Saturday April 1st, 2017

Athena, Aphrodite and Hercules began their day in excellent moods. From the first time I saw them this morning, I knew today was going to be a great day because they were all so excited to greet me and made sure that I had received enough kisses to last me the day. I grabbed Athena and Aphrodite for their walk this morning and the two of them couldn't have been happier. We had a very relaxing walk but they always made sure that they were doing something. Athena loved sniffing the bottom of all of the trees while Aphrodite ensured that she was close to me and getting some extra love. Eventually they both trotted to the end of their leashes and tried to beat one another back to their kennel. Hercules had a very playful and energetic walk. He met up with two new friends which he got along with great! As soon as he saw them, Hercules did his best to sniff them all over and become friends with them. Soon enough they were ready to go. Hercules spent his whole walk time at the end of his leash racing along. He definitely made sure to keep me on my toes and was so adventurous that he would time and time again be stuck in the trees. Hercules always managed to get himself untangled before I could and loved to flash a brilliant smile back at me before he'd take off sprinting to the end of his leash again. When I went to see them later on, they met me with the exact same enthusiasm as I let them outside for their long outdoor play group. Hercules was ecstatic to get outside and meet some new friends. He took off into the yard as fast as he could and raced right into the agility yard where new friends were already playing. Hercules bounced into the yard and was the star of the show at that point. All of the other dogs in his group raced over to give him an overall sniff and I'm sure he loved the attention. Aphrodite and Athena followed close behind and were also greeted as soon as they got into the yard. However, the two girls weren't as keen to have all of the attention so they trotted off into another yard to sniff along the fences. Hercules tried playing with absolutely everyone in his group. He enjoyed pouncing at the other and starting to play tackle them. Not everyone was too keen on playing but our husky Justice was definitely interested. The two of them started dancing around one another for quite some time before Hercules jumped at Justice. This led to a short play tackle before they ended up going their separate ways. Athena and Aphrodite loved keeping a close eye on Hercules so after a little while they ventured back into the yard to check up on him. Athena was a bit more adventurous this time and began sniffing a few new friends. Once Aphrodite saw this, she decided that she must join as well. After a little bit more sniffing, I brought the three of them into another yard so that they could have some along time with one another. Hercules loved being with his sisters and followed them around fro quite some time. Athena was in a very cuddly mood today so she walked over to me and sat down immediately, waiting for me to pet her. I snuggled with Athena for a very long time before Aphrodite came over for some attention as well. She had just finished giving the yard a good overall sniff before she decided it was time to cuddle. The three of us sat in the snow while I gave Athena a good head scratch and Aphrodite an excellent belly rub.

Riley and Roobee had a very peaceful day which I'm sure they both enjoyed. The two of them were so excited to get outside when it came to their group time. Riley's nose soon hit the ground and he was off checking something out in the fresh snow. Roobee went trotting off around the yard checking everything out. When they both finished exploring they decided it was time to socialize for a bit. Roobee didn't last very long and was soon back to sniffing while Riley spent some time with a few friends. Riley then spotted Roobee over by one of the agility fences, thoroughly checking out stuff in the snow. Curious, he decided to run over and join his sister. Riley and Roobee spent some time going over everything, and eventually they were joined by a few of their friends once again. While Riley kept sniffing along the fence line, he made sure to watch Roobee wherever she ended up. Roobee had just finished up with that section of the yard first and headed out to check on the others.  Riley soon did the same thing. Even though they headed in completely different directions, eventually Riley and Roobee met up over by the far fence and were intensely focused on all the smells that could be found in the snow. Riley left first this time and went to see what the rest of the group was up to. Roobee, not wanting to miss out on anything, went running over to check it out for herself. It didn't take long for him to decide that he wanted to follow the group around and show off her excellent voice. Eventually, she got tired of following everyone around and decided to come hang out with me for some pets and attention. She stopped to say hi to Riley first and see how he was doing, before finally making it to me. Riley started playing with his favourite toys in the yard. He was almost always looking at me and waiting for me to throw them for him to chase. Riley loved chasing after them. It was almost as if he didn’t care about the toys much, but only cared about the chase. Riley tried to bounce into Roobee and get her to join in on the running but she simply enjoyed watching Riley. At the end of their group time, Riley decided he wanted some attention as well so he came to see me for a quick head scratch. 
Roobee and Riley joined me after lunch for some extra attention time up front. It took a little while for them to settle down, but once they did I think their favorite thing was some nice massage. I asked Roobee to lay down and she immediately showed me her chest so I could rub it and we stayed like that for quite some time. When it was Riley's turn he wasn't too interested in laying down, but he did enjoy a deep, relaxing massage along his back as he stood beside me. 

