Will It Ever End

Another cold and dreary day at the dog park.  One good thing is that the dogs don't seem to mind.  The  morning group was big but well behaved - sorta of.  The thing about taking an entire pack of males together is that they always have to sort out who is top dog.  I guess the weekend caused them to forget that it is me who is top dog!

Vinnie R., Original Copper, Joey,  Rover, Ryder, Wilbur, Bruin, Kip (from Jen's group), Jesse (a new friend male yellow lab) and Everest were all very excited to get to the park.  Yesterday was so bitter that almost half of them did not get out.  I know this because they were at my house.  Since Jesse is so new the boys have kept up the initiation process and the poor guy was getting humped left and right.  Even Wilbur was getting in on it.  Luckily we found a ball not far from the parking lot and once the fetching started it was easier to keep them focused on play than on each other.  They still felt the need to steal the ball from one and other and then play keep away but at least they weren't harassing each other.

The afternoon group was really good today.  We met up with Wilson and his gramma and they walked with us.  Josie, R2, Frank, Gabby, Pina, Sidney, Sam, Ellie and Chloe all enjoyed a good walk in the bitter wind.  Chloe loves to roll so when there was some fresh flurries on the ground she took full advantage and was wiggling on her back.  Ellie was very spry today and had a blast jogging to keep up.  She was grinning from ear to ear.  Pina and Gabby went around the park making friends with all the people they could find.  They were doing their trademark move: scare other dogs away so they can have the people to themselves.  It is a good thing they are so cute.

Another wonderful day at the park with my furry buddies.

The fun started on the ride to the park with Ellie hogging the entire back seat of the truck.  Nicky and Guinness, who ride in the back seat usually, were forced into the front seat as Ellie, a mid-sized dog, was sprawled out and absolutely refused to move for the Pinkney boys to share.  The boys were somewhat put out as Nicky laid down and poor little Guinness tried to balance on the edge of the seat.  This was not going to be safe or comfortable so I moved the console so Guinness could sit down beside me.  In a related story as we were walking around the park the Pinkney boys crowded at the gate and when I went to call them back I called them "Nickess".  Combined both names and guess what?  They came.  Good boys.  I knew I loved them for a reason. 

Nearing the end of the morning walk we ran into Jennifer and her gang.  Original Copper who weighs 51kg decided he liked a little puggle named Harley.  Poor Harley was horrified and was confused as to what he had done to garner the attention of the beast known as Original Copper.  Harley was squaking and running in between Jennifer's legs for safety with Copper heading right in there as well.  Copper would not have hurt Harley - he was just having fun teasing the poor little thing. 

The afternoon group, Surprise! Surprise!! was very noisy.  One of the old guys who is a regular at the park commented on the barking.  Although it is a dog park and they should be allowed to just be dogs I decided at that point to take the ball away and get them to settle down. 

After the ball went away everyone settled down into a nice group of dogs.  Rover chased -- oops! raced-- several bike riders along the path.  Bo found some puddles to set himself in, Nina and Shea squabbled like they were real sisters and Remy and Owen tried to get the other people to through balls for them.  Just a regular Fun for Dogs Tuesday. 

Another cold and dreary day at the dog park but the dogs had fun and that is all that matters.

On the way to the park Ryder, J and Erckle were sitting in the front seat with me.  I was singing along to a cd and when I looked over at the dogs Ryder looked like he was enjoying it.  He was looking right at me with his little eyes half closed....hmmm....now that I think about it maybe he was suffering in silence.  Poor little dog. 

Wilbur is doing very good in detox and seems shaky but determined to kick the poop habit.  You go Wilbur! 

J was the leader of the pack again today.  We basically followed him around.  He did lead us to some good spots for sniffing and exploring.

We received feedback that the group was very mellow and well behaved.

I am not sure why but the afternoon group never seems to get those types of compliments.  Gabby, Pina, Sidney and Wilson are a rowdy bunch when they get together.  They certainly are the partyers of the pack and make it know that they have arrived.  Josie and R2 spend most their play time together although R2 did find a friend near the end of the walk and he wanted to stay and play longer.  Ellie and Chloe are just such good Labrador girls.  They just sniff and roll in the snow. Chloe is a big-boned choco lab and when she rolls in the snow she looks like a brownie with icing sugar sprinkled on it.  She is very sweet.  Ellie is 12 years old and you would not know it from the way she was playing.  She doesn't last long with the rambunctious play but she has a good time. 

Lets all put our collective efforts together and make the snow stop! OK?

What a beautiful day!  The sun was shining it was just slightly cool and the snow was melting making a horrible mess at the park.  Could spring be here?  Not likely since it snowed yesterday but we can dream. 

All the dogs were delightful today - except for one who shall remain nameless.  The particular dog decided that rolling in the thawing poop would be a good idea and covered himself from collar to tail in the stuff.  I seriously think I would rather see them eat it!!

Everest and Whistler, who did not get out yesterday (kinda like the cobbler's kids who are shoeless), J, Ryder, Rover, Erckle, Bella, Josie and R2 were very excited to hit the park.  I let the bigger dogs out in the park and then went back for the ones that travel in style inside the truck and as I was getting the gate open I saw a mound of red hair and heard the growling.  Josie and Bella, both red heads and feisty as they come were deciding who would be the top ginger.  It ended in a truce and the shared title. 

