Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017

Finn had a very busy day. The outgoing boy was so pleased to be a part of not one, but two play groups. When he first got outside he scooped up a bone and made that his priority. He gnawed on it for a little while until I took it away from him, encouraging him to get moving and playing. He was quick to find his friends and began romping around in the snow. He was extra pleased to see the return of his good mate Buddy. Buddy and Finn make such a great pair. Their play behaviours are identical, making their games nothing but mutual and fun. Finnigan and Buddy spent ages together, doing nothing but rolling around on the ground mouthing at each other's necks and fur. They dragged each other all over the yard, looking like one big black ball. It was hard to even tell the two apart at many times. When I sent half of the first group in, leaving Finn and Buddy outdoors, and sent the other group out, Finn and Buddy barely noticed the dog swap. They were so focused on the task at hand which was the ball that they were playing with. They had a lot of fun competing for it in a very playful manor.

Kane B. was so excited to be back today after taking a week away from daycare! This boy couldn't stop wiggling that little tail of his as he greeted all of his friends, some old and some new. Kane stood up at the ledge in his kennel and came face to face with a new friend, Chloe the Bernese mix. These two pawed and licked each others' noses through the kennel. Once in the yard, Kane was thrilled to have his new friend join him in his favourite type of play: chasing each other back and forth across the yard! Along the way, Kane met up with his good pal Finnigan, who was making his way around to all of the different toy options that he could find. The boys said hello to one another and had a brief playful wrestle before Finn picked up the toy of his choice. Kane watched Finnigan for a second, but didn't stay still for long and bolted off once again to meet up with Chloe. Along the way, Kane met up with Buddy, another Bernese friend who he met a few weeks ago. Buddy and Justice joined Kane and Chloe in his fast paced race around the yard. He stopped only when he bumped into me and sprung up like a kangaroo to give me a kiss. This guy just loves to be around his friends, though he was happy to take a little break with a drink of water before going back out to do it all again!

Chloe E had the time of her life today, in two fun play groups! This girl didn’t stop moving from the second she entered the building this morning. She was hooked up right away and we headed out for our morning walk. She and Buddy made a very silly pair along the trail. They both loved holding their leashes in their mouths, trying to lead me rather than me lead them. This kept them pretty busy as we sauntered along the path. In Chloe’s first group, she was thrilled to meet Kane L. Kane and she had so much fun sprinting around the yard. Kane was shocked at how fast this agile girl could go considering her size. They moved so fast all around the yard, with other dogs joining in occasionally. Chloe was the leader of all the shenanigans, never stopping for anyone. At one point she did slow down when some wrestling began. She was eager to be in on all the action with Kane and Kyah. She loved pawing around with them and leaping on top of them as they boxed. During Chloe’s next group it was much of the same fun. She was so pleased to have her other friend named Kane outdoors with her, who also never stops moving. These three sprinted in circles around the yard for the entire duration of their outdoor time, only stopping to chomp up some snow. Chloe was dead asleep when I walked by her kennel later in the day; she didn’t even lift her head to acknowledge my presence.

Oakley thought it was a little chilly today, along with myself and some of her other friends. She acted as if I was the only source of heat in the yard for the first part of her play time. She hid between my legs while peering up at me looking for love and attention. Of course she got oodles of chin scratches and head pats from this position. Finally, Kyah made her way over to Oakley to say hello. This got Oakley out of her shell and on the go. Oakley and Kyah had some brief fun, pawing back and forth, ultimately leading to them sitting side by side enjoying one anothers company. When Kane came over to check them out, he sparked Oakley’s interest. She began flirting with him for a little bit, and then diverted her excited attention to Kyah. She finished her time off goofing around with Kyah around the tunnel before heading back into her warm kennel.

Chloe C kept very busy outdoors today with her toy-enthused friend, Molly. She started her time off outside playing a happy game of fetch with me and her favourite red rubber ball. We played a couple rounds before, out of no where, Molly swooped in and snatched the ball. Chloe was absolutely shocked. She followed Molly around with much anticipation for her to drop the ball. With no luck, Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands by getting her face right next to Mollys and slowly grabbing the ball in her mouth too. The girls looked at me in a very confused manner as they both held half the ball in their mouth. They slowly tried backing away from one another, resulting in a light game of tug. They both knew if they tugged too hard they could lose their grip, so the tug game stopped and they ended up standing staring for a bit. Finally, Molly lost interest when she sighted another toy across the yard, leaving Chloe with the treasure. Chloe was so thrilled, however she refused to drop the ball to play fetch after this. She ran around the yard with the ball for the rest of play time, being very sure not to share with anyone.

