A cold start to the day.  It started out at -26 with the wind chill and ended up at -2 in the sun! 

The walks were a bit off due to the cold.  I am actually we held off until noon and so were the dogs. 

Auzzie, Sara, Taz, Copper, Joey, Pina, Ryder, Sam and Kip were so goofy and ready to get going as soon as we got there.  We tried to play ball but as usual the dog that has no idea how to actually fetch picked up the ball and then lost it in the snow.  Auzzie and Pina were especially displeased with that move.  However, we were able to regroup and make our way to the north end of the park.  All the other people and dogs were in good moods (something we don't always see unfortunately) and the dogs enjoyed some good old fashioned sniffing.  Rover would be disappointed to find out the there was a snow removal truck on the bike path and he missed being able to chase it.  Several other dogs were having sooo much fun chasing the truck from the safety of the park.

The late afternoon group contained Wilbur, Everest, Whistler, Rover, Frank, Nina and Shea.  Nina and Shea had been at the kennel for a week and were thrilled to be back with the gang.  Wilbur was very mad at his gramma.  He has been eating poop and it has been making him sick so he was on a leash for the walk and quite cranky about it.  Poor Frank's little feet got so cold that he actually sat on his rear end and put his front paws up in the "sit pretty" position and then balanced on is rump and one hind leg so that three legs were off the ground.  When I saw that I realized he is not as tough as he thinks he is and took is cold self back to the truck to thaw.  He was very grateful!

Today was another glorious day at the park.  We walked with Jen's group in the morning and all the dogs in my group were exceptionally well behaved. 

Bella was revved up for her love/hate relationship with Marty and since Wibur was not there he decided to play along.  Bella growls and tries to rough Marty up and he jumps at her face and tries to tackle her.  This is no small feat for Marty as he is only about 5 pounds.  Bella sounds like she will kill him and then looks at me and grins and wiggles!  Who says pit bulls are all evil?  Riley stuck close to the group.  He usually is a little loner when J is not with us.  The funniest thing was Guinness riding home in the Rubbermaid bin I keep in the back seat of the truck.  Last time he did that he toppled over when I took a corner too fast.

The afternoon group was very well behaved also.  We had Eli Miller join us for a walk.  He was nervous at first - getting reaquainted with the gang but quickly settled into the fun.  We ran into Trio and her mom and they joined us for the walk back to the truck.  I had to keep things quieter for this group as several of them are ball-crazy and can cause a ruccous.  They all seemed to enjoy just rooting around in the melting snow and forming mud puddles. 

I learned something very important today - No phone call is worth sitting in your truck at the dog park while 10 anxious and potentially destructive dogs wait for their walk.  The afternoon group was going to start taking things apart if I did not hurry up and finish the call. 

The afternoon guys were VERY hyper when they finally got out of the truck and it took quite a long time for them to calm down.  They were not bad just overly excited and had to let everyone know that they had finally arrived.  Luckily everyone at the park this afternoon was patient and understood dogs.  To be respectful of the other users we went for the farthest reaches of the park to investigate and to play.  Not too many dogs walk along the fence line heading north and we found a richness of aromas that would rival going to a new park.  By the time we were heading back to the truck the dogs were much calmer and quieter. 

A challenging day with the dogs is infinitely better than a mediocre day with anyone else!

This weather is causing such confusion.  It was -15 when we started out this morning and 10 degrees when we got to the park this afternoon.

Riley and J were the focus of the group this morning.  Those two, when together they simply lose their minds.  They are so focused on play and exploring that the rest of the group ends up following them.  Luckily the other dogs have not figured this out yet and just enjoy being out.  Meeko came with us today.  He just loves being with his buddies and is always eager to meet new friends.  Going home it is a challenge to get him in the truck to leave.  Actually none of them were too eager to leave the park. 

The afternoon group found a goose carcass at the river.  Wings, skeleton and that was about it.  So gross!  Nobody around had a large bag to pick it up so as I tried to get the dogs away from it two other women tried to get it in the river to float away.  What they ended up doing is just knocking it into the very shallow water were it sat ready for the dogs to pounce on again.  Buddy was especially intrigued by it and laid down in the water to investigate it, Auzzie was not going to waste any time on investigation and went straight to eating.  What is interesting is that Gabby, Pina and Everest weren't that intrigued.  I would have thought the retrieving instincts would have kicked in.  I guess they are all to well feed and "citified" for wild kill.  Sidney lapped us at mach speed as we walked around and played ball.  The gang managed to lose four balls (including two orange chuck it balls) today. 

I love all my guys and I am happy to spend my days with them.

