Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Abby and Dudley were so eager to go out in the yard with all of the small dogs this morning. Dudley ran straight out the door to wait for everyone to join him, while Abby kept on running up and down the hall with excitement until everyone else walked out the door and she followed behind us. When they first went outside Dudley began to explore around the door to sniff around the gravel. He trotted around with no where in particular to go and began to wander aimlessly until Abby ran up to him to say hi. She started to prance around him and sniff him until she decided to run over to me and greet me. Abby began to jump up at my feet to try and reach my face so she could give me some kisses U.fortunately she’s just a little too small to reach all the way up there so instead I knelt down to her height and she attacked my face with all the kisses she could give me. Dudley was watching from a few feet away and trotted over, looking for some attention for himself. He stood beside me and waited until I saw him so I would start to pet him and give him cuddles as well. Dudley stuck right to my side and didn’t leave until I got up to walk around. He and Abby began to walk further into the yard to explore more as they reached the grass. They walked around together as they sniffed the ground while some of the dogs walked over to them to say hello. They all began to sniff each other one at a time until everyone said hi. When Abby was done she saw me sitting on the picnic table and ran straight over to me and hopped up to sit with me. She jumped up on my lap and began to give me more kisses as Dudley started to walk over as well. We watched the other dogs play around us for a while as some of them started to go run and jump in the pool to cool off. This seemed like a good idea to Abby as well since she jumped down and went to go see everyone that was playing in the water. She stepped right in and began to move around in the water as Dudley followed her and slowly creeped up to sniff the pool. He opted out of going in the water but stayed near her while she had her fun.

Piper and Ranger are always together while they are in the yard or just in their kennel. They love to cuddle up together on the same cot while they’re inside and once they go out into the yard they spend every second together whether they are playing or just exploring around the yard. When they first went outside they took off into the agility yard to start running around. They ran all the way to the other end of the yard and began to sniff along the fence together as the rest of their group made their way outside. They sniffed along the bottom of the fence then made their way into the center of the yard to sniff around the grass and the big rocks. Piper tags along behind him whenever he goes up to some of the dogs to say hello. Ranger would run up and sniff behind one of the dogs then let them sniff him back while Piper stood there and waited. If the dog seemed to be interested in Piper as well she would stay put in her spot and let the other dogs smell her quickly before she ran off to the side. Ranger would always follow her if she ran off and they would begin to explore something else. After they were done exploring around the further part of the yard they back tracked all the way back to the door where they started to walk along the rocks to explore there with the more quiet dogs in their group. Piper seemed to be more confident around the dogs that weren’t as energetic and weren’t playing as much. She walked up to some of them with Ranger by her side as they both said hello the others then continued on with what they were doing. When they decided to run back to the middle of the yard Ranger went straight towards the two dogs that were playing the most and jumped right in on the action. Piper stayed as close as she could without being involved in the playing while Ranger and the other dogs began to jump up on each other to play. He started wrestling around for a bit then running off with Piper only to come back a minute later to join in again.

Issy and Mocha spent their day today in the staffroom with a couple of their regular friends. They love being in there, stretched out on the cool floor. Plus they get lots of attention from us whenever we walk in. They were cozied up on a bed together today that was underneath the table. These two were fast asleep when I went in to let them outside and didn’t want to get up at all. Once I managed to wake them up and they walked out the door to be with their group they trotted into the agility yard to start their day. They began to sniff around the beginning of the yard together around the rocks to sniff through them. Issy seemed to be more excited than Mocha was since she was almost running around on her own while Mocha decided to take it easy and walk around slowly by herself. Once issy was done sniffing around the door she walked off on her own to the further part of the yard to go and explore around the grass by the fence. She loved the long grass and shoved her face through it to sniff around. After she was done that she walked over to the outdoor kennel where some of the other dogs were exploring and began to pace around it in circles while she was exploring. Mocha decided to stay back on her own and continue to explore by the door instead of making her way out. She waited until the other dogs took off to begin to wander around other parts of the yard. Mocha didn’t walk far but she wandered out to where the pool was to start to sniff around it before any of the other dogs were splashing around the water. Mocha took a drink of the water then made her way back slowly to the door to sit and relax and wait to go back inside. When Issy was done exploring around the outdoor kennels she decided to walk over to some of the other dogs and say hello. As she was sniffing some of the dogs one of them ran up to her that she previously said hi to and began to jump on Issy to try and get her interested in playing. Unfortunately Issy isn’t a big player and jumped back as soon as the other dog ran up to her and then ran back to the door to be with Mocha to hang out. These two sat at the door for the rest of the time until they went back inside to hangout in the staffroom with their friends.

