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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
