Monday, May 30, 2011

30.05.11

morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Eve
Rita
Lily
Molly
Floyd
Daisy
(8)

Coco trail but then straight down by the pasture, through the dead goat three-way to the tortuga sign, back south to the intersection, through the shire to the Au Soliel Couchant road, to the beach and home all the way on the water: ~7k. This was Daisy's longest run by far, and also the first time she's been out with Floyd. It was a little bit of a chance, but I was on top of it constantly and very careful; we have to try these things once in a while, and Floyd has been making a little progress behaviorally. It turned out well. Floyd was his usual happy-go-lucky self on the run and there were no problems; in fact I had to keep Daisy from grabbing the leash and yanking on it when we were on the beach, which Floyd barely noticed. Molly listens better each time out. Today there were a lot of people working in the salt charcos, and she wanted to chase several motos, but I told her not to and she broke it off. Daisy and Lily had a blast together, especially on the beach. That mama dog came out and barked at us just north of the HoJo and although Lily went to investigate, everyone was at my side in a few seconds with minimal barking (mostly from the mama dog). At the very end Molly was the last one in the gate; she wanted to swim a bit more, so I went out and got her in the water, but I can't really fault her for it. All in all a nice run with a lot of swimming and horsing around.
GRADE: A

Sunday, May 29, 2011

29.05.11

mid-day walk:
Floyd
(1)

We had albañils over today (Julio and Geordy) to do a bit of touch-up on the bodega, so Floyd was stuck inside all morning due to logistical reasons. I took him out for a quick walk/run up the beach, not even to the tortuga sign, just to get out for a bit. He was good, and so was I.
GRADE: A

Saturday, May 28, 2011

28.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Ginger
Godzilla
Blue
Frijolita
Elewah
Ziggy
Floyd
(8)

Once again I thought we might go to the hidden trail and ended up heading straight to the beach when we got to the Au Soleil Couchant road: ~5k. This time it was really nobody's fault but mine. We left late, it was hot, and as we started heading east into the monte it became obvious that nobody wanted to go that way. Floyd threw himself under some bushed to rest, everyone wanted a drink of water, and I realized it was stupid to push it so we turned around and headed to the beach. Elewah is still taking her sweet time to come back in as I write this, but I'm sure she's just screwing around in the bushes around the house. Alice kept up well (for her), everyone had a good time and behaved themselves.
GRADE: A

mid-day swim:
Shirley
(1)

Roni took Shirley out for a little swimming. Shirley ended up wriggling out of her collar at the gate and taking off up the beach with Roni in hot pursuit; Roni corralled her, got her into the water and made her swim until she was tired, for which Roni gets an Advanced Booble Wrangling award.
GRADE: A (for Roni)

Friday, May 27, 2011

27.05.11

mid-day swim:
Greta
Gowron
Shirley
Lucy
Zasu
(5)

Greta came out with PupG and did 8 laps in choppy seas while PupG larked around. After she came back in, Roni and I took Shirley, Lucy, Zasu and PupG out. Shirley did 7 laps. Lucy had to come in early because she was screwing around too much, but she did swim a bit. Zasu swam heroically, even though she doesn't like it when it's choppy. Good girl Zasu.
GRADE: A

evening walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Reggie
Daisy
(6)

Roni took Ilana and this crew out for a stroll in the monte near dusk. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A

Thursday, May 26, 2011

26.05.11

morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Osita
Godzilla
Posey
Frankie
Molly
Floyd
(8)

