Thursday, April 20th, 2017

Bunker had a morning well spent with Husky friends Jynxx and Skie; he has really been enjoying their company over this past week and couldn’t have asked for sillier friends to keep him entertained. He also met a new face to the group today and it was that of Andy the Aussie. Like the sweet and gentle boy he is, he was very inviting and made Andy feel comfortable with a big sloppy kiss to the face welcoming him to the group. But then he was off again chasing after Jynxx alongside Golden friend Pippin. I must say although he is quiet, he is a favourite amongst his friends and brings such a pleasant and calm energy to his groups making it such a fun and energetic environment for everyone! And of course he was never seen without that great big infamous smile of his; he makes the best company!
I took Bunker out into the side field on the long leash this afternoon to work on his recall training. I also brought my own dog, Merida out off-leash to distract Bunker. I had him sit a few times to warm up, before letting him wander to the end of the leash. He went to see what Merida was sniffing, so I called him back towards me. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually Bunker made his way back to me. We repeated this exercise while moving around the field to keep encountering new scents and distractions. 

Next up was a big and rambunctious group with some of our favourite daycare ladies! Well I guess Issy and Mocha and rambunctious don’t necessarily belong in the same sentence but they had just as much fun as silly friends Jemma and Tsavo nonetheless. Everyone was excited to have handsome resident Husky Justice join their group and Jemma excitedly went down into submission mode as he came over to say hello! Tsavo was already pawing at his back trying to entice him to wrestle with her all the while Jemma was slinking around beneath them. Issy was out and about making her laps of the yard and had to make sure to dodge the silliness surrounding her. While Justice ran over to say hello to Mocha who was chilling out by the door, Tsavo found a wrestling partner in Magic. These two girls excitedly grunted at one another waiting to see who would make the first move, then up they went to dance around together on their hind legs. Justice convinced Mocha to leave her trusted spot and she happily followed him out for a friendly wrestle. It takes a special dog to get Mocha in her playful state and Justice was the man for the job! Jemma spotted the Frisbee behind the fence so as I went to grab it for her; she had already impatiently snatched it away with her mouth and was ready to play some fetch. Jemma caught some good air this afternoon as she endlessly leapt into the air to catch the Frisbee like the agile girl she is!

Cai the big and handsome boy was ready to spend his morning outside with his favourite four-legged friends and of course that includes Nyxx, his newly found Husky pal that he just adores. When he spotted Nyxx from across the yard, his tail immediately perked up and he headed over to say hello. But Nyxx was preoccupied with trying to steal the ball away from fetch addicts Cabot and Tupper, but that didn’t stop Cai from trying to entice him to play and Nyxx didn’t mind the attention! Then Oliver the Weimaraner joined the group and Cai ran over to say hello. Oliver and Cai decided to join forces to see if this time they could together get Nyxx to play with them. Well their planned worked and Nyxx dropped the ball to play!

Pelley must have known she was in for a bath today, since she ran straight for the puddle as soon as we stepped out the door! She didn't hesitate for a second and laid down in the water, soaking her belly and her legs. She looks so cute when her hair is messy and her beard is wet! When she left the puddle, Pelley shook off and went to greet her friends. She was particularly smitten by a new addition to the group, a Shih Tzu named Kado. Pelley followed her new friend around as he said hello to the other dogs, play-bowing or pawing at him here and there along the way. He eventually gave in to Pelley's request to play, and the pair bounced around for a few minutes, before making his way back around to give everyone another sniff. Pelley seemed to be looking for a new friend, so I went over and started running around in circles with her. She would stop, play-bow, hop side to side and then race off again. She's full of fun energy!

Today is Pelley's last day of her stay with us, and she made sure to take full advantage of it during her extra attention time. She bounced around the reception area from one chair to another, and especially liked sitting in the desk chair at the computer. She was so excited she was using me a spring board and bouncing off my legs. She met a new friend, Kyah the husky, who Pelley was quite interested in. The greeted each other by touching noses and Kyah put a gentle paw on Pelley back. This startled Pelley for a second, but then she wanted to play! Pelley insisted on going outside for a little stroll, so I clipped a leash on to her collar and out we went. She raced through all the puddles on the grass, washing off all the mud from her walk. Good thing this little girl is getting a bath before heading home!

