Friday, November 18th, 2016

Allie cat was all curled up like a little donut in her bed when I went in to visit this morning. She rolled around in her bed for a minute, deciding whether or not she should stretch her legs and look around the room. Allie stood up slowly, stretched and then made her way out onto the cat tree. where she stretched again and started to scratch on the scratching post. She hopped up to the very top ledge of the tree and laid down to look out the window from her high perch. I left her to relax for a little while, and came back later in the day to give her some pets.

After a fast-paced walk with Sarah, Boris and Tasha were more than excited to get out into the yard for some fun. Boris and Tasha had an absolute blast being back with their group today. They were with their usual pals, Kyah, Justice and Magic, but also had the pleasure of sharing the yard with Molly and Charly the lovely golden retrievers. Tasha took her time to explore the yard before getting into their usual crazy antics. Boris, on the other hand, jumped right into the action and pounced on Justice. Kyah saw them goofing around and immediately ran over to join in. Boris jumped up onto the tunnel and Justice and Kyah followed quicky behind. At this point, Tasha had finished her explorations and sped over to tackle her son. Tasha jumped around Boris, bumping into Justice and Kyah, which got everyone that much more excited. Boris sat on top of the tunnel, waiting for the perfect moment to start a game of chase. Tasha was pawing at Boris, while Justice and Kyah stood by expectantly. Suddenly, Boris bolted off the tunnel and across the yard, sparking a big group chase. Tasha, Justice, Kyah, Magic, Molly and Charly all sped around the yard with Boris in the lead. It didn’t take long for the group to slow down, at which point Justice and Boris spent some time wrestling inside the tunnel. Tasha took this opportunity to have a quick break and catch her breath while Boris continued on. As soon as Justice and Boris burst from the end of the tunnel, Kyah and Tasha were right back in the action, wrestling and running around together. Tasha was a very good girl for her training session with Leah this afternoon. She worked with Tasha on her leash manners and her basic commands, including sit, down, stay, and paw. Tasha is getting more and more patient all the time, waiting so nicely for her treats. They practised inside for the first little while, and then finished off with a structured walk out front and down the driveway. Boris and I worked on his leash manners, including being patient and waiting his turn. I had Boris sit in the reception area and stay next to me while other dogs passed through from the grooming room and down the hallway. He stayed sitting with few reminders each time a dog came through. Next I had Boris lay down while I went across the room to call him over. I waited a little bit longer each time and Boris stayed in his spot almost every time! 

Drew joined us for daycare today and we went out in the yard with some friends before his bath time. He took his time to look around the yard and say hello to each and every one of his group mates. He was such a sweet boy, sniffing each nose that he met and then politely moving on to the next. Drew continued around the yard until he had a sudden burst of energy! He met up with Zim, and the boys started to bounce around a bit together. During the bouncing, Drew bumped into Sunny, who was also ready to join in on the play time. Soon Drew, Sunny, Zim and Gryphon were all running laps around the yard together. He let out a few good hound barks, and continued to run around until he needed to catch his breath. Drew was very keen on playing with Sunny, and so went back over to visit her again. He finished his group time with his nose held high, facing the lovely sunshine.

Finnigan had a change of scenery this morning when he joined the small dog group and got to explore a new yard. He was joined by newcomer Fry the Frenchie, who is just as playful and silly as he is so we knew they would be a good match, along with little Resa. These three little tricksters ran laps endlessly around the yard all morning long. But of course Finnigan was easily distracted when he found the blue Frisbee laying in the long grass; that’s like striking gold for this toy-crazy pup! Proudly he ran around with that Frisbee in his mouth and guarded it with his life from the other two. Even if they weren’t remotely close to him he would let off a silly warning growl just to make sure. When it was time to go back inside everyone filed in accordingly except for Finn so I gave him a few extra minutes out there and by the time I came back he had the rope toy in his mouth that he must have sniffed out! Duffy, Miko and Dixie decided to hang out together in the front yard to be sure to stay away from the crazy action in the far yard between Fry and Finn. Dixie and Miko were too busy playing to even notice the commotion over there. It’s so funny to watch these two little pups wrestle together as you may know they are both vertically challenged but that doesn’t stop them from jumping up on their hind legs and pawing and biting at one another! Today Duffy was the referee between these two and he happily watched from a safe distance and let off a few cries when he thought things were getting out of hand. But like in true Duffy nature, he mostly followed me around the yard with his tail perked up and every so often would jump up on his hind legs and demand head rubs. When it was time to go back into his kennel, he graciously accepted a few treats from me and took them to his bed to chow down!

