Puppies at Play

This is what a puppy Play Group looks like!  All of these pups are less than a year old and full of energy! Marlo and Marley are in front, Henry is in the middle, and Mookie is in back.

These pups started Play Groups at about six months old, which makes them a joy to behold!  Marlo started just days after she was adopted.  All of them are perfect Play Group dogs.  Not a hint of aggression or dominance in this group! It's just never ending fun for all of them!

This is Henry, a baby Vizsla who loves everyone.  Henry is also great on trail walks, where he can go off-leash with the big guys!

This is Murray, Mookie, and Marley.  Murray and Mookie are Wheaten Terriers and the two of them are the very best of friends.  There is something magical about watching dogs become besties!

Here's a close-up of Marley.  Marley is an Australian Labradoodle who just turned one-years-old this week.  Don't you love those eyes?

Everyone is very interested in Henry's bone.  He won't be sharing, though!

Mookie is the baby of the bunch at six months old.  Murray (below) looked just like this when we first got him.  Now the two of them are inseparable!

Here ia Murray with his grown up haircut.  Murray is an absolute love.  I think he and Mookie have bonded because they are the same breed and have similar play styles.  Murray is alo great on Trail Walks.  He is off-leash with the best of them!

Marlo is just a baby, but she's the best little dog!  She plays well with everyone, but she loves being with the puppies most of all!

Henry and Marlo bounding around.  Don't I have the best job in the world?

Lucy Playing with Prey!

This lovely young lady is Lucy, a hound mix that has been coming to Frisky Fido for about nine months now.

Yesterday Lucy had a spectacular time with this old squeaky dragon toy.

For Lucy, this is not a dragon toy, but her "prey".  For Lucy, as for all dogs, playing is more than fun. Playing is practice for living, and killing prey is deeply ingrained in Lucy's genes.

She is shaking the toy so vigorously that it cannot be caught on camera, even with a fast lens.  But what she is really doing is shaking her prey in order to snap it's neck, a method of killing that works quite well for dogs and other canines.

But dogs are not wild animals.  They are a big part of our lives, and they need to live in harmony with us.  They need to obey our rules in order for all of us to remain safe.  Lucy's genes are telling her to hang on to her "kill", but I'm telling her to drop it.  If another dog tried to take her toy, she'd growl and maybe even snap to let the other dog know she ain't sharing.  Lucy knows the command "Drop It", but she really doesn't want to.  She is almost - but not quite - growling at me!

 Would you know what to do in this situation?  Would your kids know how to react?  I hope so.  In this case it took oly a few seconds before the toy was in the trash and Lucy was giving me kisses. She is learning to be a great dog, and she is learning fast.  But there are two sides to every coin, and two entities in every relationship. We need to learn to speak a little dog language in order to make both our lives better and safer.

Good Friends: Penny and Auggie!

Penny is the gorgeous girl in the foreground of this photo.  She and Auggie, the stunning Samoyed, are very good friends.  Here they are playing one of Frisky Fido's favorite summer games, Bobbing For Toys.

The object of the game is to remove the toys from the tub of water, and both Auggie and Penny are great players.  Each of them has a different technique.  Auggie uses his paws to move the toys to the edge before grabbing them, while Penny just dives right in.  It's so funny to watch.

Penny and Auggie both attend Play Groups five days a week - and they LOVE it!  Penny was very shy when she first came, but not anymore.   She is friendly with all the pups, and she is crazy happy every day!

Auggie was ready to leave after about 1/2 hour on his first day, but now he can't wait to get into the car for Play Group.  Just look at that happy boy!

Is it any wonder I love my job?  Who wouldn't love playing with dogs like Penny and Auggie?