Wednesday, June 21st, 2017

Jack and Maggie were ready to hit the trail for their walk after breakfast time this morning. They walked with Beauty, a fellow small dog that they’ve gotten to know during their stay. They met up with Beauty and the rest of the group later in the morning another outing. Jack went to wander around and take in all of the good smells that the yard had to offer, while Maggie stuck close by my side. I brought Maggie’s favourite pink dragon stuffed toy outside with us, and she spotted it in my hand right away! Maggie started to jump up and down in anticipation, hoping I would toss her toy. I threw it up in the air and Maggie leapt up to catch it, then shook it around like crazy. When Maggie wiggled away with her toy, I went over to check on Jack. He was hanging out with Teddy and Mickey by the fence, sniffing the grass and booping noses. It wasn’t long before Maggie came racing over to see her best friend and they hung out together in the sunshine for a little while. Maggie was ready to play again after her little break, and I tossed her toy for her as much as she wanted, until she decided tug would be more fun! Next, she did a few jumps over the agility jump while Jack stood on the sidelines and watched. She was sure full of beans during group time! They joined me after their time outside, up front in the reception area. I brought along Maggie's toy again for her to play with. She of course was thrilled to get even more time pouncing after the dragon. Jack was much more content with cuddling. He did a little exploring around the room before settling down on the chair. I cuddled up with him on the chair and he was soon having a snooze in my lap. 

Annie and Zen went straight out onto the trail when they arrived this morning, taking advantage of the cooler weather during their walk. The sun came out during their group outing though, and Annie took it easy now that it had warmed up. Zen was more eager to have some fun today, and followed some new friends around the yard, keeping a close eye on the action. She followed Sophie, Chloe and Kane around the play house, bumping into them and getting excited every so often. Meanwhile, Annie was hanging out on the other side of the yard with her nose down in the long grass. She’s definitely the explorer of the pair, while Zen likes to use her time to socialize. Annie did go and say hello to a couple of new faces, which belonged to Delilah the bulldog mix and Kane the Weimaraner, who Zen had been playing with periodically. These girls are certainly starting to come out of their shells!

Oakley and Delilah both joined us for daycare today and seemed to be on the same page during their group outing. They each went for a walk to start the day, Oakley with Annie and Zen, and Delilah with Red and Finnigan. After going for their walks, both Delilah and Oakley were happy to use their group outing time to relax in the warm sun. Oakley did some exploring and greeted lots of the other dogs, including Kane the Weimaraner and some of her best Husky pals. Oakley of course came and said hello to me plenty of times, always rubbing up against me to ask for a pet. We sat together and watched some of the crazier guys as they ran around. Meanwhile, Delilah was taking full advantage of the open part of the yard and sat down to sunbathe and watch the other dogs. She had many visitors approach her to say hello, and she politely sniffed each dog back but stayed sitting in her spot. Oakley went to hang around with some friends, so I went to give Delilah some pets, which she seemed to quite enjoy.

Kane and Chloe started their day off as they usually do, with a walk on the trail together! These two long-legged and fast-paced friends make the best partners and keep you on your toes. They were happy to see one another again in the yard for their first group outing of the day and raced around all across  the yard. Chloe went and met up with Sophie the Shepherd, while Kane just didn’t stop running! I went and got a ball from the other side of the yard and Kane immediately locked eyes on it, and ran up to sit in front of me. I threw the ball and Kane and his friends all went flying across the yard after it. He didn’t stop to pick up the ball, though so Chloe went in and scooped it up. Sophie loves to play fetch too, so she was right next to Chloe, full of excitement, which led to a lengthy wrestling match. Kane, on the other hand, just loves everyone he meets and couldn’t decide who he liked best out of his friends today. He had a brief spurt of play with Justice and Magic, went to join in with Chloe and Sophie, but quickly zoomed off once again and met up with Oakley and Delilah. He went back and forth between doing laps, greeting dogs, and playing with Chloe and Sophie for the rest of our time outside!

Max and Sadie couldn’t have been happier today! They were absolutely thrilled that Susan was taking them on their walk this morning, and they were even happier to see her back out in the yard a little later in the morning. Susan and I brought Isis outside to see Max and Sadie since they had such a nice time together earlier this week, and Max was as happy as ever to meet up with his old buddy. Sadie is always full of smiles too, and said hello to Isis, Susan and I before going over to lay down in the sunshine. Once we were all settled and happy in the yard, I went and got Susan’s Bloodhound Glory to join the party. We introduced Glory through the fence first so that everyone could get comfortable with one another before letting them all hang out in the same yard. Max was such a good boy and said a polite hello to his new friend, while Sadie hung out in the shade beside the building with Isis. It was a great day for Max and Sadie! 

