Monday, October 3rd, 2016

Abby and Dudley were feeling particularly cozy when I went to see them early this morning. I peeked into their kennel and they were both curled up on their beds, warm in their blankets. I saw them again later on out on the walking path. Abby and Dudley were walking along with their little friend, Kado, with Leah holding the leashes. The three little ones moseyed through the damp grass all the way around the field before heading back inside to their cozy beds. I went back to get Abby and Dudley a little bit later in the morning for their group time. Abby zipped out of the kennel, ready to explore the yard, while Dudley stretched before slowly following the other dogs out into the yard. The cloudy morning seemed to rub off on the dogs today, and everyone was very relaxed during group time. Abby immediately made her way out into the grassy yard, over to the picnic table that she loves so much. She followed her nose all the way around before hopping up to get a better view of the goings on in the yard. Dudley followed the fence line with his nose to the ground, leaving Abby to her shenanigans. He met back up with her when he finally reached the grass yard and the picnic table. I stopped to give my little buddies some pets while they were both in the same place. When we were done, Abby hopped down from the picnic table and made her way over to the opposite side of the yard to sniff more there. Dudley followed along with his nose always glued to the ground in front of him. He stopped to say a quick hello to Rufus and Sherman, who were hanging out together by the gate. He then met back up with Abby and the pair slowly toured around the rest of the yard together, all the way back to the door to inside. The dogs seemed to gravitate towards that area today, so we all hung out there for a little while before heading back inside.

Olive looked so comfy in her little bed when I went to greet her this morning. She kept her nose tucked under her paw but wagged her tail furiously when I leaned down to give her a pet. She then looked up and gave me a little lick before hopping out of her bed and into the humid morning air. After first group and breakfast time, Olive went out on the walking path with Leah, Rufus and Sherman. Rufus and Sherman like to walk very fast, so Olive was content to stick by Leah’s side and take her time as they went. After walk time, Olive climbed back into her bed for a little snooze before group time rolled around. Once everyone made it out into the yard, Olive stretched her legs before going around to greet her friends. She first said hello to Abbie and Jock, who were sniffing around the gate together. Next, she made her way over to see Sherman and Rufus once again, and finished her rounds by saying hello to me! I knelt down and Oliver buried her head in my lap for some cuddles. She’s such a little sweetheart! We spent some time cozied up together in the damp grass before Olive decided to get up and go for a stroll around the yard again. I ran around a little bit to see if she’d like to play, and she started to bounce around with me! She, Rufus and Sherman barked with excitement and ran around the agility tunnel before putting their noses back to the ground once again. Olive eventually made her way back towards the door where we all hung out as a group before going back inside for a little while.

We’re so lucky to have Abbie and Jock back with us for another week! This little pair is really getting used to the routine and have made a few friends. Abbie and Jock made sure to sniff along all of the kennels down their hallway before they reached theirs this morning. They both have quite the little noses! A little bit later in the morning, Abbie and Jock headed out on the path with their daycare friend, Bella. These three have spent lots of days in the yard together over the summer and they made a great group to walk. When it was time for groups, Abbie and Jock were both quite eager to get out into the yard to investigate all of the new smells that had accumulated over the weekend. They were both very concentrated today and had their little sniffers glued to the ground almost the entire time we were in the yard. Jock only stopped following his nose to have a little run around with his friends Sherman, Rufus and Olive. He saw that we were running around together in the grass and couldn’t resist bouncing over to join in. Abbie watched from a distance, continuing to explore but always keeping an eye on her brother. Eventually Jock and I rejoined Abbie over by the door with the rest of the group. We all hung out together for a little while, enjoying each others’ company.

