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morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Ernie
Elewah
Molly
(8)
Tough crowd, but I thought they would do well together and they did... leaving early helped. Rufus started out on the leash, and I left him on for the first ~2km. Shortly thereafter I put Molly on, and I made a point of having her on and off the hook repeatedly during the run. We did the long and winding road backwards, no extras or shortcuts: 10k. It was just starting to get seriously hot as we were nearing home. Ernie drank most of the water, but did well throughout. Elewah didn't come back in with everyone, but was in 5min later - she just wanted to go sniff around her old stomping grounds. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Ziggy
Floyd
(2)
I threw Ziggy in due to the pain-in-the-ass factor. His limp was gone this morning, but in any event we didn't go far: across the land bridge, along the ridge, into the charco at the alternate land bridge and home via the dead goat trail: probably a little more than 2k. We sprinted several times for Floyd's benefit, but it was really getting hot so we didn't push it. I made Floyd sit about a dozen times. Once in a while it dawns on him that the word "sit" is connected to the action, but still not always.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Floyd
(1)
Too tired this morning to get up early enough to do much, but I got Floyd out for a walk/run by himself. We worked on "sit" quite a bit; he still needs a pat on the ass, but less so each time. It was really hot out, so we mostly walked with a few long sprints thrown in. We crossed the land bridge and then walked/ran all along the ridge, which was just recently burned, continuing on down the cut-over that we usually take to the alternate land bridge, all the way down to the tortuga crossroads, then back home via the dead goat trail: ~3k, not sure exactly. He was an angel, and benefits a lot from one-on-one time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Posey
Frankie
Maggie
Ziggy
Lily
Stella
Floyd
(9)
Screwed the count up trying to get Floyd out early... I had eight when I thought I had seven, and then I threw Frankie in because she's been good recently, and thus arrived at nine. We left beastly early, at least, so there were no workers in the charcos or any kind of traffic. We took the land bridge to the tree, then north to the intersection, east to the first turn in the shire, south to the short-cut, picked up the terreno federal serpentine, west to the main road and back the way we came... I'm guessing it's something like 5k, maybe 6k. I put Stella on the hook when we got back to the shrimpery just for the last 100m home because she tends to wander off and not listen within earshot of the house. Other than that, everyone was good. Alice, Lucy and Maggie had a little trouble with the pace, but they caught up every once in a while and had some water. Floyd was good about everything.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Maggie
Ziggy
Floyd
(8)
A relatively quick one for the usual reason; north via the dead goat trail to the Au Soleil Couchant road, back into the shire at the first turn south, through the intersection and back home via the cut-over and the dirty road: ~6k. We really ran it for the most part, although we did stop a few times for water and to let the slowpokes catch up (mainly Lucy and Maggie). Floyd was especially good. He really wanted to run right off, but I made him sit down and wait at the shrimpery intersection and he did well. I also made sure he got water last, and only when he was sitting, and there were a few dogs on this run that really want a drink, so it was especially gratifying to see how good he was about it. There are people around for semana santa now, so we went out early before they woke up. Everyone is being really good about random noise and movement all around us.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Chester
Blue
Eve
Frijolita
Posey
Frankie
Elewah
Molly
(8)
Long, hard run out the long and winding road backwards (10k). We left a little late for this time of year, and although we caught shade from some errant clouds for a while it was really starting to get hot by the end. Molly had to rest a few times in the shade on the way home, and drank most of the water (along with Elewah). I had her on the leash to begin with again, since she's doing really well at leaving on the leash and I want to reinforce that. She ran up to a guy on a bike out where the long and winding road is just getting started, so she went right back on the leash; I happen to know him a bit, so we talked for a second about the weather and the state of the salt charcos, and everyone was good and waited patiently. The next person we ran into was a bird trapper, and Molly was off the leash and better about it this time. In general she is improving. Everyone else was great. I carried Elewah in at the very end just because I didn't want to have a little drama about her coming in today; its the time of year when we might have a bus-load of beach-goers show up next door all of a sudden, and I don't want her out barking at them.
GRADE: A
morning short run:
Bette
Alice
Lucy
Godzilla
Stella
Floyd
(6)
I wanted to check Floyd out after yesterday; the rest of them were just in the yard, as always. It was considerably cooler this morning when we left, and I think perhaps that was the story yesterday, because we flat-out ran ~3k with no problems. I forgot the water bottle, but it didn't matter. Floyd was good the whole way, and had no lack of energy or desire to run. I left Stella off the hook until the very end, just across the doce, because I've noticed that she really only screws around within sight of the house; I put her on the hook there and she was perfectly fine. I think she just needs reinforcement like that for a while and she'll get over it.
