Holiday Closure

The daycare will be closed from Wednesday, Dec 24 until Monday, January 5 (we re-open on the 5th). We won't be blogging during this time either.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you in the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Paws on the Run!

Click image to see full size

And the Winner Is...

... Angus!

Angus is the lucky pup to go home with all the stuffed toys from West Paw Design. Congratulations Angus!

Snuggly

This is what I hope to be doing this weekend.

Happy Friday!

Wrinkles

It will be a sad day when Samantha grows into her wrinkles. I just love her forehead.

Burning Off Steam

The dogs were all a little wild this morning, and we knew it was time to let them race around in the big area in the back. We were probably out there for about 5 minutes before my fingers froze but the dogs took full advantage of the wide open space run around at full speeds.

This Weekend Only

Seeing as the daycare is full for the week and the weather isn't going to warm up for the weekend, I thought we would have Indoor Dog Park on Saturday AND Sunday this weekend from 11-1. I hope to see you there!

Toture

Nothing seems harder for the dogs than standing politely at the gate waiting to go out. We practice this several times a day so that at the end of the day, when we need one particular dog to come out, and the rest to stay in, it goes smoothly. That is the theory anyway!

Getting Cold

As I'm sure you all know, it is going to be a cold, cold weekend so we thought we'd share a few safety tips for your dogs in the cold.

1. If it is too cold for you, it is too cold for them. They might have fur but you have long underwear, a down jacket, a wool hat and big mittens.



2. If you have a short haired dog, big or little, they probably would appreciate a sweater. Yes, seeing a great dane walking down the street in a sweater would probably turn a few heads, but if you have a great dane you are probably already used to attracting attention.



3. If you notice your dog lifting their feet when out on a walk, keep an eye on them. It is common for this to happen at the start of the walk as they get used to the cold pavement but if they don't stop doing it after a minute or two you should probably head home. If you notice discolouration on your dog's feet after a walk, call your vet - they may have frostbite.



4. Puppies and older dogs don't cope as well with the cold so keep this in mind and make your walks shorter than usual.



5. If your walks aren't providing enough exercise, try some mental exercise - teach your dog a new trick, practice obedience or send your dog on a scavenger hunt. For the scavenger hunt, put your dog in one room while you run around the house placing treats in easy to reach places. When you let your dog out into the rest of the house, it won't take them long to discover that there are goodies to be found.

And don't forget, we have indoor dog park on Sundays from 11-1. It should be a busy one this weekend!

Mimi Green

The collars and leashes from Mimi Green have finally arrived and they were definitely worth the wait!

I tried hard to photograph them to show how gorgeous they were but none of the photos did them justice. You'll just have to come down and see for yourself. They are all handmade and each one is slightly different.

New Toy

I made a quick trip to Cranbrook this weekend and happened to stop in at a pet store where I found this great new toy. It is a Jolly Ball and it is made of hard plastic and inside is another ball.

Duke had a tonne of fun with it.

Apple was a bit puzzled by it.

Maggie Mae also got a turn, which Duke wasn't too thrilled with!

Sneak Peak

We have a really fun Winter Collage planned but I'll give you a quick sneak peek...

Comfort

Random Photos

Just a few random photos from the day...

The ever curious Willow.

It was so cold, you could see their breath. This little guy is named Otis and he is with the Prairie Dog Canine Rescue. They are holding a dog adoption fair this Saturday at the daycare from 10-4 so be sure to stop in and check out all their dogs - big and little, young and old.

Malibu looks like she is very concerned with the "weird black thing" attached to Amanda's face. :)

Zeus thinks he has something very important to say.

That is little Jenna on the bench, and Ivy on top. You can also see the "usual" bumps on a log in the background. This was taken through the viewing room window so that I wouldn't disturb them.

Chewy in the Raffle!

Just joking!

She has decided the box is the best place ever to sleep.

