Friday, February 24th, 2017

Boris and Tasha came bouncing down the hallway when I first saw them this morning. I was getting them for their long outdoor play group time but they must have already known it was their time to go because Boris was waiting right by the kennel door. Tasha was relaxing on a comfy bed while keeping an eye on Boris. Once they saw me come to their kennel, Boris jumped up onto the kennel door in anticipation and Tasha hopped out of bed to come greet me at the door.  I opened their kennel door and the two of them came zooming out and immediately ran up and down the hallway a few times. Boris was flashing me his ever most handsome smile while Tasha raced right up to give me a huge kiss on the cheek after a bit of exploring. It was game on as soon as I opened the door to go outside. Boris almost knocked me over because he was so excited to go play with some new friends. Tasha was quick to follow but also stopped to sniff me one last time before running into the yard. Once they got into the yard, Boris was focused on running right away. He began doing laps around the agility yard as fast as he could and tried to find any friend that would play with him. Tasha also did a few laps but she was more focused on greeting all of her old friends in the yard. However, soon enough Tasha and Boris decided it was time for them to play tackle one another. Tasha came out of nowhere and bounced right on top of Boris with all her might. Boris wasn’t prepared for it at all so Tasha successfully got him down and began play tackling him. Boris finally got up and the chase began. Instead of chasing after Boris non-stop, Tasha decided it was best to try and corner him somewhere. After a little while, their friend Finnigan joined in for a short game. As soon as he joined, the two of them decided they both wanted to join each other in play tackling him instead of each other. By the end of their group time, Tasha was by my side waiting for a head rub and Boris had used up a good amount of energy so he was sniffing along the fence line.

Finnigan was full of kisses and snuggles right from the moment he got in today. He got lucky and stayed in the staff room today. He loves staying in there because as every one of our staff goes in, Finnigan knows that he’ll be getting a back scratch, belly rub or at least a quick kiss on the head before we leave. This morning as soon as I went in to see him he bounced right over and turned around once he got to me so I could give him a quick back scratch. This was of course followed by his cute little hops that he likes to do. Soon enough it was time for Finn to go outside and he couldn’t have been more excited. Finnigan was in a group with a lot of his old friends so there was no need to waste time on introductions. Finnigan jumped right into the swing of things as he saw his first friends pass him; Boris and Tasha. They were in a full-blown play tackle, which Finn just couldn’t wait to join in. He jumped right at the two of them but didn’t realize that he would soon be the one getting chased and tackled. Although Finnigan is fast, he wasn’t quite fast enough to race away from his two husky friends that were racing after him. Finn was involved in the play tackle countless times before finally seeing a stuffed toy in the yard that he had to grab! He spent the rest of his group time trying his best to get the toy and keep it to himself. He and his friend Justice were the biggest competitors when it came to this stuffed toy so he spent most of the rest of his group time with him.

Mylo had a bit of a quieter day today. I think the gloomy weather and rain might have thrown him off of his A-game. Although he was happy to stay out of the rain and in his kennel, Mylo was still excited to go out for a little while when it came to his outdoor playgroups. Each time I went down and called for Mylo when it was his turn to go out, he’d slowly get out of bed, have a good stretch, and then he’d trot to the kennel door. He wasn’t quite interested in socializing much today but he did however let all of his friends sniff him once he got into the yard. After he had been sniffed all over, Mylo was ready to go venture into the yard. He enjoyed sniffing along the fence line at all the unusual smells that were brought in from the melting snow. Mylo actually spent quite some time sniffing before finding himself a quiet place to lay down and observe. He liked watching the rest of his group at all times so a place along the fence and in the snow was the best option. After a bit of playing, I joined Mylo in sitting along the fence and we simply snuggled for quite some time before his group time was over. Mylo loved getting his head scratched and even let me give him a little belly rub before going inside for an afternoon snooze.

