Keegan and Dugan were attached at the hip for the most part of the day today. Right from their morning walk they were constantly following each other around. When I went to put their leashes on, Dugan had himself sitting right up against the kennel door in hopes that he could sneak out when I went in. However what he didn't realize is I know all of his little tricks. Once I went into their kennel, Keegan and Dugan got even more excited to go. Keegan was showing off his voice so that I knew he wanted to go while Dugan raced around the kennel. After a little bit of time I got their leashes on and it was off to the races! Dugan quickly ran to the door but once I opened it, it was Keegan that got outside first. The two boys remained side by side for the most part of their walk but the odd time they enjoyed straying off on a scent or coming back to see me. Their walk was a bit shorter today due to the very cold and icy weather which I think Keegan and Dugan definitely appreciated. Once they got back into their kennel they immediately got all snuggled up beside one another until it was time for their playgroup. When I went back to get them for their playgroup they hadn't lost a single bit of energy from the morning. This time the two of them were racing around the kennel in anticipation. As soon as I opened their kennel door they bounced outside. Keegan was very excited to greet all of his friends while Dugan came to see me in the yard as soon as I got out there. I think he was looking for an extra treat because he was doing all sorts of nice tricks for me. However, I was empty handed so he quickly decided to go play with his friends. Keegan enjoyed spending some time on his own in the yard. He enjoyed walking along the fence line while sniffing everything he could. After he had given the whole area a good sniff, Keegan joined me up on the picnic table for some cuddles. I made sure to give him a really good head scratch before he jumped off and went on his own again. Once Dugan saw Keegan leave my lap he raced over and joined me for some extra love as well. Dugan jumped right up onto my laps and waited for me to start petting him. He actually stayed up there for the rest of his group time.
Cara and Brodie were the most playful of the whole bunch today. I've honestly never seen them so excited to play, they were completely full of beans. When they first went out in the morning they weren't quite at their peak of activity yet as they had just woken up and walked into the cold yard. However, they must have decided that they'd warm up the most if they were playing around because that's exactly what they did. Cara went to greet everyone in her group once she got outside. After sharing her good mornings, Cara started bouncing all over the place. She'd run to me and back somewhere else over and over again before I could even pet her. Eventually she started bouncing and play bowing towards Brodie which got him all excited as well. This energy was definitely a great start to their day and also made sure they were warm. We took all of our little dogs on shorter walks today simply because of the weather. I believe Cara and Brodie both appreciated that because I could tell once we were done our walk that they wouldn't have wanted to walk much further. During their walk Brodie's nose had control over him. It was always stuck to the ground and he made sure to sniff every square inch of space around him. Cara was my buddy during the walk. She spent a lot of her time stuck right by my side and occasionally smiled up at me to give her a quick pat on the head. After their walk, Cara and Brodie were ready to cuddle up on their comfy beds and snooze together for the afternoon. Later on when I went to let them out for their playgroup, I almost didn't want to because they looked so cute snuggled up together. However Brodie must have heard me because his ears perked up and soon enough they were both up and ready to play once again. Cara was immediately obsessed with a big red ball that we had gotten in the yard. As soon as she saw me pick it up she was right by my side and ready to play. Cara raced into the yard and waited for the ball to be thrown every time I got it. The first time she went to get it I didn't think that she would be able to pick it up because it was just more than half the size of her head but she still managed to and would always race away with it afterwards. After a little bit of playing Brodie caught on to the game. He realized there was a ball involved and scooted right on over to join us. Cara got him even more excited by making it a competition to see who could get it first. Usually she was able to run just a bit faster to grab it but Brodie was victorious as well sometimes. Brodie liked to join our game off and on. He'd sometimes run in front of Cara out of nowhere and grab the ball but sometimes he enjoyed going off on his own. Brodie came and saw me at the end of his group for some extra love and affection (and especially a belly rub).
