Who know that when the snow started this morning that the day would end in sunshine and sweatshirts and not shovels and boots.
Lucky for us the snow scared away a lot of people from the park this morning. Everest, Copper, Riley, Rover, Ryder, Whistler and Bruin got to enjoy the entire north end of the park by themselves. Riley was super cute today. He was running around and acting all chipper and cute. He was chasing Everest - something I have never seen before and teasing Ryder - something I see almost everyday. Copper enjoyed meeting Christy. Christy is an old fat dog that LOVES our boy Copper and likes to show it. He was very patient with her and enjoyed the exuberant attention. By the time we got back to the truck all the dogs were quite wet and muddy and the little guys spread this mess all over the inside of the truck.
The afternoon group went to Edworthy and enjoyed the sunshine. We tried to play ball but again they lost all the balls that Bella's dad had given us last week within about 10 minutes. So we just walked and explored the park. We met up with Jen's group and all the dogs enjoyed having someone to play with. Mitch let the trio of Wilbur, Auzzie and Mitch to play with Olivia from Jen's group. Those two have a special love affair going on and play so well together. Sierra came out with us today and we loved having her. She is a gentle giant and gets along with everyone especially the little boys. The only one who had a rough time today was Frank. He received some unwanted attention in the form of a love nibble and slobber from a 110 pound mastiff. Fortunately, the only thing hurt was his ego.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday's Adventures
Friday was a slow and easy day for both the dogs and me. In the morning we only had Copper, Everest, Riley, Rover, Ryder, Whistler, Bruin and Frank. This may seem like a lot of dogs to some but for me they are all so good and so mature that it was easy. Even Riley with his independent spirit stayed close to the gang. We walked with Tammy and her mini-pack of dogs which gave an opportunity for the dog park newbies to have a pleasant experience. After a trip up and around the north end of the park we made a speedy trip to the river for a drink and then it was home time.
The afternoon could not have been easier. Auzzie, Wilbur, Frank, Bailey, Sam and Everest made the group. There were a lot of dogs and their people at the park so we had to forgo the usual fast and furious ball play and I just kicked the ball short distances for them to retrieve. We walked through the forest and ran into Jen and her pack and Cat and her pack. Auzzie was very happy as Cat had a long leggy Vischla puppy that made the perfect companion for him. Too bad they were on their way out of the park and the pups could only play for a short time. Bailey's leg is healing up after her injury (with her gramma) last week but she is still limping slightly and I practically had to sit on her to keep her from frolicking too much. Those labs just do not know when to stop. Getting everyone in the truck was a challenge as they were so happy and being so good that I could barely bring myself to make them leave.
The afternoon could not have been easier. Auzzie, Wilbur, Frank, Bailey, Sam and Everest made the group. There were a lot of dogs and their people at the park so we had to forgo the usual fast and furious ball play and I just kicked the ball short distances for them to retrieve. We walked through the forest and ran into Jen and her pack and Cat and her pack. Auzzie was very happy as Cat had a long leggy Vischla puppy that made the perfect companion for him. Too bad they were on their way out of the park and the pups could only play for a short time. Bailey's leg is healing up after her injury (with her gramma) last week but she is still limping slightly and I practically had to sit on her to keep her from frolicking too much. Those labs just do not know when to stop. Getting everyone in the truck was a challenge as they were so happy and being so good that I could barely bring myself to make them leave.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I love the mild weather and according to Taylor's dad it won't snow for another three weeks as he is putting his snow tires on this weekend! YAY for us. Because of the nice weather the parks have been extra busy for this time of year we seem to be getting distracted with more socializing and not as much vigorous exercise.
The morning group, Copper, Clover, Everest, Guinny-pig, Nicky, Marty, Riley, Ryder and Ziggy were very good dogs. Marty was a little cheeky and had a great time teasing the older boys Ryder and Riley but I secretly think that they love the attention. Riley found something disgusting that held his attention for quite a long time. Whatever it was he could not roll in it or carry it so that was good. When Ziggy (a lab) saw Jen he ran straight for her and rolled on to his back for a tummy rub then proceeded to ignore me. He loves Jen. This is kinda funny as Jen has a yellow lab in her afternoon pack that loves me more than her and will b-line to me and stay by my side until he is leashed and dragged away. Clover was happy to be out with the gang. She seems to love the car ride the most as she gets to sit in the cab. She is grinning the whole time.