Coco and Timbits had a nice, relaxed day today. They started out by going for a trail walk with their regular daycare friend, Jake. They kept their noses glued to the ground, as they usually do on the path. During group time, Timbits took a page out of Coco’s book and kept things relaxed in the yard. Coco did her usual thing and hung out by the fence, taking in all of the smells that the breeze and the rain stirred up. She hung around with some of the other dogs who had the same idea. Timbits, on the other hand, went all the way out into the back corner of the grassy yard and started his explorations there. He didn’t look up until he heard Vega the husky puppy being silly over by the agility tunnel. Timbits went over to explore, and she jumped right on top of him! He decided that he wasn’t quite in the mood to play, so politely declined her offer and kept on sniffing. Meanwhile, Coco had parked herself over by the door and was sitting and watching the other dogs as they went about their business. I started to make my way over to join her, and Timbits decided to tag along, too. I stopped to give Coco some pets, while Timbits went to look at something interesting on the wall. He tried his very best to reach a little snail on the side of the building, and hopped up on his back feet to sniff it. It was so cute, watching his little nose almost touch the snail.

Bella and Jake started their day out a little bit differently than usual today. They each went for walks with different friends. Jake went with his beagle buddies, Coco and Timbits, while Bella walked with her westie friends, Abbie and Jock. They were happy to go outside for their group time together, though! The pair stuck together for a little while at first, sniffing around and saying hello to all of the other dogs. Bella hung back with her friend, Coco, who usually likes to take it easy in the yard. Jake, on the other hand, went all the way out into the grassy yard and started to bounce around a little bit with Vega, the husky puppy. He stood next to her, wagging his tail a mile a minute. She started barking playfully and shot away as fast as she could run. Jake took off after her, but caught an interesting scent on the breeze and decided to pursue that instead. Bella was still hanging back with Coco and Sky, so I called her name to see if she’d like to join us. She obliged and came trotting out to the grassy yard to say hello to more friends and I. Eventually all of the dogs wanted to go and hang out back by the door and the wooden fence, so that’s what we did! Bella and Jake met back up here, and stuck by each other for the rest of our time outside.

Max and Sadie are always full of beans on Mondays. Today they were so excited to get going for their morning walk with Kinsey. I saw them motoring along the trail with their noses to the ground, certainly leading the way throughout the entire walk. In the yard today, the pair was very surprised, and pleased, to be accompanied by 2 dogs that don’t usually accompany them. Bentley and Merida are two very regular guests at the kennel, both of whom are very well behaved. Max and Sadie’s eyes lit up when they saw these new friends join their usual husky only group. The moment Max finished sniffing Bentley over, he begged him to play. Bentley isn’t usually that playful, so to my surprise, Bentley began bounding across the yard asking for Max to chase him. Of course, Max was more than happy to bolt after him. Husky friends Rosie, Magic, and Justice along with Sadie soon accompanied this duo. They were all having so much fun dancing and prancing around the yard, incorporating the tunnel and the picnic table at any chance possible. Sadie ended up leaving the games to supervise the action from the top of the picnic table. Miss Rosie was so silly and sat underneath Sadie on the table. I tried getting a photo, but their other playmates were quick to get in on the picnic table shenanigans and blocked the shot. As I made my way to the other side of the table to get a photo of Magic, all of a sudden I felt a dog climbing onto my back. I wasn’t surprised at all to see Sadie’s white beard perched over my shoulder. It was almost as if she were asking for a piggyback! I turned around and she perched herself up on my shoulders while standing on her hind legs on the picnic table. At this point, she was taller than me, Sadie had the biggest smile on her face and I gave her some brief cuddles before she pushed me to the ground. As I was sitting on the ground the whole crew bounded over to me to sniff, investigate, and kiss me. As I was standing up they all decided to bolt off and start one more fast chase around the yard before getting into yet another wrestling match.

