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morning run:
Alice
Lucy
George
Ernie
Frankie
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
(8)
To the swimming hole via the middle land bridge and the cut-over and home via the Au Soleil Couchant road and the dirty road: ~6k (maybe just short of 7k). In spite of Maggie lagging we did this pretty quickly. It was late and starting to get hot but they just went through the water and kept going. The swimming hole is pretty low now - not really deep enough to swim in but still fun and it helps them cool down. I had Stella on the hook the whole way and threw Ernie on the other end of the leash at the shrimpery on the way home to avoid any breakdowns in discipline in the last 100m. George was really up for it again; he seems to be getting in a better shape and having a lot of fun on runs. Lucy is too damned fat; she slept on me in the hammock for about an hour two nights ago and I could barely move my right leg all day yesterday as a result. This run loosened it up finally but the fact remains she is too heavy. She's doing well on runs but she needs more exercise and less food. Behaviorally, though, she and everyone else were very good, kept up and had a good time.
GRADE: A
late morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Tito
Greta
Reggie
Lex
(6)
Roni took this crew out across the land bridge and over the main road to the next set of charcos and let them lark around and have some fun before heading back. Greta was good on the harness but tired herself out fairly quickly. Lex was inclined to chase things on the way back and Miles dawdled as usual but everyone was very good on the whole and a good time was had by all.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Henry
Ginger
Gowron
Monkey
Zoot
Mega
Petey
Amber
Steve McQueen
(9)
To the swimming hole via the land-bridge and the ridge, home via the dirty road: ~6k. Henry appeared out of nowhere when we were at the gate, ready to leave; since he's always good I threw him in because it would've been more of a pain to stop and put him back on the porch. He lagged a little compared to the rest but had a good time. Ginger is like a damned pup - she was frequently surrounded by the tribe and had them all over her the whole way. Everyone behaved themselves perfectly at all of the stress-points: crossing the road in both directions, out at the intersection when a moto went near, keeping up and staying with me on the ridge. Going to Mérida now to pick up Daisy, Twiggy and Linda so it was nice to get a few out first.
GRADE: A
walks:
Shirley
Buddy
Archie
Molly
(4)
Mark and Lin took out Shirley and Buddy first followed by Archie and Molly. They took the latter two up towards the palm tree on the beach. Everyone was good and did well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Frijolita
Godzilla
Chester
Reggie
Molly
Mo
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: ~10k. We left relatively early and it was pretty clear that everyone really wanted to run. I had Gracie on the hook at the beginning and out in the deep woods where the chances of her chasing something are higher; she was good both on and off the leash. Reggie was really up for it and did his little "yip-yip" thing several times. We only saw a handful of flamingos and everyone was good about it. I put Molly on the hook on the trail home just to keep her honest.
GRADE: A
mid-morning walk:
Bette
Frankie
Stella
(3)
Out on the beach with Mark and Lin and up to the north a ways. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Bette
Shirley
Stella
(3)
Mark and Lin took these on the beach and they were swell.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
George
Blue
Eve
Truman
Gowron
Steve McQueen
(8)
Around the southern charcos to the swimming hole and home via the dirty road: ~7k. George was really up for this run. I don't know if he was just feeling good today or if he's in a little better shape after going on more runs recently but he was definitely feeling his oats. McQueen hardly left my ankle but obviously had a good time and did horse around a bit with everyone; he's shy and will benefit from a collar and some work on the leash soon. We found a dead and half-decomposed dog with a rope around its neck right where the southern charcos start; hard to say what happened but grisly none the less. Other than that we saw nothing out there. Alice and Lucy continued their string of good runs and everyone was generally good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Henry
Ginger
Osita
Rufus
Ernie
Frankie
Daisy
Amber
(8)
Southern charcos to the swimming hole and home via the dirty road: ~7k. Henry caught a nasty xmul just past the southern crossing. Before I realized that I thought perhaps he was having a hard time keeping up but that's all it was - what a guy. Ginger is more of a scamp than most pups and was darting off into the brush at several points. I let Amber come because I thought it would be good for the pups to start mixing in a little on not-very-long runs; she was excellent, mostly keyed in on Daisy but displaying her own personality. Everyone else was good and had a good time the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Frijolita
Truman
Archie
Lily
Jack
Molly
(8)
Around the southern charcos continuing on to the road to no-man's land, across the berm to the swimming hole and home: ~8k. I had Gracie on the hook the whole time; she was injured recently at home and hadn't gone out because of that but I still don't trust her from her last two trips out. She was excited to go and very good on the leash the whole way. I let her leave the yard on her own and put her on at the shrimpery with no problems. Right past the tar paper shack we ran into an older gent with a trike and a large, white, male dog that I think we've seen once before; everyone was reasonably friendly but the other dog ended up getting a little freaked out by their interest and bolted in the direction of town, which naturally led to six of ours giving chase for a few hundred meters. They were back with me by the time I got to the turn east but it was still not a very nice episode; I'll have to find that guy and apologize. Past that everyone was good the whole way until just south of the berm where some of the locals left a little present for the dogs; most of them broke off when I called them but Molly completely ignored me and had to be drug out of the bushes. I put her on the other end of the leash there and she stayed on for the duration, which made the rest of the run not terribly fun, but no matter, she can't be allowed to ignore me.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Rita
George
Chester
Maggie
Luna
Mo
(8)
East across the land bridge and south into the monte the now-usual way, around the southern charcos but then north/northwest at the circular crossroads south, north along the serpentine road, west to the intersection, north around the "hump" and then south immediately to Tuesday's ford, north along the dirty road and home: ~7k (not totally sure, have to look). It was a strange group but it worked out well. I put Chester on the hook at the shrimpery to keep him from jacking the pace up early; this worked out well and I let him off when we made the turn east into the monte. Luna and Mo still worship George and they're both good girls on walks, runs and the leash so I wasn't too concerned; those two could go much father but they don't really care. Everyone was up for it and had a good time. It was starting to get a bit hot towards the end so I didn't want to be out too long with George, Alice, Lucy and Maggie who drank most of the water between them. I put Luna on the hook at the end and again it didn't seem necessary - she might be over her need to bolt for the ocean when we get home.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Eve
Blue
Godzilla
Rufus
Ernie
Elewah
Ziggy
(8)
Southern charcos plus the extra southern road to no-man's land all the way to the Au Soleil Couchant road via the palapa road, home via the trails behind the tortuga crossroads and the dirty road: ~9k. Ziggy was a total asshole getting out of the yard this morning. He simply will not shut up and brought the entire pack to an uproarious boil before I could finally get us out of the gate. It honestly made the rest of the run not terribly enjoyable I was so angry with him. We ran farther than normal and faster as I was in no mood to screw around. Ernie was on the hook at the land bridge to keep him from getting too far in front, but I let him off relatively soon thereafter. We ran into a moto just north of the intersection with no-man's land and everyone including Elewah was perfect - ran right by him alongside me without so much as a sniff in their direction. Eve and Godzilla rolled in some awful shit somewhere out there early on, but otherwise everyone was good while they were on the run.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gowron
Monkey
Daisy
Steve McQueen
Amber
Petey
Mega
Zoot
(8)
Hidden trail a slightly alternative way: ~8k. We took the dirty road and the cut-over to the swimming hole and then the eastern branch of the road that heads to Au Soleil Couchant on the way out, and we went back into the monte at Au Soleil Couchant on the way back. This was the first time any of the pups have gone out since they went through some kind of stomach ailment; Lex was hit the hardest and is still not all the way back, so he sat this one out. Everyone was so enthusiastic that we got to the swimming hole in record time; they were obviously up for more so I decided to take them to the beach via the hidden trail. In spite of it being muddy and churning with last vestiges of a norte that blew through yesterday everyone but Zoot threw themselves into the ocean with great enthusiasm; there was a steep drop-off at the shore so that they were immediately over their heads in the surf but they didn't care. Zoot whined and barked excitedly at the shore but did not want to get in. Between where the hidden trail lets out and the Au Soleil Couchant access road we went into the water three times and on the third one Zoot finally jumped in with everyone else. The tribe are all strong swimmers; Amber in particular is a lunatic in the water with McQueen not far behind. Amber is also extremely brave and was on point with Daisy for most of the run; funnily enough her brother McQueen, being the largest of the tribe, hardly ever left my ankle and was constantly jumping up on me for emotional support and encouragement as we ran. Daisy, Monkey and PupG were excellent examples and everyone behaved themselves perfectly, holding up and getting with me before we even crossed the road on the way out and staying behind me and crossing the road all together on the way back.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Shirley
Buddy
(2)
North on the beach with Mark and Lin while I was still out running. They tried walking apart a bit to see how that would go with Buddy and said that he definitely walks better when there is a girl around. Figures.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Archie
Molly
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two on a longish walk north on the beach. They let them off the leashes far to the north where the beach widens out. Everyone was good about everything.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Bette
Frankie
Stella
(3)
Mark and Lin got a little bit lost in the monte around mosquito hour with these three but had a good time anyway.
