Saturday November 5th 2016

Duffy started out the day's activities with a nice walk alongside his friends Resa and Pepper. The three of them were marching down the trail, side by side, and seemed to be enjoying all of the interesting scents they found on their way. During groups, Duffy met up with the two girls again and the dogs set out to explore the yard. Resa and Pepper would occasionally start running around, while Duffy watched and cheered them on. Then Duffy wandered off on his own and ended up beside me for a brief cuddle. Once he was satisfied with the attention, Duffy headed to the other side of the yard with his nose in the grass. He met up with Rose to sniff around near the building. After they had completed their little adventure together, Duffy stopped by to say hello to me and then made his way over to where Pepper was investigating a rock. She was determined to play with him; Pepper kept trying to get Duffy's attention by bouncing around him and play-bowing, and Duffy pretended to not notice her as he nosed around the rock. Eventually Pepper went bounding off to play with someone else and Duffy followed at a more relaxed pace. 


Bella is such a delightful dog to have staying with us. She enjoyed a nice walk this morning with Myles, and was as happy as ever to meet this new friend. Bella happily trotted down the trail, full of energy, and even after her walk and extra attention, she was still very excited for groups and practically flew out of the door. Bella wanted to play with anyone who was willing. She ran around with Nymeria and Harvey, then Riley, and kept finding herself right in the middle of all the activity. Every time I looked over, Bella would be bouncing around in a bundle of dogs, tongue poking out and tail wagging like crazy. Her favourite playmate seemed to be Riley, as she often returned to chase him around. At one point, Bella noticed that her friend Kodi had settled down to chew on a ball, and she hurried over to see if he would play with her. Kodi was content to just lay there with his toy, although Bella wouldn't give up that easily! She pranced around him for a bit and would occasionally try to creep up on her stomach. Eventually Kodi ran away with his ball, so Bella headed over to cuddle with me.
Nymeria was a bundle of fun today in the yard. She was determined to get everybody playing. Nymeria went racing after her friend Harvey and practically tackled him to the ground, she was just so excited! While Harvey was regaining his balance, Nymeria was already flying to the other side of the yard after Riley. She ran around with him for a bit and then Harvey trotted past with a rope toy, so Nymeria went after him again. She managed to get a hold on the toy and the two of them played tug-of-war. Nymeria was just all over the place! Her go-to playmate was Harvey, but if he was busy with something else, she was happy to chase Riley, Bella or Vik instead. At one point, Nymeria was running around with Vik and she went flying into the tunnel. He bounced between each end, waiting for her to appear. Nymeria snuck out when he wasn't looking and then leaped on his back while he was still watching the tunnel. What a trickster! Our group got even more exciting when little Vega joined us for a little while. She and Nymeria wrestled over a stick; eventually Nymeria snatched it and went racing off with Vega on her tail. The two husky girls had so much fun playing together!
Khal had another excellent day today. He began his morning on a very peaceful but fun walk with one of our female huskies named Aurora. Over the past few days Khal and Aurora have become the best of friends so he always looks forward to walking with her. As soon as he saw her his tail started wagging as fast as it could and he just couldn't wait to get outside and start on his walk. Once I opened the hallway door, Khal jumped out into the yard with Aurora right on his tail. The two of them followed each other around endlessly at the beginning of their walk and ended up getting all tangled in their leashes. Eventually they started on the trail and Khal took to the end of the leash as fast as he could. I could tell that he felt completely liberated as he was a bit more free while running on the trail. Khal spent a lot of his time in the long grass. He enjoyed exploring through it the most but also stopped to roll around in it once or twice. For the rest of the time he was paying attention to Aurora and following her every move. Khal was very excited to go outside for his outdoor play group in the afternoon. He had an awesome time out with myself as well as Susan in the afternoon. Khal's favourite thing to do in the yard was definitely cuddle. As soon as we'd go out, he'd do a quick few laps around the yard just to be sure that he sniffed everywhere. Then he'd come join me up on the picnic table for a good back scratch. At one point I convinced him to race around the yard with me but that only lasted so long until he was back up on the picnic table.




For her extra attention today, Bella and I made our way to the playroom. I grabbed a few treats on our way and Bella immediately sat down, waiting for her reward. Once I was out of treats, we headed to the toy bucket to find something interesting for her to play with. Bella was happy to play with a few of the balls and had a great time chasing them around the playroom! After that, we went for a short stroll down the driveway so that Bella could sniff around in the grass. 

