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morning walk:
Zasu
Lucy
Rita
Bette
Otto
Reggie
Gowron
(7)
Roni took this crew out for a walk in the monte. Reggie and Otto left on the leash to keep them from charging off too fast but they came off their leashes quickly and were good boys; on the way home Roni hooked them up again just to keep them honest near the road. Rita had a bit of a limp; we think her feet are really bothering her from her allergy treatments so she needs a bath today. It sounds like there were groups of salt workers in the same spots as there were yesterday (they are loud), so Roni avoided those places by taking the route around the cow pasture and the dirty road. Everyone was good and had a great time (PupG looked extremely pleased with herself).
GRADE: A
morning beach walk:
Shirley
Stella
(2)
Martina took these two out for a walk up the beach. All good.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
We finally managed to get Greta out after a difficult stretch. The ocean is unappealing right now: shallow, murky, the bottom is squishy with rotting vegetation and I saw at least one tiny jellyfish... not ideal conditions, but Greta persevered as usual and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Blue
Molly
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Murci
(8)
To the swimming hole: ~6k (+5k afterwards=11k for me). This run was nearly perfect until the end. We left with Xmul on the leash; I let her off at the swimming hole to play but put her back on by the time we got to the road. Murci was really great the whole way - played with her buddies, swam like a lunatic and stuck close to me. Unfortunately she is skittish around people, something I wasn't really aware of until it was too late. On our way out there was nobody in any of the charcos nearby; I took us home on the blue bag trail with the intention of putting Murci on the other end of the leash by the time we got to the coco trail, but was surprised to find a large group of salt workers around the wood shack. I didn't pay enough attention to Murci's reaction, which turned out to be to turn around and bolt for the woods. When I realized she wasn't with us I turned us all around and went back to find her but she was gone. I decided I should get the rest of them home and maybe I would run into Murci somewhere along the way... no dice, she wasn't there. I got everyone put away (ignoring the deliveryman who had arrived with our new stove, which was kind of dumb) and headed back out to find her. I thought she was probably in the woods between the wood shack and the next road over to the east so I headed out the dead goat trail only to find THAT road also blocked completely by an ambitious salt-loading operation - lots of noise, people, machines and bags of salt completely blocking the road, none of which had been there an hour earlier. Since I now realized that both roads home from where we had been had lots of noisy workers on them I thought maybe she had headed for the beach instead. I went home to make sure she wasn't there already and headed north on the beach all the way to the tortuga sign, cut into the monte and went back to the intersection with the tortuga road and the salt worker road where we had been earlier, looking for her tracks the whole way. I ended up circling all the way back to the intersection, calling her name the whole while, and then back around to the tortuga crossroads and back home through all those trails we had been on earlier. By the time I got home she had arrived, beating me by 15 minutes. She must've circled around in the monte kind of like I had but with a head start on me and through the brush instead of on a trail. I thought she must've been scared by all the people, machines and noise in the woods but Roni thought she would find her way home and she was right - Murci is smart and likes it here. If I hadn't had Xmul I would've had Murci on the leash so I should remember that. Murci also needs to get used to salt workers and vehicles in the monte.
GRADE: C (all my fault)
afternoon walk:
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(3)
Martina took these three chuckleheads out for an outing on the beach and they were all good.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Frankie
Tori
(2)
Martina took these two out for a walk on the beach. There was a lot of swimming involved and everyone was good.
GRADE: A
morning jog:
Alice
Lucy
Ginger
George
Otto
Bosha
Daisy
Murci
(8)
Short northern loop: ~2k. We went north on the coco trail, up past the wood shack, looped around onto the blue bag trail, then went south all the way to the dirty road and came home that way. Murci was on the leash the entire way and was really good - she obviously gets it, both running and walking (smart as a whip, really). We didn't run very fast and I slowed us down to a walk at several points, both to make sure Lucy didn't hurt herself and to work with Murci on walking vs. running with the leash. Everyone really had a blast and behaved themselves.
