Sunday Doggie Play -- Liz leads the way

There was some fun doggie play at BACS on Sunday led by Liz!   She is doing such a good job at matching her energy and style to the needs of the dogs that she is introduced to.  She can come on strong but will temper her energy and we've never seen her tip over into aggression.  It's very handy to have a helper dog like her when doing play sessions.   She puts up with a lot!   Of course, we'd be over the moon if she moved on into a home too....

In addition to the pairs below new brindle pup sweetheart (and still so shy) Jenna enjoyed a tandem walk with new boy Sorta Short.   It was quite a process to coax Jenna out of her kennel and down the scary stairs but she made it and warmed up to some on-leash play with Sorta Short during their stroll.  It's so rewarding to see the pooches become more confident and playful over the course of an hour!

First some rough and tumble play....

Followed by some doggie kisses

New boy Tomas was initially stiff and barky when he came into the play session but he eased into the fun!

Love those play bows!

Lovely Liz offering more doggie licks.  Good girl!

Hanging out with new dogs Mama Bear and Tye

New pooches Mama Bear & Tye are being kenneled at BACS while the Alameda Shelter undergoes repair.   If they're lucky, they will go off to a forever home while in Berkeley!   We hope so.

After some initial hesitation while being introduced they enjoyed a companionable walk and then low-key play session in the shelter community room together.

They're both gorgeous, friendly dogs.   They'd love to meet you!

Mama Bear (left) and Tye

Mama Bear got a little hot out on the walk and would have been happy to hitch a ride on Tye's back!

Handsome Tye with his Roman nose.  Perhaps some bull terrier in the mix?

Touring the community room

A little wrestling fun

Mama Bear *loves* her belly rubs

It's Cali's turn to go home!

Our girl Cali has been at the shelter for almost 6 months now.  We're not sure why she's being overlooked.  Cali has been the star of our shelter play groups and she has played actively and reliably with a number of dogs.  Many of her playfriends have moved into homes of their own and we want it to be Cali's turn.

Cali has also been attending BADRAP training class each weekend with a volunteer so she has a jumpstart on her doggie manners.

Check out the pictures of our gorgeous girl below.

Beautiful girl

Out for a walk at the park

Happy tired dog after some great play fun with her shelter buddies

Leading the play pack with Julep, Jojo and Norma Jean (all who have been adopted)

Letting Jojo know she's ready for some fun!

Happy time with big boy Hockey

Hanging out at the water bowl with her best well-matched playpal, Liz

Silly upside-down pooch

Liz takes a holiday

Our low-slung girl Liz has been at the shelter for over four months now.  She's been enjoying playdates with various dogs (most notably her best gal pal Cali).  While we really want Liz to find her forever home soon we're pleased to report that she was able to spend a couple of days at home with a devoted volunteer.  

The volunteer reports that Liz was a great house guest.  She wrote:   

At home, when Liz is not playing with her toys, she likes to cuddle with her people (she is part lap dog), gaze out the window, or relax in her crate.  She does well in a crate (assuming, of course, that she is otherwise properly exercised and entertained), and is fine sleeping in there at night or while her people are out of the house.  

Although it’s hard to tell for sure in the shelter environment, we believe Liz is well on her way to being potty trained.  She is good at letting people know when she needs to go out.  In fact she has been known to pick up her own leash and carry it to the door or nudge people when she needs to go out.  And, once outside, she often goes potty on command.

Let's get this girl out of the shelter and into a home!   Please spread the word on her behalf.

This is great!

Skillfully working a puzzle toy

So much to see outside the shelter!

Morning yoga

Warms the heart to see her looking so relaxed

Enjoying an outing to a cafe

Won't you be mine?

Video of Liz playing in the water:

For those of you who missed it.   Liz has her own fabulous video (Love is Made for Liz)  created by volunteer Jian.

Handsome Hockey plays ball!

The pictures say it all... Hockey is one good-looking photogenic pooch and he loves to play ball.  In addition, he's affectionate and loves to hang out with his volunteer handlers.   Good boy!

BAD RAP's Rescue Jam Class

Over the weekend BAD RAP hosted one of their rescue jams, with animal welfare people from all over the country - and even Canada and Australia - flew in to share and discuss ideas. One of the highlights was showing off BAD RAP's pit ed class to the attendees, and of course BACS dogs were there to strut their stuff. Let's have a look.

The crowd was there to soak it all in...

...and we had a big lively group of eager students.

Rachel and Liz were looking strong.

So were Allie and Diamond.

Cali is an eye contact machine with Courtney.

Ashley is looking good with Kathy too.

Sonya brought Jasper to his very first class in front of the big crowd. He was a little jumpy but did great.

Andie brought Stak. Stak is really settling into the class environment.

Barnaby likes to play it cool in class, but Barbara will whip him into shape.

Look at the picture-perfect handshake drill...Diamond and Ashley's eyes are on their handler and not on the other dogs. Way to put on a show!

Lots of doggie pairs playing today!

First some wrestle-mania with Liz and Jasper:

Next we wanted to test out big boy Hockey to see how he would do with other dogs.  He and Liz had some active play!

We then decided to give Liz a break and brought in Cali for some play fun figuring she was well-matched in size and style for Hockey.   And so it was... 

 

Finally, we ended the day with some little dog fun.  We know how much Satchel loves to play so we introduced him to new boy Spike.

Spike on left with Satchel