Started out great, ended not so well. Everyone was good and hanging together well as we left, and we made good time over the first couple of kilometers, so I decided to do the hidden trail. We made it to the Au Soleil Couchant three-way intersection with plenty of water left when I noticed that Frankie was sort of sneaking down the road towards the beach; what I wanted to do was go the other way into the monte. As I was trying to deal with Frankie, I heard trucks coming west towards us from the direction I wanted go, so I laid hands on Molly and pulled us all over to the side of the road to let them pass. At this point I'm pretty sure Frankie was already pulling one of her I'm-not-going routines, but the trucks sealed it and she ran off ahead of them to the beach, effectively screwing me. The rest of us were fine, not tired, and it would've been a fun run to the hidden trail, but Frankie decided otherwise, so we ran down to the beach, the tortuga sign and home in the monte... ~5k. This is the second time that Frankie has done this recently; she can no longer come on runs like this, it isn't fair to everyone else.

beach run:
George
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(6)

Past the tortuga sign a bit and back on the beach: ~2k. The pups adore George and he's always in his glory on these little jaunts. Xmul is slowly starting to listen better, it's just that she can never pass up a snack. Not ever. Even if the "snack" is a bit of nasty dead fish on the beach that some fishermen cast aside. Still, she ran and swam enthusiastically and came back into the yard all by herself. Daisy also came back in by herself, before anyone else, for which I give her today's Good Girl of the Run award. Mo also came in under her own steam, so I only had to trick/wrangle Twigs and Una in the end, and they were just playing around. The water is beautiful and full of fish.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

25.05.11

morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Truman
Ernie
Rufus
Jack
(8)

Land bridge, terreno federal serpentine, shire, Au Soleil Couchant, beach, tortuga sign, home via the monte: ~7k (probably closer to 8). Rufus was fairly bad at the gate, immediately straightened up on the leash, was off the hook after the first ~1km. Lots of people working in the salt charcos. Oscar lagged a little towards the end and drank a fair amount of water, but he seems okay. Jack almost gets the concept of drinking out of the bottle now, but he still needs a little help. Everyone was stellar.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

24.05.11

beach jaunt:
Lucy
Stella
Floyd
(3)

Just to the tortuga sign and back: ~2k. Stella was willfully, deliberately bad on the way back, to the point where I had to carry her the last 200m. Not happy with her. Lucy and Floyd were both good and had a good time.
GRADE: B

swim:
Zasu
Greta
Shirley
Gowron
(4)

Greta went out first without anyone else and did 7 laps; she's a bear, but once she gets going she's alright. Once she was back in, Shirley Zasu and Gowron came out with Roni and we all swam together. Shirley did 6 laps on the leash, because she really wants to take off running, but she's a good girl and swam well. Zasu and PupG both swam a lot on their own and had a good time coming out to get us. PupG behaved herself when it was time to come in.
GRADE: A

swim #2:
Bette
(1)

Ilana took Bette out for a bit to swim. Bette eventually was more interested in screwing around, so Ilana brought her back in, but she was good while out there.
GRADE: A

Monday, May 23, 2011

23.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Blue
Eve
Frijolita
Elewah
Ziggy
Monkey
Floyd
(8)

Relatively short one late, again. There were people working right on the land bridge, so we diverted down the dirty road to the alternate land bridge, then headed back south on the ridge (recently burned), ducked over to the main road and headed south all the way to the last turn east, to the terreno federal serpentine, the intersection, the tortuga sign, down the beach and home via the maginot line: around ~7k, I'm honestly not sure as I've never done it that way before. Floyd needed a couple breathers under the bushes, but Alice kept up surprisingly well. The ocean was a little chilly. Elewah took her sweet time coming back in afterwards, but it was harmless. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A

morning swim:
Greta
Daisy
(2)

Greta did 8 laps, in two groups of four punctuated by my chasing Daisy down and making her go in... at first Daisy wanted to swim with us and came out to get us a couple of times, but then she started to want to wander north on the beach, so I cut that off. Otherwise all good. Daisy just needs more work, that's all - leash time would be good.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Tuesday
Reggie
(6)

Roni and got out together for a walk to the apocalyptic cove with this group. It was windy and at the same time strangely muffled out there - sounds from birds and vehicles took on a strange quality as we ambled about. Tuesday was on the leash the whole way and was very good. Reggie was tickled to go out with mom, and was never out of sight. Everyone else behaved themselves and had a good time, and Ilana held the fort down at home, so we had a howl-free half hour. Nice.
GRADE: A