Sophie is such a happy girl whenever she’s here with us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her when she doesn’t have a huge smile on her face while she’s outside with her group or even just when she’s in her kennel inside. This morning when I was in the kennel next to her she jumped up and got so excited and began to give me kisses through the gate. She was so happy to see me that I couldn’t help but visit with her for a few minutes. When we went out into the yard she was just as excited to be with the other dogs as she was to see me beforehand. She ran out into the agility yard with her friend Max whose always so excited and energetic. Max loves to play there’s no doubt about that and when he’s outside there’s no stopping him once you get him going. He spent the entire time while he was outside running around with all of the dogs and even going up to some of the non playful dogs to try and get them to join in with him. Sophie loves to play and just because she’s a bit older doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to hop in on the fun! At first this girl ran out into the yard and started to sniff around on her own to explore. She sniffed the ground and made her way around the pool slowly as all of the other dogs began to say hi to each other. Max was jumping around already and running up to each of the dogs and jumping up on them. When he reached Sophie he jumped right up on her back which surprised her and she ran ahead a bit to see who was inviting her to play. Once she realized it was Max she turned right around and play bowed to him. Max ran over to her again and she began to run away in the other direction, some of the other dogs started to join in right away once they saw these two running. Max began to chase two other dogs around the yard and left Sophie behind on her own, I called Sophie over and she came running to my side with a huge smile and pressed her head against my leg to be pet. I gave her lots of cuddles when I was with her but once I began to walk away she started barking and continued to follow me around the yard, sticking right next to me so I wouldn’t stop petting her. Max continued to run around the yard as he was chasing two other dogs that were so fast. They ran from one end of the yard to the other at full speed. Max was having a hard time keeping up with them but that didn’t stop him from trying and kept on pushing through. Whenever he caught up to them he started to jump up and wrestle with them as Sophie ran over again to join in. She jumped up on Max as he was jumping on the other dogs until there was just a big pile of dogs in the middle of the yard. Once one of the others broke free they ran straight to the pool to cool off as Sophie and Max followed to get a drink of water and relax as well. Sophie decided to stop playing and roam around on her own after that while Max didn’t stop running and kept playing tag until we went back inside. 

During Max’s extra attention session this morning I brought him up to the play room with me to try and work off all of that energy! He was still so energetic after his walk so I thought that if I tried getting him to play with some of the toys that it would tire him out. I began to run around the room with him as he bounced around me with excitement. He started to run around and jump up on me to try and give me kisses as I was running. When I grabbed a rope toy and waved it to show him he seemed so interested in it so I threw it across the room for him to fetch it but instead of getting it he watched it fall to the ground then he brought all of his attention back on me. We ran around the room for a bit more then took a break and sat up on the couch. He sat right beside me and started to cover my face with lots of kisses. I had some treats that he sat and laid down for so easily. He was being such a good boy I went to get more for him. After that he laid down at my feet and rolled over for me to pet his belly. Max's training session took place this afternoon and he was, as always, very excited when I went to get him. We practiced sits before we even left the kennel and it took several repetitions to convince him to stay sitting until it was time to go. We practiced heel work and he was very attentive and did well. Since Max has so much trouble staying calm, we went into the lounge and practiced his place command on the cot in there. It was all new to Max but with some yummy liver bits, he soon figured out that the cot was an excellent place to be. For an introductory session he was very quick to learn what I wanted. After place we went out to the long line out front and did some recall work. Instead of giving him his reward as soon as he came, I used a release word and threw his treat into the grass, and then called him back after a minute or so. He was so good, that next session we will have to introduce some distractions to challenge him a bit more. The most difficult part of our training session was taking treats gently, but we will continue to work on that one. 

Pelley was the center of attention today. Her group mates knew right off the bat that she was new to the team and all had to investigate. Pelley stood right in the middle of a bunch of dogs with her tail wagging a million miles a minute while everyone sniffed her over. After patiently waiting for all the hellos to be done she dashed off with her ears flapping in the wind. She was so keen to get into the grassy yard and begin exploring. She didn’t get much exploring in before her friends begged her to get playing. Pelley was thrilled to have dogs interested in her. She couldn’t decide whom she wanted to play with, so she play bowed to all three of her buddies then dashed off looking for a chase. Abbie and Jock the Westies were so happy to chase after her. It takes a special dog to get Abbie and Jock playing around and Pelley sure did the trick. These two were absolutely thrilled with her presence. Abbie and Jock alternated flirting and dancing around with Pelley while Pelley paraded herself around with a smile on her face. These three danced and dashed around with one another for quite some time before Miko, the Shih Tzu, interrupted their games. Pelley was torn between whom to play with; she decided to take a break from Abbie and Jock to dart around with Miko. Miko is always good fun and he didn’t fail to disappoint today. He really got Pelley moving and playing. These two were sprinting at such fast speeds around the yard it was hard to even snap a photo. All of a sudden their sprinting came to a halt as Pelley turned around and play bowed. She was quick to stand up and then Miko play bowed to her. He remained in bowing position for a while as they stared into one another’s eyes waiting for someone to make the first move. Miko then bounded up and took off across the yard to the pool. Miko grabbed a quick drink then head back into the yard to explore. Pelley on the other hand was absolutely fascinated by the kiddy pool. She saw Ringo wading around in so she decided to give it a try. Rather than walking around in it, Pelley completely submerged herself. She was weaving through the water like a dolphin jumping. She would submerge her head first and then her belly then her bum and next her head would come up, then her body, then her bum. She continued this waving motion in the water while her pals stood back and watched her. I was laughing so hard at her silly shenanigans. After this Pelley was beaming with pride and glory. She continued to trot around the yard with her friends, enjoying every minute of their company while sniffing and exploring her surroundings.