Windy, Mika and Storm were absolutely inseparable for the most part of their group time today. Windy just couldn’t wait to get outside when she knew it was her turn. She was waiting right by her kennel door and made sure I knew she wanted to go out by showing me her beautiful voice. Once I let her out she raced down the hall but realized that no one else was outside yet so she patiently waited at the door for her friends. Mika and Storm were the next to go out. Storm was quite excited because he was put into a new group today. Although he liked his old one, he was just as excited to meet some new friends. Mika was up next. She was also waiting right at her kennel to go outside but she wanted to stop and see me first before going outside. Eventually, the three of them made it out and they were all ready to go go go! Windy took off into the yard in hopes that her new friend Storm and old friend Mika would follow. Luckily for her they both did. The three of them went zooming around the yard for quite some time to start off. Windy was always in the lead with Storm and Mika following close behind. Mika focused a lot of her time on showing her voice off to her friends, which made her a bit slower. All of a sudden, Windy turned around and started racing after Storm. Storm wasn’t sure he wanted to be chased so he pounced at Windy and play tackled her to the ground. Mika stood by watching and wasn’t sure when to join. Eventually she hopped right in and realized that she was now the target of the play fight. She quickly darted away but kept coming back for more every so often. Mika always made sure that she was close by even if she wasn’t fully playing with the other two. Eventually Windy and Storm went off more on their own and were almost always on top of one another. Soon enough, our rescue Jake was excited to get in on the game so he bounced over and stole Windy away as fast as he could. I think Jake must have a little crush on Windy because he always ends up play tackling or chasing her. Windy was caught up in play tackling Jake for the most part of the rest of the group time. However, Storm couldn’t let her get away that easy so he followed the other two around a jumped in every so often. When Storm was done playing with his new friends, he was ready to relax a little bit. He began sniffing around the yard in hopes of finding a good scent. I think he must have given up towards the very end of his group because he came over to me so that I could cuddle with him for a little while. Storm especially enjoyed sitting with me as I gave him kisses and almost always had him in a big hug.

Mika couldn’t wait to come up front for her extra attention time. I went to get her form her kennel and she darted right by me to race up to the front reception area. Mika knew that a few people were going to be up there and she wanted to see them. Once Mika made her way up, I grabbed her a few different toys to play with. We started her off with a big bright red ball but Mika was only interested in it for a short while. I threw it for her a few times and she’d always go chase after it but Mika never seemed to want to pick it up or bring it back. Next up I tried getting Mika to do a few tricks for some treats but she wasn’t even interested in the treats. Finally we found a squeaking pig toy in the basket of toys and she loved it! I’d throw the pig up in the air and Mike loved jumping to catch it. She enjoyed taking it around with her and spent some time lying down while chewing on it. After a little while, I came over to give Mika a good belly rub before bringing her back to her kennel. She thought that this meant that it was time to play once again and bounced right up to me. Mika’s so strong that she pushed me down and couldn’t seem to give me enough kisses while I was down on the ground! Silly girl. When I brought her back to her kennel she was as happy as could be.

Max and Sadie were both so very excited for yet another day of daycare when they first got here this morning. I’m always happy to see Max and Sadie when I work during the week so I went right away to give them some loving when it was time for their playgroup. As soon as Max saw me he gave me an excited howl, which was followed by a few kisses. Sadie followed right behind him while wagging her tail as fast as she could and snuggled right up against my leg. Soon enough we were ready to go outside. I let the two of them bounce into the yard and lead the way. Of course Max wasted no time getting outside but Sadie wanted to stay by my side for a little while. I think she was in quite a snuggly mood because of the gloomy weather outside today so we stayed together and I gave her a long belly rub to make her happy. Once we were done, Max ran over and almost landed right on top of me because he couldn’t stop his feet on the ice. Once he got his footing, he directed himself towards Sadie so that he could pounce at her and start a play fight. Sadie was still in cuddle mode but got out of it fast enough to jump back at Max. Soon enough the two of them took off into the yard and the games began. Sadie would race around the yard and try to beat Max around the rocks, agility tunnel, and sometimes even me. However Max did a good job of staying on his feet and was almost right on her tail the entire time. Sadie turned the tables and was then chasing Max around for a little while before they got into their big play tackle. Sadie had accidently run into Max which started their play tackle and it lasted until almost the end of their group time. Max still made sure that he left some time to come get attention from me before the group was done though.

