Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016

Allie was super cozy today, snuggled up in the blanket of the hammock. She had a new friend join her in the cat room this morning, Ziggy. As well all know, Allie likes her own space, so we decided to keep them separate and rotate them throughout the day. Ziggy had the room to himself this morning, so Allie made sure to soak up any time she could in front of the window in the afternoon. I gave her a few chin scratches and tried to encourage her to play with a toy. She gave it a few sniffs before curling back up into a snuggly ball. I noticed her nails were quite long, so I gave her a complimentary nail trim while she was snoozing. She seemed like she wanted some time alone so I left her to herself and did a few things around the room. This made her quite curious since I was no longer paying attention to her. Allie sat up and and gave a big yawn. She stretched out on the cat scratching post, giving her nails a quick sharpening after I dulled them with those silly clippers. She watched me as I went about the room and then quietly curled back up into a ball and went back to sleep.

Issy and Mocha had such an awesome trail walk this morning. This duo could not wait to get hooked up to their leashes and head out the back door. The pair braved the deep snow along the path, leading to our forest trail. Issy couldn’t have been happier to be re-united with the lovely snowy paths, while Mocha was also pretty keen to trot along in the deep wooded snow too. These two paved a great trail for me, plowing through the knee-deep snow with their tails wagging and noses in the air. The intense walking tired the pair out, resulting in rather quiet afternoon. Both Issy and Mocha made their way into the agility yard to do some brief sniffing and exploring at the start of groups. After they got their noses a little wet, the pair got comfy in a protected area from the wind. They both spent the remainder of their outdoor time supervising their crazy group-mates, and accepting pets and cuddles from myself.

Boris and Tasha had such a busy day today. This pair was so excited to be here to enjoy this fresh snowfall. I loved walking along the trail with them behind me, constantly being howled at by Boris to walk a little faster. Nicki did her best to tame him, but he wanted to run free like the wild boy he is. Once he settled down, he and Tasha really enjoyed adventuring through the forest trails with their noses in the snow. In the yard today, Boris was practically flying from start to finish of outdoor time. The snow gives this silly boy a set of springs in his feet. He was bounding through the yard like a deer through a field of long grass. His tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth and his eyes were wide open as he bolted around, leaping on his friends looking for a game. Boris got practically every single one of his group mats to play around with him, including the normally quiet Merida. Boris and Merida were hilarious, batting around at one another. Boris tried his best to play down to Merida's level, but he had a hard time acting like a small dog. Merida did a good job telling him when enough was enough which drew the attention of Tasha. Tasha was quick to get Boris in line, telling him to behave like the gentleman he is. This lead to Magic, Kyah and Justice joining in on the fun, resulting in a pack of huskies dancing and prancing around. Boris and Tasha could have kept going all day long if it weren’t for me, the human, getting cold. The pair didn’t mind heading back to their kennel to nap before their next outing began.

Percy was just as happy about the snow as he was about the brand new tennis ball that he found in the hall this morning. It’s hard for Percy to love anything much more than a fresh toy. Percy spent the majority of his outdoor time running around the yard with Charly, alternating who had possession of the nice ball. I had a great time tossing the ball high in the air, and watching them leap several feet into the air to capture it. I also tossed the ball far across the yard, into deep snow piles, where Percy and Charly had to dig and search for the treasure. Percy had so much fun with this, it kept him very occupied. Towards the end of groups when Charly claimed the ball as her own, Percy took the opportunity to check up on his friends. He was keen to see his husky pals wrestling around and didn’t miss this opportunity to referee their games. Percy began running in circles around them, letting them know what he was thinking. He stayed pretty busy leading them in and out of the tunnel as well as around it, while chatting away. When it was time ti head indoors, he snatched up the remainders of the tennis ball that Charly had left behind from chewing it and carried it into his kennel like a treasure. I traded him the chewed up ball for a nice cookie, which he was very happy about.