Syrus had a great time outside today despite the less-than-perfect weather. He enjoyed a walk with one of his friends, and was still full of energy by the time it was his group’s turn in the yard. He raced out the door beside Sage, his husky friend, and made a beeline for the play structure. Syrus and Sage continued to sniff around the yard and chase each other back and forth until they realized that the agility yard was open as well. Immediately Syrus went flying across the yard towards the other gate. He almost slid right past it in his haste to beat Sage! Syrus wandered off to explore the new space on his own. He picked up an interesting smell in the snow and set out to follow it. While doing so, Syrus almost collided headfirst with Justice. The two boys quickly bounced back, play-bowed and then Syrus went prancing off again. He seemed to be very excited today and could hardly sit still for even a second. Every time I looked over, he would be running off to somewhere new. Eventually Syrus took a break and came over to say hello to me. We had a brief cuddle, and then he was bouncing away to find something else to entertain himself. He discovered a stick half-buried in the snow and nosed it around until it was time to head inside.
Jax L. had such a fun day! We started off the activity with a chilly walk in the forest, alongside Jax’s friends Emma and Maggie. Fortunately the three of them didn’t seem too bothered by the cold. Jax hardly minded at all as he was bouncing around happily and sticking his nose in the snow. Later it was time for groups, and Jax could hardly contain his excitement when I opened his kennel. He quickly said hello to me and then raced out the door. With the other dogs, Jax wandered a slow lap of the yard to check things out. He bumped into his long-lost twin, Molly, and the two of them enjoyed each other’s company as they strolled around. Then the dogs seemed to collectively realize that the agility yard was open for them to explore as well! Jax came running over and went straight for the tunnel. He poked his nose inside and then proceeded to give the outside a thorough investigation. Once Jax was satisfied that nothing was out of place, he trotted over to see me. We had a good long cuddle together. Jax was content to sit beside me for a while and have a nice scratch behind his ears. Then he became distracted by Justice and Sage chasing each other around, and hurried off to see them playing. Although Jax wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to take part in the action he was happy to observe from a safe distance while I took pictures and gave him some more attention.
Duke is always a delight to have staying with us! After his walk this morning, he excitedly joined his group in the yard and wandered around to say hello to everyone. He met up with Poppy to sniff around for a little bit. Then Duke noticed me taking pictures and bounced over to see if I had anything to give him. After almost knocking me into the snow, he started nosing around my pockets. I had to break it to him that, unfortunately, I didn’t have any treats on me. Duke didn’t seem to mind and was happy to cuddle with me instead. Suddenly Gryphon went racing past while Mocha cheered him on, and Duke leaped to his feet to chase after Gryphon. The two of them bounced around together, bumping shoulders and pretending to chew on each other until Gryphon decided it was time for a break. Duke wandered over to see if treats had magically appeared in my pockets while he was playing. Instead of treats I found a handful of little snowballs and tossed them in the air while Duke attempted to catch them. He seemed to enjoy this game so we continued playing until the dogs were ready to go back to their kennels.
For Duke’s extra attention today, we headed up to the playroom. He was so excited that he almost ran right past the door! Duke raced a quick lap of the room and then hopped up onto the couch to look through the window into the reception. I got some of his treats and Duke was happy to show off how well he listens, in return for some goodies. He lay down beside me and we had a nice cuddle, then Duke bounced to his feet and onto the chair to pose for a picture. I found him a rubber bone to play with and Duke pushed it around with his nose until something outside caught his attention, and he went to look out the window. We played and cuddled some more until it was time to head back for Duke’s afternoon group rotation.
Poppy was on a mission today. Once walks were finished for the morning, it was time for groups and she was super excited to get outside. After she gave the other dogs a quick sniff, Poppy wasted no time trotting to the far side of the yard and sticking her nose in the snow right away. Her friend Duke showed up to make sure that she didn’t get lonely, and I called her over a few times to give her some attention as well, though Poppy seemed very busy with her exploration. Every time I checked up on her she would be darting off to another spot in the yard. Poppy made sure to give the tunnel her full attention until she decided that there was nothing suspicious about it, moving on to her next destination. Finally she must have covered everything at least once, because she took a break from sniffing and hurried over to say hello to me. She seemed so excited to cuddle! Poppy huddled up against my legs and watched the other dogs playing and roaming while I gave her a nice back rub. Every time I paused our cuddle to take a picture or pet another dog, Poppy would bounce up and down until I resumed snuggling with her. When Duke passed by us, he decided that it was his turn to cuddle, so Poppy went to see what Dragon and Gryphon were looking at on the other side of the yard. She split the remaining outside time between exploring with those two or cuddling with Duke and I.