Saturday, May 21, 2011

21.05.11

morning run:
Otto
Archie
Chester
Ernie
Truman
Jack
Lily
Molly
(8)

Across the land bridge east, terreno federal serpentine to the crossroads east of the intersection, north into the shire to the Au Soleil Couchant road, down the beach to the maginot line and home via the monte: ~8k. It was late and hot but everyone ran well. They drank pretty much all of the water by the time we got to the beach, which is why I took us all the way to the maginot line. There were fishermen net-fishing from a boat not even 10m from the shore between Au Soleil Couchant and the tortuga sign. Molly really wanted to swim out and tell them her name, but she was a good girl. There was something awful to smell in the bushes on the doce side of the maginot line, so I was a little irritated with a few of them for running off in there and taking their time to come out, but it was a minor misdemeanor: everyone was really good.
GRADE: A

beach jaunt #1:
Floyd
(1)

He gets worked up when I leave without him, so I just took him on a shorty north on the beach and back - not even to the tortuga sign. He swam some, ran some, did his business and had a nice time.
GRADE: A

beach jaunt #2:
Lucy
Gowron
Daisy
Mo
Twiggy
Xmul
(6)

Una sat this one out because she still has a little limp. Again, we didn't make it to the tortuga sign, but we went a little further than I went with Floyd. This was 50% swimming and 50% screwing around. PupG pretty much swam the entire way both directions nearly as fast as the rest of them ran. Lucy swam a ton. Xmul needs a collar and some time on the leash - she doesn't listen well, and really keys in on nasty stuff to eat on the beach... Xmul likes to EAT. EVERYTHING. Daisy sticks to me like glue. Everyone really swam a ton, even Xmul. It took both Roni and I to corral them all when we got home, though, which didn't thrill either of us; Roni had to go into the water to get PupG out, and she should know better. A little frustrating, but everyone had a good time.
GRADE: B

Friday, May 20, 2011

20.05.11

afternoon walk:
Floyd
(1)

Ilana took Floyd out for a brief walk on the beach. She tried to get him to swim but he wasn't interested... probably too rough. Still, he's a good boy on the leash.
GRADE: A

Thursday, May 19, 2011

19.05.11

morning run:
Ginger
Godzilla
Rita
Blue
Frankie
Ziggy
Stella
Floyd
(8)

Across the land bridge, south to the last turn east, north through all of the southern charcos on the palapa road to the Au Soleil Couchant road and to the beach, south to the tortuga sign, back into the monte and home: ~8k. We were all glad to finally get to the beach, where the water was clear, refreshing and full of fish. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A

morning swim:
Greta
Gowron
Mo
Twiggy
(4)

Greta went out first and did 8 laps, albeit under duress. Gowron, Mo and Twigs came out with me afterwards just to screw around a bit in the water and play with a nasty bit of dead fish; we want to avoid conditioning them to just take off running to the north when they leave the gate, so smaller groups is the thing. They were all enthusiastic swimmers. Roni came out after a few minutes and got some shots of them, and when we went back in Mo and Twigs followed us pretty as you please.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

18.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Bette
Gracie
Frijolita
Ernie
Monkey
Daisy
(8)

Left late for a quick one up the beach to the tortuga sign, into the monte and home the usual way, with a little detour: ~5k (maybe just barely). I intended to go to Au Soleil Couchant and do the same thing, but when we got there and started heading inland Lucy made it clear she didn't want to go that way, and I honestly didn't fell like fighting her. Maybe she had a good reason, maybe not - we'll never know. We turned around, went back down the beach and did as I said. Everyone was good. This was Daisy's inaugural big-girl run and the last day of her doxycycline pills, too. She had a blast and stuck with me like a champ. Yay, Daisy!
GRADE: A

morning swim:
Rufus
Shirley
(2)