GRADE: A
morning walks:
Shirley
Buddy
Bette
Twiggy
(4)
Mark and Lin did their now-usual pairs for morning constitutionals. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Frankie
Stella
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two out for a walk on the beach on a blustery afternoon. All did well and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Frijolita
Chester
Archie
Gowron
Molly
Luna
Mo
(8)
Southern charcos the standard way: ~7k. This was a high energy group. We left late but it wasn't terribly hot and we had some cloud cover in places; we all wanted to run and there were long stretches where we really flew. I had Molly on the hook for a bit after she chased a moto; she hasn't done anything like that in a while and I wasn't happy with her. I put Luna on as we were coming home so that she didn't jackrabbit off towards the ocean, but she showed no signs of doing so. Other than that everyone behaved and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Shirley
Buddy
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two on their usual beach walk. All good.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Frankie
Stella
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two all the way to the palm tree and back, quite a nice hike: ~6k. They were both good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Truman
Osita
Ernie
Ziggy
Lily
Jack
(8)
Southern charcos to the swimming hole the more-or-less standard way: ~7k. I took Jack out again to reinforce his being good on the leash, which worked out well. Alice and Lucy both really ran well today, lagging much less and looking a little fitter. Increasing their runs is a good idea so they lose some weight but they can't go on runs much longer than this. We ran into two unknown dogs way out in the monte at the far south land bridge; Ernie led the charge of idiots to go say hi. Naturally nothing happened, they all turned around, Ernie was the last one back and was thus put on the leash for a couple kms. Other than that it was uneventful.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Bette
Buddy
Linda
(3)
Mark and Lin took this trio out on the beach for a constitutional in the morning. Linda is in heat now so we're figuring that into our plans for trips to Mérida. Buddy was accordingly attentive and needed no help whatsoever walking in whatever direction Linda was walking in. Bette turns out to have dysplasia in her right hip according to X-rays. This explains her recent limp. No more runs for her for a while but some walks on the leash will do; of course she's always good.
GRADE: A
walks:
Shirley
Buddy
Molly
Mo
Archie
Monkey
(6)
Mark and Lin took the first two out for a quick walk on the beach to the north this morning; all good. A couple of hours later they took the second two for a much longer walk up the beach and again they were both excellent. Finally they took the last two out in the afternoon, again on the beach, and yet again all good. It was the first time Monkey went out with them and she had fun.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Blue
Eve
Rita
Godzilla
Posey
Frijolita
Gowron
(8)
Around the southern charcos and home via the swimming hole the (recently) usual way: ~7k. Going to Mérida today so I wanted to get the run over quickly. This group really wanted to run and behaved perfectly. Everyone had a blast and ran like gazelles.
GRADE: A
walks:
Frankie
Stella
Molly
Luna
(4)
Mark and Lin took these four out for walks today, in pairs, the first two in the morning and the second two in the afternoon.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Truman
Rufus
Ernie
Molly
Daisy
Jack
(7)
Around the southern charcos to the swimming hole via the berm and home via the dirty road: ~7k. The real story of this run was Jack learning to run on the leash. Thus far he had managed to avoid ever going on the leash because he was always so good; this isn't really a good thing, though, it just happens because we have so many. Today, however, Jack and Ernie took off across the land bridge as we were heading out and shot up the opposite shore to the north after something in the brush. Ernie was irritating but it really was Jack this time, so he just had to go on the leash. For the first km he was truly a pain. I had to loop it around his body. He did his best boat anchor impersonation, biting at the leash the whole while. We crossed over to the terreno federal serpentine at the tar paper shack and I kept him on the leash until we got to the southernmost crossing, by which point he was actually moving with me more or less. I had him on and off twice more between there and the intersection on the way home and each time he was better - truly amazing when you consider he had never been on the leash before. Everyone else was good and when we were running we kept a high pace.
GRADE: A
morning walks:
Bette
Buddy
Frankie
Stella
(4)
Mark and Lin took Bud and Bette out first as has become their routine and they were predictably good. Buddy has really been enjoying his walks and it has improved his capacity to function in many ways. By the time Stella and Frankie went out there were a fair number of people, dogs and vehicles on the beach to the north but our team sailed through it all without a problem. Good job.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
George
Osita
Maggie
Ziggy
Linda
Luna
(8)
Southern entrance to the monte and then north on the terreno federal serpentine, east via the short-cut to the crossroads east of the main intersection, north to the swimming hole and the Au Soleil Couchant road and home via the middle access road and dirty road: ~7k. I fell on the shore of the charcos just south of the short-cut. It was that thick, red mud that is precursor to the salt that forms on the bottom, as slick as ice and difficult to make out until you're on top of it: a classic keystone cops pratfall ensued. My ankle was a bit tweaked afterwards but I ran it off and it seems fine now... I do smell of nature's rich, salty substance to an unsettling degree, though. Linda was a champ the whole way. I worked with Luna on the leash at three points, including at the end on our trail. She is acceptable but doesn't quite have the hang of running with whoever has the other end of the lead yet. Still, all in all a good run.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Shirley
Buddy
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two for a morning constitutional on the beach while I was running and report they were both good.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Molly
Mo
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two out into the monte after I got back. Shirley, Bette and Linda staged a mini jailbreak at the gate while they were trying to leave but we got them rounded up, no harm done. They reported that both of them were very good on the leash and had a nice walk.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Chester
Gowron
Rufus
Ernie
Lily
Molly
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: ~10k. Gracie was on a harness and on the leash the entire way after her recent backsliding. Good thing, too, as Ernie led a hit team into the woods out near the "Y" intersection that leads to doce. Gowron and Molly mostly stayed with me, but if I hadn't had Gracie on the hook I would probably still be out there looking for her. Ernie was the last one back so he went on the other end of the leash for a spell... I was not happy with them, and might've turned back except that we were already at the halfway point so it didn't really matter which direction we went. Out in the big flats there was a solid fringe of flamingo feathers in the mud around the charcos but no flamingos by that hour. It would be a good place to go to photograph them in the early morning. I put Molly on the hook when we got to our trail because she has a tendency to rush towards the road. Gracie wasn't thrilled about being on the leash but she at least did run with enthusiasm and had a good time for most of the way.
GRADE: B
morning walks:
Shirley
Buddy
Frankie
Stella
(4)
Mark and Lin took Shirley and Buddy out first and then Frankie and Stella. Mo got out when they were at the gate with Frankie and Stella but Mark reigned her back in. Everyone was good on the walks.
GRADE: A
afternoon lunch:
Bette
(1)
Mark and Lin took Bette out north on the beach to sit with them while they ate. She dug herself a hole and hunkered down while they ate behind a hillock.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Bette
Buddy
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two out for another walk on the beach, like yesterday, with similar results. Bette is still limpy.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Eve
Truman
Archie
Elewah
Monkey
Daisy
Mo
(8)
Southern charcos, south to the road to no-man's land, north on the palapa road to the Au Soleil Couchant road, west towards the beach, south on the parallel access road, west to the trails behind the tortuga sign road and continuing on to the dirty road and home: ~9k. I had a different, more difficult group out in the yard at first but then I realized that I needed a good group today; Elewah was the one exception, and that worked out okay. We did this loop quickly and although Elewah was frequently on point she didn't seem so intent on kicking my ass the entire 9km; maybe I was tired the last time I took her out but it seemed that way to me. On the parallel access road a moto came up from behind us and slowly went through us and everyone was good; Elewah read my mind, in fact, and jumped right (west) onto the tiny dog-trail that leads to the woods behind the tortuga road just as I was thinking that's what we should do. Nobody so much as barked or broke stride for the moto, me included (I wanted to bark). I scooped Elewah up at the shrimpery and we all walked home briskly. I know I need to stop doing that and work with her on a collar but it just doesn't seem like the right time yet.