GRADE: A
morning beach walk:
Archie
Shirley
(2)
Martina took these two out on leashes for a walk on the beach. Everyone was good and had a good time.
morning run:
Eve
Osita
Frijolita
Elewah
Lily
Amber
Hazel
Tori
(8)
Southern charcos backwards: ~8k. This was a great group for the most part. We started out with nobody on the leash and got to the swimming hole quickly. I decided I wanted to avoid the beach and everyone was really up for running anyway; if I had left earlier I would've probably done the long and winding road but instead I took us in a loop to the palapa road and came home across the now-sunken land bridge. I put Amber on the leash just south of the palapa because she seemed to be getting skittish and strange; she calmed down but it isn't a bad idea for her to spend time on the leash and anyway I had planned on coming home with her that way so I just left her on. Elewah irritated me by charging into a charco full of flamingos as we were coming out of the southern charcos proper; she posed no danger to the birds but she was a jerk about it, and she also bluff-charged/barked at another bird that seemed hurt down on the road to the land bridge from the east. In spite of the fact that she didn't actually do anything she knows she's not supposed to be aggressive to the birds; I scooped her up and carried her home all the way from the land bridge and was fairly pissed about it. She's getting a collar when the new ones we've ordered finally arrive. Other than that everyone was really perfect and had a good time on a fast-paced run.
GRADE: B (Elewah)
morning beach dash:
Rufus
(1)
To the tortuga sign and back: ~2k. I took Rufus for some alone time, on the black leash straight up the beach; I let him off in front of the HoJo and put him back on there when we came south. We did as lot of swimming and he had a blast. What an angel.
GRADE: A
morning beach walk:
Ernie
Stella
Linda
(3)
Martina took these three out for a walk up the beach; Rufus and I ran into them heading south as they were heading north and everyone was happy to see each other.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
Bette
Lucy
Blue
Gowron
Monkey
Murci
(9)
Roni took this crew out with Murci on the leash for the first time. There was trouble right away: Tito was hurt and had to be carried. Since Murci was on the leash that was two hands in use and Roni also had her camera on her so the walk quickly turned into a bug-bitten juggling routine. There was a lot of rolling in stinky stuff strewn in the monte, which is always a morale-booster for them human in charge (well, that's what WE think). Wheels came off and had to be bodged back onto the cart the whole way; at one point near the end Monkey turned her ears off, presumably to go roll in filth, and only managed to catch up to Roni just as she was nearing the end of the trail at doce - not quite according to Hoyle. Henry also did not behave well - he basically went as far as the shrimpery on the way out and hung around there while Roni got everyone else to do the loop. Tito must've pulled something; he seems okay now but we're watching him. He and Ziggy both sometimes seem to manage to sprain or pull muscles just getting up and stretching. All in all an enervating and infuriating walk in the bugs and heat.
GRADE: C
morning beach walk:
Daisy
Tori
(2)
Martina took these two out for a jaunt and they were good girls.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(3)
Martina took the three sisters out for a walk up the beach. All good.
GRADE: A
walk #1:
Ernie
Stella
(2)
Martina took these two out; they were good and had a good time.
GRADE: A
walk #2:
Frankie
Ziggy
Tori
(3)
Martina took these three out a little while later; Ziggy got thrown in at the last minute because he's a good boy on walks.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Frijolita*
Rita*
Lily*
Jack
Xmul
Lex*
Hazel
Tori*
(9)
Almost nowhere: ~2k. We left with all nine above but right away ran into trouble: Rita's foot or front left leg was bothering her by the time we crossed the road but she would not turn around. I had Xmul on the leash so carrying Rita would've been difficult/impossible and the rest of my charges were waiting at the shrimpery... what a great day to have a walkie-talkie on me this would've been, so naturally I forgot it. Instead I took us just around the cow pasture the short way with Rita limping a lot of the way, just to get us all pointed back in the right direction. My intention was to get us home, drop off Rita and take off again but I was foiled by basic doggie programming: everyone had run the leave/run/return program in their doggie heads and almost nobody wanted to go out again right then. I was starting to get frustrated so I just went back out with Gracie, Jack, Xmul and Hazel and we went around the cow pasture the long way, mainly to get Xmul out a bit. All in all a big fail but no big deal; these things happen.
