I was getting a bit worried. Something is not right.
Then finally, a big car pulls up in front of the house and a stranger walks up to the door. I don't like strangers, so I start telling him not to come close to the house. Mum and Dad put my lead on, which is strange as I had already finished my walk for the morning. I pull Dad down the stairs to look at the stranger, and when we get to the front door, I see that the car has a LOT of other dogs in there! There were big dogs and medium dogs...and even a small one in front that's a Joey and Cleo.
I was so surprised that I forgot all about the stranger. The other dogs are all talking to me at the same time, so I can't really make out what they're saying. I could make out a few words like "new dog" and "who is that" and "welcome". Just to be safe, I checked out the big car for strange smells, but it's mostly doggy smells, so I calmed down a bit. I also decided that the stranger was okay, so I've stopped barking at him.
Then Dad and Mum bring me to the back of the car and told me to jump up. The stranger was already at the back of the car, and when I jumped up, he took my lead from Dad. I saw a big black dog with curly fur, a noisy black Lab puppy, a small Beagle who seemed a bit shy, a small-ish German Shepherd who was at the back of the lot and two Retrievers. Again, I could hear a few words because they were all talking at the same time.
But then the stranger closed the door, and Dad and Mum didn't come into the car with me! I jumped up at the window and stared at Dad. Why wasn't he following me into the car? Are they sending me away? Why is Mum waving at me? Where am I going? I'm worried now, and I hope I've not done anything wrong! The big car drives me away...where am I going now?
We go round to pick up a few more dogs. I'm now friends with a few of them. They are okay I suppose...but it's noisy. I wonder where we are going? The rest of the dogs don't seem worried, and a few of them seemed to be excited, so I suppose it isn't a bad place.
Finally, we stop at the place that Mum and Dad brought me to a few days ago. There are even more dogs in there! We're now being brought to a big compound and let off our leads to get to know each other. I think there are one or two new dogs like me, who are quite tentative about being around all the other dogs. It's been okay so far...I wonder what else is going to happen?
A couple of dogs came up to me to say 'Hi'. They're nice and friendly. Remind me of Ricky at home - they're Spaniels and full of energy. So we chase each other around a bit, jump at each other a bit, then chase each other again. This is quite fun! But before we got too carried away with the running and jumping, we were then rounded up and put back on our leads. I think it means that we're going for walks. That's good...walks are good!
I'm walked by a guy that I don't know, but it's okay. I think he takes care of us. So we go around the area, close by to where I first hopped off. Then after a while, we were being lead to another area. I sniff the air...hmm, that smells like wet dogs! Lots of wet dogs! Wet dogs mean that there is water. Wet dogs mean that dogs are allowed in the water! Ooooh! Swimming!!! I'm so excited that I lunged at the swimming pool. That caught my guy by surprised, coz I'm very strong, you see (not that I'm trying to boast about my strength, but Dad has always said that I'm very strong for my size). So he didn't expect me to be able to pull him off his feet. Well, not literally off his feet, but he wasn't prepared for my lunge. My friends told me later that they saw him scramble to hold me back on the lead, but I didn't even notice. I was too focused on the water. There was already a bunch of dogs scrambling out from the pool. Is it my turn next, I wonder.
My guy has now gotten control over me and he leads me to the pool, but I don't think he was happy with my lunge. The main guy - he's the one who seems to be in charge - noticed me lunging at my pool and was surprised that his own guy couldn't keep hold of me. Anyway, I'm now allowed into the water. This is so much fun! We are allowed to swim up and down the pool for a while, and all too soon, it was time for me to get out. There is already another bunch of dogs waiting to go in. A few of them look just as excited as I do...I totally understand how they feel! But time's up. Now I'm being towelled dry and then led back to the big area with the rest of the dogs. I tell my friends that I really like swimming. One of them doesn't seem too interested in swimming, but the general feeling is that swimming is fun.
We get to walk around and play for a while. Then the main guy (I think he's the teacher) comes into the area and we're being taught Obedience lessons! He brings his own dog in to show us what he wants us to do. He shows us how to 'Sit' and 'Lie down'...easy peasy. I know that already. So I show him that I can do them. But he doesn't give me a treat. Humph! Mum and Dad always give me a treat when I do what they say! Then he shows us a new trick. It's called 'Heel'...basically, what he wants us to do is to follow him at his legs and stay close to him. The moment he stops, we have to sit down and wait for his next command. Hmm...I'm not sure I like this. Why do I have to sit down when he stops? I can just follow him round and stop when he stops. Do I have to sit? He tries to convince me, so I give it a go, but I'm bored after a while. He told me that I'll have to 'work on it' - the 'Heel' position. But he did tell me that I'm very smart.
Now it's lunch time! I don't usually have lunch at home. Just breakfast and dinner. But now they're serving up chicken with some vegetables (I know this because I'm an expert on food. I know chicken is the white meat, and vegetables is some green stuff that I don't usually like). Yummy! After lunch, it's too hot to do anything, so it's nap time for all of us. My friends and I curl up in one corner to go to sleep.
Yawn...they're making us get up and do some exercise. The small to medium sized dogs (that's me) are being let out to another green patch of grass, with some strange stuff. I'm not worried though, coz Mum and Dad have already shown me those things and I've done a few of them already. There's this round thing with a hole in the middle and you're supposed to jump through the hole. Then there's another thing with a pole across and you're supposed to jump over it. And then here's my favourite - they stick these poles in the ground and you're supposed to go through them one way and then another. Dad tried me out on it the last time we were there. He waved a very nice-smelling biscuit in front of my nose and then he led me through the poles. I think it's called a 'Weave'. We didn't do the jumps, but when the teacher showed me the Weave, I showed him that I already knew what to do. I did miss one or two poles, but he seemed impressed anyway. He's quite easy to please eh?
After spending some time with all the dogs in that area, the teacher and his guys then led us all back to the chill-out area (that's what I call it anyway). We were allowed to play and romp around, then some of the other dogs were put back into the van. I say bye to a couple of my friends. They say that the van is going to send them back to their house. I wonder why I'm not being put in the van. My friends say that some dogs have their Mums and Dads come and pick them up, so they don't go in the van. Oh, that's okay then. I guess I'm waiting for Mum and Dad to pick me up. Only one of my new friends is left, so we snooze a bit.
Then suddenly the teacher came in and put me on my lead. Mum and Dad must be here! That's me just as soon as I catch sight of Mum and Dad at the window. I quickly follow him through the door, and then I see Dad standing outside! Yay! We're going home! Oh, I have so many stories to tell them. I'll tell them about my new friends, my Obedience lessons, my swimming time and my nap time and my activity time.
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