  

What an excellent extra attention for Olive and Finlay today. This afternoon I went to get them from their kennel and the two of them hopped right out and ran past me. They didn’t even look back to see where I was but ran up to the front reception area instead. As soon as they got up there, they greeted Susan with plenty of kisses. Lucky for them they had both her and I to play with this afternoon. Susan sat up on one of our chairs and invited Olive and Finlay to join her. Before she even called them, Finlay was up on her lap as soon as she sat down. Olive was a bit hesitant to join at first but once Susan picked her up she felt quite at home. Olive began licking Susan’s pockets non-stop because she had treats inside them. Finlay showed us how much he loved Olive by licking her face while she was up on Susan’s lap. It appears anywhere she went, he followed. To end of their extra attention time, I set out the puppy puzzle with a few liver treats. Olive especially liked trying to find all the treats. Finlay was more interested in snuggling with us to end his time up there.

Pepper was a welcome new addition to her group this morning! She was the centre of attention when the rest of the dogs first met her. Pepper continued making her way around the yard to check everything out, with her entourage in tow. As she went, the others started to branch off to roam further around the yard, except for a friend named Timber. These two walked around the yard together for a little while, until Pepper picked up her pace and Timber took a break. She was very curious as to what some of the other little ones were up to. Pepper saw that Finlay, Benji and a few others were starting to run around, and she made her way over to join in. After group time, Pepper joined me in the reception area for some one-on-one time. She was very happy to receive pets and cuddles, and boy is she looking all soft and fresh! She was even more excited when Katie came in the room, and ran over to her to say hello. Pepper jumped up to give Katie kisses, and of course, Katie gave her a good pet. I then asked Pepper if she would like a treat, and she gave me a paw in exchange. She's such a good girl, and it's nice to have her back!

Max E was ready to get playing once again today! This guy never fails to get the party started, and today was no exception. I brought a ball out into the yard, specifically for Max, and his eyes lit up when I took it out of my pocket. One of Max's friends, a chocolate Lab, was right by his side, ready for a little competition. I threw the ball and Max took off running as fast as he possibly could, with his Lab friend hot on his heels. He managed to grab the ball first, and carried it around to show it off. Max brought  the ball back to me and we played a few rounds of fetch, some of which he won and some of which he just enjoyed going for a good run. The next toy of choice for Max was, of course, the rope toy! I don't think there's anything Max loves more than his rope toy. He carried it around the yard until he was ready to play some tug. I grabbed one end of the rope and Max started to pull as hard as he could! He won the game, of course, but I tried my best! The Lab friend from our game of fetch had her eye on us and came over to try and have a turn playing tug, too. She managed to get ahold of the dangling end of Max's rope, but it didn't last too long until he was running off with it again.

Dani is such a sweet girl. When we got out into the yard today I knew she'd be off running in no time, but she took a second to hop up and give me a big kiss on the face before she did her first lap of the yard. Dani didn't wait for any of the other dogs to join her; in fact, she zigged and zagged around them as they sniffed around and greeted one another. After completing a few rounds of the yard, Dani put on the brakes, had a look around and greeted a few of her friends. She didn't stay still for long, though, and before I knew it she was back at full speed, zipping past. She noticed a new friend in her group and stopped to check her out. This new friend was much smaller than Dani, a Boston Terrier, who loves to play with big dogs. Dani and her new little pal ran towards the gate, spun around and ran all the way back together. At that moment, Tiffani came to join us in the yard, and Dani was the first one to run over and say hello. She jumped up to give Tiff and big kiss on the nose, and then took off running once again. A few of the other dogs joined her periodically for the rest of our time outside, although Dani never stopped running!

Olive was in such a perky mood today! She started her morning with a walk on the trail with new friends Tasha and Boris, followed by a little rest time in her kennel. When it was her time for group, Olive burst from her kennel and ran straight out the door. She said hello to the other dogs and then stood for a minute before deciding what she should do first. She opted for a good sniff around, until she met Duke, a young chocolate Lab, who was new to the group today. It was love at first sight, and Olive play bowed to her new friend in hopes that he would like to run around. He was the centre of attention with all the dogs, but that didn't stop Olive from diving right in and pouncing on him. Her signature (and most adorable) move, was to paw him until he started to bounce playfully back at her. This went on for quite some time, until Olive decided to take a quick break and say hello to me. I slipped her a cookie from my pocket before the others saw and swarmed us. She sat like such a good girl while I took a couple of nice photos and rubbed her ears. She didn't even seem to mind that it had started to rain, and she didn't hesitate for a second before running back over to join the fun with the rest of her group.

