Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sunny Day and OHS Training

It was a busy Sunday. I spent the morning going through volunteer training at the Oregon Humane Society so that Kendall and I can be part of their AAI (Animal Assisted Interactions - better known as pet therapy) program once she passes her test. I hadn't been through the shelter since about 14 years ago when we adopted Dinger, our cat. The new shelter is very nice. Luckily, most of the animals are adopted fairly quickly from there. They were busy bringing in a bunch of dogs that had come up from LA. It's a busy place.

We took a drive out in the country to a great little spot called The Cruise-In Country Diner. They have wonderful burgers and the service is excellent. They serve organic food and even have gluten free buns! If you live in the area, it's definitely worth a visit. It's right at the corner of River Rd. and Farmington Rd. It's the place you probably remember as the old biker bar.

This afternoon was beautiful. The sun was shining and it felt nice and warm. We took Kendall out for a walk in the park. The rains are due back tomorrow, but that's to be expected. It is only January.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Game On

To help beat the winter doldrums, I bought Kendall one of Nina Ottosson's interactive dog toys.



I chose the one called Dog Fighter because it looked a little more difficult than some of the others, and I was able to find it in wood. It consists of seven slots into which you place large pegs. The pegs have hollowed out places to hide dog treats. The peg only fits in one end of the slot, then you slide it to the other end. To get to the treat, the dog has to slide the peg and knock it out of the slot.



We play the shell game with Kendall using plastic picnic cups. I introduced her to the game by substituting the pegs from the interactive toy for the plastic cups. That way she knew to expect a treat under them. Then I put them in the slots and let her figure it out. It didn't take long.


Here's a short video of her playing the game. This video is also on YouTube where it might be a bit easier to view. Here you have to wait for it to buffer.


My co-worker, who also has a Cavalier, bought a couple of puzzles, too. We're hoping to switch puzzles at some point to keep them engaged and curious.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

A glimpse of the sun

We're well into the rainy season here in the Pacific NW, and we're feeling the effects. There's not a lot of dog activities going on as everyone hunkers down at home. I was able to catch the sun as it peeked out of the clouds one day last week.



We took Kendall to small dog play hour at Pup-a-Razzi this morning, and there were 27 dogs there! You know it's been rainy when that many show up to play. It's so cute watching them all run around and play. They're a pretty well behaved bunch with lots of hovering humans. It's a great way to expend a little bit of energy.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Blanket

Who says dogs don't love their blankies?



She found this blanket and curled up with it all by herself.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Happy New Year



We're looking forward to lots of Kendall adventures in 2010.