Roni took these two out separately for some fun in the water, which is starting to get nice now. They both had fun and were good. Swimming is starting to be fun for us humans now, too, not just to dogs.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

17.05.11

morning run:
Ginger
Osita
Eve
Posey
Maggie
Ziggy
Lily
Floyd
(8)

Hidden trail to the tortuga sign and home: ~7k. There was a broken-down truck full of salt workers just a few meters south of our intersection on doce as we were leaving, but nobody paid any attention at all. I kept close watch over Ziggy on the beach to keep him from taking off after birds, and I put Lily on the hook before we got back to doce in case that truck was still there and she felt like barking (it wasn't). Everyone was good.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk:
Molly
(1)

Ilana took Molly on a walk on the leash up the beach. She said Molly was good, albeit all over the place.
GRADE: A

Sunday, May 15, 2011

15.05.11

morning beach run #1:
Alice
George
Lily
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(8)

This time we went to Au Soleil Couchant and back on the beach: ~3k. The pups still need to be wrangled a little too much at the gate when we get home, but otherwise everyone was good and had a good time.
GRADE: A

morning beach run #2:
Floyd
(1)

To the tortuga sign and back: ~2k. He didn't want to swim as much as normal, but he did jump in at the soldiers' to chase the ducks out into the water a bit. Short and uneventful.
GRADE: A

Saturday, May 14, 2011

14.05.11

morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Blue
Frijolita
Elewah
Molly
Stella
Floyd
(8)

Hidden trail to tortuga sign and home via the coco trail: ~7k. We managed to avoid the charcos that are being worked heavily now, but we did run into a couple vehicles, one of which Molly chased half-heartedly; she turned around and came back when I yelled at her. Elewah did her usual speed-racer routine, chasing it to prove she could catch it and then turning around and hauling ass back to us. She can run 200m faster than any creature I've ever seen. The tide was high so the beach wasn't so gross this time.
GRADE: A

Friday, May 13, 2011

13.05.11

mid-morning beach fun:
Daisy
Xmul
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Shirley
Greta
Zasu
Floyd
(9)

Ilana took the pups out to mess around on the beach a bit in front of the house, in a couple of groups. Daisy and Xmul are a little more interested in running north than swimming and playing, but everyone was good and had a good time. After they came in I took Shirley out to swim 7 laps, and then once she was back in Roni and I went out together with Greta and Zasu; Greta did 7 laps and Zasu swam around generally. Finally, after they were both back in Roni and I brought Floyd out on the beach for a bit. He wasn't as interested in swimming as he usually is, but he sniffed around and we cleaned up garbage on the beach for a little while. Ilana did a good job of maintaining the peace at home. All in all a nice time.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk #1:
Floyd
(1)

Ilana took Floyd out on the leash for a walk up the beach and back. She reported he was a good boy, kept pace with her and didn't pull, and had a good time. Nice for him to get time with other people.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk #2:
Stella
(1)

Ilana took Stella out directly after Floyd, with the same result.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk #3:
Miles
Henry
Tito
(3)

Roni took these three for a short jaunt to the apocalyptic cove to check up on their pee-mail and such. Zasu had a little limp from swimming this morning so she skipped this one. Everyone was good, and everyone at home behaved themselves.
GRADE: A

Thursday, May 12, 2011

12.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Ginger
Godzilla
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Floyd
(7)

Quick one with an odd group: down the dirty road, across the alternate land bridge to the cut-over, through the intersection to the Au Soleil Couchant road, down the beach to the tortuga sign, back into the monte and home: ~6k, maybe more, not sure. Alice was dragging a lot, but we did it quickly anyway. I put Zig on the hook on the beach because he just doesn't listen when there are birds to chase. I had originally planned to go across the regular land bridge but there are people working there already - the charcos are starting to get busy near us in the morning. Parts of the beach were unpleasantly choked with a sort of rotting seaweed frappé, as the tide was low and parts of the bottom were uncovered. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A

beach run/swim:
Lucy
George
Daisy
Una
Mo
Twiggy
Xmul
(7)

