For their training today, we worked on duration during place. I put two beds on the floor of the reception area and put each of the dogs into place. I was trying to simulate asking them to stay in place at home while their owner was doing stuff. I sat down, out of sight, rummaged around the desk, put a crinkly snack bag into the garbage and then walked by them a few times. And they did amazingly well. Sadie tested things out a couple of times by trying to sneak off when she thought I wasn't paying attention, but she was resigned to staying on the bed when she knew I would catch her. Max got up a couple of times but only to turn around on the bed and get more comfortable. After that they had some free time to sniff and nose around the room to their heart's content. We did another shorter place session and then we had lots of praise and pets before they went back for their supper.
Tic Tac had a wonderful day in all of the fresh snow that had fallen throughout the day yesterday as well as last night. I wasn't sure that she would like the snow that much but once she got outside, Tic Tac showed me I was very wrong about that! She scooted herself outside right away and took off into the yard. Next thing I knew, Tic Tac was trotting around the far yard with the snow over her paws. The depth did slow her down a little bit but I could tell that she was having such a good time walking and jogging around in the snow. She loved running to me so I'd get her to go explore somewhere else and then call her over. She popped her head up as soon as she heard her name and would come trotting over to me. Once she got to me I made sure to give her a long pet on the head before playing the little recall game again. Towards the end of her group, Tic Tac enjoyed exploring around the yard and especially liked sifting through the snow to see if there were any good scents to pick up on. Finally, I brought out a bright blue ball for her to sniff and she seemed as though she may have wanted to play with it but I think she just wanted to smell it. Every time I'd throw it for her, Tic Tac would trot over to it, sniff it, and then come running back to me without the ball, silly girl.
Another excellent day for Kouza today. She began her morning with a peaceful one on one walk led by one of our volunteers, Kally. Kally took Kouza down the driveway which gave Kouza a variety of different places to sniff. She sniffed along the side of the driveway for most of the way and back. When it came time for Kouza long outdoor play group, she was already up and ready to go back outside. She did an excellent job of sniffing almost every one of her friends before moving on to me. I gave Kouza a quick back scratch and a kiss but then it was time for some activities. I brought out a bright blue ball for Kouza to sniff and she must have smelled it as soon as I got outside because she found her way over to me as fast as she could. I let her sniff the ball for quite some time before she eventually began to tug on it. We played around with it for a little while, sometimes Kouza simply wanted to smell the ball once again, while others times she enjoyed chewing on it. After her group, I brought Kouza up for her extra attention time. Today I tried to get her to do a couple tricks for me such as sit and lay down. With the addition of a few veggie treats, Kouza did exactly as I asked like the good girl that she is. After a few more tricks, I brought out the puppy puzzle for Kouza. She spent the rest of her time searching through the puzzle for any little piece of a veggie that she could find. Kouza was obsessed with the puzzle and kept searching through it even after I had assured her that she got all of the treats. Towards the end of her extra attention time, Kouza and I snuggled while I gave her a good head and neck rub.
Chloe had a great day! She went on a walk in the morning with Tiffani and two other friends and Chloe loved the fresh snow! She buried her face into the piles of snow at every tree, sniffing everything underneath. Each time she came up with a big pile of snow on her nose, it was so cute! She enjoyed her regular game of ball in the yard all day today as well. Her and Phoebe raced for the jollyball but Chloe was there second, so she went scouting for another toy. After a couple of minutes of searching, Chloe came to me and just looked at me, wondering where her ball was. I ran inside and grabbed the pink one and once Chloe saw it, she was instantly all business and leaped up to try and grab it. I threw it across the yard and she pounced right on it. She never let go after that. At one point, I saw her trying to hold onto the small ball and grab the jollyball at the same time-silly girl! Chloe had fun during all her outings today. Later in the afternoon, Chloe and I spent some time together in the front reception area. At first she raided the treat-puzzle. She went crazy trying to get all of the treats out! Her short little mouth made it harder but she made sure to get every last crumb. We then said hello to Susan and Tiffani and Chloe got cuddles from all of the staff, before proceeding to play with her ball. She chased the bouncy ball around on the tile ground and it was so funny when it got stuck underneath the dog bed. She dug at the pillow and buried her nose in there but she just couldn't get it. I grabbed it for her and we continued to play with her ball for a little while.
Lily had a really good day for her first time at daycare! She started her day with a walk accompanied by Phoebe, another pretty chocolate Lab. These two ladies took to each other eight away, and walked right beside each other. Later on, Lily got to see Phoebe outside for grouptime along with some other new friends. She was a little nervous with the others but was always happy to come see me for some cuddles and nice pets. She eventually explored the entire yard, and said hello to some of her new pals. Joey and Giacamo were her favorites. She didn't want to play but she followed the two boys around the yard, sniffing them as she went. Her next outing early in the afternoon she was more comfortable with the dogs and especially wanted some cuddles from Tiffani. She rolled over onto her back and got some good belly rubs for a few minutes. She then sprung up and trotted around the yard and went up to Joey with a cute little play bow. She and Joey bounced around for a while and barked at each other. Lily was very happy to be outside, and it was hard to convince her when it was time to come back in!
Fez and Rex had a good day today. Rex got a special one-on-one walk this morning when his walking buddies were late to arrive. Tiffani and Rex walked on the trail today and Rex loved bouncing around in the fluffy snow. Fez went for a shorter walk with one of our volunteers, Kally. Later on, he and Rex reunited outside for their group. Rex and Fez both loved two huskies ladies that were in their group. Rex especially loved Skie. He chased Skie all over the yard. Skie kept going in and out of the agility tunnel and Rex refused to follow her inside so he kept pouncing on the tunnel and putting his paws on it to get her to come out and play with him. Eventually she did come out and Rex leaped right on her. Jynxx, the other husky lady, got right into the tumble and these three raced around the yard, throwing the snow up with their paws as they went. Fez was happy to hang out with me, and I pet his head and rubbed his ears. After exploring the yard for a while, Fez got a little tired and lay down in the snow, in a nice patch where no one else was playing. I sat down beside him and rubbed his ears. He leaned right into it and started to rub his face into the snow. He took a few chomps on the snow and I snapped a couple cute photos of him while he was laying down. He then refused to leave his comfy place when it was time to go inside. Rex was happy to follow all of his friends into the hallway. Once he noticed that Fez hadn't come in, he ran back outside and jumped right on his brother on the floor. Fez didn't protest as he was happy to see his brother too. These two handsome fellas went into the hallway together and were both eager to chew on their rawhides at lunch.
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