Cascabelle has been enjoying her visit with us so far; she has spent most of her time as you can imagine collecting and fetching toys, her most favorite thing to do! She has nicely decorated her kennel with all of the toys she has collected over the past couple of weeks and she is very proud of her finds. Cascabelle is as happy as a Labrador can be; she loves to spend her time outside with all of her favorite friends and is always smiling from ear to ear. We always play a good game of fetch together and without fail she manages to find all of the hidden toys in the yard, some that we haven’t seen in forever - she has a good nose! Today she was happy to see good friend and fellow Labrador Vasco out in the yard; these two have become good pals. But there was a new face to the group as well, it was Amber the Red Golden Retriever and she is as sweet as can be! Amber was very interested to see what Cascabelle was up to. She could see her busily running around the yard with her nose down searching for toys and she thought that looked like fun. I held the rope toy up in the air for both Cascabelle and Amber to fetch. Cascabelle leaped in the air after it, but Amber much preferred to stay close to my side. She couldn’t believe how many friends there were out in the yard with her today and everyone wanted to come over and say hello to her! Although somewhat shy at first, her little bum couldn’t stop wiggling in excitement. Vasco and Red especially loved Amber and tried to entice her to play, but she wasn’t quite ready yet. She enjoyed the head rubs by staying close to my side anyways!

 Vasco and Red continued their wrestle without Amber; these two have become fast friends over the past couple of days and are nearly inseparable. Vasco is such a social boy and loves being the centre of attention, especially Red’s. Last but certainly not least, Nymeria rounded out this big and playful group. Today she found a friend in Sophie the Golden and boy did they have fun! Although Sophie is a couple years senior to Nymeria, they formed an incredible bond and Sophie was happy that she could keep up with this young and fiery redhead! They ran and played all morning long and even rolled around together on the ground - neither of them were going to give up! Sophie simply couldn’t resist Nymeria’s fun-loving personality and the two of them were inseparable this morning.

Nymeria couldn't contain her excitement this afternoon when we went out into the front yard and her grandpa Tycho was there! She flew over to see him but I reminded her to approach him politely and to remember her manners. They bounced around together, which caught Julie's attention and she came running over to join in the training session, which was another great distraction for Nym. Then, we brought Magic outside and practiced walking beside one another up and down the driveway. Since it was warm and sunny out this afternoon, Nymeria joined me in the reception area for her extra attention, where we relaxed and cooled off. 

Cascabelle always enjoys her extra attention. Her tummy was a little upset this afternoon so we kept a little bit quieter than usual. We of course still played fetch but only over short distances and inside in the cool air conditioning. Her favourite toy today was the rubber pig. After some more fetch I clipped on a leash and we headed outside. Cascabelle brought her pig along with her and went exploring through the grass. 
Vasco was gung-go when it was his turn for extra attention. He raced up to the front and we went straight out the front door. He mosied through the long grass before we headed over to the creek. He was happy to take a dip and cool off, splashing around in the water. Vasco munched on a few pieces of grass before climbing back up the bank. We finished with a nice stroll around the trail, and relaxed before heading back inside. 

Miss Amber is such a pleasure to hang out with during her extra attention time. She's so sweet and up for any adventure. This afternoon we went down the trail and then veered off down to the creek, where Amber watched a couple of frogs jump in the water before inching closer to the stream. She wanted to sit for a bit so that's just what we did. Next, we continued down the trail until we reached the bridge, and Amber posed for a couple of lovely pictures before we walked further. Once we made it back inside, Amber was happy to relax in the cool reception area where she enjoyed lots of pets from me. 

I was excited to see Jemma in for daycare on a Wednesday; her beautiful face usually doesn’t greet us until Thursdays! She was just as eager and ready to head outside and see who she was going to play with today. She was happy to see best daycare pal Finnigan and recognized Bailey the Beagle as well. Not to mention fellow Beagle friends Coco and Timbits. Bailey and Timbits followed Jemma and Finnigan out into the far grassy yard. Bailey and Finn immediately claimed their toys and started chewing away with their bums in the air. Timbits was more interested in saying hello to Jemma, but he had to jump up on his hind legs to be able to reach her face. Coco hung back in the front yard with pals Maya and Rocky; she wasn’t quite ready to commit to making the trek out into the yard just yet. Jemma was bored of watching Bailey and Finn chew on their toys, so she pounced down into a play bow to see if she could entice anyone to a wrestle. Bailey couldn’t resist a good wrestle with silly Jemma, so she left her toy and started chasing her around the yard. All of the commotion got Coco’s attention and she decided to run over and see what was going on! Meanwhile Finn decided that he was going to run over and say hello to the ladies who were sunbathing by the door. He whipped over and immediately flopped over on to his back in submission. Maya and Rocky found this quite entertaining to say the least! Rocky loved all of this warm sun we had today to mark the first official day of summer. He found his usual comfy spot to sit directly in the sun and rested his head down in peace. Sister Maya has been keeping Rocky company as of late, she much prefers to watch the others be silly rather than be a part of it. There are endless amounts of entertainment when Beagle friends Bailey, Coco and Timbits are around.

Mack  joined us for daycare today and he was ready to kick his day off with a trot along the back trail. Little Merida joined him, he remembers her from his last visit! They had a wonderful walk along the trail together and he was thrilled to be back in his happy place. A short while later he joined Merida back outside but this time they had free roam of the agility yard to explore. He loved having Merida’s company again and was excited to sniff and explore the yard together. From the moment he set paw outside, he was smiling from ear to ear and soaking up every minute of the sun; it was a great day for Mack!