Louis and I enjoyed another wonderful day together. We started things out with a stroll along the trail with his now regular walking buddy, Brutus. These two lead the way along the trail with their noses to the ground. Rather than snacking on grass today, Louis was very focused on smelling the purple flowers that are now blooming. He insisted on stopping to sniff them every time we passed a big patch of them. As we came around the corner Brutus and Louis spotted a car pulling in to the driveway and they lead me down the driveway to check out whom it was. After greeting the customer we finished our walk along the path. In the yard today Louis was thrilled to have some new group mates. He loved Cascabelle, a nice yellow lab. He followed her around, flirting with her by kissing her and bumping into her side looking for some loving and attention. Cascabelle was pleased to have a buddy and wandered around with him for a while. After sniffing and exploring along side his pal he head over to the fresh cool pool to grab a drink and refresh himself. He was pleased to meet up with his pal Keeva in the pool and these two splashed around together until it was time to head inside. Louis was more than ready for his extra attention time. Since he'd spent yesterday in the play room we head up to the front for a change of scenery. Louis spent some time touring around checking things out. He didn't do it alone as Julie tagged along behind him which was pretty comical to watch. Louis made his way over to the door which has a rather convenient Louis height window that he enjoyed staring out at the world from. Once he'd lost interest he went back to touring around the room. Eventually he stood still long enough that I could give him a quick once over with the zoom groom. He loved have his neck brushed. We were then joined by a couple more people that were more than happy to give Louis pets and attention. Eventually it was time to head back to his kennel along the way we passed the play room which Louis promptly entered and refused to leave. Apparently I was wrong in thinking he wanted at different venue. He eventually decided that it was in fact time to go back to his kennel.

Keeva and I had a great walk this morning with her new friend, Kane. These two hadn’t met before and they really hit it off during their walk. Kane was pretty focused on sniffing and exploring, but Keeva was determined to make him her next best friend. She walked so close to his side the entire time, occasionally pawing at his side and pouncing on him. Kane finally gave in to her begging and these two began dancing around. Luckily I only had them two on my walk as I had to frantically untangle their leashes as they goofed around on the trail. Keeva was so happy to have Kane play with her. After finally settling down I continued along the trail with these two happy pals. In the yard today Keeva was pleased to have some new friends in her group. Her new friends loved playing fetch too, which made for a great round of Frisbee. She was so into it as she had some competitive competition. Keeva, Percy, and Rupert spent their entire group time sprinting around after the Frisbee. They did a great job alternating who claimed the Frisbee. Whenever Keeva got it she would beg to play tug before finally giving it over. At one point Rupert was running around with the Frisbee in his mouth so Keeva took a break to cool off in the pool with her relative Louis. We had a great time outside with her friends before she head indoors to snooze. Keeva was as excited as ever to be up and out on the trail again this afternoon. She did lots of sniffing and lots of zig-zagging through the long grass. She turned around here and there to put her head under my hand, looking for pets. She has the sweetest grey smile! 

Hobart enjoyed this nice warm September day with us. He had a good walk with Percy and Trooper. These three trot along the trail with their noses to the ground very focused on all the smells under their paws. I was pleased to have Hobart follow me into the yard today and do some serious exploring. Some times he prefers to hang out by the door but today he was more than happy to make his way into the far part of the agility yard where he checked the whole yard out. Hobart loved all the plants and flowers along the fence line, which kept him very occupied. After some convincing, Hobart came over by my side where he accepted pats and cuddles. His friends tried to sneak their way in to our cuddle session but Hobart kept pushing himself closer to me, ensuring that my hands were focused on him. After he got some nice scratches and pats Hobart went back to sniffing and exploring before he head inside for his afternoon nap.

Percy was full of energy today, as usual. He kept me very busy in the yard, accompanied by two other dogs Rupert and Keeva who all loved fetch. These three gave my arm a nice work out by playing a never-ending game of fetch with a great blue Frisbee. Percy is very fast and almost always got to the Frisbee first, however he was kind and let his friends retrieve it sometimes. At one point he refused to hand the Frisbee over to continue our game of fetch and he began sprinting through the tunnel with it in his mouth. Percy would pop out once end and spot me then do a 180 and head back in and come out the other end. He did this about 6 times before finally sprinting full speed out of the tunnel and into the pool. He dropped the Frisbee in the pool and began digging at it as it sunk. Rupert and Keeva were very fascinated by these shenanigans and the three of them stared at it as it drifted to the bottom of the pool. Finally Percy got a hold of it and darted out of the pool sending water everywhere. Rupert was right on Percy’s tail and these friends ended up galloping around the yard side by side taking turns holding the Frisbee.