Nymeria and I had a blast together in the playroom this afternoon. She was going nuts for the toys in the bin, but it was on the table so she wasn't able to reach them. I picked out a few different types tried them all out. We started with the spiky blue ball, and she chased it around the room for what seems like the longest time before she changed her mind and wanted to play with the pink ball once I brought it out of the bin. Her interest in the pink ball was short lived as she wanted something else from the bin. I brought out the rubber bone and there was zero interest. She put it in her mouth, and then instantly spat it out again. I brought out the frisbee and that was a big hit! It was so funny when I threw it against the wall and she would run right up to the wall and it would bounce off and she would whip right around and she would be turning the other way for it. She is super cute and is so fun to play with!! 

Khal was very excited for his extra attention time today. I decided to bring him up to the front yard. When I went to get him after walks, Khal knew what was coming and his tail was wagging. He raced up into the reception area and couldn't wait to go outside. I put Khal on the long leash and he absolutely loved the freedom that came with it. The first thing he did once I put him on it was roam as far as he could. He spent most of his time venturing into long grass, climbing the hills, sniffing around the trees and of course getting all tangled up in everything. Once he was done exploring, I had Khal do a few tricks for some yummy treats. He did an excellent job with his sits, paws and lay downs. However, he never seemed to want to get up from his lay downs and would roll over onto his back to ask for a belly rub instead. At the end of his extra attention time I gave him a good brush and then brought him back to his kennel where he decided to have an afternoon nap. 
  For his training, Khal was a pleasure to work with! We started off in the yard just to practice some basic stuff like sit and down and for him to become familiar with me. We then practiced sitting at doors and going through politely. Outside we did heel work and Khal was very good about being in tune with my movements, changing course when I changed direction. He really enjoyed his reward for heel, which was the opportunity to "go sniff." After our walk we moved into the reception area, where there were more distractions, including dogs in both the office and grooming room but Khal didn't let that faze him one bit. Since he was doing so well, I did some stays from a distance and the only one he wasn't too sure about was when he was sitting facing another direction and I moved away behind him. So we tried some different angles and he was a star. I discovered that Khal knows how to down with a raised arm, mostly because we were practicing some "look" and I was moving my arms around and he lay down. So I tried it again from a distance and sure enough, he was happy to lay down. The focus work - look - may need a bit more practice, but it sure was a nice to look into Khal's sweet brown eyes even for a few seconds. 
  Boris and Tasha enjoyed a walk with Justice this morning, and then joined him again in the yard for group time. At first all three of them were content to simply wander around and explore. Boris entertained himself by watching the dogs he could see in the playroom window. Tasha was strolling around and ended up beside me, so I gave her a nice back rub. Then she wandered off again to continue sniffing. The three huskies found an interesting spot in the grass and quickly stuck their noses in it. I headed over to see what they had sniffed out. I squeaked the ball in my hand to get their attention, and all three heads practically shot up to see what the sound was. Boris seemed to be the only one interested after they realized it was just a toy. He trotted over to investigate further. I tossed it for him and Boris wasted no time bouncing after it. Although he seemed to enjoy chasing it, he wasn't in the mood to carry it around or chew on it, so I kept throwing it for him until he slowed down for a break. He and Tasha were exploring near the fence a little while later when Boris seemed to be itching for another round of fetch. I threw the ball and he went flying after it, Tasha right on his heels this time. They forgot all about the ball and immediately started to wrestle. Justice heard the commotion and came racing over from the other side of the yard. All three of them ran a few of laps of the yard before they finally stopped to catch their breath. Tasha went back to wandering and Boris trotted over to continue playing with the ball and me. 
Tasha and I played together in the playroom for the beginning of her training, just to get her warmed up a bit. She chased after the pink rubber ball a few times before we went outside for our walk. We walked down the driveway and went for a structured walk. She did really great sitting while we stopped and waiting for us to go, like we usually do. We went inside together after and did some basic tricks, starting with sit and down. Tasha sure knows these very well, as she plops right down onto the ground as soon as you say sit! Boris did well with his training today as well! He and I went for a structured walk and Boris is the master of knowing when to stop walking. After doing some good work on the leash, we went inside and worked on some tricks too. We did sit, stay, and then tried out "paw". Boris only gave me his paw once. I think he was distracted by being up front. But that was a good opportunity to work on our stay and come commands. I asked Boris to sit on one side of the playroom and then I walked over to the to other side, after asking him to stay. It took a couple tries for Boris to stay where he was, resisting the urge to follow me. The third time doing it, Boris sat very patiently waiting for me. I stood at the other side of the room, and after a couple seconds, I said "here Boris" and he bolted right over and scooted his bum down to sit nice and straight for his reward. We repeated this a few times until he was doing it perfectly like the first time. 

