Saturday December 24th 2016

Duke had yet another excellent day today. He was so playful right from the start to the finish. Duke began his playful day with a fun morning walk. Duke walked with two other goofy friends that kept him on his toes and playing for almost the entire walk time. I don't even think that Duke remembered that he was on a walk at some points because he was play tackling so much. However, sometimes he would sprint to the end of his leash and try and get all of us to run along with him, but they were always just short bursts of speed before he returned back to play mode. Duke kept the energy going when it came to his outdoor playgroup. He was sitting right at his kennel door while waiting in anticipation for me to come get him. Once I got to his kennel he started racing around it and also bouncing up and down in excitement. As soon as I let him out he was down the hallway and out door in a matter of seconds. Duke raced into the yard a ran a few laps around everyone. He then greeted all of the dogs in his group before beginning to play. Duke had so much energy that when he was trying to find someone to play with he'd race right on by them and have to turn around and comeback. For awhile Duke had found one of his friends that he could tackle and play fight with but eventually he came over to me to do so. Duke and I played around for a good part of his group. I kept tackling him to the ground and then he'd jump on me to get me down as well. It was probably quite funny to watch but he seemed to enjoy himself. For the remainder of his group Duke was obsessed with this light pink toy that I had found in the yard. He and I played tug-of-war with it, fetch, and even keep away. Overall Duke enjoyed his day very much. For Duke's extra attention time, we went for a short walk in the back trail. It was so pretty out while it was snowing and Duke was happy to be alone on the trail with just me. He stopped to sniff a lot of the trees and trotted along the path happily. Once we got back inside, we cuddled in the front playroom. I gave him a couple of treats while I pet his head. He rested his head in my lap and I rubbed his ears and he was leaning into it while loving all this attention.

What a fun and playful day it was for Maggie. Right from her first morning outing Maggie seemed very excited to see what the day held before her. She was up and ready to go out before I even approached her kennel and gave me a quick smile while I let her out before trotting into the yard. Maggie always does a good job of making sure she greets absolutely everyone before going about her business. This morning that's exactly what she did before coming over to see me for a nice head scratch. When it came time for her morning walk, Maggie got put with a very exciting and energetic friend named Syrus. She immediately got along great with him and was ready to start on her walk. Maggie took the lead at the end of her leash and joined Syrus in trying to go as fast as they could. I think the two of them were trying to race one another even though both of their leashes went the same distance. I think Maggie's walk might have tuckered her out a little bit because when I passed by her kennel a little while after she was all snuggled up in her comfy bed and snoozing away. However when I went to go get her for her afternoon play group she was up and ready to play once again. Maggie did all sorts of things throughout her playgroup. She started out just hanging out with me in the yard but every so often she enjoyed finding someone to play with. Maggie often found herself in full group chases around the yard. She spent a lot of her time watching what all her friends were doing and would decide on who she wanted to play with. At one point I had Maggie playing a game of fetch with me and a light pink rubber ball. I couldn't keep her as interested in this since she was always running off with the rest of her group but she had fun while it lasted. 

Kouza was very excited for her extra attention time today. When I went to go get her she was completely snuggled up on her bed and dozing the afternoon away. I went into her kennel for a little while to join her for a snuggle before taking her up to the front reception area. Kouza was quite excited for all of the pampering inside her kennel. I started off giving her a good long belly rub before moving on to a quick head scratch and finally also giving her ears a little bit of a rub. Kouza especially enjoyed getting her ears rubbed because I think they might have been a little itchy. After her pampering we moved up to the front reception so that she could hang out with both Ashley and I. Ashley is one of Kouza's favorites so she was very happy to come up and see her. Kouza loved playing with one of the little balls that we have up here. We'd roll it to one of her paws and she'd kick it back to us or pick it up and throw it into the air, what a little cutie. Kouza also had some fun playing with a toy stuffed turkey afterwards. Once all the playing was done I got Kouza to practice her tricks for me in exchnage for some delicious carrots. 

Poppy loves our huskies Justice and Magic, so it was very fitting for her to join them for a very fast and fun walk this morning. Poppy was excited to start the day when I went to get her suited up and ready to go. As I was putting her leash on she was wagging almost her whole body along with her tail as she waited for us to go. Once I let her go she raced down the hallway and started bouncing all over the hallway. I brought her along while I got her friends Magic and Justice and she could not have been more excited to see them. Poppy started doing circles around them and immediately got them to start playing with her. She and Magic started play bowing and tackling one another right away. She's so small but almost always wins a play tackle because she's so feisty. After a bit more tackling, Justice joined in and the three of them played for another few minutes. Finally I got them out of the yard and onto the trail so that we could start our morning walk. Poppy took off to the end of her leash with the others and tried to convince me to turn our walk into a run. She kept her pace up as fast as I would let her go until she would catch a whiff of something and have to stop to check it out. However, she'd have to quickly sniff at the scent before her friends would come over and get in her way so she ended up zooming around the trail a little bit. When it came to her outdoor play group, Poppy raced out of the hallway without even giving me a hello, silly girl. I could tell that she was in a very playful mood and just wanted to see her friends. Once she got into the yard Poppy greeted everyone in her group and also did a few laps of the yard so that she could get all of her sniffing in. She quickly chose a few friends that she wanted to ply with and immediately started play bowing. After a bit of tackling, Poppy joined in a long race around the yards with almost her entire group. They were all chasing after one dog with a toy and Poppy decided she had to get in on the action. After all the activity, Poppy came over to see me for a bit of loving and of course a belly rub.