GRADE: A
morning walks:
Bette
Buddy
Frankie
Stella
(4)
Mark and Lin opportunistically pounced on the situation and snuck out with Bette and Buddy while I was running. Bette is still favoring her left rear leg; we fear hip dysplasia. They've been getting Buddy out more now and it's been doing wonders for him. This time Lin said that Buddy walked straight the entire way, up past the posts in front of the soldiers and back again. He is obviously enjoying the walks and it seems to be helping his dexterity and mood. They then took Frankie and Stella out for a long walk north on the beach near the palm tree. They ran into Nicole w/Xmul and terriers coming south at the poles, and said that both their charges and Xmul were all good (no barking, they gave each other wide berths). They saw Maria Weltin and dogs north of them further towards the palm tree and turned around. Stella and Frankie were good on the leash the whole time.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk #1:
Zasu
Miles
Reggie
Tito
Greta
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(8)
Roni and I got out together for a walk with this crew as Mark and Lin kept the chorus at bay back home. We went across the land bridge and north in the interstitial charcos next to the ridge, cutting across via our hidden path to the middle land bridge and then back via the dirty road: ~2k. It was nice out, perhaps even a little chilly and the dogs really had a good time. Greta was on the harness and on and off the leash as per her crazed behavior and our desire to keep our charges together.
GRADE: A
afternoon walks #2:
Shirley
Twiggy
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two out for a spin on the beach and they were both good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Henry
Lucy
Alice
George
Rita
Tuesday
Ziggy
Maggie
(8)
Southern charcos to the palapa road and home via the swimming hole the usual way: ~7k. Tuesday was on the harness and leash the whole way and was the best she's been - I don't think she even got paranoid after we got home (maybe a tiny bit). Mags was lagging a little at the end but everyone was really up for it and had a good time. It was overcast, foggy and a little chilly so the heavier dogs like George had no problems. We saw no flamingos, people or marmots and there were very few bugs.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Godzilla
Posey
Rufus
Ernie
Molly
Jack
Monkey
(8)
The southern charcos, road to no-man's land, palapa road to the Au Soleil Couchant road, immediately back south and home via the swimming hole, intersection, cut-over, dirty road: ~8k. All the work on the leash was preventative. I had Ernie on the hook early as usual and let him off before we ran across the salt flats to the intersection with the road to no-man's land. When we got back to the palapa road I put Posey on because she had consistently been jacking up the pace; she came off within 1km. The swimming hole is getting pretty dry but they still gave it a go, especially Monkey. We killed almost all of the water due to the humidity but the heat wasn't too bad nor were the bugs. Everyone was good on the way home except at the very end when Rufus, Jack and Posey ran north of the gate to the intersection. It wasn't very bad but it wasn't what they were supposed to do, and it was mostly due to Posey.
GRADE: A-
early afternoon walk:
Shirley
Luna
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two out for a stroll and they were both good.
GRADE: A
late afternoon walks:
Archie
Mo
Buddy
Frankie
Stella
(5)
Mark and Lin first took out Archie, Mo and Buddy for a walk on the beach. Buddy did extremely well, only spinning in circles a few times and otherwise walking straight the whole way. Amazing. Archie was off the leash and pretty good with them (needs to get better with other people). Mo was on and off and good. Frankie and Stella were both good on theirs.
GRADE: A
afternoon walks:
Stella
Frankie
Linda
Bette
Buddy
(4)
Mark and Lin took the first three out and then the second two. Linda is reported to be getting better on the leash but still a little willful off the leash. Buddy walked well on a leash, only going "spinny" a few times; he had a good time walking on the beach although he ran afoul of the many patches of xmul early on. Amazing, really.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Blue
Frijolita
Osita
Archie
Gowron
Ernie
Daisy
(8)
The southern charcos and then south to the road to no-man's land, north on the palapa road, across the berm to the swimming hole and home via the dirty road: ~8k. Today's group was as good as yesterday's was bad; I let Frijolita come even though she was along yesterday because she's so good and frequently gets shorted. I had Ernie on the hook early because he's out of his mind for the first ~2km, and I had Chester on for a short stretch out near no-man's land because he was too far ahead, but it was all preemptive. We saw a few flamingos and one bird-trapper on a moto. A slight chill in the air and a light wind made this a pleasant run.
GRADE: A
afternoon walks:
Bette
Molly
Twiggy
Shirley
Linda
(5)
Mark and Lin took the first two out on and then the second three. Linda is starting to respond to them a bit more. They said Molly was a very good girl on the leash and off - good to hear. Bette has a little limp.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Frijolita
Eve
Molly
Ziggy
Lily
Jack
(8)
North to the tortuga sign, north on the beach to Au Soleil Couchant, into the monte and home: ~5k. Gracie cut this short: she was simply awful. There was a point right at Au Soleil Couchant when we came off the beach and I thought I should put her on the leash; she's always worse when Bette isn't along and Bette had a little limp yesterday so she sat this one out. She was none too good the last time out even with Bette. I ignored my inner voice and left her off the leash so naturally she took off into the woods across doce and ditched me, but not after leading everyone else on a merry chase, myself included. I came home via the most direct route with the rest of them to find her already at home. She spent two hours in the box after crapping on my morning and screwing everyone else over on the run. At least the rest of them ended up listening well enough.
GRADE: F
morning walk:
Stella
Frankie
Linda
Shirley
Twiggy
(5)
Mark and Lin took the first three out first and then the second two. Linda is a bit dodgy on the leash but getting better. Everyone else was really good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
George
Monkey
Daisy
Petey
Lex
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the swimming hole via the alternate land bridge and cut-over, north to the Au Soleil Couchant road, south at the road just on the other side of the near charcos and home via the cut-over and the dirty road: ~6k. George was in his glory and jacked the pace up a little more than I wanted at the beginning but he settled down. Pete, Lex and Steve were perfect the whole way. I put Daisy on the hook briefly on the way back because she was playing too roughly with Petey but it only lasted a few meters. I thought that Lucy might be coming up lame on the way home so I took the pace down and cut it a bit shorter than I was thinking; so far she seems alright.
GRADE: A
morning walks:
Luna
Mo
Linda
Twiggy
(4)
Today was a Mark and Lin kind of day walk-wise. They took these four out in groups of two on leashes. Mo and Luna were a bit of a handful on the leashes but everyone came back in one piece. Twiggy is stellar on the leash and Linda tolerates it.
GRADE: A
evening walks:
Frankie
Stella
Bette
Archie
(4)
As in the morning, two groups of two on leashes courtesy Mark and Lin; Frank and Stella went in the monte, Bette and Archie on the beach. The monte was buggy, but all was well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Truman
Blue
Rita
Posey
Rufus
Ernie
Elewah
(8)
Around the southern charcos, south to the road to no-man's land, north on the palapa road all the way to the Au Soleil Couchant road and home via the middle access road, the tortuga three-way intersection and the dirty road: ~9k. This was a fast group, especially Elewah - she needs a collar and some work on a leash because she does nothing but kick my ass the entire way no matter how far we go. Even so she was good and everyone else was stellar. I had Chester, Posey and Ernie on the leash at various points early on to slow them down and get them to listen in flamingo territory, but we saw very few flamingos - two lone stragglers at different spots that nobody so much as sniffed at. We saw no people at all. It was beautiful out - not cold but not hot, slightly overcast and with a light wind from the northeast.
GRADE: A
evening walk #1:
Bette
Archie
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two for a walk on the beach on leashes. All good.
GRADE: A
evening walk #2:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Reggie
Gowron
Tito
Mega
(7)
Roni took this crew to the apocalyptic cove and back at dusk. Miles was a bit of a shyster but everyone was good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
mid-day walks:
Stella
Molly
Linda
Frankie
Bette
(5)
Mark and Lin took out two groups: Stella, Molly and Linda first and Frankie and Bette second, all on the leash except for Linda.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Shirley
Greta
Archie
Mo
(4)
Mark and Lin first took Shirley and Greta and then Archie and Mo. We'll have to watch Shirley and Greta for limps but it's nice Shirley got out.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Archie
Ernie
(2)
Mark and Lin took these two for a stroll in the monte. Ernie got out of his collar at one point out of excitement but it was no big deal. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Bette
Tito
Linda
(3)
Mark and Lin took this group out second. Tito came back before everyone else but Roni suspected he might do that to begin with so she had warned them. All good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Eve
Osita
Godzilla
Molly
Luna
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: ~10k. We left later than I would normally for a long one but once again everyone ran so fast and was so cute and up for it at the turn for the hidden trail that I decided to press on; Ginger really sold me on it which just goes to show you how much ass she kicks. We saw no people but there were still a few flamingos hanging around in the charcos we ran by and everyone did me proud; Luna wanted to chase one as we were just heading north and all I had to to was call her name to bring her back - the flamingo didn't feel threatened enough to budge. I worked with both Molly and Luna on the leash towards the end after we rounded the dog-leg at the turn to no-man's land. Molly was too far ahead still (she sure can run for a large dog) and Luna just needs work on the leash generally. The one negative outcome from this run was that Bette has a limp. She and Ginger were the last ones back from a little chase in the woods when we were way out there; Bette wasn't limping before they took off so she must've stepped in a hole or on a spine or twisted her ankle somewhere. Other than that it was a nice run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Reggie
Tito
Greta
Zoot
(6)
To the apocalyptic cove and back: ~1k. Roni took this crew out with our two new HelpX'ers, Mark and Lin, to show them around a bit and get a feel for taking dogs out on walks here. Greta chased a flamingo, which is silly for many reasons, and we're sure she'll pay for it now with a limp. Zoot sticks to Reggie like glue. Roni grades this one a "B" more for her than Greta because she forgot the leash.