The afternoon group went to Southland as well. This pack was rowdier (as usual) and I am not sure why the afternoon guys are so much more "energetic". Auzzie started the walk by jumping out of the truck with Wilbur close behind and landing on Owen. He got them back later by being faster and much much larger which totally befuddled the little guys. Bella loves greeting the new dogs but is still a bit rusty on how to do it without scaring the dog's owner. She tends to stalk and then pounce and then stand there and wag her tail like "I'm here. How do you like me so far?" What is most interesting about the stalking behaviour is that I think Wilbur is copying her. He actually stopped dead, spied Auzzie in the tall grass chowing on a ball, lifted one back paw and one front paw, uncurled his tail and then began to ever so slowly walk toward Auzzie. There is nothing funnier than seeing a pug stalk another dog. It is almost as funny as when Taylor the goofy little boxer does it.
Before Auzzie became Wilbur's prey he had found a disgusting ball that he was throwing around for himself. (When Rover is in the pack I don't bring balls as they get him too excited and he has a melt down.) So finding a ball was a coup for the little guy and he was having a grand old time.
Poor little Cheetos - you know the Crown Prince Cheetos. He had no one to carry him today and he was miffed. On Tuesday we had a guy join us to see if his dog would fit in our pack and he picked Cheetos up and carried him as he was walking too slow. Cheets expects that kind of attention and when he doesn't get it he gets huffy. And then to add insult to injury Taylor tried her stalking routine on him. Well you can imagine the indignity of it all.
And in and amongst all the loonies there was Sam the Ham just happy to be alive and at the park.
The morning group, Copper, Clover, Everest, Guinny-pig, Nicky, Marty, Riley, Ryder and Ziggy were very good dogs. Marty was a little cheeky and had a great time teasing the older boys Ryder and Riley but I secretly think that they love the attention. Riley found something disgusting that held his attention for quite a long time. Whatever it was he could not roll in it or carry it so that was good. When Ziggy (a lab) saw Jen he ran straight for her and rolled on to his back for a tummy rub then proceeded to ignore me. He loves Jen. This is kinda funny as Jen has a yellow lab in her afternoon pack that loves me more than her and will b-line to me and stay by my side until he is leashed and dragged away. Clover was happy to be out with the gang. She seems to love the car ride the most as she gets to sit in the cab. She is grinning the whole time.
The afternoon group went to Southland as well. This pack was rowdier (as usual) and I am not sure why the afternoon guys are so much more "energetic". Auzzie started the walk by jumping out of the truck with Wilbur close behind and landing on Owen. He got them back later by being faster and much much larger which totally befuddled the little guys. Bella loves greeting the new dogs but is still a bit rusty on how to do it without scaring the dog's owner. She tends to stalk and then pounce and then stand there and wag her tail like "I'm here. How do you like me so far?" What is most interesting about the stalking behaviour is that I think Wilbur is copying her. He actually stopped dead, spied Auzzie in the tall grass chowing on a ball, lifted one back paw and one front paw, uncurled his tail and then began to ever so slowly walk toward Auzzie. There is nothing funnier than seeing a pug stalk another dog. It is almost as funny as when Taylor the goofy little boxer does it.
Before Auzzie became Wilbur's prey he had found a disgusting ball that he was throwing around for himself. (When Rover is in the pack I don't bring balls as they get him too excited and he has a melt down.) So finding a ball was a coup for the little guy and he was having a grand old time.
Poor little Cheetos - you know the Crown Prince Cheetos. He had no one to carry him today and he was miffed. On Tuesday we had a guy join us to see if his dog would fit in our pack and he picked Cheetos up and carried him as he was walking too slow. Cheets expects that kind of attention and when he doesn't get it he gets huffy. And then to add insult to injury Taylor tried her stalking routine on him. Well you can imagine the indignity of it all.
And in and amongst all the loonies there was Sam the Ham just happy to be alive and at the park.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Another beautiful day for dogs!
The morning group was a bit scattered when we got to Southland. It was like everyone had their own agenda and were bound and determined to fulfill it. Riley had joined up with some friends he met last week - Dudley and his brother. Not sure the brother's name but when J is not around this little white guy is Riley BFF. So I rounded up the guys and we headed off to catch up with Riley. Luckily he was not too far ahead and we all went to the north end of the park. Much to the dogs' dismay the puddles had dried up over the weekend and there was nothing to immerse themselves in. This made me very happy. By the end of the walk the dogs were being good so I took them to the river to get a drink. Copper, Everest, Whistler and Bruin really enjoy splashing around. Ryder not so much but he tagged along like a little trooper.