Delilah is such a sweet dog. She is settling in with us very well, becoming very happy with her group mates as well as her kennel. When it is time to come indoors Delilah is always wagging her tail at her kennel door, patiently waiting for it to be opened. She loves snuggling up on her blue blanket after her outdoor time. Today she and I had a great walk with another dog Lucy. Delilah was great walking along the back trail. She loved adventuring in and out of the forest, checking out all the bushes and branches sticking out of the deep snow. She got herself wrapped around a couple trees, but was very quick to figure out how to get untangled. In the yard today Delilah kept busy by adventuring around with her nose to the ground. She likes having the opportunity to explore our different yards, as there is a lot of new smells in each yard. I got a good laugh watching her get frisky with Tucker the golden retriever. He was politely flirting with her, and she was very smitten towards him in return. After a bit of dancing around, Delilah made her way to my side where she happily accepted some pets and cuddles to warm her up. Once she was content with the attention she had received, she made her way back into the far yard to continue exploring before it was time to head indoors.

I got a good laugh at Riley today, as he seems to be picking up on Glory and Wally’s howling style. Rather than barking he has started to let out deep bays at the other dogs, almost as if he had a little bit of bloodhound in him. He wouldn’t be the first dog that Glory’s howl has affected! Riley loves the snow so much. It is so evident how much he appreciates the deep powder when you watch him bound through it with a giant smile on his face. He loved being the first group out into the agility yard where all the snow was fresh and untouched since yesterday afternoon. Riley did some rolling around as well as digging and eating of the fresh powder. He was very happy to have the company of some husky friends who always make winter play more fun. Riley got in on some quick action with Vega, Kyah and Korvo who sped around the yard like lightening bolts. Riley pounces across the yard, extending his legs as far as they can go as he flies through the snow. Riley was also very polite when greeting newcomer, Zoe. He did a great job of making her feel welcome by politely play bowing and then wandering around the yard with her when she decline the request to play.

Zoe is such a sweet girl, not to mention she is absolutely adorable! Zoe had a nice first day here with us. It is pretty normal for dogs to be more reserved on their first day, as all the smells and company of other dogs in a new environment can be a lot. I was so happy to see Zoe feel so comfortable in her kennel as well as in the yard and on her walk. Zoe loves her kennel, without any confusion she always makes her way right back to her door and patiently waits for it to be opened. She loves settling in on our raised cots where she lays down relaxing until her next outing approaches. In the yard, Zoe took her time wandering around exploring. All of her group mates knew that she was new, and swarmed her with hellos at first. She was very brave, allowing them to all sniff her over with her tail wagging. She slowly made her way from dog to dog, quietly saying her hellos not trying to draw to much attention to herself. She was very happy to occupy herself by sticking her nose to the ground and wandering around the yard, familiarizing herself with her surroundings. A couple of times, her group mates politely invited her to join in on games. This morning she wasn’t quite ready to play around, but she did appreciate the invites. She would slowly trot after the invitee, and closely supervised the games they started with other group mates. Zoes favourite part of her outdoor time was all the pats and cuddles she received from me. She was a little afraid of my big gloves at first, but once she realized they weren’t anything to be afraid of, she snuggled right into my side offering me kisses and cuddles. We had a great time keeping one another warm while we watched all the crazy games go on.

I didn’t think it was possible but Lola and Pearl were even cuter than they already were all bundled up in their winter sweaters! Although they were dressed for the weather, they weren’t too thrilled about all that snow on the ground and all morning gave me looks of disbelief and encouraged me to cut their group short so they could go back inside and cuddle. Pearl on the other hand couldn’t resist one quick lap in the far yard before heading inside but quickly made her way back to Lola who was sitting by the door. She kept close to the door so she could dart in at any moments notice but could be seen walking around with one of her paws held high as if she didn’t want it to touch the snow! It wasn’t all that bad; sometimes pups forget that we have four seasons, just takes some time to warm up. These two silly ladies were pleased once they made their way back inside to curl up together on their cot until its time to head back out again; perhaps this afternoon Pearl will spend some more time in the snow but it will be unlikely for the stubborn Lola!

