10.03.11

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