The afternoon group was quite calm today. We started off playing ball at Edworthy but since Bailey loves to fetch and she hurt herself last week we could only play for a few minutes. Even without the injury the dogs managed to loose two balls in about 10 minutes. Gabby and Pina were determined to continue playing ball and searched madly for any piece of tennis ball they could find and thrust at me. Nina and Shea were very social today and I had to keep calling them back as they cruised the park looking for dogs to greet. Wilbur, Mitch and Auzzie were the cutest group of little hairy boys I had since Friday! Auzzie with his long legs is outgrowing Mitch and Wilbur but he is still the youngest so even though he can stand over top of the other two he still gets occasionally bamboozled by them.
Taylor was practicing her lion act and was stocking (in a humorous way) other dogs. It is funny to watch her slow down, then crouch down and then slowly move toward the other dogs. It is a good thing she is so funny looking or people might think she is threatening.
All in all a lovely day.
The morning group was a bit scattered when we got to Southland. It was like everyone had their own agenda and were bound and determined to fulfill it. Riley had joined up with some friends he met last week - Dudley and his brother. Not sure the brother's name but when J is not around this little white guy is Riley BFF. So I rounded up the guys and we headed off to catch up with Riley. Luckily he was not too far ahead and we all went to the north end of the park. Much to the dogs' dismay the puddles had dried up over the weekend and there was nothing to immerse themselves in. This made me very happy. By the end of the walk the dogs were being good so I took them to the river to get a drink. Copper, Everest, Whistler and Bruin really enjoy splashing around. Ryder not so much but he tagged along like a little trooper.
The afternoon group was quite calm today. We started off playing ball at Edworthy but since Bailey loves to fetch and she hurt herself last week we could only play for a few minutes. Even without the injury the dogs managed to loose two balls in about 10 minutes. Gabby and Pina were determined to continue playing ball and searched madly for any piece of tennis ball they could find and thrust at me. Nina and Shea were very social today and I had to keep calling them back as they cruised the park looking for dogs to greet. Wilbur, Mitch and Auzzie were the cutest group of little hairy boys I had since Friday! Auzzie with his long legs is outgrowing Mitch and Wilbur but he is still the youngest so even though he can stand over top of the other two he still gets occasionally bamboozled by them.
Taylor was practicing her lion act and was stocking (in a humorous way) other dogs. It is funny to watch her slow down, then crouch down and then slowly move toward the other dogs. It is a good thing she is so funny looking or people might think she is threatening.
All in all a lovely day.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Yet another gorgeous day in Calgary!
The morning group went to Southland. Copper, Everest, J, Riley, Rover, Ryder and Whistler made up my extremely mellow group. They basically divided into two factions - big guys and little guys and never the two groups shall meet. At one point I was standing on the mounds of dirt just to get a good view of both groups. One thing that they all had in common was that they loved the refreshed mud puddles. Frozen mud puddles is the only thing I am looking forward to winter for.
The afternoon group was a bit jazzed up when we got to the park to start with and then a crazy guy decided to take his frustration at the world out on me which made them act up even more. Luckily the guy was harmless this time. I later learned he often takes his frustrations out on dog walkers.
The gang was large and I wanted to get away from the parking lot so we did not stick around to play ball. Turned out this was OK as there were lots of kids and dogs to play with and chase (chasing was done with the dogs only.) Gabby and Pina were making friends all over the place - loving anyone with two hands that was willing to pet them. Nina and Shea mainly kept to themselves today which is odd but OK since they weren't having sisterly squabbles. Wilbur, Mitch and Auzzie were as cute as cute gets again today. I love watching them thoroughly enjoy each other's company. Taylor was back with the group after a month long trip to "dog camp" while her mom and dad toured Europe. She was happy to be back with her buddies. Frank and Bailey were my steady, stable and always predictable dogs.
The morning group went to Southland. Copper, Everest, J, Riley, Rover, Ryder and Whistler made up my extremely mellow group. They basically divided into two factions - big guys and little guys and never the two groups shall meet. At one point I was standing on the mounds of dirt just to get a good view of both groups. One thing that they all had in common was that they loved the refreshed mud puddles. Frozen mud puddles is the only thing I am looking forward to winter for.
The afternoon group was a bit jazzed up when we got to the park to start with and then a crazy guy decided to take his frustration at the world out on me which made them act up even more. Luckily the guy was harmless this time. I later learned he often takes his frustrations out on dog walkers.
The gang was large and I wanted to get away from the parking lot so we did not stick around to play ball. Turned out this was OK as there were lots of kids and dogs to play with and chase (chasing was done with the dogs only.) Gabby and Pina were making friends all over the place - loving anyone with two hands that was willing to pet them. Nina and Shea mainly kept to themselves today which is odd but OK since they weren't having sisterly squabbles. Wilbur, Mitch and Auzzie were as cute as cute gets again today. I love watching them thoroughly enjoy each other's company. Taylor was back with the group after a month long trip to "dog camp" while her mom and dad toured Europe. She was happy to be back with her buddies. Frank and Bailey were my steady, stable and always predictable dogs.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
How many more days like today can we expect to get? It was another beautiful day for dogs.