GRADE: A (nobody's fault, everyone was good)
morning walk #1:
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(3)
Martina took these three out for a better walk than last evening.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Shirley
Stella
(2)
These two went with Martina up the beach and had a blast. We're a bit concerned that Stella ate something on the beach we don't know about because she didn't want to eat dinner tonight... she's a sneaky one about things like that. They were both good behaviorally.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Posey
Chester
Reggie
Tuesday
Daisy
Mega
Petey
Steve McQueen
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~7k. This was a really good group. I let Tuesday off the leash at the swimming hole and left her off until we were past the wooden shack heading home; that's the longest she's been off the leash in so long I can't remember. I was considering leaving her off the whole way home but she started giving me that strange look over her shoulder as we got closer and everyone had been so good I didn't want the wheels to come off in the last 300m; she was good about it and was a good girl throughout. Everyone else was likewise great. The pace was high and we all had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
Lucy
Bette
Otto
Blue
Gowron
Monkey
(9)
Roni took this group out for a walk north towards the wooden shack via the coco trail. There is a pile of nasty rotting fish dumped by the side of said trail; I didn't see what it was when we were running home but a couple of my charges took a dip (Truman got a bath); on a walk it is harder to avoid and Monkey especially tarried there on their way north. On the way south Roni knew about it and kept them from jumping in but there is a bit of fishiness in the air around here right now... Otherwise this group was perfect, kept together and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning beach walk:
Frankie
Ernie
(2)
Martina took these two out for a walk north on the beach. She likes to find a shady spot and sit while her charges run around in the water and play and this suits everyone just fine.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(3)
Martina took these sisters out for a stroll, intending to head up the road to the beach at the maginot line; Luna and Twigs were on leashes, Mo was free since she's the best-behaved of the three. Unfortunately a group of dogs that hangs out to the north of the HoJo effectively blocked their way to the beach. It isn't clear if those dogs belong to the HoJo or are just wild up there (I'm guessing a bit of both); Martina wasn't sure of their reactions and Twigs and Luna were both quite adamant in wanting to go say "hi" so she wisely turned everyone around (Luna needed to be carried a bit). Even though it was an abortive attempt at a longer walk everyone did behave themselves well... sometimes this happens.
GRADE: A
afternoon beach walk:
Tori
(1)
Martina really wanted to go out with Tori, who was obviously quite happy to oblige. They both had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Ginger
George
Godzilla
Frankie
Molly
Twiggy
Luna
Tori
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~7k. We've had a few rough days here for various reasons and dog outings had to be dialed down a bit while some other things got done. This group was raring to go but they behaved themselves the whole way. Alice lagged a bit at times but caught up and had fun. The bugs were starting to get pretty bad on the way home so instead of slogging through the charcos to the north of the wooden shack I took us around on the road and used the blue bag trail to at least avoid the hard-core bugosphere. Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
Bette
Lucy
Archie
Monkey
Linda
Murci
(9)
Roni and our freshly arrived HelpX'er, Martina, took this crew out into the monte for a walk as it was starting to heat up in earnest; the bugs were bad by then but everyone persevered and had a good time. Lucy came home early but we've both learned that she sometimes just wants/needs to bail so it wasn't a big deal. Everyone certainly looked happy when they arrived home. Murci is now sporting a collar and will need a little more discipline; she's starting to do that you-can't-get-me routine (wonder who showed her that? *cough*monkey*cough*) but she'll shape up quickly - she's a smart little thing.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was really shallow so it was a bit difficult for both of us this time; I dragged her out very far on each trip so we did fewer of them but she was breathing heavily at the end. What a good girl.
GRADE: A
beach walk:
Stella
MoMo
(2)
Martina took these two out for a walk up the beach. They were both angels.