Max and Sadie couldn’t be more excited about all of this white fluffy snow and it only encouraged them to play harder if that was even possible for the two of them! Sadie looked like a polar bear out there this morning and was truly in her habitat. She went off exploring at first while Max ran his usual laps around the yard; when I would call Sadie over for a cuddle she thought that meant it was time to go back inside so in normal Sadie protest she immediately hit the ground! She could be seen lounging all over the yard in various snow banks with a great big grin on her face trying to avoid the inevitable. She didn’t have much time to lounge however; Max was in a frisky mood with all of this snow around and darted at Sadie to wrestle. Back and forth they ran and wrestled to their hearts content; no doubt they would be in need of a serious afternoon rest after all that play in the snow. Although Max usually starts and encourages the play, Sadie is just as silly and just loves a good play session with her bigger brother, she loves to tease Max and is just as much an instigator as he is! Sure enough a little while later I saw these two stretched out at either ends of their kennel for a much-needed rest; trust me, trekking through all that snow is tiring!

Kizmet was back at it again with his silly antics this morning as he wrestled with all of his favourite buddies out in the yard. I don’t think I have ever seen Kiz as playful as he has been during this visit! Perhaps its because he has formed so many new bonds and is surrounded by just as silly and energetic pals like his best friend Arly. Kizmet’s whole body perks up when he sees Arly and races over to him to play. Although Arly is much faster that Kizmet, he loves the thrill of the chase and I think Arly slows down when Kiz is around so they can have a fair wrestling match. You can usually find Teddie, Kizmet’s little brother following close behind Kiz as he loves to watch the action but today he just couldn’t resist a good old roll in the snow. This is Teddie’s favourite time of the year and could spend his whole time rolling back and forth as is he was giving himself a back massage in that cold fluffy snow. Kizmet thought that looked pretty fun and before I knew it they were both rolling around together on the ground; that just made my morning as we all watched and giggled. These two brothers were busy this morning and before they headed back inside they had a good wrestling match with one another as Teddie latched on to Kiz ear in excitement!

Polly was full of beans with her group today! She wiggled around saying hello to everyone before bolting off across the yard at top speed. Gunnar saw Polly on the move and quickly ran after her. Polly was so excited having someone chase her, so she sped up and whipped around the yard once again. Polly then found herself a ball and scooped it up as she ran along. Her prize was very exciting to the other dogs and they just had to catch up with her and see it for themselves. Arly was first in line to view her precious ball, and he even tried to snag it out of her grip! No such luck for Arly, though, as Polly held on tight and hopped to her feet to run away again. Kizmet was next to have a little look-see at Polly's toy, and he bounced around her playfully. Polly was happy to bounce around with Kiz, but held on to her ball the whole time. Polly started up running once again and this time bumped into Bandit and Teddy, who were busy pawing at one another. It didn't stop her from running, though, and she did lots more laps around the yard, gathering friends as she went. 

Gunnar, another happy-go-lucky pup joined us back this morning just in time for his morning trail walk! After a nice brisk walk it was time to get outside and really let his playful side shine bright. I don’t think they was a time where Gunnar didn’t carry that glorious smile of his on his face. He was just so excited to be outside on this beautiful morning in good company. To no surprise he found a friend in Kizmet and also the two playful ones Bandit and Teddy who were running circles around the group. Gunnar loved the action and happily accepted Kiz’ invite to play when he gave Gunnar one of his famous play bows. I could hardly keep up with Gunnar as he ran back and forth in the yard and weaved in and out of the others like the agile boy he is. But his true playful side came out when he tried to entice me to play; he ran circles around me and gave me a few slight play bows in front! I took him up on his offer and pretended to chase him, he zoomed off with his big floppy tongue out the side and immediately came back for more!

The last to round out this playful and energetic group was our good pal Charlie who has been with us a couple days now and boy has he made himself comfortable and really brings the energy to his group. Charlie is another gentleman who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, only playful and jolly ones that all of the others really seem to enjoy. You can always find Charlie where the action is and today that meant running around with Bandit and Teddy but soon enough every pup in that yard was playing together with Charlie leading the way. Charlie loved a new, young puppy named Polly and chased her around the yard. She was carrying a ball as she ran and Charlie made it his mission to have a turn with it! After much chasing, Charlie was successful and trotted around holding up his prize for everyone to see. Charlie like the sweet boy he is also made sure to come over and keep me company for a bit and enjoyed the extra head rubs as I knelt down beside him. Although he enjoyed the extra attention for a moment he couldn’t resist zooming back off to join the others as they were all just having way too much fun for their own good.






























































































































































No comments:

Post a Comment