GRADE: A
mid-morning walk:
Alice
Lucy
Shirley
Stella
Floyd
(5)
The canonical quick-one-to-get-Floyd-out around the cow pasture. Shirley has been nursing a sore leg, so she hadn't been out in a while and convincing her that we were on a WALK and not a RUN was a little difficult at first. Down the dead goat road Floyd became a bit listless all of a sudden. I gave him a lot of water, and we ambled down to the charco to cool off, but that wasn't it (although it was hot): he barely waded into the water at all, which is most unlike him, and he was dragging for most of the way home. I'm worried his Ehrlichiosis wasn't completely knocked out a couple of months ago, because this fits with what I've seen in that case before, so once we got home I gave him some doxycycline and am watching him. He's not showing any other signs, but it is possible he got it again or never completely got rid of it. I won't run him hard for a few days until I'm sure what's going on... kind of disturbing, he's usually such a monster. Stella is a pain in the ass, and smart as a whip (the two are related), and Alice rolled in something disgusting. Par for the course.
GRADE: A
afternoon beach jaunt:
Bette
Stella
(2)
Emily took these two out for a tear on the beach to the north.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Osita
Ziggy
Lily
Monkey
Floyd
(7)
Left late, so I took fewer than normal, which again turned out to be a good idea. We started out by heading north via the trails past the tortuga road, and then on north as though we were going to the long and winding road. When we got to the turn at the north of those charcos, however, it seemed like it was getting late and hot, and I have work to do, so I thought I would take the short-cut back via the chacos to the east. That idea backfired, however, as I quickly found out that there are people working everywhere out there; I was right on top of Floyd the whole way, and he was honestly starting to get fatigued from the heat, but I really didn't want to screw around, so I ended up doubling back north and trying to find an alternate route across those charcos to the road that spills out onto the main route east and then north. Although the charcos are very low now (which is why everyone is working them), it was still difficult going, and I don't know that part of the monte as well as I do others. We ended up off-roading and going around in a big circle, coming out on one of those access roads that fan out off of the long and winding road, and then heading south back the way we came. Floyd, Bette, Monkey and Lily drank all of the water, and both Floyd and Ziggy were plenty tired. Everyone was good, at least; I think it would've been fine if we had just gone past where people were working because there were no vehicles, but I no longer take chances when I'm out with Floyd. All in all a pretty hard slog for no good reason... at least there were no bugs.
GRADE: A
morning run #1:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Maggie
Ziggy
Floyd
(6)
A quick one to get Floyd out early, we just did the 3k loop out to the intersection. We're going to Merida today and wanted to make sure Floyd was a little tired out. Everyone was good. We ran fast. The fisherman who sometimes goes out in the mornings with a little Maggie-looking dog on the beach was running around the cow pasture with it as we were getting to the dirty road, so we avoided him because I didn't want to deal with any issues this morning.
GRADE: A
morning run #2:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Ernie
Rufus
Eve
Jack
(8)
This one took longer than it should've. It was probably around 9k: out to the Au Soleil Couchant road, then back south on the palapa road and home via the southern charcos and the intersection. There are a TON of people working the southern charcos. I had Rufus and Ernie on opposite ends of the leash for most of the run. Rufus needs the time on the leash, I think, and Ernie just thought about barking at a guy on a moto, but that was enough for me; he cannot ever be allowed any slack with that. I think it took us longer than it should've because of all the leash wrangling. Otherwise, everyone was good and had a good time.