GRADE: B
afternoon walks:
Stella
Frankie
Ziggy
Daisy
(4)
Mark and Lin took these out in groups of two, first Stella and Frankie, then Ziggy and Daisy, and then Stella and Frankie again because I didn't have anyone else handy downstairs and Ziggy and Daisy decided to call it quits. They went up and down the beach and all had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Monkey
Daisy
Linda
Amber
Steve McQueen
Lex
Petey
Mega
(8)
To the swimming hole via the land bridge, the ridge, the cut-over and the intersection, a little loop to the south and east past the concrete hut and back home via the cut-over, the middle land bridge and the dirty road: ~6k. It was Mega's first time and he was excellent; I had to carry him across doce to get started but after that he was enthusiastic and whined the whole way in excitement. Everyone else was stellar. Monkey and Daisy are perfect puppy trainers. Everyone jumped into the swimming hole like lunatics. Amber, Lex and Petey have already figured out drinking from the bottle and the others aren't far behind. When we got to doce on the way back a couple of the local strays were north on the road about 20m from us and everyone just crossed and went home with me with no barking or shenanigans.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
George
Blue
Tuesday
Frankie
Ziggy
Daisy
(8)
Around the southern charcos to the swimming hole via the palapa road and home via the intersection and the dirty road: ~7k. This was a good group. The distance was fine for George, Alice and Lucy, which is good to see. Tuesday was on the harness and leash the whole way but didn't get paranoid except possibly as we were just reaching the gate (I think she was happy to see Roni but maybe she was getting a little wary of me). We left relatively early into a thick fog that had blanketed the entire region since the early dawn; you could see every spider's web and tiny leaf. It was like that the whole way so I was careful not to stumble on some hidden group of flamingos and kept them all close to me. We saw no people or creatures other than birds and bugs. Everyone jumped in at the swimming hole and in general everyone behaved themselves and had a good time the whole way. The one black mark came at the very end when Frankie bolted for doce to see some of the wild dogs that were visible up there. Nobody else followed her and I kept us moving home the right way while calling for her. At one point where one of the "streets" cuts through the brush and you can see doce clearly I saw Frankie heading parallel to us and obviously going home so I stopped yelling for her and got the rest of us back as fast as I could. I'm not happy with her for doing that but at least things were amicable... maybe she was recruiting, who knows.
GRADE: B (Frankie)
morning run:
Posey
Frijolita
Rita
Truman
Rufus
Ernie
Jack
Mo
(8)
Around the southern charcos via the middle road and home via the most direct route: ~6k. Another high-energy group. We were limited on time because the handyman was due to show up early so I didn't go as far as I normally would with this crew but we made up for it by doing it quickly; everyone was in a mood to fly so that wasn't a problem. I had Ernie on the leash near the southern charcos because he was not listening well enough for me and I had Posey on at the end to continue to reinforce the idea that she does NOT jack-rabbit when we get close to home. Other than that everyone was off the leash and really good. There were not many flamingos in the charcos we ran by and you could see that there were small groups of them everywhere lifting off and heading for the lagoon so I think we just happened to be out when they are moving east for the day to feed. It was pretty out and there were swarms of dragonflies.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Petey
Lex
Amber
Zoot
(7)
Out the dirty road, across the middle land bridge, over the ridge and home via the main land bridge: ~2k. I wanted to get Zoot and Mega out since they were the two tribe members that hadn't gone yet but Mega balked at the start. Zoot was not particularly brave but allowed himself to be carried along by the enthusiasm of the others. Monkey and PupG set excellent examples. A car was leaving from the beach right to the north of us as we were leaving and I held us all up just on our side of doce to let it pass. Both senior dogs stayed with me, did not bark at the car or try to cross the road until I said it was OK - exactly what we want the pups to learn. Linda was on point for most of the way. We ran it quickly and everyone had a blast.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Xmul
(1)
Nicole and Marie dropped Xmul by last night for a stay-over; this morning Roni took her down to meet them on their morning walk. Xmul continued on home with them. It was nice to see her.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Godzilla
Osita
Eve
Elewah
Molly
(8)
Southern charcos cut short via bag end and home via the dirty road: ~7k. I thought perhaps this was a difficult group when we left - certainly high-energy. I put Molly on the hook at the southernmost crossing because she was too far ahead and not listening; she came off at the last little dog-leg east where the palapa road starts. About 20m north of the palapa structure Gracie dove into the woods to the east, hauling all of her pups, Bette and Ginger with her. There are a lot of marmots in those woods since they aren't as heavily hunted by dogs and such (too far out); the woods near us are much more sparse. I didn't think much of it until I heard that special "I've got something tree'd" bark from Gracie emanating from deep in the brush, so I dove in after her with the dogs that remained. They did tree and hurt a mapache - it looked like an adolescent. It was so thick and spiny where they were that I lost my water bottle getting there and could barely keep my bearings. That is the first time I have ever littered in the monte - not happy about it. Moreover I am double-plus unhappy with Gracie who really led the whole expedition. I thought she was over her wilder impulses but obviously not so she'll have to run on the leash when we are out beyond our nominal demesne. It took about 10min for everyone to finally get back to me after the chase, and at that point I had had more than enough so I brought us back by the shortest possible route. I'm scratched up and look like shit, but it appears that none of the dogs are much the worse for wear.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Alice
Gowron
Monkey
Daisy
Linda
Petey
Lex
Steve McQueen
Amber
(9)
Once again to the swimming hole via the land bridge and the ridge and home via the dirty road: ~6k. We ended up with nine because both Petey and Lex wanted to come; I kind of wanted them to to give their fellow tribe-members courage and it was just too much of a pain in the ass to put Alice back in as we were standing at the gate. It went as well as it possibly could until the very end where we ran into some locals attempting to "herd" a bull and two cows ("attempting" is perhaps too kind). They were right at the shrimpery corner, blocking our path. Alice would have no part of it and bolted for the interior of the shrimpery so I called everyone back and we cut around the northwestern corner from the inside, doing a bit of off-roading in the process. We lost Linda in there somewhere; I think she took off for home via the most direct route when she saw the cows because she caught us at the gate and was up to her eyeballs in xmuls, literally. Lex and Petey picked up where they left off and really helped give Amber and Steve courage. Amber whined in excitement the entire way. All of the tribe members (plus Linda) listened well, stayed with me (practically on top of me honestly) reacted well to vehicles (a moto), drank out of the bottle and ran their little butts off. Monkey, Daisy and PupG are an excellent combination for puppy training: they don't cross the road before their human(s), stay close, listen well and don't give newbies bad habits. Nice job.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Henry
George
Blue
Archie
Reggie
Frankie
Maggie
Stella
(8)
Pretty much exactly the same thing I did last time - to the swimming hole via the ridge and home via the dirty road: ~6k. We took the trails to the north of the tortuga crossroads instead of a proper road on the way home, but otherwise the same. This was an odd group but it turned out well. Stella was on the hook for most of the time although I did let her off from the intersection to the swimming hole, where I had Frankie on for attempting to chase a lone flamingo near weathertop. Other than that there were no surprises or problems. Reggie is a dream and George had a blast. Maggie lagged a little at the end and caught a lot of xmuls in her coat but she enjoyed herself.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Gowron
Monkey
Daisy
Linda
Petey
Lex
(8)
East across the land bridge, north along the ridge and continuing on through the cut-over to the intersection, the swimming hole and home via the Au Soleil Couchant road, the parallel access road, the tortuga cross-roads and the dirty road: ~6k. Linda was a power-house, never wavering and frequently on point(!). Lex was a little unsure at the gate but everyone else was so good and together with me that he was carried along. Nobody crossed the road before me, everyone stayed close the whole run. Lex drinks out of the bottle on his own already but Petey isn't sure yet. All three of the pups jumped into the swimming hole enthusiastically and had no problems with the distance or anything else.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Frijolita
Posey
Chester
Lily
Luna
(8)
Southern charcos, palapa road all the way to where it ends at the Au Soleil Couchant road, west and then south to the swimming hole, the shire, the cut-over, the dirty road and home: ~8k. I put Lily on the hook before we hit the southern charcos in case we ran into flamingos, and because she cranks the pace up too high (especially out of the gate). I let her off about ~2km later, but put her and Posey on either end of the leash at the turn south from the Au Soleil Couchant road because they were too far ahead and not listening again. They mostly cleaned up their act by the swimming hole, where I switched them for Luna so she doesn't forget how to behave on the leash - she was good and I let her off before the cut-over. I put Luna on again at the very end to prevent her from bolting for the ocean but she showed no inclination to do so; I might try leaving her off the hook when we come home the next time she goes out. It was pretty out, a tiny bit chilly and completely devoid of humans.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Xmul
(1)
Xmul left today on Nicole and Marie's morning walk; they were mutually glad to see each other. Roni did an excellent job managing the whole affair. The plan is for Xmul to live with Nicole and Marie for the next six months, while coming back for visits now and again during that time, then coming back with us for six months when N&M go back to Canada. We both miss her but are happy she's happy and that her other humans are happy to have her.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Archie
Truman
Eve
Ernie
Elewah
Molly
Mo
(8)
Southern charcos to the swimming hole and home via the dirty road: ~7k. I put Ernie on the hook for a stretch to the south just to reel him back in a bit. I let him off ~1km or so later and he was fine. We saw few flamingos, most of them already in flight; we left late-ish and probably around the hour a lot of them are flying to the lagoon for the day. The charcos were beautiful and the water in them was chilly. Otto is still not 100% but really wanted to go so I kept the pace and distance down and watched him constantly. I think he will have a little bit of a limp later today but will shake it off tomorrow. If it is worse than that then he won't come on a run again for couple of weeks. I scooped Elewah up at the shrimpery and we all walked home.