Rex had a lot of fun back with us today. He was very eager to get out in the yard to explore. He didn’t waste a minute with his nose to the ground. Motoring around full speed with his tail wagging, he did some fast investigating as he was very insistent on getting to playing. When he spotted me picking the ball up, preparing to launch it for his friend, he beelined it towards me, eager to join in on the chase. He, Molly, Charly and Chloe took off across the yard after the ball at full speed. Rex was third in line for the ball. As Molly returned it to me, Rex was hot on her heels, interested in another go. They continued to chase after the ball over and over until my arm got tired. I then offered Rex a Frisbee which he was happy to carry around. Rex spent a lot of his outdoor time focused on toys. He was also interested in the dogs surrounding the toys.

Bella and I had such a peaceful walk this morning with two other great dogs. They all stuck right on the trail, not straying around the trees or underneath the bushes. Bella knows the routine so well she is known for being an angel. Bella was eager to get outdoors and see who she could play with today. It didn’t take her long to eye Justice out and meet up with him. The pair got to boxing very quickly. She started it by swatting him with her paws, asking him to please play. Of course he gave in and the duo had a fun competitive match. Their boxing turned into wrestling, which soon involved Rex the chocolate lab. Bella was happy to have his company too. They ended up playing around as a trio for a little bit. Bella broke off at the end to do some solo exploring and sniffing before coming back indoors.

It was a chilly morning but that didn’t stop our small four-legged guests from having fun out in the yard! Although Rocky was game for a full walk this morning, he thought it should be much warmer by the time his group time rolled around. He settled for a sunny spot in the snow by the door but no way he was venturing out in the windy yard and he was in good company; Julie and little Samson felt the same way! Maya on the other hand wanted to explore the yard and couldn’t be bothered by the cold. Maya is always up for a good play and always seems to be in the best of spirits, even on the coldest of days! She enjoyed her time exploring the yard with little ones Xiao Bao, Charlie and Maggie. She was extra careful where she stepped as the little ones excitedly ran in and between her long legs. Maya happily followed me out into the far yard and braved the strong wind; she spotted the orange tennis ball and wasn’t going to let anything get in her way of playing with her favourite toy! Much like Maya, Kouza didn’t seem bothered by the wind and leisurely took a stroll across the yard, always looking up at me with that curious smile of hers! But she was even more excited to follow me back inside where she was greeted with her warm bed and an afternoon snack. Nothing better than snoozing away on a bitterly cold day and Kouza definitely enjoyed this time to relax!

 I was very excited to see sweet brotherly duo Rex and Fez back for a visit, they are two of the happiest boys around! While Rex was off having fun with his friends in the agility yard, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Fez for some special one on one time and did he ever enjoy all of the attention! Even more excited when Leah joined us out in the yard, what could be better than two extra hands for head rubs! He was excited to see the orange tennis ball and started wiggling his bum back and forth but couldn’t be bothered to catch it! I think he was just thrilled to be back in our company and was trying to take in all the exciting new smells! It will be a fun visit as always for Fez and his silly brother!

 Sadie found and collected the most special treasure she thought, a delicious pigs ear! She carried her treasure out into the yard and immediately plunked down into the snow to chew away. Max was very confused as to what Sadie had and kept looking back at me with big sad eyes for me to try and do something about it. I couldn’t take that sad look on his face any longer, so the treasure went back inside for now so Max could have his playful sister back for the morning. Just like that, they were back to their normal Max and Sadie ways. Sadie sprinted across the yard and Max excitedly followed suit behind! Along the way, Sadie found the orange tennis ball and enthusiastically threw it up into the air to play. Max wanted a turn with the ball, so we played a few rounds of fetch together, but inevitably this just turned into an epic chase around the yard and the ball was soon forgotten!

Max and Sadie were ready to play when we got into the playroom for their training today, so we gave them a minute to get their zoomies out and then got to work. We mostly focused on place today, hoping to be able to send the dogs onto their mats and it started to happen with Max, which was encouraging. Sadie will probably just take a little longer. We did a lot of individual releases and these two certainly have that down pat. Just to make it a little more challenging, though, I invited Sadie to get on the table instead of her mat, but it was a little wobbly so I asked her to go back to her mat. As soon as Max was released, though, he charged straight to the table and had a turn on it himself! It was so funny :)