GRADE: A
morning beach outing:
Archie*
Rufus
Linda*
Amber*
Hazel
Tori
Murci*
(7)
Up the beach (almost) to the tortuga sign and back: ~3k. This was a slow-rolling disaster for many reasons. The main impetus was to get Rufus out for a run that would not leave him limping; the secondary objective was to get Zoot to go on any kind of an outing at all but we ditched that idea after 30min of finagling... So fine, in the end I had these seven in the beach-side yard, hooked up Rufus and took off. I brought Murci because I thought it would be good for her to go on a shorty with a few of her super-buddies (Hazel, Tori, Linda, Amber); she needs to get with the program and is getting big enough to go on short runs. Sadly we were waylaid immediately at the soldiers' by two of the dogs that hang out there; the soldier on duty at their palapa did make an attempt to hold one of them back but the other one charged down to the beach and started barking at us. Generally this is not an issue; all of our dogs know to just stay with their human and keep moving... all except the newbie, Murci. She decided to turn around and bark back at them (the soldier lost hold of the other one) and they were not impressed by the pupling; they bluff-charged her and she realized she was out-manned as her buddies were 20m up the beach from her, so she turned tail and ran home. If only I had brought a walkie-talkie with me I could've just told Roni what was up but I didn't and I wasn't sure of her reactions; furthermore Amber, whose natural skittishness worked against us here, decided that she also would turn tail and then the wheels fell off. I turned us all around to make sure Roni at least knew what was happening and that Murci didn't freak out and head farther south, etc. I should've known that she knows exactly where we live and really, really likes it here; she just bolted for the gate. Amber ran around the north road to the other gate, Linda got caught up in the xmul but eventually found her way to the beach gate and Archie arrived back late and went into the yard. That left me with Rufus, Hazel and Tori, and since the whole point was Rufus and those three have proven themselves I went north again. This time it went much better: we just kept moving and the dogs at the soldiers' didn't really bug us, nor we them. We went almost to the tortuga sign with plenty of swimming for Rufus. On the way back I left Rufus off the leash and had both Tori and Hazel on either end of it. It was a frustrating morning and a lot of sound and fury to go almost nowhere but at least Rufus was happy and tired.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Rita
Eve
Osita
Reggie
Ernie
Elewah
Lily
Daisy
Tori
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~7k. They were a little wound up getting out of the gate but nobody left on the leash and everyone settled down quickly. I had to put Daisy on the hook for a couple of stretches to discipline her after bluff-charging a couple of the other dogs (Lily, Osita). She doesn't like the leash so she cut it out by the time we got past the swimming hole. There was a small herd of cows on the beach just south of the tortuga sign; I saw them in the distance and put Ernie on the hook, which turned out to be the right move. He was vocal but under control by the time we got in range; Elewah and Lily ran over to them and barked a bit but it was nothing serious (they didn't budge) and they came to me quickly. We came home via the charcos to the north of the wooden shack for a change since I had nobody on the leash there. The bugs weren't terrible and the charco is still full of mostly fresh water and therefore not stinky or full of sludge. Elewah ran straight to the gate on the way home and everyone did well in general.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
Tori
(2)
I took Tori this time because she was really wound up and I don't think Greta minds her shenanigans once in a while; it is pretty comical. They both swam hard and had fun.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Posey
Truman
Blue
Ziggy
Bosha
Xmul
Hazel
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. This was a good group. Xmul was on the leash out of the gate; I let her off before the swimming hole, put her right back on and let her off on the beach the whole way to the tortuga sign because there was nobody there. She was a good girl throughout and enjoyed swimming everywhere. Bosha did really well in spite of being such a weirdo; it really does look like she is rediscovering how to run every single time but what the hell, she kept up and had fun. We went all the way around to the blue bag trail on the way home. There were salt workers just before the turn off of the main road and everyone was perfect (of course with Xmul on the leash).
