Sunday, February 12, 2017

Max E. certainly had an eventful day! He was on his toes and ready to go right from the first group of the day. When it was time for walks, Max could hardly sit still long enough for me to put his leash on. He couldn't wait to get back outside. We met up with his friends Raven and Tango, who were both just as excited as he was. The three of them wasted no time sniffing around the yard and headed straight for the trail. Max hopped across the bridge and led the others down the trail. He seemed to be on a mission, with his nose down and tail up, and rarely strayed from the path. Occasionally though he would be distracted by an interesting scent and would wander into the deeper snow, poking his head into every hole he found. By the time we got back, Max was ready for a nap, and happily went straight to his kennel where he curled up on his bed and blankets. Once it was his group's turn outside, Max was on his feet again and patiently waiting to be let out. He raced into the yard with the dogs and wasted no time finding a playmate. Max bounced over to Charlie, who happily accepted the invitation and the two of them ran off side by side. They played for a while and then Max ended up beside me. I went to pet him and Max quickly leaped to the side, giving me a goofy look. He still wanted to play! We went on a hunt around the yard to find some toys as I know Max loves to fetch. Unfortunately it seemed that all of the toys were buried in the snow! Instead, I decided to improvise and scooped up a handful of snow. Max, along with his friends Gryphon and Mika, got ready to race after it. When I tossed the snow Max jumped straight up and attempted to catch as many snowflakes as possible. This got him wound up and he spent the rest of group time chasing snow and running around with Charlie and Gryphon.

Riley and Roobee are having a great stay with us. Both of them were eager to start the day and were already wide awake when it was time for the first group rotation. They happily trotted side by side into the yard and got to work sniffing around. Roobee wandered over to the far corner and started sticking her nose in all of the footprints, while Riley stuck closer to me and said hello to the other dogs. When it was time for their walk, both of them knew exactly what was happening as soon as they saw the leashes and they started bouncing around with excitement. On the trail Roobee wanted to go at a fast pace while Riley was content to take things slower and explore the path thoroughly. Roobee would race ahead and then turn around to see her brother sniffing the snow, and she would quickly run back to see if it was anything of interest to her. Next up it was time for groups, and neither of them seemed at all tired out by their walk, as they were both practically buzzing with energy when I came to let them out. Roobee flew out the door and immediately started running from dog to dog as she greeted everyone. She then led the way to the agility yard. Riley was up for some more socializing and hung around with the other dogs for a while. Roobee was already busy sniffing. Her ears picked up a sound on the other side of the fence and she put her paws up and started looking around to see what it was. This caught Riley's attention and he went over to see what she was doing. He decided to keep her company while Roobee was zigzagging all over the place. The two of them eventually ended up near me and Riley happily bounced over for some cuddles while Roobee checked out the tunnel. I was getting a handful of snow to toss for the other dogs and Riley decided to join in our game. He was leaping all over the place with Max and Mika while they attempted to catch the snow before it hit the ground. Then he got wound up and went racing across the yard in pursuit of Cooper and Barley, who were wrestling. Riley didn't join in although he was right on their heels as the group of them were running around. Roobee had finally slowed down a bit and wandered over near me again. She was a bit shy at first though once I coaxed her over and started petting her, she soon relaxed and enjoyed a nice snuggle with me.

Walker is always such a delight to have in for daycare. He spent his day in the staff room, which of course meant plenty of people for Walker to see. Everybody that was going in and out had to stop and give him a quick cuddle. He was just lounging on his bed and soaking up all the attention. When I opened the door to get him for groups, Walker seemed to know exactly what was happening and he hopped to his feet. He met up with a new friend, Jetta, and their tails were wagging like crazy as they gave each other a sniff. We then headed outside so Walker could see the rest of the group. Right away he hit it off with Charlotte and Raven, two playful dogs who absolutely loved Walker! Another dog, Tango, came flying over and immediately play-bowed at Walker, although Walker was a bit overwhelmed by all of the excitement and decided to start things off slow. He went for a stroll around the yard and made sure to sniff everything that crossed his path. Occasionally Raven and Charlotte would race past him and Walker would happily run along with them for a bit. Walker is quite nimble on his feet and had no trouble leaping over Raven as she dove for his legs. He would then land in the snow, spin around and pounce on whoever was closest. Walker was having such a great time! The girls eventually wandered off and he was still in a playful mood so he went to seek out Tango. Soon enough the two of them were bouncing around like crazy. Their energy attracted Barney as well, and all three of the boys were racing around the yard together. Walker had a bit of a challenge keeping up with Tango, who was practically flying all over the place. Eventually he decided that he needed a bit of a breather before they continued playing, so he trotted over to say hello to me while the other two kept running around. He cuddled with me for a few minutes and then he was ready to play again!

