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morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Blue
Elewah
Ziggy
Xmul
Mo
Lex
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. I thought I might go south for a change but I didn't want to risk it with all these fast dogs and the density of the flamingo distribution in all the charcos nearby. Nobody much cared. It was genuinely chilly out for the first time this year; the cold hurt my feet for the first kilometer or so. I had Xmul on the leash out of the gate and all the way until we turn north from the Au Soleil Couchant road to head to the hidden trail. We took the long way via the parallel access road to avoid flamingos but we still saw plenty; Ziggy made a pathetic attempt at chasing one early on right at the 1km mark but I scolded him and he kept it in his pants the rest of the run. Lex missed out on the last run and had a real blast on this one; he gets on well with everyone and doesn't have the crazy neuroses of his siblings. The ocean wasn't as cold as I thought it would be and most of the swam at some point or another. I put Xmul on after we crossed doce on the way home from the beach and everyone else was good.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Lucy
Tito
Reggie
Lily
Linda
Hazel
(9)
Roni took this crew out for a walk around the cow pasture the long way, effectively. Lily did a bit of chasing at the alt. land bridge; she's just so damned fast she can be all the way across it in a heartbeat; she knew she had done wrong and Roni had her on the leash for a while from that point which complicated taking pictures a bit. Hazel had a great time. She definitely has some kind of hitch with her messed up little leg but she's fine on walks so far and plays like a lunatic all day long. Reggie just wants to know where Hazel is to a degree that is sometimes comical, sometimes scary; he really does not know how large he is. All in all this was one dog too many; Roni and I both feel it starts to get harder to keep track of everyone once you have more than eight dogs with you... Lily runs ahead too much to be in a big group and Tito always wants to go place dice and drink with the marmots. Roni said it was as frustrating as a nice walk can be.
GRADE: B+
final walk:
Buddy
(1)
Buddy died of renal failure at the vet's office. I had taken him in on Saturday when he was obviously not doing well. Dra. Sandra said that it is likely that the encephalitis that took him down when we first met him had consequences for his kidneys that could not be overcome, even by him. He was irritating and lovable, loud and affectionate. Roni poured herself into his recuperation early on; we both spent sleepless nights in the bodega with him as he was chased in circles by his invisible demons but Roni especially took it up even when we were both beginning to think it was hopeless. He turned the corner and had a nice retirement with us; it seemed like every day he would amaze us with something new he couldn't do the day before. We both loved him and miss him.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
George
Molly
Mega
Zoot
Petey
Amber
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. Lex stayed home to make room for Molly (or Alice depending on how you count); I'll work him into another run soon (such a good boy). Molly left on the hook but was off for a lot of the run. I left Mega off until we were coming off of the beach; he behaved well and listened but he's just so ... damned ... FAST. We flew like demons the whole way to the beach, although Alice and George did lag a bit at times. I got Mega and Molly on either ends of the leash as we were coming off of the beach and left them that way for the rest of the run. Amber was a bit fast at times but everyone listened and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Frijolita
Truman
Rufus
Jack
Lily
Daisy
Zoot
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. Zoot threw himself into the mix at the last moment; normally I would not let him go like that but in his case I didn't want to nix his impulse to go on a run since we've had so much trouble getting him to go on outings. He's still skittish and the other dogs on this run weren't used to having him around but that passed and he had a good time; he listens well. Rufus wasn't so horrible at the gate and Roni helped so we didn't get hung up. We ran to the swimming hole via the intersection as normal and we really flew. The ocean was rough but Daisy had a good time swimming and several of the others dipped in at opportune times. I had Rufus on the leash on the coco trail coming home and nobody else needed it. Nice run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Lucy
Tito
Reggie
Linda
Hazel
(8)
Roni took this crew down to see the flamingos via the dead goat trail; the wandered around at the shore of that charco near the alt. land bridge and everyone obviously had a good time horsing around. Hazel is not a water dog so far; she abstained from jumping in the charcos but had a great time playing and exploring. Reggie watches over her like a mother duck; almost every picture Roni took of Hazel has Reggie looming in the background looking concerned. Miles didn't destroy the walk with his dawdling and everyone was happy when they came home.
