Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

Lola was so spunky today. This warm weather had her venturing far out in to the yard. She continued to roam around for her whole group time, mainly because she was super motivated by new comer, Cloud. Cloud is a sweet little puppy who had Lola’s attention from the second she met him in the yard. Loal followed him around with much curiosity. She was very content keeping this little man company on his first day. She did a great job welcoming him to the yard. Pearl was pretty excited to meet the little guy too. She wasn’t as graceful when introducing herself. Pearl zoomed around him oinking at him and wiggling her tail. He seemed pleased to have a friend right off the bat. Pearl then wandered off to adventure the yard while Lola carried on with her mate. Pearl and I met up across the yard for some cuddles, where Miko met up with Pearl too. The pair got up to their usual wrestling shenanigans. Miko was bouncing all over Pearl while she dodged him left and right. They had some good fun until Pearl decided she wanted to hang out with Cloud on the picnic table in the sun. The tow puglets had such a great day today. I am very hopeful that this warm weather will continue, bringing out the most fun energetic side of our daycare guests.

Maya was full of so much spunk and sass today! She got to go out with the big dogs for a brief while to burn off some extra energy. She enjoyed their company, but was eager to return to her small dog family. When she got into the small dog yard she was instantly greeted by a new daycare mate named Cloud. Cloud is a small ball of fluff who is simply adorable and very friendly. Maya loved him right away and wanted nothing more than to get to know him. The pair were very cute sniffing each other and slowly showing one another that they wanted to play. Finally, Cloud pounced up on Maya, setting her off across the yard looking for a chase. The pair were so cute sprinting as fast as they could around the yard. Maya outran Cloud in a heart beat, but looped back around to be by his side over and over. They had a lot of fun together it was great to watch Maya play so much. Rocky was a little bit adventurous today, but was mostly happy to rest. I convinced him to come check out the big yard where it was nice and sunny by carrying him. He didn’t mind the extra snuggles and attention, but wasn’t a fan of being so far from the door. He slowly trotted back to the door, stopping to say hello to the other dogs along the way. Once he returned to his famous spot in the snow by the door he had a nice snooze, waiting to return indoors.

Merlin had such a good morning walk along the trail with his new pal Cloud this morning. He was keen to meet the new guy and show him the ropes. Merlin loves weaving left and right along the trail with his nose to the ground. He is always sure to pick up on all the smells under his paws as he motors along with a wagging tail. He was very pleased to spend so much time outdoors today since the weather was beautiful. Merlin kept very busy with Cloud in the yard too. This cute pair danced around for a long time, tossing paws back and forth with lots of bum wiggles included too. Merlin was also keen to play around with his friend Miko. These two are so speedy as they run around the yard together. They never fail to meet up when they are in for daycare on the same days. After all of Merlin’s socialization and playing, he came to my side for some pets and cuddles before heading indoors to nap.

Boris and Tasha had a lot of fun in the yard today. The duo couldn’t have been happier about this warm, spring weather. All the thawing snow and ice resulted in some fun mud puddles which kept the pair pretty busy at the start of their outdoor time. The mud had lots of smells that they had to investigate prior to getting involved with fun and games. Boris took off, on a mission to find a buddy to play with after some sniffing and exploring. He was very excited to come across his sibling Isis and get to racing and running. Boris took off across the yard so fast with eager eyes looking for a fast and agile chase. Isis, Tasha and Kyah were hot on his heels as he bolted across the yard. Boris flew over the tunnel and then looped through it with all his friends chasing after him. Tasha was keen to get to rough housing after the sprinting ended. She and Boris romped around with Isis sticking hr nose in here and there. Soon enough Kyah was in on the games too and the four of them battled around the tunnel. When it was time to head inside all the huskies were pooped from there never ending running and wrestling.

Miko had such a great day today. He was one of the many dogs that was beyond pleased with this warm spring weather. He loved his morning walk with two friends Benson and Violet. He led the way, as usual, with his nose to the ground marching at a fast pace at the end of his leash. Miko couldn’t wait to get in the yard and begin his fun. He was so happy when he spotted Pearl across the yard and beelined it for her. He instantly began pouncing all over her asking her to please play with him. She briefly gave in and the daycare pals romped around. Miko loves giving Pearl a hard time when they play, but always finishes off their games by kissing her all over her head thanking her for all she puts up with. Miko was a big fan of new comer Cloud too. He was interested in him right off the bat, but tried acting tough and cool about it. Miko trotted after Cloud staying his distanced but monitoring his actions very closely. As Cloud began to play more and more, Miko got right in on the action asking to please be involved too. Cloud leapt up on the picnic table which threw Miko off, only making him more interested. Once Cloud got down, the dup boxed all around the yard and had some fun fast sprints too. After loads of games with Cloud, Miko set off to play with Merlin before heading back inside He and Merlin got up to their usual boxing and sprinting shenanigans until it was time to head indoors for a nap, to recharge their batteries, before their next outing.

My jaw dropped when Katie walked down the hall this morning with Cloud in her arms. He is the cutest little ball of fluff I have ever seen! I can’t believe a shihtzu/hound could be this cute. I spent my whole day in aw of how adorable he was. Cloud was so brave upon arriving. He got buckled up and we head out for our walk. He wasn’t too sure of the leash at first, and asked to please be carried. He watched Merlin saunter along the trail with no worries of the leash at all. He then whined to be put down and completed the walk with a big smile and wagging tail. Cloud was a little nervous when it was time to go outside. He was happy to be accompanied by only three other dogs. These dogs were very easy going, and welcoming. They did a great job of making Cloud feel comfortable. Cloud soon became very rambunctious and playful. I then added more dogs to his group which got him so excited. Cloud was playing with each and every dog. He was sure to make friends with everyone. It was adorable watching him wrestle with some friends, box with some dogs, run with some dogs, and simply enjoy the company of others. Cloud had such a fun day today. He never stopped playing with dogs, humans, and tennis balls. His first day went great, and we are eager to have him back for more.

