Monday August 29th, 2016

Extra Attention

Keegan had a blast outside for his extra attention today. When I went to get him from his kennel, Keegan jumped for joy as she saw that I had a few treats in my hand. After sneaking a few treats from my hand Keegan and I went outside to the long line and ran around together. After spending some time running around Keegan decided to show off all the cool tricks he can do for a few treats, like sit, lay down and give a paw. While he was doing some tricks Keegan saw that his friends Oban and Merlin were outside for a short walk and decided to run over to say hello, although they didn’t run up to him, I think Keegan was more interested in just watching them anyways. After watching Oban and Merlin leave, Keegan ran back over to me and I threw the ball for him a few times, but eventually he took a break and asked for a few more treats. After giving Keegan some more treats he sat with me and cuddled for a few minutes, but as our time was coming to an end I decided to take Keegan for a quick walk before bringing him back to his kennel. 

Groups

Finnigan had so much fun outside today. He spent his day going out in a group with the little dogs, which made for a very entertaining time. As Finnigan first walked out the door he began to say hi to all of the little ones by running up to each of them and giving them a sniff. After he was done greeting everyone he started to chase a couple of the dogs into the further yard that seemed to want to play with him. Immediately he started to play with them as they were facing each other. Finnigan and the other dog started to run side to side up until Finnigan finally made a run for it as the other dogs chased him back to the gravel yard and around until they made it back on the grass to continue to run around in circles. He was loving all of the attention he was getting from them and as they walked over to him he dropped on the ground and started to roll around as they smelled him. He didn’t seem to want to get back up as they began to paw at his belly to try and get him to jump up and start running again. Eventually he did, and he ran over to the pool and jumped right in which made a big splash and got me all wet. He started to walk around the pool in circles as he took little sips of the water to cool off then jumped back out to start another game of tag. He ran for a bit longer as I sat on the picnic table and watched him. As he ran by me he stopped and went to come and say hi and he wiggled his body between my legs for cuddles. After I gave him a few pets he noticed a bone on the ground that he was trying to pick up. I snatched it before he grabbed it and threw it across the yard. Finnigan chased after it and instead of bringing it back to me he went over by the door to bring it to the puppies to show it off. Once he dropped it the puppies got to it and he stayed by them the rest of the time outside. 

Abby was super happy to get out onto the yard it seemed and she had a great big smile on her face when I opened her kennel door. She went out into the agility yard with her group today and waited at the door until I went out to join them. She stayed by my side as I walked out to see everyone then started to walk off on her own to the further side of the yard to sniff around. She began to smell all of the tall bushes that are along the fence. She took her time as she walked along the entire fence to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Some of the dogs came up to her to say hello as she was exploring, but Abby was too busy staying focused on that to start playing with the dogs. She continued smelling around the yard until she reached every single spot that she was intrigued by. Once she was done she began to walk over to the area that all of the other dogs in her group were and started to nudge her head against them to try and get them to play with her. Now that she wanted to play with them they all seemed to get pretty excited quickly and she started to bounce around until they joined in. Once they did Abby got more excited as she started to wrestle with them. Once Abby had let all her wiggles out it was time to take a break and walk around some more. 

Ranger loves to go in the pool and splash around in the water. Today when we first walked out with everyone in to the agility yard he started to explore like he usually does during his group. He walked along all of the rocks as his nose led the way to go. He took his time and walked around the whole yard on his own before he made his way over to the pool. Ranger likes hanging around by himself in the yard instead of with the other dogs. As he was finished exploring he trotted over to the pool and gave it a sniff before going in the water, he put his paws in one by one until his whole body was in there. Ranger stayed in the pool for mostly the entire time he was outside, he walked around in the water in circles as he watched the other dogs play. I came over and splashed some water on him to get his whole body wet which he seemed to really like. Once he was finished being in the pool he jumped out to go sniff around more then walked back to the pool and jumped in and splashed the water around with his nose. Ranger kept doing this a few times before we went back inside. 

Sophie brings such a positive energy to her playgroup. She had lots of energy outside in the yard today. She ran around the whole time as she followed me wherever I went. This girl always had a smile on her face and wasn’t afraid to show it off. She interacted with all of the dogs in the yard and wasn’t shy at all when it came to socializing. She walked up to every dog even if they were playing and said hi. If they were playing she even started to join in a little bit as she ran around them but made sure to never play too much and kept it easy. When I was sitting on the agility tunnel she ran over to me and nudged her head on my leg to get some cuddles. She then ran around to my back and hopped up and sat on top of the agility tunnel with me. She has such a bouncy, smiley personality. After hopping back down off of the tunnel, she walked over to a big puddle in the yard left by the pool and began to plash around in the water before going back inside. 

Abbie and Jock had another lovely day here with us! They were both really eager to get down the hallway and out the door for their morning walk to start off the day. Abbie was leading the way the entire time, with Jock just a little behind her. They were joined by Ryder, a little Boston Terrier, and the three of them were instantly friends. They met up again later in the morning for their group time. Abbie was the first of the two to stray away from the pack, venturing off into the corner with her friend Obi. These two ladies tend to stay close to each other while they are outside, and occasionally share some nose kisses. Jock joined her a litte later on, brushing against my leg for some attention as he passed by me. I pet him on the head and gave him a good back scratch, and then he moved on to see his sister. His curiosity only grew after that. He followed Austin over to the picnic table and the two of them sat patiently waiting for some attention from me. Jock was satisfied with a few pets and then made his way to the far grass yard. Abbie followed afterwards, only staying close to her friend Obi. The two of them were both satisfied with their time outside and were ready to return inside to take a little nap before heading out again. 

Austin was such a snuggly little guy with me outside today. At first he said hello to the other dogs, and then sniffed around the yard to see what was new from earlier in the morning. I was sitting on the picnic table with Maggie when Austin came up, letting me know it was his turn for some snuggles. He put his two front paws up on my lap and then I gently picked him up and he gave me a few soft kisses on the cheek. I returned the favor by rubbing his little fluffy ears and petting his head. He seemed to love that! When he got down, he followed Jock and I to the far grassy yard, and Austin was delighted to see that the grass was freshly cut! He paraded through the grass, rolling in it a few times before going to see what Jock was doing. Jock was sniffing the tunnel and Austin had no interest in the tunnel so he went to go investigate the rock. He spent some time there before we all headed inside. 

Keegan was super excited to get outside today! Although it was a calm day for him, he loved the breeze that was going through the yard and was content to sit in the sun and watch his friends exploring all around him. Eventually, I encouraged him to do some exploring of his own. He made his way over to the picnic table where Maggie and Obi were. He leaped on top and stood there for a little bit, waiting for someone to come up to him. Maggie stood just below him on the seat and when she started barking at him. Keegan hopped right off and ran across the yard towards the pool. Austin had both his front paws up on the pool edge and Keegan thought it was a good idea to check it out too. He sniffed the water and took one little lick but had zero interest in actually jumping in. He walked away and came right to me, turning his bum to me for a bum scratch, which I was happy to give! He then kissed my hand very lightly before returning to the door to let me know he was ready to go inside!