Friday, November 11, 2016

It was a cold and windy morning, but that didn’t stop our four legged guests from enjoying their time outside, especially the little ones! Surprisingly enough we had another little sweet Wheaten join us named Sophie; we had a pack of Wheatens out there today including Buddy and Duffy. Little Sophie is full of spunk and great energy. When I approached her kennel door this morning she gave me the biggest smile and her little bum vibrated in excitement to see me! Off she went leaping into the yard to join her buddies and stretch her legs from a great night’s rest. After some morning stretches, it was time for her trail walk and of course she was paired with gentlemen Duffy and Buddy. It was so funny to watch three little Wheaten bums wiggle in front of me as they sniffed out the trail with much enthusiasm. All three tails were perked up as they weaved in and out between one another. Later out in the yard, Sophie took some time to familiarize herself with all of the pups but I never caught her without that big grin on her face. She enjoyed watching Resa, Percy and Julie bark and wrestle in front of her. She watched with amusement, but it wasn’t until they started chasing one another that she decided to join in and off she went springing after them. I could tell that she was just waiting for the right moment to join in like the playful pup she is. I was also surprised to see how playful Duffy was this morning. Of course he can be playful but he usually prefers to stay close to me, as he loves human companionship. Well not today! Little Percy brought the energy out in him and the two of them played all morning long. In fact, I was a little sad not to have my buddy close to my side, but happy he was too busy to bother! That didn’t stop him from running over to me when I called his name with that infamous smile of his. I was thankful he was still interested in some cuddles, but not for long since Percy was here!

Luckily I had little Buddy to keep me company. I can always count on him for some love and affection and he loves it right back, especially during his extra attention time. Today, I took Buddy up front to the reception area with me since I know how much he loves to cuddle. He loved it up here and spent most of his time exploring and sniffing out the new area. He found a nice seat up on the cushioned chair and took a seat as he watched friends little Resa and Julie wrestle below; he loved having the company. He eventually found a nice cozy spot at the bottom of my feet where he got endless head rubs or perhaps it was because he was beside the space heater. Nonetheless he curled up and got some afternoon shut-eye.

 Little Dixie spent her morning trail walk with Percy and Resa; she kept up the pace the whole way with these two energetic pups leading the way. It was so sweet to see her little ears flowing in the wind and her little tongue sticking out the side in pleasure. Out in the yard she made her usual rounds as she said hello to all of her friends along the way. She made sure to stay away from the energetic bunch but was pleased to find company from both Rose and Spike who are just as small and gentle as she is. The three of them hung out in the front yard where the sun was shining and soaked up that morning sun together.

Sophie the Golden and Maggie were thrilled to meet one another out in the yard today. They were my two lovely ladies joined by Chigo and Cesar. Sophie is a typical Golden who carries a great big smile on her face at all times. She went zooming into the yard and started sniffing away. She had a blast running around on her own today as her long Golden hair flowed in the wind. We played a little game and every time I would call her over she would dart towards me as her whole body vibrated in excitement. Then she got all the love and head rubs as she sat between my legs. Sophie is also a very confident girl; she let the boys know that she wasn’t interested in playing with them; she was having too much fun running laps on her own!

I was excited to see sweet Maggie and so was Sophie since they both have similar fun loving, gentle personalities. Maggie was quite the cuddle-bug today and spent most of her time between my legs this morning; apparently this was the place to be! Much like Sophie, she didn’t care to play with the toys this morning but she had just as much fun watching Cesar play with the rope toy as we followed him around. Every once in a while Maggie would leave my side and go off exploring and happily greeted the boys as they approached her but eventually made her way back to my side for some more affection. I think she will be ready to play and run some energy out for her afternoon group but was perfectly content to relax and cuddle with me this morning.