I promised Lucy she could go with the pups when I took her two sisters on the earlier run, and George has been doing so well on these little jaunts that I threw him in too. We went to the tortuga sign and back: ~2k. George and Lucy were both worshiped, adored and studied by the pups. Daisy swam more than anyone today, coming out far to get me many times. I had to wrangle them a little on the beach in front of the house when we got home, but everyone was really good and had a good time.
GRADE: A

morning beach walk:
Frankie
(1)

Our new HelpX'er, Ilana, took Frankie on a walk on the leash to the north, which Frankie enjoyed immensely.
GRADE: A

morning swim:
Zasu
Gowron
Greta
(3)

Roni and I went out together to swim with the dogs for the first time in a while - very nice, and it made Zasu happy. Greta did 7 laps in calm seas. Zasu and Gowron swam a ton.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

11.05.11

morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Archie
Chester
Rufus
Truman
Ernie
Elewah
(8)

Hidden trail to Au Soleil Couchant: ~8k. We took the trails north of the tortuga sign when heading out and ran into a solitary dude preparing to work in those charcos. He said that they were going to start working there more now, so we'll skip those trails for a couple weeks; the dogs were cute sniffing around him and he seemed to find us amusing. I didn't have anyone on the hook at all, not even Rufus at the gate, and although Rufus was a bit loud when we left he calmed down quickly and nobody misbehaved. Oscar has to go to the vet today (bump on his belly).
GRADE: A

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

10.05.11

morning jaunt:
Bette
Gracie
Lily
Molly
Stella
Floyd
(6)

We have lots to do here today with a HelpX'er arriving in the afternoon, so I just wanted to get some dogs out for quick one. My plan was to go straight up the beach past the tortuga sign a little bit and come back the same way, like yesterday, but immediately upon hitting the beach there was a problem: tourists to the north, perhaps with a dog; I thought they were heading south. I decided to switch up quickly, and took us up the north road to doce, south to our trail, and to the tortuga sign via the monte the usual way. My thinking was that the tourists would be well past our house to the south by the time we got to the beach to the north, but I was all wrong: they were heading north, not south, had Ken and Karen's dog with them, and were moving very slowly. When we got to the beach they were about 50m south of the tortuga sign, directly in our way. Although I don't think there would've been a problem if we had blown by them, I just didn't have time today for any kind of issue so we turned around and went straight back into the monte and came home the way we went: ~4k. We got home and I had all the dogs put away before those people had made it to the soldiers', so even though they didn't get to swim very much and didn't go very far we seriously ran those 4k at top speed with only one brief stop.
GRADE: A

beach run/swim:
George
Tuesday
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(7)

Once again, foiled by people. The beach looked clear to the north when we left, but when we got around the bend there was a group of local kids just to the north of the tortuga sign. They must've been beach-combing further north before and we didn't see them. The pups adore Tuesday, who was on the leash the whole way, and who put up with all kinds of abuse from her little puppy friends with no complaints. We turned around south of the sign and headed back, half-swimming, half-running the whole way. Tuesday was fine until about 50m from our house, when she got that paranoid look again and started hanging back, digging in against the leash. It turns out she's a good influence on the pups, because for once they all just came right in without having to be rounded up, following Tuesday the whole way. I don't know why Tuesday gets into that dark place when she goes on a run with me, but it was still a nice, fun run/swim.
GRADE: A

rehab swims:
Greta
Shirley
(2)

Greta did 7 laps and Shirley did 6 in calm seas. The water was nice. Shirley really wants to run, but she's a trooper and enjoyed swimming. Greta made me carry her all the way to the water... someone observing from town with binoculars would swear that a wolf-man was wrestling a small, brown bear into the ocean repeatedly.
GRADE: A