December Draw

We have a draw box on the desk for you to enter to win a bunch of fun West Paw Design toys. But Chewy keeps sleeping on it. Apparently she only wants her own name entered to win. Feel free to disturb her beauty rest. You can enter every time you bring your dog in from December 1-19, 2008.

We'll draw the ticket on Monday December 22 (we promise to keep putting back in the ones Chewy pulls out!) and some lucky pup will get to go home with more than a mouthful of toys.

Evolution

First there was this...

Then there was this...

And now there is this...

You'd think I just bought Jolene a new car she was so happy!

Mini Me

Hurley has a "Mini-Me"

For those of you waiting for your Mimi Green Collars and Leashes, they should be here soon. They are going to be shipped tomorrow.

Frozen

Ryder has an amazing ability to relax amongst the chaos around him. I took these photos about 1 second apart. I could have continued but the battery died and you would have been stuck with watching Ryder sleep for 15 minutes. So the dead battery is probably a good thing!

More bumps

We couldn't resist!

Puppies are Brats

Meet Pixel, Amanda's newest family member. She is the cutest baby corgi I've ever seen and definitely the most gorgeous. She usually just plays for a few hours every morning.

And now we get to the brat part... Good thing Daisy likes her!

Upside Down

Apple always seems to get into these weird and wonderful positions while playing. She keeps all the dogs on their toes because they never know what she is going to do next.

Playing in Three's

It seems to be really hard for 3 dogs to play well together, unless they are playing tug-a-war. That being said, Brodie (shepherd cross), Maggie Mae (lab) and Rudy (cattle dog) did a pretty good job of it... The two boys were both trying to play with Maggie Mae, who in turn did her best to keep them both entertained.

Bumps on a Log

We got a new couch the other day. I think they are enjoying it, although it could be a little bigger.

Full Week

Well it has happened... We were full EVERY DAY this week! Phew. With more dogs comes: less time for taking pictures and blogging (have you noticed?) and everyone's favourite, more cleaning! :)

While we've been getting busier, we've been doing lots of talking about what needs to change now that we are turning dogs away most days. While we still haven't found a good solution (I'm not sure there is a perfect one out there), we are getting closer to making some decisions and some changes. You'll be the first to know when anything changes!

And so this isn't all dry and boring, I leave you with a cute collage of pictures of Shandi (Beagle) and Rooney (Doodle) having fun. Click on the image to see full size.

Chip and Charlee

Sitting still. A rare moment!

First Visits

We implemented a new policy a little while ago - new dogs have to come on their first day on either a Monday or a Tuesday. We do this because Monday and Tuesday are our quieter days and it is easier on the new dogs when there aren't 35 other wild and crazy dogs racing around.

Today we had two new dogs - Kyeli, a very sweet border collie who left before I got the camera out and Maggie, a young westie who didn't really enjoy having her picture taken - she was too busy making new friends.

Weekend Visitor

Have you started preparing for Christmas yet? Well it has been on my mind lately and I started to worry about what Chewy would do when we close the daycare over the holidays. She has never lived anywhere else (well that may not be exactly true, but she was still just a kitten when she was dropped off at the daycare as a stray) but we knew she would be pretty darn lonely even if someone visited her every day.

So Chewy had her first adventure in a home. There was a whole lot of hissing and growling going on last night between her and my own cat Lu, but they seemed to have worked out an agreement. As long as Chewy stays out of Lu's line of sight, they are happy. :) It is pretty funny to watch Lu walk into the room, oblivous of Chewy and then suddenly spot her.

Ironically enough, Chewy just wants to be friends with Lu and will actually try and lay down close to her, but she wants nothing to do with Coulee and Lacey. Maybe she is finally starting to figure out she is a cat and not a dog.

Pretty Portraits

At least that was supposed to be the theme of the post today. The dogs had other ideas...

Doogan thought he'd show you his fun side.

Paden wanted to show you his good side.

Taz thought his tongue was worth photographing.

Levi thought he'd show you his wild side.

Logan wanted you to check out his pearly whites.