Poppy was so excited to see me this morning. She came wiggling to the front of her kennel, and was quick to stand on her hind legs with her paws on my legs as she happily accepted some good scratches around her face. When we were heading outdoors, miss Poppy wasn’t too sure at first, as her group was a group of young male dogs. She found herself continuously sniffing them, then heading back to me and staring at me as if I had asked her to babysit. Her group-mates kept one another very busy by goofing around the entire time outside. It took Poppy a little bit of getting used to, but before I knew it, she was right in on the action! I was so pleased to see Poppy running around with the young ones and even asking to wrestle. Her friends were more than happy to include her in whatever games she wanted to join, as they are all very easy going. Poppy seemed to be so happy to have such easygoing pals to play around with. In between all of the sprinting, wrestling, and boxing, Poppy would make her way to my side where she would wiggle herself between my legs looking for some attention. Of course, this sweet girl always gets cuddles when she asks. I was happy to kneel down and accept some lovely kisses from her before she head off to check up on her friends.

Finnigan is an absolute hoot, which we all already know, of course. Finn was so excited to see all of his best buddies here, together, on the same day. His friend Hudson and his friend Harvey are both here for boarding. It took him less than a second to meet up with the pair and instantly get going on the games. Of course he and Hudson ended up breaking off on their own to partake in their favourite activity, which is rolling around with one another while gnawing on each others limbs and ears. This pair is so funny to watch. It wasn’t long before the duo was up on their feet, bounding around the yard, with friends Harvey 1 and Harvey 2 on their trail. Finn, Hudson, Harvey and Harvey made for such a busy group. These four were constantly running, pouncing, prancing, and rolling around with one another. Finnigan was certainly in heaven as of course he made himself the centre of all the attention. After so much running and playing Finn head over to the pool to look for some water. To his disappointment the pool wasn’t set up (since it’s freezing out!) but he made it work anyway. As the pool was flipped upside down over night it collected water around the edge and Finn decided this was just enough to stand in and even try to lie down in. As the pool began to tip, Finn hopped out and bolted off which only started yet another chase. Finnigan didn’t find himself alone for longer than 1 second throughout his whole playtime, which is just the way he likes it. As I passed by his kennel later in the afternoon I spotted him crashed out on his back against the wall with all four of his limbs flopped above him in the air. After his thorough battery re-charge, he got up to the exact same shenanigans all over again in the afternoon.

Casey is such a sweet girl. I really enjoyed spending some one on one time with her this morning for her daily extra attention. Casey was happy to accompany me in reception for a while, where we cuddled for quite some time. Casey loves to stand over my legs as I sit on the ground. As I pet her she will slowly lower herself to a sit on my lap, where she enjoys a good scratch up her sides. After a good cuddle session, we headed out front to do some exploring in the grass. Casey led the way as we wandered through the field. We then made our way to the lounge where we hung out with Emma, another golden retriever. Casey was happy to have some company and was extra pleased to receive some yummy cookies while lying by my side on the couch. Casey is always smiling no matter what we are doing. As we headed out for mid-morning groups, Casey trotted down the hall, stopping to greet some other dogs through the kennel as she passed by. As we went into the yard, Casey was pleased to hang out by my side for the majority of the time and accept pets and cuddles. Towards the end of our outdoor time she wandered off to do some serious investigating of the yard. She found herself digging in some longer grass as well as sticking her nose deep into the rocks. She seemed very content with her findings as she made her way back to my side looking for some more pets and cuddles. By the time we headed indoors, miss Casey was more than happy to hop up onto her cot and snuggle into her bed for a snooze before her afternoon outing.

Ranger had a little bit of pep to his step today during groups. For some reason, a lot of the dogs were very attracted to Ranger and spent a good portion of time begging him to play. Ranger wasn’t ready to join in on their shenanigans, however, he did keep them guessing by constantly walking in on their games and then walking out. It was as if he wanted them to keep paying attention to him. Ranger was so happy to be followed around as he explored today. He kept looking up and smiling at me as I walked by him while his friends trotted by his side or behind him. Ranger even accepted a couple kisses from his mates and occasionally offered them back. Ranger continued to sniff and explore the yard throughout his whole time outdoors, whether friends accompanied him or not he was very happy today.