Cloud had yet another wonderful daycare day today! He was so very happy when he got here. It was the first time I had met him so he made sure to give me a ton of kisses and hopped right up into my arms once I saw him. When I let him out for his long outdoor play group, Cloud hopped out of his kennel raced right out into the yard. He knew exactly who he wanted to see, and was thrilled when he spotted him across the yard. He bee-lined it for his pal Rudy, not even stopping to say hello to myself again or the other dogs. He instantly invited him to play. Rudy was in a more serious mood today. All the melting snow meant there was a lot of scents to sniff and explore. Cloud didn’t mind his attitude today, in fact, him declining Cloud only made Cloud want to play with him more. He continued to dance and prance around with him until he finally gave in. The duo then set off for a quick race around the yard followed by their typical play tackling. Cloud was thrilled to have this time with Rudy. Once he had been playing with Rudy for long enough, Cloud broke off to do some exploring of his own. While exploring the yard he came across a bright red ball,which he was fascinated by. Cloud gave it a couple sniffs and then brought it to me to play with. The two of us played fetch as well as tug-of-war for a little while. He then made his way to my side and got lots of cuddles before meeting up with Rudy once more for another quick play before heading back indoors.

Nymeria was ecstatic to come in for another day of daycare.  Nymeria was as energetic and playful as ever today! When I went to get her from her kennel, she had her tail wagging 100 miles and hour. She had her whole body wiggling as I tried to get her to calm down so that I could greet her before I let her out for her long group time. When it came to her long outdoor play group, Nymeria was with a few familiar faces as well as some new friends. Her new friend that she met on her walk happened to be in her group so they were attached at the hip to start off. However, she also noticed that there were some new friends in her group as well. Once she saw them, a new friend named Mercer and her ran over to start playing. Nymeria ended up getting into a full on race around the yard that went on for at least ten minutes. She was always racing around even after the big chase. When she wasn't chasing or being chased, Nymeria was always play tackling with her new pal Mercer. They absolutely loved each other and were obsessed with playing. Nym loved play tackling Mercer and she did the best she could to tackle him. However he was a bit bigger than her so it was hard for her to get him down. She'd always run in between my legs whenever she wanted to get an upper hand on him because apparently I was a safe zone. Once she was confident enough, Nym would hop out from in between my legs and jump right ontop of Mercer. This continued on for quite some time.  Eventually Nymeria came over to me so that we could play with a bright orange ball that I had found in the yard. As soon as she saw it in my hands, Nymeria raced over to grab it and start playing with it. She ended her group time by playing fetch and keep away with the ball. 

Chloe was in such a perky mood today. She was full of energy first thing in the morning and couldn't wait to get the day started! For her walk, Chloe met up with one of her playful friends, Georgia. The two of them started bouncing around like crazy right from the get go. Chloe wrestled with Georgia and then went skipping ahead to check out the trail. She explored the snow for a while until Georgia raced past her and ran further down the trail. Chloe went hurrying after her to keep playing. When we eventually reached the end of their walk all of the dogs were ready to cuddle up on their warm beds. Next it was time for the main groups of the day. Chloe was on her feet as soon as I opened her kennel door. She flew out the door and immediately began to search for something to play with. Chloe absolutely loves her toys! She discovered the jolly ball in one of the outdoor kennels and sat patiently waiting for me to get it. Once I handed it to her, Chloe happily trotted off with the ball to show the rest of the dogs. Occasionally somebody would take interest in her toy and wander over to check it out, then Chloe would quickly scoop the ball up and go prancing off. Once she was satisfied that everybody had seen her priced possession, Chloe headed over to me and dropped it right at my feet. It was a perfect day to be playing fetch, with all of the new snow that had fallen so Chloe and I went into the agility yard and threw the ball around. She had so much fun pouncing on it. Then Chloe decided to go exploring, and ventured all over the yard for the last bit of group time, carrying the ball everywhere she went.
Chloe came wiggling up front for her extra attention. I couldn't tell if she was more in the mood for toys today or for pets and I'm not sure Chloe was either. She gave me huge kisses and cuddles when I invited her to join me in the armchair but was eventually distracted by the toys I had scattered on the floor. One of them, a plastic ball with a rope attached, was her favorite and she stalked and pounced and batted that one all around the room. She looked up from the toys and caught sight or smell of the treat jar and was again happily distracted. I asked Chloe to do some basic stuff for some liver treats and she lit right up. I wish I could have taken a picture of her expression - she was so happy and enthralled.