GRADE: A
morning walk/run:
Henry
Ginger
Daisy
Gowron
Linda
Petey
(6)
Around the cow pasture: ~1k. Linda started out where she left off yesterday and Petey stepped it up and had a good time. We tried with Mega and a couple others after I came back but nobody was feeling brave so we called it quits.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Greta
Daisy
Linda
(6)
A walk this time, mainly to get Linda out and off on the right foot; it worked swimmingly. She was really into following the sisters, stuck close to me generally and had a great time. We only went around the cow pasture the long way (~2k) but that was plenty. Daisy was fun, obedient and set a good example and Greta was in her glory. If she doesn't have a limp tomorrow she should go again.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Godzilla
Rita
Archie
Ziggy
Monkey
Daisy
Xmul
(8)
Around the southern charcos, north up the palapa road and home via the swimming hole and the dirty road: ~7k. I had Xmul on the hook for a stretch when I wasn't sure if there were going to be a lot of flamingos in the southern charcos - there weren't and she was fine. It's good for her to go on the hook frequently just to remind her of the rules. Monkey, Daisy and Xmul played like lunatics the entire way and we kept a fast pace to boot. I sincerely hope they are tired today because those three stir up a lot of energy in the house, along with Ziggy. We saw no people and only a handful of flamingos. Almost no bugs unless you stopped for more than a few seconds.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Eve
Blue
Osita
Chester
Rufus
Jack
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: ~10k. Bette would've come normally with this crew but she didn't want to - need to watch that, it isn't usual. Other than brief stints on the leash for Chester and Rufus (not listening) everyone was off the whole way and we were flying. At first I thought we left too late to go this far but we got to the turn for the hidden trail so quickly and everyone was so up for it that we just pressed on. It was beautiful - most of the flamingos are gone at this hour but it is obvious that they are congregating in the very large charcos to the northeast early in the morning (lots of feathers and tracks). Everyone behaved themselves, had a good time and is tired now.
GRADE: A
morning puppy fu:
Zasu
Alice
Ginger
Linda
Zoot
Lex
Steve McQueen
Petey
Mega
Amber
(10)
A cast of thousands but ultimately we just went a little past the shrimpery and back twice over. Today was our first attempt at getting the erstwhile puppies to go out and stretch their legs under some kind of control. Hah. Alice, Ginger and Zasu assisted at times. In the end it turns out that Zoot is the bravest of The Tribe (is that actually irony? I'm honestly not sure); he went with Alice and me down past the shrimpery and back by himself the first trip out, after McQueen and Petey retired from the field early (ran back to the gate). Roni had the bright suggestion to try Zasu as Red Leader; I had already switched Alice for Ginger earlier but the pups still weren't convinced and needed a lot of coaxing to come along a little. Zasu did the trick, though, and led Zoot (again) and Lex down to more or less the same point before we turned around again, with Ginger along for the ride. Zoot needed to be coaxed much less the second time. After that there was some general milling around and pup.work by Roni and me on both sides of the fence. All of the pups came out and screwed around at one point or another but it will take more of this to get them to come with for a walk into the monte. I'm sure Zoot will help.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Posey
Gowron
Ernie
Lily
Molly
(6)
Out the coco trail to the tortuga sign crossroads, the intersection, the shire and swimming hole, then back south across the berm between the large northern charcos, south around the southern charcos and home via the main road and the land bridge: ~7k. There have been a lot of flamingos lately so I took fewer than normal to have more control and work with them more individually. Lily was on the hook pretty much the whole way with Ernie and Molly joining her on the other end of the leash for stints. It was not a long run and it took us longer than it should have because of the constant stopping to reel them all in and keep them under some kind of discipline. The one time I let Lily off the hook she was quickly 100m ahead of me and not listening, so I had to put her right back on. Early on Ernie was also a pain in the ass with the not listening. I put Molly on as a preventative measure when I saw someone riding towards us on a tricycle on the palapa road; with Lily and Molly on the hook they were all model citizens and got into single file around me as we ran quietly past him... well, at least we looked good for the locals and no flamingos were chased.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Otto
Tuesday
Maggie
Daisy
(8)
Land bridge south, around the southern charcos, up the middle trail and across the charcos to the south of the shire and home via the cut over and the dirty road: ~6k. This was Otto's first time out since he injured himself; he seems to be okay but I made it a short one in case he came up lame. Tuesday managed to fight off the paranoia until we hit the cut-over and she wasn't too bad even after her tail went down and she started giving me that you're-gonna-skin-me-ain'tcha look. Daisy was a good girl. There were many flamingos feeding in the charco to the south of weathertop and she listened to me without having to be put on the leash; the flamingos didn't feel threatened or take off. Everyone else was good as well and had a good time. George was especially in his glory and ran like a pup most of the way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Godzilla
Frankie
Lily
Jack
Monkey
Stella
Mo
(8)
The southern way to the swimming hole via the palapa road and home via the dirty road: ~8k. We left with Stella off of the leash but I put her on when we regrouped at the shrimpery; I had to go into the cow pasture to get her (f'ing barbed wire), which only proved that she needed to be on the leash. I left her on for the whole run because she's never going to get any better otherwise; at least I had the foresight to bring the long leash which can be used for more than one dog. We saw not a single flamingo, person or marmot until we were coming out of the shire and running past weathertop, where a group of flamingos was feeding not 3m from the road. I saw them and thought I should put Lily on the other end of the leash and a second later she took off - not good, I should've anticipated a little better. They easily evaded her (and Frankie and Jack) by moving closer to weathertop and the dogs listened well; I collected Lily and had her on the leash until we got across the middle land bridge. Other than that everyone was really good; it was blustery, overcast and at least not hot.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Ginger
Osita
Elewah
Ziggy
Molly
Daisy
Luna
Xmul
(8)
The southern charco loop backwards plus a little extra; north out the coco trail to the Au Soleil Couchant road, east and then north like we were going to the long and winding road, turned around at the intersection with the hidden trail and came back south to the palapa road and home via the southern charcos, the main road and the land bridge: ~9k. I thought we might do the long and winding road but the dogs were giving me too much trouble chasing birds and the leash stopped working, hampering my efforts to control them. This was a high-energy group of mostly younger dogs and there were a fair number of flamingos and ducks in the charcos nearby; I should take the long leash that can easily accommodate two dogs for a while until everyone remembers/knows the rules. Osita was bad a couple of times and she should know better; her main sin was not listening to me. Xmul was predictably crazed so I had to improvise a harness by looping the leash around her body and using her collar to keep it in place. She was in that get-up for several kilometers but I let her off at the southern end of the run because she had been so good and she listened well for the remainder. I put Luna on the leash as we were getting near the tar paper shack and she was not so great - backed out of her collar and danced away. I collected her and did the same loop-harness thing at which point she did her best boat anchor impersonation from the tar paper shack until we got home. She's HEAVY. I scooped Elewah up at the shrimpery and we all walked home from there more or less together and under control.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Archie
Truman
Blue
Reggie
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Xmul
(8)
The southern way I've been taking recently, around the southern charcos but then we went further south to the road to no-man's land, back onto the palapa road and home via the swimming hole, the intersection, the cut-over, the middle land-bridge and the dirty road: ~8k. We didn't see as many flamingos today, probably because we left later; Jack was the one in this group that wanted to chase but he responds quickly to commands. There is a lot of salt-related activity nearby right now, with two semis parked just across the land bridge to the south and clusters of people on motos buzzing around.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Boscha
(1)
Another abortive attempt at taking a walk. We got about as far as the first time, down by the shrimpery, when she got out of her collar. I had been debating the idea of letting her off the leash with myself the whole way, but couldn't shake the feeling that she would just bolt for Kikis' beach house. When she got out of her collar she was a bit confused and I easily grabbed her and put it back on, but in a moment of weakness I decided to not put her on the hook right away and - sure enough - she bolted for Kikis' beach house. It is not particularly fun to get there in bare feet any way but the beach and I didn't go that way. She was more or less fine on the leash for the walk home from there.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Henry
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Frijolita
Maggie
Ziggy
(8)
Almost identical to yesterday except instead of the palapa road we took the slightly closer road that parallels it to the west and cut across the charcos at the land bridge at the southern end of the shire: ~6k. This is the distance for almost all of these dogs; Frijolita and Ziggy are the exceptions but they had a good time. There were flamingos again, close by this time, so there was a bit of discipline involved in keeping anything too awful from happening. Frijolita wanted to chase them, so she went on the leash for a bit. Other than that it was uneventful and everyone behaved themselves perfect. Lucy might have a little limp now, we'll have to watch her.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Chester
Rita
Eve
Posey
Ernie
Molly
(8)
The land bridge to the last turn east, around the southern charcos and down the palapa road all the way to the Au Soleil Couchant road, back south at the first turn, to the watering hole, the shire, the intersection, the cut-over, the dirty road and home: ~8k. There were flamingos just east of the terreno federal road at the first charcos; I was caught unaware and a few of the dogs seem to have forgotten the rules. I ended up with Ernie on the leash for a while to make sure no more of that happened and will be more careful now that they have returned. Other than that it was a nice run.