The lovely pair Teddie and Kizmet started off their morning with a walk around the path with another walking buddy, led by Nicki. They're the best boys to walk, always keeping their noses to the grass or walking nicely by your side. Kizmet sure was the star of the group again this morning; this big boy is surely loved by just about everyone he interacts with. Yesterday his best bud was the very agile Arly, but Arly was running around as quickly as his legs would allow, so Kizmet decided to play with another pal, Pirate. He followed Pirate around the yard endlessly and his silly brother Teddie was always close by to make sure he wasn’t missing out on any of the fun. Teddy followed Kiz around, jumping up and nudging him occasionally. Kizmet would hop around in circles with Pirate, while Teddie watched from further back, waiting to hop in between Kizmet and his friend. He then decided to watch as Pirate and Kizmet wrestled and pawed playfully at one another. Teddie eventually left Kizmet to it and came to see me for a quick pet. If he's not by Kizmet's side, Teddie can usually be found making his way around the yard watching the other dogs, sniffing along, and enjoying the sun. 

There were two silly girls that joined these two brothers out there today named Polly and Sammy and boy did they have fun! It was hard to keep up with these two girls who were wrestling about with another sister duo named Meeks and Kaya. The four of these girls sure did get their energy out this morning; they were basically a tumbling ball of black and tan fur. Polly especially loved Meeks and the two of them were inseparable from beginning to end. It took some time for Sammy to warm up to these rambunctious girls but once she saw how much fun they were having she ran over like a ball of fire and immediately got down into a play bow and gave them the invitation to play. When she wasn’t wrestling around with Polly she was digging up holes in the ground like a speed demon! Last but certainly not least, Miss Maggie was the last to round out this playful group and like the sweet girl she is she kept me company the whole time. I think I have said this before but Maggie literally makes me giggle, she is just a fun light-hearted pup that really brightens up anyone’s day. When Maggie feels like being playful she is extremely playful and today she enticed Arly to run a few laps around the yard with her then she would stop in to see the playful four girls with amusement! But of course she would stop and sit when I told her too to take a few photos then reward her with some head rubs!

Miko really enjoyed his extra attention time today. He is getting very familiar with the toy bin up front. HE sticks his muzzle as far down as he can get, in search of his favourite toy; the blue snake. We played around with it for a while before he came across a greet Nyla bone. Miko was happy to lie down next to me and gnaw on this while getting loads of pats and cuddles. Miko then climbed right onto my lap and snuggled himself in between my legs. WE spent a while all snuggled up before some customers came in. They were thrilled to meet Miko, and gave him loads of pats and cuddles before it was time for him to head back.

Dixie is a big fan of her daily extra attention. Today she loved coming up front and seeing two customers waiting in our big chairs for their dog to finish being groomed. Dixie immediately went to the women, and begged to be picked up. Without any hesitation she picked Dixie up and put her on her lap. Dixie was so excited. She nuzzled right into her lap and got very comfortable, as if they were long time friends. Dixie happily spent a good while on her lap enjoying all the ear scratches and side pats she had to offer. When their dog was ready, Dixie hopped off her lap and came wiggling over to me happy to have another human pay attention to her. We spent some good time snuggling on the floor before Dixie decided she was ready to head back to her kennel for a nap.