Caesar was excited to see Barley today since he was a new face to the group and was full of beans. Caesar has just as much energy, and therefore they were the perfect match for one another. It was actually hard to keep up with this group since they were literally running circles around me. Caesar had a blast running around and wrestling with both Barley and Lipp; wherever I saw the two white fluffy boys I knew Caesar wouldn’t be far behind. They rolled, they jumped, they barked and boy did they play! No one had time to even be bothered with me when I tried to call them over, they were having way too much fun and it was more than Caesar could have ever asked for. Since Caesar is such a playful pup, I took him out into the agility yard after his trail walk for his extra attention time. It gave him the opportunity to have the yard to himself and run some energy out. He found a nice rope toy out there and we played a few games of tug together. It was such a nice interaction to have since when he is out in the yard he is all about the other dogs which is great, but I truly got to see just how much a sweet and obedient boy he is without all of the commotion in the background. He happily sat and gave me a paw as I gave him some simple commands and treated his excellent behavior. He really does love the extra attention; maybe even more so than playing with his best buds, and that’s a lot!

Boris and Tasha were truly part of a husky pack this morning; they were joined by some of their favorite Siberian friends including Willow and Sage. Boy was this a fun group to supervise; as you can imagine it was full of energetic play and wicked husky howls. Boris just adored playing around with Sage and Willow and loved all the attention he was getting from these two. He even enjoyed his play with Korvo who is another confident male just like him but it was nice to see how they played and interacted with one another. Perhaps it was because Boris had his silly mom Tasha by his side that was just as playful as he was this morning and joined in on the fun. Maya, Korvo’s sister, really enjoyed Tasha’s company and followed her around the yard like a lost puppy but Tasha was hard to keep up with since she was running around and playing with the rest. Boris and Tasha were quite popular out there today and it was nice for them to have friends that really ran their energy out. By the end of their group I could see they were in need of an afternoon nap before they went back out to do it all over again!

What a blast it was to watch Lilo out in the yard today; she is such a sweet and wiggly pup with the best smile! She can be shy at times so it was nice for her to be joined by a group full of gentle ladies to keep her company. Like I mentioned earlier, the bottom of my legs was the comfort zone for some of these pups today and Lilo hung out there until she got comfortable with her surroundings. It was the energetic Molly the Golden that enticed Lilo to come play and before I knew it Lilo ran off and had the rest of the girls chasing her. But she is fast one, and it was hard for everyone to keep up with her; she is one agile girl! She would come back and take cover at the bottom of my feet and graciously accepted head rubs before it was time to run laps with the others again! Her whole body would wiggle with excitement as she literally flew up in the air as she tried to get away from the playful pack that was following close behind her. It was nice for her to have such good company that encouraged her playful side to come out today; she is such a free spirit!

Sadie and Max were in a playful mood this morning; I couldn’t keep up with these two as they tumbled across the yard. Sadie usually takes her time and makes her usual rounds when she first hits the ground but Max told her she didn’t have time today and they went straight to wrestling. Max is fast, but I think Sadie might be faster; she zoomed across the two yards with her big floppy tongue hanging out the side trying to see if she could out chase Max. Max sure did love the challenge but he was very good today to stop when I called his name if I thought he was getting too rough. Although Sadie was encouraging it and really egging him on, it is sweet to see the playful bond that they share. Towards the end of their time outside they began to settle down and make their usual rounds of the yard alone. It was almost as if they had to run that energy out first which is exactly why we give them that time to do so. I think they will both be tired out for their next outing but will also put them in a better frame of mind for their training with Susan in the afternoon. They are both big but looks can be deceiving, they are both big sweet gentle giants who love affection!

Max and Sadie were both excellent for their training this afternoon. After getting into the right frame of mind with some basic obedience stuff, they were ready to show off how well they could behave out on the back trail. Sadie had an easier time of it because there weren’t as many distractions, but she was so well behaved and is really picking up my use of the words “here,” and “let’s go.” Max had a few more challenges but he handled them quite well and they were useful because they gave me a good sense of our next steps with distractions. Max did very well with “here” and “let’s go” out on the trail, but halfway through our walk one of our neighbours unexpectedly emerged from one of the duck ponds and it gave me an excellent opportunity to reinforce Max with a true distraction. Then, when we got back to the main field, there were groups out and we practiced the command “leave it.” Max picked it up almost immediately! When we got back we took a tour down one of the hallways and Max really has difficulties with getting overstimulated in the halls. But with the help of the “leave it” command, he did amazing. I’m so proud of both Max and Sadie!