GRADE: A
late morning run:
Frijolita
Godzilla
Lily
Monkey
Daisy
Xmul
(6)
East out the land bridge, south and then east to the terreno federal serpentine, the short-cut to the intersection and home via the cut-over, the middle land bridge and the dirty road: ~6k. At the very end as we were crossing doce a mototaxi stalled about 20m south of us; Xmul and Lily went over to bark a bit but cleaned their act up and came with me quickly. We were home before the driver managed to get his vehicle started again.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Eve
Rita
Reggie
Stella
Daisy
Mo
(8)
Out the dirty road to the middle land bridge, the cut over, the intersection, the first trail south around the southern charcos, the palapa road, the north land bridge to the swimming hole, the shire, the intersection, the cut over and middle land bridge again but this time north to the dead goat three-way and home via the coco trail: ~8k(?). We would've come home exactly the way we went out down the dirty road but Reggie balked at some salt workers loading a huge truck on the way back; he went right by them on the way out, so I was a little surprised, but I guess we came upon them too suddenly on the way out for him to think about it. Other than that everyone was perfect. Stella was on the leash the whole way and will remain leash-bound on runs until I feel like trying to trust her again. Daisy and Mo were incredibly energetic and more or less sold me on hitting the papala road instead of coming home via the main road, which was my original plan. Reggie and Gracie also did their parts to sell me on a longer run, as they were all wiggly and playful when we got to the four-way crossroads down south where I had to decide. I really didn't feel like going out today after such a crappy yesterday but the natural optimism and joyfulness of dogs is hard to beat.
GRADE: A
final run:
Floyd
(1)
Floyd was simply too aggressive to be part of our pack. He was sweet, fun, affectionate and energetic, and we really tried to find a way to make it work; he also weighed almost 70lbs, had bad eyesight and could be the devil to handle. In the end it was clear that there were certain things that couldn't change. We could argue nature/nurture but it doesn't matter, the fact is that he was a danger to many of his pack-mates and could've harmed our reputation by doing something terrible. He didn't do anything truly terrible while with us but only due to super-human effort on our part, and frequently just by inches... if only we'd had him when he was a pup things might've been different. We both loved him and wanted him to stay but there just isn't enough of us, enough space, enough anything. I had to take him to be put down. Roni and I are beside ourselves with sadness. He was a good boy to the end. It can't always end happily. Although it was often unspeakably hard to have him here I know I will miss him.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Ginger
Gowron
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Floyd
(6)
Out the dirty road, over the middle land bridge, the cut-over to the parallel road back to the tortuga crossing and home south via the dirty road again (basically a figure eight): ~4k. We really ran it except for Maggie, who kept lagging and having to rest. Still everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt #2 (abortive):
Henry
Linda
(2)
My plan was a little jog directly around the cow pasture. Instead we got halfway there, to the midpoint of the road that runs along the northern end of the pasture, when I noticed that Linda was lagging back about 20m and looking to bolt the opposite way. Sure enough, that's what she did. Until that point she had been no farther than a meter from my heel. For some reason she just decided that was far enough from home and would not stop. I was 90% certain she would come straight home and 10% worried that she would try to run to Kikis', so naturally the 10% won and I sprinted for 700m trying to catch her (the last 100m more on principle than anything else). Henry was a trooper as always. I guess the whole thing was roughly 1.6km, half at a mild jog and half at a crazy gallop.
GRADE: C (we made it home in one piece at least)
morning run:
Chester
Truman
Blue
Archie
Ernie
Elewah
Jack
Monkey
(8)
North via the dirty road, the middle land bridge, the cut over and the intersection to the swimming hole, continuing north to the Au Soleil Couchant road (north fork), east and then south at the intersection and home via the palapa road, the southern charcos, the main road and the land bridge: ~8k. Out on the palapa road near the bend that curls around the bottom of the southern charcos Jack got a little strange: he simply refused to come along with us, like he had seen a ghost. Everyone else including Elewah was with me but he just stood and barked a little at us until finally a few of the dogs ran back to see what he was on about; there was nothing discernible in the bushes and once we got back to him he was okay and continued on with us. Strange. Just after we turned onto the bend west that heads to the land bridge we ran into four full-grown dogs that I don't recall seeing before: one cream colored one, two black ones and one kind of reddish brown. The all bolted west across the land bridge with Ernie, Jack, Elewah and Truman in pursuit and me, Monkey, Archie and Chester not far behind. There was no barking at all, which I found odd. They dove into the bushes just to the north of the cove formed by the land bridge. I ran ahead to the intersection where the dirty road meets the road to the land bridge and called for our dogs until they came out - it took a couple of minutes for the last straggler to reach me (Elewah). The entire time I heard no barking or signs of a melee, although the dogs to the northwest around the HoJo could be heard faintly in the distance. At this point I scooped Elewah up and walked most of the way home just to avoid any more surprises.
GRADE: B
short jaunt:
Floyd
(1)
Around the cow pasture.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Posey
Rufus
Frankie
Maggie
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the dirty road, the middle land bridge, the cut-over, the intersection and the swimming hole, then home via the tortuga sign: ~6k. Rufus has developed a limp in his front right paw after the last few runs, so I took him on a shorter one today with the intention of watching him closely afterwards. The last few times it seems that his limp developed within a day and then went away the next day after that; he shows no signs of problems while on the run so it sounds like perhaps he pulled something originally and it's sore for a while now after runs. Posey got to go because she was due but she irritated me where the road from the swimming hole runs into the Au Soleil Couchant road: the brush to the north had some kind of interesting critter in it and Posey led the charge, but she took her sweet time coming when I called her, and then refused to come all the way to me. She knows better and was going on the leash for sure, but since she didn't come all the way to me and made me come to her she stayed on for the rest of the run. Other than that there were no surprises or mishaps. This is the perfect distance for George, Maggie, Frankie, Alice and Lucy; the other three could run forever but it felt like near 100% humidity and everyone was happy to get home.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Frijolita
Godzilla
Osita
Eve
Molly
Floyd
(8)
Hidden trail more or less the standard way: ~8k. We took the dirty road both ways and used the middle land bridge on the way out, like before. Some stray was down in the bushes near the start of the dirty road again but I couldn't see it; our dogs were interested and barked a little but listened to me and didn't become aggressive. There were salt workers on the dirty road and everyone was good. Other than that we didn't run into anyone or anything else except birds, lizards and bugs. We took the intersection out east to the swimming hole instead of using the Au Soleil Couchant road. It is still deep enough to swim in despite not having had any rain for days. The 1.5 liter water bottle is a good idea when dogs like Bette, Floyd and Molly are along. Everyone behaved themselves and had a nice time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Boscha
(1)
It was her first time on a leash so it was a little rough at first but by the time we were coming back home she was more or less okay. We just went to the shrimpery and back.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Twiggy
(1)
It was starting to get choppy so I only took out Twigs, since she doesn't care at all. She did 10 laps in her usual way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rita
Gowron
Ziggy
Lily
Floyd
Daisy
Mo
Xmul
(8)
Hidden trail more or less the standard way: ~8k. We went out the coco trail and came back on the dirty road. The heavens must've had a message of peace and harmony writ in them because from the very beginning everyone was perfect. They waited for me to cross doce and were more or less in a little cloud around me the entire run. We got barked at on the way out at the end of the coco trail by the dogs that hang out near the HoJo and nobody flinched. Floyd had to throw himself under some bushes a few times on the way to the ocean, but I brought a 1.5 liter bottle of water this time instead of the usual 1 liter so I spread it around liberally and everyone was fine. The ocean has a steep drop-off right near the shore, which led Xmul to discover the art of the cannon-ball (she is a natural). Everyone listened well, stayed with me, kept up and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Chester
Blue
Truman
Archie
Rufus
Ernie
Jack
(8)
Hidden trail plus a tiny bit extra: ~9k. We took the dirty road coming and going, and went out the middle land bridge. It was a little late, hot and bright but beautiful and quiet. The only people we saw were some salt workers on the other side of the charco where the road splits to go north. The ocean is a little chilly and there were lots of birds. As we were coming home Rufus, Jack and Truman ran north ~20m from our gate when they saw our neighbor at the white house weed-whacking his part of the road; they all stopped and came back when I called them and he and I waved at each other - he didn't even see them until they were already coming back to me.