GRADE: B
morning jaunt:
Ziggy
Stella
Floyd
(3)
Really just a quick one to get Floyd out to tire him a bit, and the same for Zig: roughly 3k, as fast as we could manage. They were all good.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
(3)
Roni took these three for a shorty to the nearest charco and back.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Godzilla
Frankie
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
Floyd
(8)
This was mostly a grouping of convenience. We left late, but I really wanted to tire Floyd out today so I wanted fast dogs and these are the ones that were outside that happened to qualify, with the exception of Mags. Maggie is not a fast dog, but she's got what sporting people would call "heart" ... also, she tends towards chubbiness and needs the exercise; anyway, her boyfriend Zig was along and she always runs well with him (it's mildly adorable). The sun was high and bright but there was a chilly wind in the air somehow; Mags, Bette and Floyd drank almost all of the water. We went south via the land bridge, then right back north via the terreno federal serpentine, over to the short cut east and then out east to the palapa road for a stretch, to the Au Soleil Couchant road, and home via the trails north of the tortuga road and the coco trail: 7.6k (google earth). Except for watering the dogs and picking our way through the occasional rough spot we were flying. I did manage to tire Floyd out to the point where there was slack in the leash for a few kilometers, but he always gets a second wind at the tortuga road turn. He's so strong I have to constantly stay on him about pulling and being a wild man. I also was rather severe about watering. He always drank last, only when he was sitting, and I made him defer to Maggie whenever she wanted a drink, since she obviously needed it the most (and because he should defer when told to). He was doing better at the end than at the start, but at least he isn't aggressive about it, just pushy... he always wants to chew on the bottle. Everyone else was good and had a good time, although Frankie doesn't like the longer distances as much as everyone else. We've got to watch Stella and continue to work with her on the leash; she's very willful and could become a problem if she isn't kept in check and disciplined.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Eve
Osita
Truman
Elewah
Molly
(6)
Molly was on the leash from gate to gate and did extremely well. She did not try to get out of it, even though she was only on her collar, stayed with me and had a good time the whole way. We went out the dirty road, to the trails north of the tortuga road, north again and then east to the "outer" shire road and home via the intersection and the cut-over. We left late, so I didn't want to go too far. Elewah didn't come in right away again. Recently, one of The Brethren re-appeared after a long hiatus and I wonder if that doesn't have something to do with it. Truman had a limp a little while after the run, but he seems to be shaking it off.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Stella
(1)
Emily took Stella out for a jaunt on the beach and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Godzilla
Blue
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
Floyd
(8)
Relatively short one early: across the land bridge, south just to the "terreno federal" serpentine, north to the short cut east, then through the intersection to the tortuga road and home. I'm guessing it was something like 6k, maybe 7k. We did it quickly. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Frijolita
Reggie
Gowron
Daisy
(8)
Roni and I took this crew on a nice little walk down the dirty road and back again. It was daisy's first time out, and she did well. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk #1:
Archie
(1)
Emily and Archie went south down the beach.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk #2:
Otto
(1)
Emily's continuing campaign to tire the crazy boys out.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk #1:
Frankie
(1)
Emily and Frankie went up the beach and had a good time.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk #2:
Ernie
(1)
Ernie showed Emily around the town a bit.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Posey
Lily
Molly
Floyd
(6)
Sometimes eight doesn't seem like very many and sometimes six seems like too much. Today six was just enough. Roni suggested I pare it back since I was taking Floyd, and she was right: taking fewer makes it easier to focus on their behavior when one of them must be on the leash for the whole run (especially Floyd). We went over the land bridge and south, picking up the road to no-man's land and then cutting back west at the way-out "Y". Molly barked at a salt-worker where that road runs into the palapa road, so I disciplined her and put her on the other end of the leash for the rest of the run. Since she and Floyd almost share a brain it wasn't too bad; in fact, Molly was the best she's ever been on the leash. We then ran north to the Au Soleil Couchant road and came home via the intersection, the cut-over and the dirty road; roughly 10k in total, perhaps a bit less. Lily listens well but is extremely enthusiastic and above all fast; she could use a bit more work on the leash. Floyd was good, and behaved himself about getting water and sharing the water with his running-mates.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Bette
(1)
Bette took Emily south down the beach and back. Bette says Emily was good.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Floyd
(3)
Short walk around the cow pasture. Floyd really wanted to run, but I was in long pants and a little banged up from yesterday's runs, so instead we worked on "sit" and "stay" a bit. I still have to whack him in the butt to get him to sit, but less than before and he is staying better now... still needs a lot of work to get to the point where he just does it on command. We ran into a group of soldiers clearing brush for firewood just east of the end of the coco trail, and everyone was good; of course, I didn't give Floyd any opportunity to be bad, but I also did make him sit if he showed signs of becoming excited. Floyd talked me into letting him swim in the charos a bit, so my pants are soaked. Alice and Ginger were good.