Erckle, J and Ryder, my little fellas, were very independent today.  Erckle was so rugged as he ran to catch up with the rest of the dogs.  R2 has quite the following with the ladies at the park.  They are always fawning over him and making a fuss about how big he is getting. 

Gabby, Pina, Frank, Cash, Sidney, Ellie, Chloe, Wilbur, Copper B. (the original Original Copper is back), Sierra and Lulu played  ball.  Well, Frank, Ellie and Copper  B did not but the rest of them did.  I was surprised that Chloe, who is a big beautiful choco lab, was able to fetch one or two  balls thrown in the right direction.  Usually, Gabby and Pina are the ones who get there first. Lulu, Cash and Sierra tried but they just don't have the compact speed of the golden girls G & P.  Sidney has the speed but not the interest. 

Everyone loaded up nicely and was tired and quiet for the ride home.  It sure is nice to get home before dark. 

Sad Pug

The weather was cold and dreary today and the dogs must have picked up on something in the air because they were naughty dogs!!  Not all of them - just most of them.

The morning group was very small and easy to manage the naughtiness.  Everest, Joey, Rover, Ryder, Whistler and Wilbur were happy to get to the park as usual.  Wilbur has been having a terrible time kicking the monkey on on his back (poop) and had some help today.  He was very suspicious and nervous now that the poop he enjoyed so much was actually biting him back!  Poor little guy was so confused and tired from trying to figure out how this was happening to him after being able to enjoy it in abundance and peace for so long.  Hopefully, he will be released from poop detox in a couple days and able to enjoy just sniffing the stuff without having a taste.

Joey and Rover have formed an unlikely union and patrol in a team now.  Joey keeps close tabs on Rover and has to clear all dogs that attempt to enter the territory.  Rover has taught Joey how to chase....um....I mean race the bike riders and both had a gas trying to scare the lone biker off the path. 

The afternoon group was completely off their rockers today.  Our new girls, Chloe and Ellie, who are Labrador sisters, earned a gold star for their behaviour.  The rest of them were crazy - chasing other dog's balls and then not wanting to give them back, following people who obviously had treats, wandering off to explore the melted gross mess that is the park, pushing through holes in the fences to get to off limit areas (still safe within the park - nowhere near Deerfoot), not listening, tag team wrestling.....and the list goes on.  And in the midst of all this little Cheetos, loosing track of where we were and unknown to me, made his way back to the truck and was sitting patiently looking so forlorn and lost that I was surprised that someone hadn't picked him up and taken him to his new forever home. 

Even on so called "bad" day I love these little furry messes more than anything! 

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

Today was a crazy day and not so well planned but everything worked out in the end and that is all that matters.  The dogs had good safe fun and Tim and I remained sane. 

I had an appointment downtown late this afternoon so Tim and I took all the dogs in one group.  Sounds a bit wild but Cheetos and Owen graciously changed their walk day to help out.  Thanks boys! 

The last dog to be picked up was Bo.  As Tim and I got out of the truck to load Bo in the back Ryder or Erckle or Frank jumped on the door handle and locked us both out of the truck.  Unfortunately Bo's family was not home and we had to flag down a construction worker from down the block to lend a cell phone.  As I was on the phone with OnStar (OMG - they are the BEST!) Tim managed to talk Frank into jumping on the door lock to let us in.  Tim is amazing in what he can get the dogs to do for him.  We are lucky is available to help us so much. 

After we got everyone loaded up we quickly headed to the park because they were really hyped up by this point.  Unloading was not graceful at all as the dog launched from the truck to the park with a whole lot of noise.

Tim got the ball chasers working on fetching and I worked on keep the rest of the group together and picking up after them.

All the dogs were so well behaved.

Another fantastic day for dogs!  Tim and I took both group out this afternoon as I had to take care of some business this morning.  Given the number of dogs we had I am both proud and relieved that every single dog behaved and made me proud.

Most of the big guys and the Timettes (Frankie, Wilbur and Ryder) played fetch with Tim.  Timettes are little dogs who absolutely adore Tim.  So much so that they fight to see who can sit on his lap and kiss him. 

They were noisy and boisterous and having such a good time.  Gabby or Pina found a slightly wrecked ball that made it through most of the walk before it had to be collected and put in the garbage bag.  Then they were playing fetch with the dummies that Original Copper's dad, Jordan, let us use.  The dogs liked to run to the dummy but were not quite sure what to do with it.  Everest and Wilbur figured it out but would fight over who got to bring it back.  Sometimes I caught Tim running and fetching the dummies for the dogs.  No matter who ran and got the dummy everyone was having fun and getting their exercise. 

J, Josie and Erckle did their own thing but stayed close to the group.  Erckle is becoming quite athletic and is able to keep up with the group without being on a leash.  I am so proud of him and the progress he has made. 

Original Copper spent the entire walk looking for a girlfriend.  As handsome as he is there were no takers.  Poor Copper!