17.04.13

morning beach sprint:
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
Xmul
Linda
(6)

To the tortuga sign on the beach and home via the monte: ~3k. We appear to be under an astrological shadow or something the last couple of days here; yesterday the wheels came off almost immediately on what should've been a quick haul-ass/milk-run and today we were again beset by problems right out of the gate. Xmul cannot leave the house off the leash and certainly should not be on the beach down here where there are houses off the leash; it would've been a better idea to leave with Rufus off and Xmul on. Roni and I did our best to make sure the beach was clear before I shot out of the gate like some clown at a rodeo but we couldn't see that little black and white stray who just had pups up the beach about 100m. I saw her once we got to the water and reigned mine as she hauled ass north to give her time to get back to her little safety zone; this worked for about 30 seconds but Jack and Xmul couldn't resist and ended up running ahead of the rest of us while I picked up the pace to get us past the soldiers' quickly. Jack listened but Xmul charged up there and came with me only after I repeatedly yelled her name and we were all almost past. This was not such a big deal but then not 20m farther to the north whoever takes care of the HoJo decided to release their dog onto the beach just as we were passing by - what are the odds? He's a Jack-sized white dog that looks vaguely like Zoot - not neutered of course. He charged down to the beach only to discover he was severely outnumbered; Xmul was a bit of a jackass but everyone else was really good and in the end we just flew right past and he barked at us a little; he probably would've come with us on the run if I had encouraged him, he seemed playful. I finally grabbed Xmul and put her on the leash from there on. I thought we might be okay for a quick blast up the beach with her off the leash but I don't think I'll ever try that again... just because nothing bad happened this time doesn't mean it couldn't next time. Everyone else was really exemplary - no barking, no chasing, stuck with me, listened, had a good time.
GRADE: B