GRADE: A
mid-day swims:
Twiggy
Shirley
Greta
Lucy
(4)
The ocean was a tiny bit chilly and mildly choppy. Twiggy did ten "laps" by swimming out with me and back continuously five times; she was very enthusiastic and had a nice time. Shirley did eight laps, but I had to carry her out every time; still she had a good time and swam well. Greta needed to be carried in from the shore and did seven laps. Finally, Lucy came out just because there's no time she couldn't use some more exercise. She did six laps under protest and thought my methods rather rude, but she also had a good time swimming.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Godzilla
Osita
Lily
Monkey
Molly
Floyd
Daisy
(8)
Across the land bridge, last turn east into the monte, around the southern charcos to the palapa road, across the northern land bridge to the swimming hole and the shire, through the intersection west to the cut-over, the middle land bridge, the dirty road and home: ~7k. At the intersection where the dirty road meets the shrimpery we ran into a little dog about the size of Daisy hiding in the bushes. Our dogs were curious but nice about it; the stray didn't want to move, she just wanted to sit there, so we left her alone and kept going. On the way back we ended up going by that spot again and that dog was still hanging around the general area, choosing once again to go sit in the bushes with her back to us; Frijolita was especially interested in her this time and barked a little but it wasn't aggressive and she knocked it off and came when she was called. Other than that not very much happened. The monte is starting to dry out but is still substantially under water in places.
GRADE: A
mid-morning jaunt:
Alice
Lucy
Floyd
(3)
Around the cow pasture the long way: ~2k. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Posey
Truman
Rita
Elewah
Jack
Mo
(8)
East over the land bridge, south to the last turn east, around the southern charcos and then further south to the way-out "Y" road, back to the palapa road, north to the northern land bridge to the shire, the swimming hole, the intersection, the cut over to the middle land bridge, the dirty road and home: ~8k. It was overcast and mild, perhaps even a little cool and the monte was flooded many places from recent rains. We ran into critters twice: once at the last good north/west turn coming into the monte around the southern charcos, and once on the palapa road. The first time I didn't get a look at what they were chasing but they lost it quickly in the swampy woods that surround one of those charcos to the south that abuts the coconut plantation. On the palapa road I saw a medium-sized, shaggy, short-tailed marmot shamble into the road about 100m ahead of us and realize what a mistake that was almost immediately; it bolted into the woods to our right and our dogs shot ahead like vipers after a cylon. Of course it was mostly show. The thing almost certainly went up one of the many tall trees there and the dogs were all casting about for it for a solid 45 seconds while Rita and I waited at the base of the palapa platform. I cranked out a fairly impressive sprint for that point in the run so they weren't out of my sight for very long. This played into my decision not to go all the way to the Au Soleil Couchant road but instead head across the land bridge to the shire and hit the swimming hole. I must note an interesting phenomenon: the swimming hole was over-full and at its deepest parts the bottom was really hot - uncomfortably so. Elsewhere the bottom felt like normal sand but there were patches were the water was deepest that were really hot, and it was a cool day with very little sun. I scooped Elewah up on the trail home after she managed to draw Jack into a little misbehavior at the shrimpery corner - that has to be looked after. Posey came home the final 100m on the leash and there were no incidents. Over all a nice run if a bit chaotic at times.
GRADE: B
morning jaunt:
Floyd
(1)
Around the cow pasture the short way: ~1k. It was starting to rain as we reached the end of the dirty road so I cut it shorter than I usually would and picked up the pace.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Frankie
Maggie
Floyd
(6)
To the tortuga sign via the middle land bridge and the intersection, home the usual way: ~4k. I was only going to go around the cow pasture the long way but they talked me into crossing that land bridge before the three-way intersection (Ginger, mainly). It was a bit late and hot but the distance was short and everyone had a good time. The tide was ridiculously low and the ocean was strange. Lucy rolled in poo.
GRADE: A
evening walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
(3)
Roni took these three around the cow pasture at dusk. They were all good even counting an encounter with some of the local strays. Bugs were bad.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Eve
Blue
Frijolita
Archie
Tuesday
Daisy
Luna
(8)
To the intersection via the tortuga cross-roads, east and then immediately south down the nearer trail around the southern charcos, out of the monte at the last turn onto the main road and home via the land bridge and the shrimpery: ~6k. Tuesday didn't show any signs of paranoia until we were already back inside the yard as I was taking her harness off. She was really good throughout and deserves a special gold star. Everyone else was also stellar. We didn't bother with the beach as there are many fine swimming holes with mostly fresh water in them throughout the monte. Bugs weren't as bad as I thought they'd be.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Ginger
Floyd
(2)
Around the cow pasture the long way: ~2k. I threw Ginger in because she was on the porch. It was starting to get hot but it was still nice. The bugs were only bad on the dead goat trail, so we ran that as fast as we could.
GRADE: A
mid-day swims:
Greta
Shirley
Lucy
Twiggy
(4)
The sea is calm and strange today, so it was smooth sailing for everyone. Greta, Shirley and Lucy did 8 laps apiece. I threw Lucy into the mix because she's fat and can use the non-impact exercise. She loves to swim anyway, and although this mode of doing so isn't her favorite she still had a good time. Twiggy did 10 laps because she doubled up on every one and tired me out in the process - she is FAST in the water.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Osita
Rita
Godzilla
Ziggy
Floyd
Xmul
(8)
To the intersection the usual way, east into the monte to the palapa road via the outer land bridge, south on the palapa road all the way around the southern charcos, home via the main road, the land bridge and the shrimpery: ~8k. It rained hard last night and the monte was mostly flooded - the land bridge nearest to us was high and dry but most of the other ways in and out of the monte were under substantial amounts of water. Ziggy was an ass in the first few kilometers: when he starts chasing water birds he turns his ears off and stops listening to me. This is unacceptable, so I finally had to grab him and put him on the other end of the leash with Floyd, where he stayed for the final ~6k or so. Irritating. Xmul was mouthy with someone on a moto near the tar paper shack on the main road, but it was only barking and she listened to me when I told her to stop; she continues to show improvement that way but she still barks too much. Other than those two bits of misbehavior everyone was really good and had a blast; there are crabs and lizards and who knows what other critters everywhere. The humidity was fairly high but the temperature was more bearable after the rain and the bugs didn't seem bad.
GRADE: B
morning jaunt:
Floyd
(1)
Around the cow pasture the long way: ~2k. Ran most of the way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Archie
Chester
Truman
Posey
Rufus
Ernie
Lily
Jack
(8)
Hidden trail the standard way: ~8k. Otto is still down with a twisted leg / ligament issue; he went to the vet yesterday because it was taking so long to heal up and X-rays revealed no serious damage, so it's just more rest for him. This group was really good the majority of the way. At the north/south intersection where the Au Soleil Couchant road splits there were some salt workers to the south who had a little white dog; Lily, Posey and Ernie ran over to say "hi" but returned quickly and didn't bark or behave aggressively. Everyone was fine then until we hit the northern end of the coco trail. There was a lot of barking to the west in the general direction of the HoJo and further north. It was faint and must've been far away; several of our dogs took off to investigate, but again I heard no barking from our troops and they came back within 30 seconds or so (feels like an eternity when you're just standing there getting bitten). I had a feeling that Truman and/or Posey would pull some kind of jack-rabbit routine right as we were getting home so I intended to put them on either end of the leash at the shrimpery; sadly, I forgot that I had put the broken collar on Posey a while ago, just so she'd have something on - I intended to fix it but forgot, so when I went to use it it didn't work very well. What I should've done at that point was switch Posey's and Truman's collars and put Posey on the hook, since she's the "bad" one, but instead I just left Truman on. Naturally when we got near our gate it was Posey that took off north. I was not pleased with her. She's going to have to be on the leash coming home for a while now. Other than that it was a nice run.