GRADE: A
morning jaunt:
Rufus
Jack
Linda
Amber
(4)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~3k. We ran straight up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant and back just to get Rufus out of the house. First time we've left by the beach in a long time; Rufus was on the leash and Roni did the gate. I put Amber on the other end of the leash coming home just to be sure. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Posey
Chester
Archie
Reggie
Gowron
Ernie
Twiggy
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. Ernie slipped his collar in the confusion at the gate upon our exit, and by "confusion" I mean Reggie being a lunatic and literally running Ernie over (with love). Still, that was the worst of it; I got Ernie on the hook by the shrimpery and we were fine after that. I let him off before we got to the tortuga road with a stern warning to mind his behavior; I doubt the warning had any effect but he was a good boy nonetheless. We went to the swimming hole via the intersection and everyone was exuberant but listened well. Almost everyone swam on the beach even though it was a bit rough; Chester abstained as always, preferring instead to cover himself in filth and roll around like a lunatic. Reggie was a yippy angel, frequently playing little jokes on Ernie (head-butt, nose-up-the-ass, shoulder-tackle). I did not put anyone on the leash again and regretted it at the very end when Reggie, PupG, Ernie and Twiggy decided they just had to go check out the north house. I was not amused and put Twigs on for a few meters to make sure she came back to the gate and didn't dart down to the ocean. No harm no foul and it was a little bit funny.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Lucy
Bette
Bosha
(3)
I took these three out for a short walk north on the beach. It was a bit windy and rough for Bosha but both Lucy and Bette went into the water at several points of their own free will. We just went up past the HoJo and came home. Good girls all.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frankie
Monkey
Mega
Lex
Zoot
Petey
Amber
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. I think perhaps this run is a little closer to 6km but not quite. Everyone was really good right out of the gate. I got Mega on the leash at the shrimpery and left him on until we turned north on the parallel access road by which time he had calmed down a bit. There were a fair number of flamingos and although they did provoke some enthusiasm from the troops they were all good about listening and not harassing - even Amber. Zoot was less skittish getting ready to go and listened better than he has in the past; he stopped in his tracks and came back to me several times. I made sure everyone swam as much as possible while we were on the beach; this is not difficult with the tribe. I put Amber on the other end of the leash as we were nearing the 1km mark on the way home. Everyone did well and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
The undertow was a bit much and it was a little chilly but we managed a decent swim.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Osita
Frijolita
Rita
Elewah
Daisy
Xmul
(8)
Long and winding road backwards: ~10k. Elewah chased a moto on doce right off the bat but straightened up after that and behaved herself. I thought we might go for a longer one today since we haven't in a while but I wasn't sure when we left; it took me a couple of kilometers to warm up and I wasn't sure how everyone was feeling so I left it undecided until we got to the head of the hidden trail. I let Xmul off the hook briefly there and she immediately rewarded me by jumping into the nearest charco up to her neck and swimming out towards some flamingos on the other side - obviously she had the energy to continue. She came back to me when I called her at least but she was on the leash for the rest of the run. There were lots of flamingos as we headed north but nothing compared to the number of them in the farthest charcos where the trail east runs into the north/south road to Xixim in the monte. I couldn't count how many there were; at least three large groups of over 100 individuals in successive groups of charcos as we headed south. I kept everyone close to me and there were no incidents. Fording the last charco before the road was pretty tough and there were many spots on the road south that also required careful and slow traversal; the bottom is frequently so slippery that the slightest misstep brings you down. I was going to bring us home by taking the berm to the swimming hole but I could see there were flamingos standing right on the berm when we rounded the corner so we again chose a difficult fording of that charco further north along the top of a much smaller, nastier berm that leaves you just north of the swimming hole. I had a tiny fall there thanks to Xmul continually crossing me up on the leash. Fording a charco with Xmul on the leash isn't something I would recommend but there were too many flamingos too close by to let her off. It wasn't a bad fall but just enough to scrape my knee. We also forded the charco right at the 1km mark (Tuesday's crossing) to get home a little quicker since I knew we had been out for a while. All in all everyone behaved themselves well and had a really good time; I paid special attention to Rita and every time I looked for her she was having a blast. Ginger is an ace.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Posey