GRADE: A
morning beach play time:
Zasu
Bette
Shirley
Rufus
Greta
Frankie
Daisy
(7)
Emily took Daisy down to the water to play and socialize, but she came in early. Next came Bette, who ran around like a lunatic with Emily, followed by Shirley who did the same booble act. Roni then joined her with Rufus on a harness; he was a handful at the gate, but evened out and had a good time once they were outside. Greta and Frankie came out together and were out with Zasu for a while. Greta ended up giving Roni some grief by running too far in both directions, not listening and being generally clueless. At the end Roni had to physically wrangle Greta on the beach and turn her around to get her pointed at the gate. A mixed bag, but it looked like fun.
GRADE: C
afternoon walk:
Oscar
(1)
Emily took Oscar out for a stroll on the leash south down the beach. She said all was well and he was good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run #1:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Maggie
Ziggy
Floyd
(6)
A quickie to get Floyd out, since I planned on taking The Brothers for a run today and he can't go with them yet. I threw in some fatties / pains in the ass who happened to be handy; it's never a bad idea to make any of those five run, for various reasons. We went out the dead goat trail to the tortuga road, then back just on the other side of that charco, to the cut-over and rear access to the alternate land bridge, and home via the coco trail (not the dirty road): 3k. Everyone was stellar, and we more or less sprinted the whole distance; I didn't even bother to bring a water bottle.
GRADE: A
morning run #2:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Rufus
Chester
Eve
Frijolita
Elewah
(8)
The usual suspects for a 10k out the long and winding road. Today started especially early for some reason, so we got going early even though there had already been a run. Rufus started out on the leash and did well at the gate. Elewah didn't want to come in right away, but she came around within 15 minutes. Everyone had a good time on a clear, chilly, windy day.
GRADE: A
late morning jaunt:
Chester
Blue
Truman
Tuesday
Gowron
Ziggy
Jack
(7)
Quickie with Tuesday on the harness/leash, out the land bridge, through the intersection, to the "squishy" land bridge and the trails north of the tortuga road, and home via the cow pasture. Tuesday started out good, but she got that "paranoid" look around the intersection and was more or less a boat anchor from that point on. I stopped several times to reassure her but she would have none of it. Ziggy and Chester came together for the first time, by mistake, and had no problem with each other at all. Strange. Everyone else was good.
GRADE: B
afternoon walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Bette
Oscar
Monkey
(7)
Our new HelpX'ers, Emily and Ashley, went with Roni and this crew out over the land bridge and around the southern charcos on a cloudy, windy day (although still plenty hot). Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Posey
Godzilla
Ernie
Frankie
Monkey
Stella
Floyd
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: 10k. On the trail north to the start of the long and winding road we ran across a group of workers heading south on motos, and then another moto heading north behind us. Floyd reacts to motos and people on motos in a way he does not react to people on foot; I don't know if it's the motion or the noise, but I have to pay special attention when there are motos around and I have Floyd. By coincidence, only a hundred meters earlier I had discovered that the clip on the end of the leash I had taken Floyd out on no longer works (salt air), so I had turned the leash around, had clipped his collar to the loop instead and was trying to get the rest of the leash wound up and under control when this last moto came up to us. The driver stopped to say something to me about Ginger, whom he had passed and who was catching up to us, when Floyd lunged at the passenger on the back of the moto. He managed to rip the guy's pants in two small spots and gave him a scratch underneath. I felt horrible, apologized profusely, told him my name and where I lived and that he should come by if there was anything I could do. A little while after the run he did appear, and I believe we settled the matter amicably; he was nice about it, and I made sure that he felt I was taking it seriously and taking responsibility for what had happened. I'm sure that scratch hurt, and I feel awful both that Floyd did that and especially that I allowed my vigilance to lapse just at the moment when it was most needed. You can never be sure what Floyd's perceptions are, and I've seen now several times that motos bother or excite him, for whatever reason. It's not always sweetness and light. Everyone else was good, including Ernie, who did not pull his usual shenanigans when there were vehicles around; sometimes he makes that crazy hoodly noise and jumps around a lot, but he was silent and well-behaved. Ginger acquitted herself extremely well on a long run.