Chloe C. was just completely full of beans throughout the entire day today. As soon as I saw her this morning I knew we were going to have a very fun but tiring day as she was already bouncing all over her kennel to go out for her first outing. As soon as she got outside, Chloe did several laps around the yard and everyone in it before she came over to me for a bit of cuddles. Before long, Chloe was zooming around the yard again like a little bullet. This excitement continued for the rest of the day, especially for her morning walk. I swear she didn’t even close her eyes for a second today because she was always sitting right by her kennel door, ready to get out and play once again. When it came time for her walk I expected her to race around the field with me trying to follow behind but she was actually quite calm for the most part. When I went to get her, Chloe was definitely still full of energy but she was very good for letting me put on her leash and take her outside. She was mostly focused on her nose throughout this walk and always had it stuck to the ground, sniffing away for something in the grass. Chloe loved jumping around in the long grass as well and even stopped a few times to roll around. When it came time for her outdoor playgroup, Chloe’s crazy energy was right back to where it started. She raced out of the hallway and into the yard as fast as she could. Once again, after doing an abundance of laps around the yard, Chloe settled down, but not too much. She was still definitely ready to play. Chloe saw Caesar and I playing with a bright blue ball and decided that she must have it. Chloe ended up being a tad bit faster and successfully got the ball away from him. For the remainder of her group time this ball was her main focus. She loved racing around the yard with it proudly displayed in her mouth. Sometimes Chloe would even come to me or another dog and pretend like she was going to give the ball up but quickly snatch it away again. What a silly girl. She did however end up letting me throw it for her a few times but she was never so sure that she wanted to give me the ball.

Kai had another great day today. She began her morning with quite a fast paced walk that kept her on her toes as much as possible. Kai patiently waited in her kennel until it was time for her walk. As soon as she realized it was, she was ready to go outside and play with her friends. She immediately started wagging her tail as fast as she could and had her nose pressed right up against the kennel. Once I got into her kennel she greeted me with a kiss and then sat like a good girl so that we could get outside faster. She met her friends outside in the yard and gave them an overall sniff before moving out onto the trail. Kai had her tail and nose sticking right up in the air the entire time. I could just tell how happy she was to be out on this nice fall day as she looked like she was smiling at me the entire time. Kai loved lying down in the long grass and decided to roll around a few times during her walk. Other than that, Kai remained at the end of her leash, trying to get me to join her in going as fast as possible. Kai wasn’t as playful today during her outdoor playgroup. She was still very excited to get outside and see all of her friends but ended up just wanting to cuddle by my side for the most part. She loved getting an endless amount of hugs and kisses while she was cuddling with me and of course she also enjoyed a long belly rub. Every so often Kai would jog off to see one of her friends but she always came back to see me.
Kai was pretty excited to head up front for her extra attention time. We spent some time hanging out up there. Kai was wandering around checking everything out then coming over to me for some pets. I then grabbed a brush to give her a quick once over. Once she'd had enough we headed outside. Kai was quick to pull me over to the grass she likes to roll in. She was quick to throw herself to the ground and have a good roll. Afterwards we walked around a bit more before making our way back inside for some more pets and cuddles.

Caesar was so very excited to be back and we were excited to see him! It's been a little while so I was definitely excited to hang out with him on his first full day back. Caesar and I started our day off with one of the most exciting parts of the day, our morning walk. Caesar was so excited he just couldn’t wait to get outside and explore. He got a special one on one walk with me where he got as much attention as he could ever want. Caesar busted out the door and ran into the field as soon as I got his leash on. He took to the end of his leash and tried to get me to go faster for the whole beginning of his walk. At one point the two of us were even jogging around the field. Eventually Caesar slowed down and decided to do some exploring in the long grass. Every so often he’d join me and get an extra back scratch or head pat here and there. When it came time for his outdoor playgroup Caesar was just as excited as for his walk. Once again he was waiting in anticipation to go outside and meet a ton of new friends. As soon as Caesar got outside the whole group was focused on him. He was being sniffed as well as sniffing non-stop for quite some time. That is until I found a bright blue ball in the yard. As soon as I picked it up Caesar was right at my feet waiting for m to throw it. We played a bit of catch until his friend Chloe decided to snatch the ball from him. Soon after we found a Frisbee that Caesar loved even more. We played around with the Frisbee for the rest of the group time. Every time he had it in his mouth, Caesar looked as though he was showing it off to the world.
Caesar was full of energy for his extra attention today. We headed up to the playroom to see what interesting things could be found. Caesar immediately sniffed out the treats in my pocket and quickly sat down to show me how well he could listen. I gave him the couple of treats I had and then we moved on to playing. I pulled a blue ball out of the toy bucket and Caesar got ready to chase it. He snatched it right out of the air as I threw it. Then Caesar laid down with his toy and pretended to forget about it, but as soon as I went to pick it up he quickly pounced on it and carried it away again. It was really amusing to play this game with him; he's such a fun guy!