Godzilla
George
Ziggy
Maggie
Molly
Mo
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. A bit unbalanced as a group with Posey, Godzilla and Mo always shooting ahead and Alice, George and Maggie lagging behind. Molly was on the leash for most of the run. I let her off around the swimming hole but she made me regret it when some vehicles appeared coming towards us just as we were heading west on the Au Soleil Couchant road. I got everyone off the road to the north into a swampy bit of land with a lot of iceplant. Although Molly did not chase the vehicles she did play you-can't-catch-me with me in that stupid field so I turned and left her and put her back on the hook when she caught up to me; she stayed on the rest of the way home. I put Mo on the other end of the leash coming home south from the tortuga road because she was starting to turn her ears off a little too much. Ziggy chases birds too much and although he usually listens he sometimes does not. All in all a lot of dealing with them but no actual infractions and at least everyone had a good time and ran a lot.
GRADE: B
morning walk:
Lucy
Eve
Shirley
Bosha
Linda
Petey
(6)
I took this group for a quickie around the cow pasture the long way; we came back up the road that borders the cow pasture to the north instead of the dirty road to avoid all of the flamingos in that charco (a lot today). We passed by a lot of flamingos regardless and everyone was good about it. Linda threatened to swim out there and give one what-for but she came back when I called her (more or less). Bosha and Shirley were on leashes for the duration. Petey was a good boy again and listened well. Linda bolted for the beach when we got close to the gate so I had to go fish her out of the drink; it got the whole house worked up and I wasn't happy about it so she spent some time in the box after the walk.
GRADE: B (Linda)
morning swim:
Bette
(1)
Walking and swimming on the beach; mostly swimming. It was too shallow to take Greta out but Bette is fine because she'll jump in and chase me around in the water no matter how deep it is. Good girl Bette.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Chester
Archie
Reggie
Rufus
Ernie
Jack
Luna
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. I really thought about going 10k today but I decided against it because I didn't really leave early enough. This would've been a good group for it... maybe next time. I threw Luna in because she was desperate to go on the last one. Rufus was more crazed at the gate on the way out than he has been in a little while - not sure why other than the fact that everyone else was also really excited and it carried him along. He calmed down quickly and came off the leash by the time we got to the tortuga crossroads. We took the long way along the parallel access road but still saw a lot of flamingos; I kept a close watch on Ernie and did not let him stray far from the straight and narrow. Reggie was a joy as always; he's so happy to go and he gets along so well with everyone that it's hard not to feel good about taking him. I put Luna on the leash just after we crossed doce leaving the beach because she was the last one back from an extended raiding party to the garbage heap nearby; it turns out she needed a bit of a reminder on the leash so I'm glad she came. She threw all the standard doggie tricks at me: trying to cross me up with the leash, dragging her heels, etc. I left her on until we got home with Ernie on the other end of the leash at the shrimpery. When we were in sight of the gate Rufus, Jack, Reggie and Truman surged north across the road and screwed around a little near the construction site; I put everyone else back in and rounded them up. No harm but I think Rufus and perhaps Truman should be on the leash coming home from the shrimpery for their next few outings.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rita
Monkey
Mega
Lex
Zoot
Petey
Amber
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. The same thing I did with the tribe last time only with Moneky and Rita along for the ride. Monkey had a limp for a while and we didn't want her to make it worse but it has cleared up in the last few days so a shorty to the beach seemed like the right thing. Rita has also been bothered by her continuing allergy problems but she's been on meds for a few days and she really wanted to go so what the hell - she's always good. The tribe were irrepressible as always but I had more control over them this time than last. I kept them close verbally in the first 100m and had Mega on the hook at the shrimpery so the rest of the first couple kilometers was not too bad - the pace was high but not Mega-high. Zoot is inclined to chase birds but this is tempered by the fact that he listens well; he stops in his tracks even if he's about to jump into a charco and comes back to me instead. He's still skittish and strange but I think a few more of these kind of runs on a regular basis will help. Monkey caught a lot of xmuls in her paws on the run but didn't have a limp before, during or after so far. Rita was an angel as always. I stopped many times to swim while we were on the beach and made sure Petey spent a lot of time in the water; Monkey was also enthusiastic about it. Amber went on the other end of the leash with Mega as we got near the coco trail and I left them that way until we got home. No shenanigans. Good run.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Blue