Although Henry has made a few friends throughout his stay, he found a BEST friend today, a chocolate Lab named Duke. Duke joined us this morning and was a happy addition to his group. Henry greeted Duke the second they entered the yard together, and wanted nothing but to play with him for the rest of our time outside. Duke was the centre of attention amongst his new friends, and he said hello to all of them as they approached. Duke was very busy saying hello and getting accustomed to his surroundings, but Henry was determined that Duke would be his best friend and play with him. Eventually, once Duke was ready, Henry's wish came true and the fun began. Henry, Duke, Olive and a couple of other friends spent the entire group time running around, tackling each other, pawing each other, and being overall goofy. I even showed Henry a cookie but he was too absorbed in play time to even give it a second glance! It started to rain about halfway through our group time, but that didn't stop Henry and Duke from running around and splashing through the puddles. By the time we went inside, Henry and Duke were both soaked head to toe from all of the rolling and playing! It was great to have such a fun group of happy dogs!

Benji started his morning off bright and early with a quick outing before breakfast. He's always so excited to get his day moving, and today was no exception. He accompanied Coco and Timbits on a walk around the forest trail loop. Later in the morning, Benji was happy to meet up with his beagle friends once again. He and Timbits said a quick hello to one another before making their way around the yard to take in all of the new smells. Benji was very thorough in his explorations today. He said hello to all that crossed his path, but continued on his way around the yard. Benji even took his time to sniff his way through the tunnel and back out the other side. Once he was all finished, Benji went to join in some of the fun that was taking place on the other side of the yard. A few of the other dogs were bouncing around and saying hello to their new friend, Pepper, which had everyone feeling quite frisky. Benji hopped up and pounced on Finlay and Timbits, starting up a little chase around the yard. When it was time to have a little break, Benji came to see me for a quick cuddle. I slipped him a treat from my pocket and he ate it up before any of his friends noticed, and was back on his way to meet up with his buddy Finlay once again.

From the minute I saw Finlay and Olive this morning they were wiggling and signing in excitement. I let them out of their kennel and they both hopped up to say a proper hello. Finlay jumped up and down like he had springs in his feet, while Olive rested her little paws on my leg. After a quick pet we headed out into the yard before breakfast time. After eating, Olive and Finlay were up and ready to get back out into the sunny morning. They went for a trail walk in the woods with their pal, Resa, and then had a little lay down in their cozy beds. Before long, it was their turn to go outside for groups once again. Olive took her time to say hello to Julie and Resa, who were hanging out by the door, while Finlay ran straight out to greet the rest of the group. He immediately gravitated towards his two best buds, Timbits and Benji. After all the greetings were complete, Finlay and Timbits started to bounce around together, with Benji joining in periodically. I left them to it and went back across the yard to see Olive. She was sitting on the doorstep with Julie, so I scooped her up for a little snuggle. She's such a little cutie that fits perfectly in a hug! We spent a few minutes together before I set her back down, and she decided to follow me out to the main part of the yard. Finlay was very happy to see his bestie coming out to play and he tackled her, smothering her face with kisses. These two have the cutest bond!

My little friend Newt was all smiles today! She has such a big grin that's absolutely adorable. After saying hello to her friends, including her friend Timber from the last few days, Newt came to see me for a little bit of extra love. She stood up on her hind legs, resting her little paw on my knee and looking up at me with the cutest little face. I gave her some pets and ear scratches before she made her way out to the rest of the dogs in the yard. She noticed what looked like part of a green toy sticking out of the snow and went over to investigate. Newt pawed at the "toy" for a good minute before she decided to try and chew it out of the snow. I tried to tell Newt that this toy was, in fact, the small pool that was buried in the snow, but she was determined to dig it up, silly girl. A few other dogs came over to see what she was discovering, and Newt continued to paw and chew at the snow. To finish off her group time this morning, Newt went to say hello to little Olive the Boston Terrier and her brother Finlay, who greeted Newt with lots of face kisses.