GRADE: C
morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Frijolita
Osita
Blue
Ziggy
Elewah
Floyd
(8)
We did the same route as on 17.02.11: the northern spur off of the long and winding road that takes you to the stone bridge (12.3k). With this group we flew, stopping only for water; I paid a lot of attention to Floyd and worked on his manners when everyone is getting water, and sitting when told in general. The rest of the time we were hauling ass. The most surprising dog is Ziggy, who has tiny legs but somehow is always near the front of the pack, even on a long one. We came back via the now-usual cut over to the alternate land bridge, and Ziggy swam across the charco instead of taking the bridge, along with Floyd and Elewah. We ran across what I think might be Daisy's mother at the shrimpery, hunkered down in one of the old concrete incubation tanks. She was not very friendly, but our dogs were nice and didn't push it; she was there when we were heading out and coming back, so I think she might hang out there a bit. We ran into three motos heading out into the charcos as we were heading home, and a group of workers putting together some salt-extraction rigs, and everyone behaved themselves. Elewah came in with everyone else with no fuss, for the second time in a row.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
George
Ernie
Rufus
Elewah
(8)
George normally doesn't go with this crew, but he hasn't gone in a while for a variety of dumb reasons, so we took it easy, didn't go as far as we normally would, and I made sure that he got the lion's share of the water; he reminds me of an old football player or boxer who's a little out of shape but still plenty tough. We went out north to the hidden trail, down the beach to Au Soleil Couchant, back into the monte and home the way we came, which is probably a little more than 8k. It was overcast, and George kept up pretty well. Near Au Soleil Couchant we ran into Nicole and Marie's dogs sans people again; Ernie was a bit of an ass and did not listen to me at all, but in the end the dogs basically said hi to each other and screwed around in the ocean a bunch, because it was shallow there. I rounded ours up and headed back into the monte just as I finally saw Nicole very far in the distance to the south. Elewah came in with everyone else. We haven't seen the Brethren for a while, and I think she's starting to think of us as her pack now. She really had a good time on the run, even though it wasn't the 10+k slog I usually take her on; at one point on the way home she pulled one of her crazy zip-o-rama routines where she runs in a huge circle around you as fast as she can go, punctuating it with the occasional jump and snort in your direction.
GRADE: B
late morning jaunt:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Ziggy
Stella
Floyd
(6)
A quick run to the intersection via the land bridge and home via the tortuga road.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Alice
Lucy
Godzilla
Greta
Maggie
Floyd
(6)
A short one around the cow pasture in the noon heat. Sadly, I did not wear shorts, so I couldn't let Floyd go into the charcos as far as he wanted to; everyone else swam around as much as they could. Virtually no bugs, but pretty damned hot, and it's only just March. Greta looked good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
Blue
Frankie
Monkey
Molly
Floyd
(8)
A relatively short one: to the tortuga road, then down to the beach for a change, north to the Au Soleil Couchant access road, into the monte and home via the shire and the now not-so-new cut-over to the land bridge. On the beach about 50m south of Au Soleil Couchant we ran into Marie and Nicole's dogs, sans people; furthermore, I saw nobody in either direction, and you can see for a very long way on the beach there. I also saw nobody in the distance when we were at the tortuga sign, which is why I decided to head north on the beach. Our dogs were all friendly - not even a bark. Their little white terrier was friendly enough, but the spotty one swam 20-30m out to sea in a great arc to avoid us (or perhaps he was just swimming, I don't know). Strange. Their dogs were obviously both heading south and had no interest in us, so we continued on. Other than that, Molly barked at someone on a trike on doce just as we were getting home; she is bad about that, and it was a mistake to take her without having her on the leash even once, especially since she's getting good on the leash and needs the discipline. My bad. Monkey and Frankie screwed around a little too much for my taste at the end of the dirty road near the land bridge, but otherwise everyone was good. It was already getting hot, and they drank most of the water. The beach was okay in parts, but downright disgusting for long stretches where the seaweed has piled up in some places over a meter high, and for several meters onto the shore; it stinks in those places, even in the morning.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Shirley
Frijolita
Rita
Posey
Eve
Gowron
Lily
Floyd
(8)
Today was the first really humid day of the year. We left earlier than normal, but even though it was cloudy the humidity was too much for Shirley. We did the long and winding road backwards, but by the time we got to the road to Xixim Shirley had punched herself out, and was dragging for the ~5km run home; it doesn't help that she's a lunatic about chasing lizards, running ahead, etc. right up until the point where she runs out of gas. She got most of the water but I still had to put her on the other end of the leash with Floyd and go slowly so she would stay with us. I took us home via every navigable charco I knew of so that she could cool off in the water when possible, and that seemed to help a bit. Otherwise everyone was good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