Syrus and Jax L were almost inseparable throughout their outdoor play group time. It was Jax's first day back here at Tails & Trails and he could not have been in a better mood. I wasn't sure if Jax was still as playful as before since he hasn't come in for a little while. However, he sure showed me he was still full of beans right from his morning walk all the way through to his outdoor play group. Jax met up with a few new friends as he was getting for his morning walk. When I went to get him his tail was already wagging a mile a minute and he was flashing his handsome smile at me so that I would hurry up and take him outside. Once we got outside he was still full of energy. Jax L immediately ran into the yard and started sniffing all over the place. I think he was trying to take in all the scents that he remembered from before. Once he was through with that, Jax went to greet his new friends. Soon after he took off to the end of his leash and was ready to walk. For the most part of the walk, Jax enjoyed sniffing along the ground. He would sometimes stray into the trees or bushes while caught on a scent but he always came back to my side like a good boy. Syrus started his day with a very energetic walk with his good pal Maggie. Syrus couldn't wait to get outside and as soon as he did it was go time. He bounced all over the yard and tried his hardest to get Maggie to play with him as well. After a little bit of time, Syrus realized that it was walk time and not play time so he raced to the end of his leash and focused on his walk for the rest of the time. Syrus must have thought he was running a race with the pace he was going throughout his walk time. I think he was just a bit excited about the fresh snow on the ground as he kept jumping and sprinting through the big piles on the trail. Eventually he slowed down a bit but he was always ready to go for a little jog if I wanted to join him. Both of the boys were just as excited and energetic when it came to their outdoor play group. At first I didn't even realize that they would be that good of friends but as soon as Jax saw Syrus in the yard he raced over and they clicked from that moment on. Syrus loved tackling Jax over and over again until Jax would start racing after Syrus. They played a few games of chase here and there but for the most part they enjoyed play bowing and tackling one another. Jax and Syrus also enjoyed following their other friends in the yard to see what they were doing every so often. They also got involved in a few games of fetch but would always re turn to each other. When Jax wasn't with Syrus he loved snuggling with me. The two of us sat in the snow for quite some time while Jax got a good long belly rub. Syrus loved running through the agility tunnel that's set up in the agility yard. He especially enjoyed racing through it whenever someone was chasing him so that he could confuse them.

Jax had a fun day. In the morning he happily went on a one on one short walk. He dove face first into the fresh snow banks along the trail then licked the snow off of his face. As usual Jax was super excited to come with me to the playroom for his extra attention. He ran around the room first thing, and I sat on the ground while he did so. He sniffed around which lead to the discovery that I had treats in my pocket. I noticed that he was licking his lips and sitting beside me. Since he was being so good, I gave him a treat. He chomped away on the delicious treat. He then picked up a bone and ran as fast as he could to the couch and jumped up. He enjoyed chewing on the bone while lying on the couch. I came over and sat with him and gave him some cuddles. After that, it was time for Jax to go outside with his group. At first, he just wandered around and sniffed the snow. I noticed he seemed to be hanging around his friend, Cara. They were sniffing around together. Cara eventually went into the other part of the yard, and Jax followed behind her. They both found a toy that they love- a big red plastic ball. They both barked at the ball and excitedly waited for me to kick it across the yard. Jax would run after the ball as fast as he could. Occasionally, he would be quite silly and hide the ball under himself.

Cara and Brodie enjoyed lots of playing today. In the morning, they were very happy to get on a walk through the trails with their pal Flora. The three dogs enjoyed exploring around the snowy trails. They had a bit of time to dry off and get warm before going outside again. At that point they were excited to get outside again. Brodie took his time in exploring around the yard. Meanwhile, Cara was off socializing with friends in the yard. She ran up to her friends and sniffed them with her tail wagging. Cara seemed to enjoy spending time with Jax, and they explored around the yard together for a bit. After a while, Cara ran towards the other side of the yard as she had spotted a big red ball to play with. Her and Jax had a great time playing with it. She barked with excitement at me to kick the ball for her and Jax to chase. Brodie wandered over to the yard where all of his friends were and began to happily greet everyone. Him and Max began to play and had a great time chasing each other around.

Kouza had a lovely day. In the morning I made sure to come give her a snuggle as soon as I saw her. She went on a short one on one walk and enjoyed the attention she got. A little later on when it was time for her group to go outside, she happily followed me outside. She tilted her head when I talked to her, and then followed me as I walked around the yard. I knelt down beside her and she came and cuddled up close. She enjoyed having her ears scratched and would try to give me a kiss to thank me.

Keegan and Dugan had a nice day. In the morning, they got out on their walk through the snowy trails with Monty. They all enjoyed their time together. Soon after that, it came time for their group to go outside for a playtime. As usual, the boys were as happy as ever to get outside. They stuck together for a bit and sniffed around in the snow. Keegan continued to enjoy his time exploring; meanwhile Dugan came trotting over to me. I knelt down beside him and he sat and cuddled up to me. We spent a bit of time together before he got up and ran back over to Keegan. They continued to explore together.

Harlow and Rumple were both napping when I went to join them in the cat room this afternoon. Once Harlow woke up, he was very excited to get a good brush and lots of cuddles and pets. Rumple woke up from his nap as well, but he was a little too tired to get up and wander about the room with Harlow so he fell back asleep after enjoying some pets while he laid in his suite.  When he isn't napping there, he likes to lay in the cozy box in the cat tree. While Rumple was napping, Harlow and I had tons of fun playing with the rope cat toy in the room together. I would walk up and down the room while he chased after it. Each time he pounced on it, he would hold it between his two front paws in the air while he laid on his back and then bite at the little ball that was on the end of it. He is super cute when he plays! In between all the playing, he would stop to give me some cuddles. He climbed right onto my lap one time and nudged his little nose against my face. I gave him a quick kiss and he was off again, trying to chase the toy. He continued like this for a while, and then it was time for dinner. Harlow and Rumple both settled down to munch on their dinners and then they both turned in for a nice nap.