Frijolita
Elewah
Lily
Daisy
Xmul
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. Xmul slipped her collar at the gate but ended up waiting for me on the trail with everyone else; she was probably confused and wondering where the hell I was since I'm usually on top of her at that point - kind of funny. I got her saddled up and we carried on as normal for the rest of the run. Lily was inclined to chase birds in the near charcos so she went on the other end of the leash almost immediately at the 1km mark. She cleaned her behavior up quickly and didn't stay on for long but I put her on a couple of times during the run just to keep her honest. We didn't go to the swimming hole in order to avoid flamingos and took the long way on the parallel access road but there were still a fair number of flamingos in the charcos on the way out and everyone was good about it once I laid down the law. We startled a few that were right next to the road at one point but they just skipped across to the far end of the charco in that strange way they have and ignored us otherwise. I prefer to minimize any kind of interaction with them just on principle and since this group was built for speed it wasn't that difficult; I just kept us moving. Xmul came off the leash on the road north from the Au Soleil Couchant access road and was a good girl; I put her back on as we were coming off of the beach at the tortuga sign. Elewah and Lily chased two bird trappers on a moto just before we got to the coco trail on the way home; they were heading towards us down the road that borders the cow pasture to the north. I don't feel too had about harassing bird trappers but was gratified that both of my charges came back to me quickly and weren't really intent on mayhem. Elewah needs to improve in that regard. Otherwise a completely uneventful and high-paced run. The bugs are still bad in spots.
GRADE: A
swims:
Greta
Bette
(2)
Angels.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Eve
Posey
George
Frankie
Ernie
Maggie
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. Alice seemed a step slow at times so we should watch her; she was fine on the way home so maybe she was just distracted by the smells of the monte which are getting stinkier as the charcos dry out in places. We had some rain yesterday so the swimming hole was moderately full and everyone enjoyed it. I had Ernie on the leash until just before the swimming hole as there were lots of flamingos everywhere. Alice (of all dogs) decided she might harass one early on and I had to yell at her to get back to my side; no actual harassment took place but I kept a close eye on her for the rest of the run. I left Ernie off from the swimming hole to the tortuga sign (which is now there again - I guess Semarnat does occasionally do SOMETHING). Everyone really behaved themselves well. Steve McQueen gets special notice for listening well; he always stopped in his tracks when I called his name and never left my sight. Good run.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
An angel. We'll have to do more of this again and try a walk (without Miles) in a week or two.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Godzilla
Osita
Chester
Archie
Tuesday
Ziggy
Twiggy
Luna
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. Tuesday was off the leash around the swimming hole but otherwise I left her on the whole way; she was really good and obviously had a good time, although she did get her trademark paranoia as we were coming home on the coco trail. This makes three or four times that Ziggy and Chester have gone on a run together. They have an interesting dynamic. Chester is obviously much faster than Ziggy and could simply dust him whenever he choses but he likes to be near me so he ends up letting Ziggy run ahead for the most part; occasionally he gets the zips and screams ahead and Ziggy runs after him but they seem to have some kind of a truce now. If I didn't know better I'd say Ziggy likes Chester (or is fascinated with him if that's possible) and Chester sort of tolerates it now. In any event there was not a hint of trouble from that quarter and everyone was much more interested in running and checking stuff out. We startled a couple flamingos that were really near to the road but otherwise everyone was good about listening to me and not chasing. I put Twigs on the other end of the leash on the trail home because she was pulling ahead a little but there were no shenanigans. A high-paced and fun run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Lucy
Tito
Frijolita
Blue
(7)
Roni took this crew out for a walk down the coco trail and to the edge of the charco there, where everyone had a good time larking about in the water and the brush (and the mud). The bugs were terrible at this point and the heat was high. Early on Lucy and Frijolita screwed around near doce and hung back after everyone had crossed to sniff something or another; Roni scolded Lucy when she made it back to her, and she carried Miles for the first bit to keep him from dragging the walk down but after that everyone straightened up and had a good time. This heat could break any time now...