Monday, May 9, 2011

09.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Lucy
Godzilla
Posey
Stella
Floyd
(6)

Just a quickie to the tortuga sign and back on the beach, with at least a dozen stops to swim. The ocean is starting to get nice now: clear, warm, calm in the mornings. Everyone had an absolute blast and behaved well.
GRADE: A

pup run/swim:
George
Rita
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(7)

Standard pup training op. Rita is a good girl and loves the pups - she should go on more of these. Daisy swam a lot, and Xmul came out and got me in the water a couple of times.
GRADE: A

Sunday, May 8, 2011

08.05.11

morning run:
Alice
Blue
Frankie
Maggie
Ziggy
Monkey
Molly
Floyd
(8)

I intended for this to be a shorty: north to the Au Soleil Couchant road, beach, home via tortuga sign: ~6k. When we got to the beach, Ziggy took off south after birds, and simply would not listen. At the tortuga sign he and Frankie were so far ahead that I could not get them to come back. I had to run them down, put her on the hook with Floyd and come home on the beach. I was extremely upset, much more so than I should've been, and my anger caused problems at the gate when we got home; Frankie freaked out, even though nothing had happened to her and I had not even so much as smacked her (she deserved it), and the incredible noise she made caused problems inside the house and outside. She ended up locked in the office for an hour, and Ziggy went into the box. Up until the point where those two idiots took off the run had been fun, fast-paced, etc. Still, I need to not get so angry with them when they misbehave, it's worse than the actual misbehavior.
GRADE: D

Friday, May 6, 2011

06.05.11

morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Eve
Ziggy
Elewah
Monkey
Stella
Floyd
(8)

Hidden trail via the trails north of the tortuga road, back into the monte at the tortuga sign and home via the coco trail: ~7k. Ziggy ran ahead too far for my taste on the beach, but in the end he did turn himself around and run back to me to my satisfaction. The sea was rough again, which made Floyd happy; his girlfriend Stella also likes swimming when it's rough, which I didn't realize before. Ziggy and Monkey also swam plenty. At the very end I threw Stella on the leash with Floyd, and Elewah gave me her usual see-you-in-5 routine as we headed down our trail, but this time she was at the gate only a few seconds after us, smelling like death; she must've hauled ass to go roll in something and make it to the gate that soon.
GRADE: A

beach run/swim:
Lucy
George
Maggie
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(8)

A little disorganized at first as Lucy was more interested in rolling in garbage than running and drug a couple pups along with her; she straightened herself out by the time the rest of us hit the palapa, albeit with a little encouragement from me. Xmul is her acolyte, and studies everything Lucy does intently. The rough seas did not deter the black pups from swimming a lot, and Daisy also launched herself into the surf to come get me once. Lucy, of course, was in her glory and thought the waves at the shore were fun. Mags had a blast and was so good I never had to call her name. George is worshiped by all little dogs, who want to grow up to be cool like him, and that's just fine with George.
GRADE: A

Thursday, May 5, 2011

05.05.11

morning run:
Oscar
Otto
Chester
Truman
Rufus
Ernie
Reggie
Jack
(8)

Archie sat this one out so that Reggie could go. We did the long and winding road forwards, to the hidden trail and home the whole way on the beach: ~10k at least, probably closer to 11 or 12. When we got to the junction where I must decide if we're going on a long one or not, I looked around and they were all so happy and up for it that I got carried away and decided to press on, even though we didn't leave very early... this was probably a mistake. I gave Ernie and Reggie most of the water, and let them both have little breathers under bushes along the way. I pressed the pace pretty hard until we got to the beach, at which point I was the one who needed the breather; it occurred to me as everyone was swimming around that I had not eaten much yesterday nor anything this morning, and it looked like a long, long way home. I decided to stay on the beach the whole way, so when we got to the bend south of the tortuga sign I put Ernie, Truman and Rufus on the hook by winding the leash through their collars, just in case we ran into that momma dog and her pups; naturally, we didn't, but I knew I didn't have anything left in the tank to run them down if they misbehaved. I only had Rufus on the hook for the first km, and every one really behaved themselves the whole way, so I got to run free for a change. Reggie and Ernie are troopers.
GRADE: A

evening walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
(4)

