the yard by all of the grass with a couple other dogs that were also doing the same. I called both of the over to see me and after I called them a few times they finally trotted over to me and placed their head right in my lap as I was sitting down for me to pet them. They can be so cuddly sometimes! I stood with the boys and gave them lots of pets and love until they noticed the other dogs hopping out of the pool. Joey and Giacomo ran over to join in the fun as the other dogs ran around together. Joey then decided to take a little dip in the pool while it was empty though and walked over on his own as Jack’s eyes were still on the other dogs and took a step in the water very slowly. Once he was in he walked around in his spot for a minute before heading back out to explore with Jack.

Extra Attention

Stanley looked at me as if to say "really, again?!" as I walked up to his kennel with a leash in my hand shortly after his morning walk. He walked with me back out the front door as I hooked him on the longline that’s in the front yard on the grass. He began to wander around the field and sniff along the grass as I stood near him. I brought out a handful of treats to give to him if he showed me some tricks and acted like a good boy. I began to play with him with a rope toy that I had brought along. I ran back and forth across the yard as he chased me and started to get really amped up and excited. Once I threw the toy he chased after it and let it land in the grass where he smelled it for a minute before making his way back to me. I did this once more and this time he caught it and carried it around in his mouth as a reward. When I went back inside, two of our volunteers stayed outside with him to continue playing and gave him lots of cuddles whenever they could get him to stay still!