GRADE: B (I had to yell at them too many times for an A)
morning jaunt:
Floyd
(1)
Immediately after the runners were in I took Floyd around the cow pasture. He was really good and just wanted to walk half the way, mainly so he could eat that plant they all love that grows under tall bushes everywhere. We heard no barking at the end of the coco trail nor did we see anyone or anything else.
GRADE: A
morning swims:
Greta
Shirley
Twiggy
Gowron
(4)
Went out relatively early this time so the sea was calm. Greta, Shirley and Twiggy all did eight laps. Greta made me haul her down to the water, but everyone else was good at the gate. I let PupG out with Twiggy and she swam enthusiastically the whole time.
GRADE: A
afternoon swims:
Greta
Shirley
Twiggy
(3)
Getting back on track with the swimming after an extended period of weirdness here. It was late when we went out, and thus choppy. We were all out of practice so everyone just did six laps but it was six laps with heart for each one. Greta and Shirley were both breathing hard by the time they were done; Twiggy is younger and not so easily tired but she was ready to come out after that. The water was a bit murky and very warm.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Blue
Osita
Maggie
Molly
Floyd
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the shire and home via the tortuga sign: ~7k. Maggie had a hard time towards the end - she's pudgy and short and it was hot, but she's a trooper. When we leave earlier she's fine with this distance but when we leave too late she is not and I shouldn't do that again. I put Molly on the other end of the leash with Floyd during the last kilometer because she was getting too far ahead (excited to get back home and have a long drink); she was good about it and I should do this sort of thing with her routinely anyway, just to make sure she doesn't go "bad" on the leash. Everyone was stellar and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Lucy
Rita
Eve
Lily
Monkey
Floyd
Mo
Xmul
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the shire / swimming-hole: ~7k. It was hot and a little late but no matter, everyone did well. Lucy deserves special mention for being such a warrior; she may be pudgy but she can hold her own with a much younger crowd, looks good doing it and has no equal in the water, where she is queen. Floyd was good about the water bottle again and did well at a slightly slower pace than normal (for Lucy's sake). Everyone listened well and had a great time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Archie
Chester
Truman
Reggie
Ernie
Rufus
Jack
Stella
(8)
Hidden trail the normal way: ~8k. I would've done the long and winding road but it just seemed like a bad idea. Stella is not to go out off the leash again for a long time. She's taken to misbehaving earlier and earlier in the run to the point where she just can't be off the hook. Today she was sort of listening until we got to the tortuga three-way heading out, and then she decided to break for the beach when we were going the other way; I had to run her down and put her on the leash, so she just stayed on the hook for the duration. We saw a photographer out on the Au Soleil Couchant road near where it bifurcates. He was taking pictures of some out-of-season flamingos in the charco and our dogs were perfect; I yelled once for them to come back to me and they all left him alone, didn't bark once at the flamingos or in any way harass them. The birds didn't budge and weren't bothered by us as we ran around the southern end of that charco. I was very proud. At the very end we saw one of those skittish strays that's been hanging around the beach at the next corner to the north from our house as we were rounding the bend. I saw it first and kept everyone back but, of course, Stella barked at it and sent everyone on a merry chase that she herself could not participate in. Everyone came back quickly enough and no harm was done, as usual.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Frijolita
Godzilla
Posey
Elewah
Molly
Floyd
Daisy*
Xmul
(8)
Weird route due to back-tracking. To the intersection and starting to head out, then back again to the beach at the tortuga sign and home: ~6k. The idea was to head to the swimming hole and maybe the hidden trail, but we left late so I wanted a plan B (swimming hole to beach at Au Soleil Couchant). I saw Daisy with us on the road to the tortuga three-way, but by the time we passed the intersection she was not. We went ahead a little to see and then turned around to find her, although I knew she had probably headed home. Elewah was a pain in the ass on the way and REALLY wanted to go to the beach, so we went to the beach at the tortuga sign since I thought it possible Daisy might've done that (but not really). In the end Daisy had come home early, probably due to the heat, and I was stressed out for nothing and irritated with Elewah.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Henry
Alice
Lucy
George
Chester
Gowron
Lily
Linda
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and home via the tortuga sign and the monte: ~5k. This was a funny group. It was Linda's first time out and she did well. When we got to the three-way intersection at the Au Soleil Couchant road I heard a moto coming west, which is the direction we were going to go; I put Lily on the hook just to be sure and waited for it to pass. It was a moto-taxi with what looked like Mexican tourists. After they passed by I saw that Linda was running away from them in the direction of the beach - she is obviously averse to vehicles, which is generally a good thing. In this case, however, it was a pain in the ass, as the driver of the taxi was typically and stupidly oblivious to both the little dog obviously running away from him in fear and me sprinting to catch him with seven dogs in tow not 100m behind (and gaining). I don't know how you can be so utterly oblivious to your surroundings - I was yelling for Linda and for him to stop the whole way and he certainly must've heard me. Finally we spilled out onto doce where he turned south. Linda did as well but found a place to get off the road and hide. She wasn't terribly traumatized, just tired and a little freaked out. I collected her from the bushes and got us back on track down to the beach, where she showed herself to be a class-A water dog: she jumped into the water and swam almost immediately, came out to get me and obviously enjoyed swimming. By the time we got to the tortuga sign all was well again and she ran home in the middle of the pack. Everyone else was stellar, including Lucy and Alice, who kept up and had a great time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Blue
Osita
Ziggy
Floyd
Mo
(8)
Hidden trail the normal way: ~8k. The last few days have been stressful and strange for one reason or another and it just wasn't in the cards to go out. Everyone has been really good overall - Roni and I especially deserve treats. Today the clouds lifted a bit, so to speak, so I took this group out relatively early. It was hot, humid and really buggy - wow. Floyd and Ginger both insisted on lying down in shallow pools of water at a couple points and they accounted for most of the water from the bottle. We ran into those strange seashell-collecting tourists on the beach at Au Soleil Couchant and all of the dogs were absolutely perfect - listened, stayed close to me, didn't make a peep or a move.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Posey
Eve
Lily
Molly
Floyd
Daisy
Luna
(8)
North through the shire to the swimming hole, east on the Au Soleil Couchant road and then south on the palapa road, around the southern charcos and home via the main road and the land bridge behind the shrimpery: ~9k (maybe 10, have to check). Those strays are still at the outbuilding at the shrimpery - a couple of ours ran over to say hi but they were good and no problems ensued. Everyone was good otherwise.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto*
Archie
Chester
Truman
Rufus
Ernie
Elewah*
Jack
Stella**
(9)
We didn't all go at once and nobody went very far. I started with the first eight and it was going well until I noticed that Otto was lagging on the coco trail heading out. He had come up lame in his left rear leg for some reason. I looked him over and gave him a few meters to shake it off but it was not getting any better; it looked like perhaps he pulled it or twisted it somehow in that first 300m. When I realized Otto could not go I called the lead dogs back (Elewah, Jack) and we circled around the cow pasture to go home and drop Otto off. Everyone did pretty well at this; there were some strays hanging out at one of the small outbuildings at the shrimpery who barked at us as we ran back west next to the cow pasture and everyone was good about it. I scooped Elewah up when we got close because I didn't want her to go off and screw around while I was trying to deal with things. When we got back there was some general confusion, as we had only left a few minutes before. Otto and Elewah ended up going in and Stella came out so I (stupidly) thought "what the hell" and threw her in instead of Elewah, bringing the count down to seven for our second attempt. This turned out to be a bad idea as she began misbehaving almost immediately; she obviously smelled those strays and pulled everyone down in that direction to go bark at them. It was getting hot and I had pretty much already decided that this was not going to be a normal run but that sealed it. I put Stella on the hook for the rest of the run and took us just to the tortuga sign and back after all of that screwing around: a total of ~5k after all was said and done. It was pretty out and we saw nobody other than stray dogs and lizards so I decided to call it some kind of win. It wasn't the run I was hoping for but at least most of the dogs were good about the strangeness. We're watching Otto - so far no swelling or any other signs of something major.
GRADE: A