Poor Erckle.  All the boys liked him today.  Marty was constantly hitting him up and then Rusty who is not in our group was so interested in him that his owner had to put him on a leash and drag him away from Erckle.  All the while Erckle just takes in good humour.  Clover came with us today but she was not feeling well and the normally chatty little girl was so very quiet.  We all hope she feels better soon.  Guinness made a couple of attempts to act tough and when it backfired he came back to the group shame-faced.  He was especially pathetic when Wilbur took the leash that Guiny-pig was trailing and started to drag him around.  Nobody ever suspects the pug!  

The afternoon group was a pack of misfits and it was  hard to get them all going in the same direction.  It was very windy and kinda chilly so Cheetos and Grannie Annie put up a fuss about walking.  Cheetos actually went and stood between some woman's legs and when she tried to walk he followed her.  He was looking pathetic as only a pug in the cold can look.  I found out today that he does the same thing with his mom.  And I found out today that Grannie Annie goes cross country skiing with her mom so the jig is up and I know her secret.  She can walk in the cooler temps without me having to carry her like a baby.  The funniest thing today was Taylor the 30 pound boxer playing with Sierra the 100+ pound Shepard/Pyrenees cross.  The differences physically were striking but Sierra and Taylor spent the majority of the walk chasing each other.  Good thing Sierra is a gentle giant.  Owen, Remy and Bo are like three peas in a pod that cannot get organized.  Remy and Bo are so big and goofy and they try to steal Bo's treasures.  For those of you that don't know Bo is a big collector of park treasures such as sticks, balls, mitts and anything else he shove in his mouth. 

Another confusing day weather wise.  Snow in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon.  Cold still but the dogs still managed to have a swim in the afternoon. 

In the morning Joey, Everest, Copper, Riley, Rover, Ryder, Whistler, Wilbur, Ziggy and Bruin hit the park with a bang.  Whistler, Everest, Ziggy and Wilbur had not had a run on Sunday so they were just a blur once paws were on the ground.  Several minutes of rounding up everyone and all the poop and we were off to the north end.  The dogs found a few others to socialize with but for the most part they stuck pretty close to me.  Rover, however, found a jogger on the bike path and proceeded to bark at her.  He likes it when the people on the path challenge him to a race.  She obviously did not speak his language and was miffed at him.  All I could do from the other side of the park was to wave her on and laugh.  Rover just LOVES to race people should just know that.

The afternoon group was relatively small: Auzzie, Gabby, Pina, Sam, Taylor, Wilbur, Ziggy and Everest.  We met up with Ace and Sylvia and played ball for quite a while.  Then hit the river for a drink and Sam, Gabby and Pina hit the water for a swim.  When they came out and shook the water off their hair froze in a gelled like manner.  Very pretty when the sunlight hit it. 

It was a lovely day all around for everyone.  All the dogs were exceptionally well behaved and even when they slid to the dark side I was able to bring them back without incident. 

The morning group was easy.  We met up for a little bit with Penny Schiaroli and her mom and then with Jennifer's group.  Jen's morning group has some challenging behaviours and our group did not even react.  Everest is still made at me for putting a muzzle on him and he stood in protest in the middle of the field and refused to move even when Penny's mom gave him a nudge.  When he could no longer see me he made the move to find me.  Ryder made it clear he was not impressed to be with us.  He met his little buddies he sees every morning would have rather played with them.  Oh well Ryder!  Marty and Wilbur made it their mission to see how mad they could make Riley.  Those little boys are so cheeky but so very very cute.

In the afternoon, Bo found all the really big sticks and hunks of wood and the melty slimy puddles.  It was quite ridiculous to see me acting like an idiot so that they would all follow me away from the puddles that Bo had found.  Owen and Rover are very fond of yucky puddles and very hard to clean. 

There is a vast difference to the way that I am greeted.  Cheetos actually looked away when he saw it was me coming in and then I got to Owen's house and he was waiting by the front door too excited to contain himself.  Owen doesn't like going in the truck but he wants to get to the park so he tolerates it.  Cheetos prefers the truck ride to actually walking.  Clover came in the afternoon today as she had a doctor's appointment in the morning and she, too, enjoys taking in the sites on the way to the park.  Bella and Rover are happy that the warm weather has brought out the bike riders.  They love to chase them from safely inside the park.  It is fun when there are teens riding on the path as they challenge the dogs and egg them on.  Sam and Whistler were happy to meet a new friend who had a big old golden (sorry Sam he thought you were old too) and he lavished the girls with attention. 
Auzzie was a bit miffed as Wilbur and Mitch were not with us this afternoon but he managed to still have fun - just not as much.