Maggie started the day off with a nice walk beside her friends Jax and Emma. Right away the three of them were clearly in a playful mood. While Jax and Emma started bouncing around, Maggie pretended to ignore them and continued sniffing until Emma ran over and convinced her to play. The three dogs were jumping all over the place! It was a challenge to keep the leashes organized, though they all looked quite content and tired by the time we made it back. For groups, Maggie kept the pace a bit more relaxed. She wandered out the door and made her way around the yard to greet all of the dogs. Maggie spent a few extra minutes saying hello to me and getting a nice belly rub. We then headed to the agility yard, where the dogs quickly dispersed to start exploring the new space. Maggie would run off somewhere, sniff around and then race back to me for more cuddles. She happily sat down and gave me a paw in return for a scratch behind the ears. Eventually Maggie got distracted by something that smelled interesting and she spent a while wandering around. She followed her nose all the way to the other yard again. When it was time to head inside, Maggie got a sudden burst of energy and started bouncing around me. She play-bowed and spun in circles and looked so happy that I had to play with her for a bit before we went back to her kennel.
Rumple and Harlow were both in a particularly good mood
today. When i went in this morning I found Harlow wandering just about
everywhere he could go. He absolutely loves exploring around the cat room and
was taking the opportunity to find a good hiding spot so that I couldn't put
him in his cat condo to eat his breakfast. However he quickly gave it up once
he realized that I had his food and came racing over to me. Rumple was quite
content sitting on top of his perch this morning. He was rolled up into a comfy
ball when I got to his cat condo. Unlike Harlow he wasn't thinking much about
exploring but instead he snoozed until I fed him. Later on in the afternoon I
was excited to spend some time snuggling with Rumple and also some time playing
with Harlow. Harlow was especially playful this afternoon so we did a variety
of things. I started off by grabbing one of our long 'tail-toys' to dangle up
in the air. Harlow went crazy for it and was jumping way up into the air in
order to capture it. Eventually after a little while he was tired of jumping up
for it so he gave it one good last leap and then tackled the toy to the ground
so that he could lay down while playing with it. For a little while the two of
us sat on the ground and played with it as well as a few little toy balls. We
ended off his extra attention time with a bit of cuddling before I went to see
Rumple. Rumple was just as he was before when I went to see him; sleeping on
his comfy bed. He was all snuggled up when I started petting him but perked his
ears up a little bit to acknowledge me. He wasn't in a very active mood today
so we simply sat together while I gave his head and back and good scratch.
Towards the end our time together, I grabbed a few treats to give him. As soon
as he heard me get them he opened his eyes right away and made sure to come get
them. After a big long stretch, Rumple came and grabbed the treats while Harlow
also joined in to have a few. Overall the two boys had an excellent day!
I think Kouza was quite content that she went for a bit of a
shorter walk this morning due to the weather. She was very excited to go out at
first and made sure to give me a ton of kisses as I was getting her leash on.
The two of us walked up through the front so that we could walk around in the
front field. Once we got outside Kouza immediately paused as she felt the
freezing rain and I wasn't sure if she wanted to continue with me but of course
she trucked on and made sure to check all of the new smells that were in the
front field. I could tell that even though she was good outside, she was beyond
excited to be back in once we walked into the front reception area. She greeted
all of the other staff before returning to her comfy bed for a warm morning
nap. When it came to her outdoor playgroup, Kouza got up just as fast as before
and was ready to brave the cold once again. As soon as she got outside she said
hello to a few of her friends then came and found me so that I could give her
some hugs and kisses. Kouza especially enjoyed getting a little chin rub and I
don't think she wanted me to stop anytime soon. When she wasn't with me, she
visited a few friends but mostly ventured on her own in the yard. Ashley had
also come into the yard to see her for a little while so Kouza had an excellent
time with her as well. Kouza must have known that it was time for her extra
attention as soon as I walked down her hallway. She sprung up as fast as she
could and trotted out of her kennel the second I opened it. I brought her up to
the front reception area so that she could see a few of the other staff as well
while she was up there. I started off her extra attention time with a few
tricks that she did a great job with. Of course there were some of her carrots
and food as treats so she was trying her hardest to get as many as possible.
After her tricks we cuddled for a little while once again before we started to
play with a few toys. I had Kouza playing with a rope toy that she could tug
once I dangled it above her face. She's still so strong it's crazy! After a bit
of tug of war, Kouza and I kicked one of the little toy soccer balls around to end
off her extra attention time.
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