GRADE: A
morning run:
Reggie
Linda
Mega
Lex
Petey
Zoot
Amber
Steve McQueen
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. Zoot prefers to go with his peeps and a short run is all I want to chance with Petey so yet again I took the whole bunch on a shorty to the beach. We left a little late and it was hot but nobody cared. Reggie is an angel and a perfect role model for the tribe; what's more they worship him and everyone had a blast as a result. The first km was one of the fastest I've ever run; I did stop to put Mega on the leash when I could but other than that we pretty much didn't stop from the moment we left the gate until we got to the beach. Reggie and Linda were both in fine fettle and the tribe was highly energetic but they listened and stayed with me. There were a lot of flamingos. On one occasion we came upon a couple that were really close to the road and they took off when they saw us but otherwise I was able to reel everyone in and keep the close enough that no birds were harassed. They all swam like nuts in the ocean. I put Mega and Amber on the hook before we left the beach and left them on until we got home.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Truman
Rufus
Lily
Jack
Daisy
Mo
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. Rufus was perhaps slightly less of a bear on the way out; it's hard to get him to settle down and put the leash on him before we go but he straightens up. I left him on until we were heading north on the parallel access road just to make sure he was calm. There were a lot of flamingos in the close charcos and even though I took the route least likely to bring us near to them there were still plenty. Everyone was really good about it. I kept Lily and Daisy close to me but they didn't ever seriously try to harass any flamingos. It was not quite as hot as usual and a bit overcast but the bugs were fairly bad out in the deep monte due to the recent bit of rain. I put Rufus on the hook again as we were leaving the beach just to be sure. Nobody else needed the leash. The pace was extremely high.
GRADE: A
new arrival:
Hazel
(1)
This happened last night but blogger's craptastic new interface no longer appears to give one the option of setting the date and time on a post so I'll cram it in here. I saw this pathetic puppy in the Zocolo and near Fernanda's a couple of weeks ago and I didn't grab it because I didn't want to always be that sucker, but I had a feeling about it; it is probably the offspring of my buddy the police dog - she has his coat and a lot of his face. I regretted not grabbing her when I saw her even though that's crazy talk and had been internally conflicted over it since. Coming home from Merida yesterday I saw her lying almost in the road by the crosswalk in front of the central market. I thought she might be dead but she was just weak, so I grabbed her; I called Roni and we decided to prepare for incoming wounded. She's downstairs with Roni as I write this, having had a night to herself in the bodega. We're thinking "Hazel" now but we're also thinking we might find her a home.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Rita
Osita
Posey
George
Molly
Twiggy
Mega
(8)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. Mega is always a challenge because of his incredible speed and energy. I had him on the other end of the leash with Molly for most of the run and it worked out well enough. I let them both off near the swimming hole and they were still off as we were heading to the beach when some old geezer in a VW bug turned off of doce and started towards us; he's one of the "professionals" who hang out at Julio's and drink until he stops giving them ponies. My troops were spread out a bit and I was concerned more about Molly at first but as he got closer I realized that she was fine and it was Mega who was getting freaked out. Before I could get to him to get him on the leash the VW was upon us and although I shouted to the driver to stop for a second he just smiled and hit the gas - jackass. Mega was caught on the other side of him and ran off east back into the monte. I gathered my remaining dogs and headed off after him; he made it all the way to the turn to the hidden trail before he came back so this run was nearly ~8k after all of that. I put him on the hook when I got to him and we headed for the beach; by the time we got there he was fine again - he is scared of vehicles. I put Mega and Molly back on the leash as we got off of the beach and that's how it stayed until we got home. Everyone else did really well with all of the shenanigans.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Lucy