Sophie and Charlotte had yet another great day. The girls are such sweethearts and always seem to be in a good mood! Charlotte enjoyed a fast-paced walk with her friend Charlie; the two of them had so much fun bounding through the snow together. All Charlotte wanted to do was run in circles and play. Sophie had a more relaxed walk with Jetta. The girls took their time and made sure to sniff every inch of snow. Later it was time for groups and Charlotte was bouncing on her toes when I went to get them from their kennel. She could hardly wait long enough for me to open the door. Sophie, on the other hand, just happily wandered outside after Charlotte had gone racing into the snow. The two of them explored the yard nearby each other and soon their faces were both covered in snowflakes. Sophie was quickly turning into a snow-dog, while Charlotte was moving around so fast that the flakes didn't stay for long. She went leaping through the drifts towards Raven, who was rolling around, and the two girls both jumped up. They started racing each other around the yard. Occasionally Raven would dive into the snow and Charlotte would tackle her. The two of them caught the attention of Walker, who came hurrying over to see what they were up to. Soon all three of them were tumbling in the snow together. Charlotte somersaulted over Raven, hopped to her feet in a split second and then pounced onto Walker. While Charlotte was acting crazy with her friends, Sophie was having a much calmer time while she explored with Jetta. It was snowing quite a bit and the older girls had found shelter by the door, where they continued to sniff around. I went over to see them and right away Sophie trotted over to say hello. She wasted no time snuggling up against me, and leaned all her weight on my legs as I was petting her and brushing the snow off. Sophie definitely loves her cuddles. Eventually the snow started to let up for a few minutes and Sophie accompanied me over to the agility yard. The others were still running around, so Sophie decided to hang back and socialize with Maggie and Barney. She gave the two of them a thorough sniff and then ended up beside me again. Charlotte came over for some attention as well, and the girls both enjoyed a nice back rub before we headed inside.
For their extra attention today, the girls and I went up to the playroom. Both of them knew exactly where to go as soon as I opened the kennel door and wasted no time heading there - stopping along the way to say hello to everybody they passed! Once we were in the playroom, Charlotte started racing around to investigate the room and Sophie cuddled up with me. I gave the two of them some small treats and then put the extras in a toy, which Charlotte happily pushed around until she got the rest of the treats out. Sophie on the other hand was just in the mood for a good snuggle. She soaked up all the attention and soon Charlotte wanted some too, so she came over and practically climbed into my lap while Sophie wandered off to explore the room. She found a corner by the couch and curled up for a nap! Charlotte and I headed over to keep her company and we spent some more time cuddling.

Coco and Timbits were quick to set out and start exploring in the snow. Timbits headed out to the far yard to do his exploring while Coco wanted to go over the main yard first. She finished with the main yard and went to join Timbits in the far yard. When they were done in the far yard, they decided to make their way back to the main yard and see what some of the others were up to, while also keeping their noses to the ground just in case. While they were exploring around they met up with Maya. I encouraged them to start running and playing. Timbits and Maya decided to take my advice and went running off. Coco ended up finding herself a toy, which she was very excited about. She snatched it up and took off running. Coco didn’t go very far before she dropped it to watch what was going on in the yard. Timbits and Maya ended up running over to see what Coco was up to. Coco was quick to snatch up her toy once more so they couldn’t steal it. Maya still managed to sneak it away. Timbits left her to her toy and decided to go do some more exploring. Coco decided exploring was a good idea too. Coco and Timbits ended up back in the main yard. They both picked different snow banks and started to dig, determined to find something interesting. Timbits was distracted from his exploring when Maya and Jayda went tearing around the yard. He quickly decided to go and join their fun.

Maya and Rocky had rather opposite reactions when they got outside. Maya wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do and so stood watching some of the others. Rocky was so excited about all the new snow and barely got out the door before he was rolling around. When he got to his feet he traveled a bit further into the yard. Rocky did a little exploring before promptly falling to the ground and rolling around some more. Once he was finished with that spot Rocky headed back towards the door. Along the way he met up with Jayda. They spent some time sniffing each other and saying hi to one another, When they finished Rocky continued on his way to a new rolling spot. I left him to it and went to see what Maya was up to now. She was still standing around not quite sure what she wanted to do. Coco and Timbits were close by so I tried to get them all running. Soon Maya and Timbits took off running and wrestling. It was still kind of lazy playing, and then they split up. Jayda went running over to join Maya and then she put in some serious effort. Maya went racing after Jayda trying to catch up so she could invite her to wrestle. It took a little while but eventually she did it. Timbits left them to their fun, but as soon as the running started again he went and joined them.

Toast very quickly set his sights on Max. As soon as they got out into the yard he went up to Max and started checking him over. It wasn’t long before Toast was trying to get him playing. They had fun bouncing around together. Max eventually left him, so Toast decided go do a little exploring in the snow. He didn’t want to be too far from the other dogs so he stuck around the main yard with his nose to the ground checking out anything that caught his attention. At one point Toast ended up exploring the little snow hill with Benji. After exploring all of the main yard he decided it was time to make his way back to Max. Toast followed him around for a while, before they started to bounce around some more.

When it was time for his extra attention Toast was pretty eager to head up front. He went touring around the room checking everything out. He quickly vetoed the toy basket and went right back to exploring. After a couple laps around the room Toast made his way over to me for some pets and to give me a quick kiss. Not wanting to show me too much affection and keep his manly reputation. Toast was then back to checking things out. Eventually I decided to grab some treats and see what he liked and what he’d do for them. We were soon successful and Toast found some treats particularly tasty. I asked him for a sit which he did quite quickly, though it soon turned into a down. This happened a couple times, and he was so earnest about it. We finished off the treats and Toast got back to exploring.

Benji found himself being bounced on by Coconut about 2 seconds after he got out the door. He wasn’t quite ready to play at that moment and so left her to see what some of the others were up to. With that done Benji headed out to do some exploring in all the new snow. He soon ended up over by the little hill that has accumulated where he spent some time exploring with Toast. Benji then continued on his way with his nose to the ground. He ventured out to the far yard to do a little exploring there, but with all the others dogs being in the main yard he didn’t stay out there long. As Benji went to take another tour around the main yard he met back up with Coconut. She wasted no time in pouncing on him. This time Benji was feeling a little more playful and soon the two of them were having a great time together. He took a break from playing to throw himself to the ground and start rolling in the snow. Coconut took this as an invitation and decided to launch herself at him again.

Riley and Roobee were ready for it to be their extra attention time. We made our way up to the front room. Riley and Roobee wasted no time in checking out the room. Riley eventually made his way over to me and was happy to receive some pets. Roobee then came over and muscled him out of the way so she could get some pets of her own. Riley accepted this and headed out to do some more exploring. They spent the next little while alternating between exploring and getting pets from me.