Hooplah

It's sad to think that several dogs had to spend their Christmas at Toronto Animal Services instead of with families but on the bright side, they were allowed a bit of a play romp in one of the big rooms which was vacated for the holiday.

Only dogs that were compatible were allowed to join in the group and even then there were some grumblings as the dogs checked each other out and jockeyed for their place in the pack.

It was very interesting seeing all the personalities and the group dynamics come out. Onyx, the black mastiff was definitely the dominant one in the group and a bit of a fun vacuum. Whenever any of the other dogs got too excited, Onyx would go over and bark at them and break up the party. Obelix, the yellow Lab was the pervert in the crowd who tried to hump everyone. He was constantly being told off by the other dogs but that didn't dissuade him much. Fiji, the Catahoula Leopard Hound, mostly kept to herself, exploring the perimeter looking for things to chew on and throw around. There were also some new Montreal dogs in the group. One was a Collie mix, Cinnamon, who was very friendly and got along with all the other dogs. There was a black Retriever mix who was very fixated on James and will be a highly trainable, owner focused dog.



German Shepherd, Riley, doesn't tend to like many other dogs so he was brought out on his own. Turns out he's great at ball fetching and, within 10 throws, learned to return and drop the ball for continued play. He's absolutely one of the smartest dogs I've come across.



Everyone was hot and tired out by the time playtime was over. It was good to see all the smiles on these dogs' faces on Christmas day.