Tito
Blue
Greta
Lily
(8)
Roni took this crew out for what turned out to be a walk to the charcos around the land-bridge and back again; Miles made it take ~45min to go just that far with all of his screwing around and dawdling. He can be so infuriating at times it is hard to explain in words. This was Greta's first walk in a while and she was on the black leash to keep her from running too much. She is nearly as big of a pain in the ass as Miles on her own but together the combination of his dawdling and hanging back and her charging ahead and screwing around is a greater pain in the ass than the sum of its pain-in-the-ass parts. Highlights from Roni's debriefing: she had to go into the muck nearly up to her knees to fish Greta out of a charco, Miles ran across the land bridge after dawdling ~200m behind for half the walk and then lagged behind on the way back until Roni couldn't stand it and made him walk in front of her, the bugs were awful and Greta does not listen very well. Blue and Zasu were their usual angelic selves. Henry has had a limp recently but seems to be over it and did well. Lucy was just jazzed to be on the show. Lily was good for the most part. Greta and Miles should not go together.
GRADE: C-
morning run:
Frijolita
Godzilla
Eve
Gowron
Archie
Ziggy
Daisy
Xmul
(8)
Hidden trail: ~8k. We went the long way again to avoid flamingos but we saw a ton of them regardless; Xmul is the only real threat and she's always on the leash but Ziggy likes to chase the little birds sometimes so I also made a point of keeping him close verbally. The bugs were bad in spots but we hardly noticed as we were moving pretty quickly. A strange and oppressive air pervaded the monte this morning and the dogs obviously felt it. It was overcast but calm and virtually silent; the dogs all kept close to me even in places where they normally run ahead a bit. The ocean is churned up right now but Ziggy, Daisy and Xmul were not dissuaded and came in to get me a few times; the undertow was bad enough that I felt the need to nudge Ziggy ahead towards the shore with my foot at one point. Everyone behaved, had a good time and seems a little tired now... hope it lasts.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Lucy
Shirley
April
Maggie
Bosha
Petey
(6)
I took this group for a walk around the cow pasture but ended up going to the tortuga crossroads via the cut-over because of April. She is simply never to be off the leash outside of truck.dog duty, certainly not on walks or runs. Even though she is somewhat fixed on me as her person when it comes to chasing marmots, birds, imaginary creatures only she can see, etc... she just turns her ears off and that's that. She was halfway around the other side of the charco just south of the alt.land bridge before I could get there and was continuing south like a lunatic; this pulled us all across while I finally got her to listen and turn around, at which point we had drifted over onto the cut-over where Petey was chasing butterfly shadows. I had let Shirley off the leash to put April on and she was even further north so I decided to just head north and get us all together by which point we were almost to the tortuga road anyway. This made the total distance for this walk over 3k which is more than I really wanted for Lucy at the least; I tried to not go too fast and watched her and she seemed okay afterwards (she was happy about it at the time). In the end we came home with April and Shirley on either ends of one leash and Bosha on the other; I wanted to let Bosha off but she was too freaked out by all the goings on and the strange route so I just played it safe. Petey was the best of the bunch - he listened to me and didn't get carried along by April's insane enthusiasm. A frustrating and undisciplined walk in high heat.
GRADE: C