Tag and Nymeria, our frisky daycare ladies really got the party started out in the yard this morning and I would expect nothing less from these two rambunctious yet loving pups! Nymeria was the focus of everyone’s attention, and everyone wanted a turn to wrestle with this fiery redheaded Husky who was zooming around the yard trying to get everyone to chase her. As I entered the yard, she was already on her back playfully fending off fellow Huskies Justice and Magic who were taunting her from above. Then she was on the move again and Golden girls Charly and Merida weren’t far behind, they wanted a turn wrestling with this fun-loving pup. Nymeria would often take cover in between my legs; she felt protected there but still continuously taunted the others from her safety zone. Meanwhile, Tag was leaping and bounding across the yard, she just loves hanging out with the “big-dog” group and found a new friend in the big and silly Buddy the Burmese. Tag is a confident little girl and has no fears, she always plays with no regrets and brings such a positive energy to her group. If she wasn’t off running around and wrestling with newly found friend Buddy, she was joining 

Charly and Nymeria who were rolling around and wrestling in the snow! 

Percy was just as excited as the girls were to be having such a fun and epic playgroup this morning. The group was large, but boy were they fun and Percy made sure to be in the centre of all the action, like he always is! He had a singing partner today; Charly the Golden was just as vocal and excited as he was with all of the commotion surrounding them. They made the perfect referees and together kept the silly ones in check. Although they were silly themselves! Percy usually referees from the sidelines but today he was right in there with the rest of the bunch and had a good wrestle with the irresistible Nymeria!

Issy and Mocha couldn’t help but smile from all of the young puppy energy in their group today. Although Mocha didn’t want to get in the path of destruction, she couldn’t help but venture out into the yard to see what was going on. But when she saw Tag and Nymeria on the loose coming straight for her, she thought it was best that she took a comfortable seat in the snow away from the action. Luckily it was a beautiful morning and she ended up sunbathing instead. She also had some company and even a few nose nuzzles from Husky friend Kyah. Issy braved the storm and decided to venture out in the yard, there is no way she can go a day without her usual exploration! But it was an obstacle course out there; she had to make sure she dodged the paths of both Nymeria and Tag who were whipping around the yard in a fury! Once Issy got her laps out of the way, she was thankful to join Kyah and Mocha up front for some peace and quiet, but I did see their little heads poke around every once in a while purely for entertainment!

It was a fetch war for both Sophie and Chloe out in the yard this morning. After finding out that Sophie is a nut for fetch, I collected some toys that she might find interesting. Sure enough when she saw me approach the yard, Frisbee in hand, she started jumping up on her hind legs in excitement! But as well all know, she had some stiff competition out there between Golden Molly and Chloe and even more so with Husky triplets Jynxx , Nyxx and Skie. Off the Frisbee flew in the air and Sophie tried her best to catch it, but there was no way she was sticking around for the four-way tug that was about to happen. She graciously let the rambunctious ones take over and she ran over for some head rubs and condolences instead. Chloe is fast and was the first one to catch the Frisbee, but before she knew it, she had Molly, Nyxx and Jynxx tugging from opposite ends. She was up for the challenge and did everything she could in that agile body of hers to hold on. Success, she came out with the Frisbee in mouth and started whipping around the yard in excitement. But she had to spend most of her time fending off Nyxx and Jynxx who were relentless. She definitely ran out her energy this morning that’s for sure! Finally they gave up and Chloe had some peace and quiet alone with her toy but next she was eyeing up the red ball Molly had in mouth to see if she could steal that away too!

Max and Sadie have been enjoying their stay with us, it’s not often we have these guys in for boarding, so it is always a pleasure to see their bright and smiling faces every morning! It’s all business in the mornings with there two, happy to get up and out to stretch those long legs of theirs and sniff out the scents from the groups before. After a beautiful trot out on the back trails, they were now ready for the real fun, some playtime in the yard! A few rounds of fetch with the ball, some wrestles in the snow, endless laps around the yard and rests on the picnic table, I think its safe to say Max and Sadie made the most of their time outside today and are definitely creatures of habit! Today for Max and Sadie's training, we moved locations and used the front playroom, where we put down a mat and a folded sheet for "place." Choosing something that was less clearly a bed but still clearly a "place," made the dogs a little less sure about staying put, but with some repetition, they figured things out pretty quickly. We started out with some sits and downs and then moved to place. We continued releasing Max and Sadie from their positions individually, making sure they were really paying attention. After some really great, long downs in place and listening well, we gave the dogs a nice break from work and let them tear around the playroom for a few minutes. The idea was to give them a reward, but also work on bringing them from an excited state to a more settled state. Max and Sadie were both quick to come when we called them back. We walked them around the room at heel and then put them back into place. We then walked behind the half wall and played a bit of peek a boo to see how they reacted. Max's ears were going a mile a minute, wondering what on earth we were doing, but he stayed in place! Today we also added a focus exercise, which Max was quite good at, although he became a little unsure about holding my gaze for too long. Sadie, who is much more easily distracted, acted like she had never done the exercise before, so it's definitely something we will continue to work on this week! Towards the end of our session both dogs needed more reminders to stay in place, so we only worked a little longer, making sure that they would be successful before heading back to their comfy beds in their kennel.