Roni took this crew on a walk to the charco behind the shrimpery and then south across the land-bridge to the apocalyptic cove. Tito swore that some salt workers in a passing truck owed him money, but otherwise everyone behaved themselves.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

04.05.11

morning run:
Ginger
Godzilla
Posey
Gowron
Ziggy
Lily
Molly
Floyd
(8)

The now-usual terreno federal serpentine to the Au Soleil Couchant road, beach, tortuga sign and home in the monte: ~8k. We've just been leaving too late to go any farther, it gets hot and humid so early. Still, this is a fun run and everyone had a good time smelling all the places where it has been burned recently on the route. The gulf is a bit churned up today, but nobody cared and they all swam like idiots on the way home; Floyd especially seems to like swimming when the sea is a bit rough.
GRADE: A

beach run/swim:
Alice
Lucy
George
Daisy
Mo
Una
Twiggy
Xmul
(8)

Xmul was a good girl this time... I would like to think that disciplining her harshly on the last outing helped, but I'm probably fooling myself. George was in his glory, with Daisy adoring/harassing him the whole way up the beach. There is a momma dog hanging out with a couple of pups up the beach in the general area of the HoJo. The mom barked at us a little from a distance, but the pups took off and ran away when they saw us; there appeared to be two, probably half the age of the black pups. Nobody took offense or even ventured up to see them, for which I was both grateful and a tiny bit proud. Xmul is definitely more independent than the three black pups, but she stuck with me much more this time. Daisy, Mo, Una and Twigs are generally in a little cloud around me the whole way. Daisy swam more than she ever has, even though the sea was rough. Roni and Zasu came out to meet us on the beach as we were getting close to home, and everyone was comically happy to see them in the distance. A good time was had by all.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

03.05.11

morning swim:
Greta
Shirley
(2)

The ocean was calm and shallow. Greta did 6 laps and Shirley did 4.
GRADE: A

evening walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
(3)

Roni took this crew on a walk around the cow pasture and environs, near dusk. Everyone was good, both at home and on the walk.
GRADE: A

Monday, May 2, 2011

02.05.11

morning run:
Bette
Gracie
Blue
Osita
Frijolita
Rita
Elewah
Floyd
(8)

Land bridge to the terreno federal serpentine, the shire north, the Au Soleil Couchant road down to the beach, back into the monte at the maginot line and home: ~8k. At the three-way where the road out of the shire meets the Au Soleil Couchant road, a moto was stopped and took off west when we were still ~30m away. I verbally kept Elewah from giving chase until I thought the moto was far enough away, but Elewah disagreed and took off after it when it was already ~100m down the road, dragging Gracie, Osita and Frijolita with her. As everyone was hot and tired from the humidity, I sat down under a bush with the four who didn't take off and made the run-aways come all the way back before we continued - not happy with them. I think Elewah is the only one who came close to catching the moto, and she didn't bark at it, she just wanted to see if she could catch it... still not good, but no harm no foul. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Elewah did her now-usual sniff-around-Gary's-block routine and was at the gate ~5min after we were in.
GRADE: B

pup beach run:
Chester
Gowron
Daisy
Twiggy
Mo
Una
Xmul
(7)

Xmul is becoming a bit of a problem - she is willful and frequently wants to leave us and do her own thing. This ended up with me carrying her most of the way home from the tortuga sign (~2k), and she is getting heavy. She needs a collar and some leash-time. Everyone else were angels. They jump in the water when I do, listen well and always stay with me, especially Daisy. PupG was a water-dog, and might've swum the majority of the way, I'm not sure.
GRADE: C