Kai seemed to really enjoy some quality one-on-one time with her people friends today. She got to go for walks on two different forest trails across the creek. Kai eagerly led the way across the bridge towards the trail with me in tow. Although it was a bit cloudy, it was still warm outside and Kai and I took our time wandering the first of the two trails. She sniffed along at the bottoms of the trees and along the edges of the path, stopping every now and then when something smelled particularly noteworthy. We made it around the loop after a while, and Kai was happy to return to her kennel for a snooze for the time being. I went to get her once again a little bit later in the day, and this time we went for a wander around the other trail loop. This trail is a bit wider with more long grass, so Kai took the opportunity to stop and roll around lots along the way. She felt extra frisky after getting up from her rolling, and would hop up and bounce around for a minute before continuing on her way. 

Nanook was in a laid back mood during his group time this morning. He went and sniffed all around the fence and back again, stopping to say hello to whoever crossed his path. He kept his nose to the ground most of the time, only lifting it when a scent on the wind caught his attention. Nanook came across the tunnel and spent a good few minutes inspecting the opening, but decided not to go through right then. Suddenly, one of the dogs ran over to the fence that faces the back field and everyone else followed, including Nanook. Katie was out taking another dog for his extra attention walk, and Nanook and his pals sounded their alarms! After the excitement died down a bit, Nanook came and saw me for some cuddles and a few treats. Once he knew I had snacks in my pocket, Nanook posed for lots of pictures and sat like a gentleman next to his buddies. 

Nanook is really coming out of his shell with us, now that he's been here a few days. He was happy to join me up front in the reception area for some one on one time. He seemed rather enthusiastic for treats so I got out our treat puzzle and filled it with goodies for him to use his brain to figure out. It didn't take this smart boy long to figure out how to move the pieces and get the treats out. We had a surprise visitor pop in during our time together and silly Nanook made sure our visitor knew he was a very tough "guard dog" (: Once our visitor left Nanook continued to search for his treats, proud of himself for doing such a good job keeping Tails and Trail safe. 

Winston was our designated door man during groups this afternoon. He and Tails & Trails resident dog, Julie, were quite content to perch on the door step together for most of our time in the yard. He left his post briefly to sniff around and say hello to some of the dogs who are new to the group today. Winston then noticed the other dogs looking out into the field where Katie was walking, and he moseyed out towards the back of the yard to see what all the fuss was about. Before long, though Winston made his way back towards the step once again. I went to give him some back scratches and pets, when he and Julie started up some kind of dog conversation. She would look him in the eye and bark, and Winston would either turn his head and listen or move to the other side of Julie's chair. They must have had some important door-dog business to discuss! 

I laid out a big comfy bed for Winston in the reception area this afternoon, and he climbed right up next to me! He laid down and got comfortable so he could enjoy his back scratch. Between pets and brushing, Winston almost fell asleep on me! He's such a good buddy to hang out with. 

It's always so lovely to hang out with Maya and Rocky in the yard. You can count on Rocky to be sitting by the wooden fence, keeping his eye on the group, while Maya makes her way around to greet her friends and explore the yard. Rocky posed for a few pictures with his hair blowing in the wind before I followed Maya out to the grassy yard. She seemed to be feeling calm and relaxed today, and spent lots of time with her nose glued to the ground. I ran around the yard to see if anyone wanted to join me, and Maya seemed to think about it for a second before continuing to mosey around. She said hello to all of her pals, including her fellow Kosovan friend, Resa. The girls seemed to be near one another quite a bit today, even posing for some cute pictures together! After our photo-op, Maya and I went back to see how Rocky was doing by the fence. We all hung out together and I gave Maya and Rocky lots of pets and cuddles until it was time to head back in for a nap.