Both groups went to Southland. In the morning group we had Kip, Clover, Copper, Everest, Guinness, Nicky, Marty, Ryder, Erckle and Leo. (Kip and Leo are from Jen's group.) All the dogs got along great and were very friendly with each other and everyone else at the park after the first 10 minutes of course. The first 10 - 15 minutes they all act like clowns and after a long weekend today was not different. We went to the water and played in the mud for a while and then rediscovered old paths through the grass to wipe the muddy paws on.
The afternoon group was a bit more scattered and they all seemed to want to go in different directions. After several minutes of searching around for the sacred poop spots that they all seem to have I managed to fill another grocery bag of poop and not very much of it was from our dogs.
Auzzie and Wilbur acted like they had not seen each other since yesterday (when we ran into Auzzie and his family at the park and those two could NOT be separated.) Grannie Annie had to check out all the smells in great detail. The oddest couple Rover and Bella had a gas chasing the bike riders on the other side of the fence. All the riders took it in stride and tried to out run the dogs. Dutch was very flirty today. She was really making googly eyes at Jager (an Akida) and then with a fat choco lab (never got his name). She usually likes to play with the little boys but was digging the big boys today. Owen had his paws full when Wilbur and Auzzie decided that they were taking the "tall one" down. I caught the two of them trying to hang off Owens scruff. He was good natured about it but was not really happy for that kind of attention.
All in all a lovely day to walk off the turkey and pie hangover! I hope you all enjoyed your dinner and time with family and friends this Thanksgiving!!
Both groups went to Southland. In the morning group we had Kip, Clover, Copper, Everest, Guinness, Nicky, Marty, Ryder, Erckle and Leo. (Kip and Leo are from Jen's group.) All the dogs got along great and were very friendly with each other and everyone else at the park after the first 10 minutes of course. The first 10 - 15 minutes they all act like clowns and after a long weekend today was not different. We went to the water and played in the mud for a while and then rediscovered old paths through the grass to wipe the muddy paws on.
The afternoon group was a bit more scattered and they all seemed to want to go in different directions. After several minutes of searching around for the sacred poop spots that they all seem to have I managed to fill another grocery bag of poop and not very much of it was from our dogs.
Auzzie and Wilbur acted like they had not seen each other since yesterday (when we ran into Auzzie and his family at the park and those two could NOT be separated.) Grannie Annie had to check out all the smells in great detail. The oddest couple Rover and Bella had a gas chasing the bike riders on the other side of the fence. All the riders took it in stride and tried to out run the dogs. Dutch was very flirty today. She was really making googly eyes at Jager (an Akida) and then with a fat choco lab (never got his name). She usually likes to play with the little boys but was digging the big boys today. Owen had his paws full when Wilbur and Auzzie decided that they were taking the "tall one" down. I caught the two of them trying to hang off Owens scruff. He was good natured about it but was not really happy for that kind of attention.
All in all a lovely day to walk off the turkey and pie hangover! I hope you all enjoyed your dinner and time with family and friends this Thanksgiving!!
Monday, October 3, 2011
This morning was so quiet and easy it was almost like a day off! The group - Kip, Frank, Everest, Rover, Riley, Ryder, Whistler and Bruin were so mellow that I was able to do my good deed for the week and clean up the park after all the weekend warriors messed it up. Good works, happy dogs, sunny weather! How can you beat it.
And then.....the afternoon group (surprise! surprise!) was considerably more rowdy and more difficult to manage.
Without giving any names in the first 10 minutes: I had been jumped on seven times, barked at, one had rolled in poop, another had eaten poop, several blankets had been removed from the back of the truck and dragged around the park in a rousing game of "catch me if you can", and then there were at least two (failed) attempts at domination all to the tune of a half a dozen dogs yowling, whining and barking for attention. Luckily, they calmed down once we got moving and the rest of the walk was peaceful.
Even after all that I still love them all!
And then.....the afternoon group (surprise! surprise!) was considerably more rowdy and more difficult to manage.
Without giving any names in the first 10 minutes: I had been jumped on seven times, barked at, one had rolled in poop, another had eaten poop, several blankets had been removed from the back of the truck and dragged around the park in a rousing game of "catch me if you can", and then there were at least two (failed) attempts at domination all to the tune of a half a dozen dogs yowling, whining and barking for attention. Luckily, they calmed down once we got moving and the rest of the walk was peaceful.
Even after all that I still love them all!
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