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Bette
Lucy
Otto
Monkey
Linda
(9)
Roni took this crew out for a walk around the cow pasture down to the charcos next to the enchanted pond. Miles can really be a jerk sometimes... he rolled in something awful and then refused to go around a deep mud puddle, forcing Roni to come back for him with Otto on the leash and her camera in-hand; she and her camera stayed dry but the pungent aroma of Miles' recently-applied cologne was indelibly stamped on the rest of the walk. Otto was on the leash because we're worried about his leg; he's been okay since the surgery and has gone on runs but recently he's been chewing at it again. He is a real spazz. It is entirely possible that he strained it somehow pulling some idiot maneuver in the yard or on an outing so he has to be watched a bit now... he doesn't have a limp at least. Everyone else was good and had a good time but it was really hot in the full sun.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Frijolita
Tuesday
Gowron
Twiggy
Amber
Lex
Mega
Petey
Tori
(9)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant via the swimming hole: ~7k. The last couple of days have sucked for one reason or another; we're both exhausted and everything is soggy from rain, battered from wind and bitten by bugs. This morning I thought I was being clever when several dogs trapped themselves in the launchpad; I figured I could quickly throw the rest of the group together and get everyone else put away without too much disturbance if I was quick enough and I guess I was sort of right but it didn't feel like it. A couple of them ran me around but in the end the ones in the launchpad were good and Roni told me when we got home that she didn't realize we had left - she heard me getting frustrated and thought I had thrown my hands up in disgust and gone to my computer, so the dogs who stayed home were obviously all very good. The ones who came with me were also very good. Tuesday slipped her collar at the gate but really that was my fault: I saw it was very loose and just forgot to adjust it in my rush to get out. I put her back on at the turn to the dirty road and she was fine; in fact I left her off the leash for an extended stretch from just before the swimming hole until we were almost to the tortuga sign on the beach and she was really good the whole time. I put Amber on the other end of the leash at the same time I grabbed Tuesday and they stayed that way all the way home (much to Tuesday's obvious disdain). Lex and Mega both stuck with us all the way home, which was gratifying - they both have a tendency to bolt home once we're close.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ernie
Rufus
Elewah
Jack
Molly
Daisy
MoMo
Hazel
Tori
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Another good group. Rufus was a good boy about getting out of the gate; he didn't need to be confined, Roni didn't have to do any extreme wrangling and he let me get the leash on him relatively easily. The land bridge is still completely under water and there were flamingos all around so I walked us across and made a little noise before we got close to give them all a chance to move away. Rufus came off of the leash relatively early and I didn't have to put anyone else on the rest of the way; I did scoop Elewah up close to home because she hadn't been listening as well as I would've liked and there have been too many strays hanging around nearby and too many vehicles on the road in the morning. Other than that I didn't have to do much but run and everyone else was glad to follow suit. Sadly as I'm writing this Rufus has a limp; this time it appears to be some stiffness in hips/read left leg when he gets up after lying down after the run. We think he's just going to have to get used to going on walks for a bit since this keeps happening. Otherwise it was all positive.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was shallow, muddy, stinky, squishy on the bottom and full of fish, but it was calm and Greta did well. Good girl.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was choppy and she didn't like it but she did it anyway and was a trooper. I didn't make her go as long as normal but the undertow and waves more than made up for it in degree of difficulty. Good girl.
morning run:
Frijolita
Rita
Eve
Truman
Reggie
Otto
Luna
Amber
Lex
(9)
Hidden trail: ~8k. What a great group. We left with nobody on the leash and it stayed that way until I put Amber on the hook on the beach just north of the tortuga sign; my habit of doing this was absolutely justified, as there was a truck with a few people from some environmental agency doing something there. She would surely have barked her head off but instead they were treated to the spectacle of Beardo and His Nine Silent Hounds - not so much as a sniffle in their direction (they found us very amusing). The monte is still plenty flooded and much of the way to the hidden trail, including the hidden trail itself were really overgrown - if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't even see it. The last bit between doce and the ocean was just barely visible from the last time we were there and I had to pick my way through a lot of spiny cactus to get to the beach. We went all the way around on the way back and took the blue bag trail to the wooden shack north of the dead goat trail; I put Lex on the other end of the leash around there to keep him from bolting home and everyone stayed together all the way to the gate. There were not that many flamingos on our route but there were clusters of them and everyone was good about not chasing and staying together.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Lucy
Bette
Tito
Archie
Monkey
Bosha
Murci
(9)
Roni's foot was good enough for a walk today, which is good news. Miles didn't want to go but the card was more than full anyway and it seemed like it would bode well for a pleasant walk. For most of the time it was, albeit an incredibly buggy one; Archie went because he's had a limp after runs recently and he's a good boy... sometimes. On the way back our "good boy" decided he wanted to dash home ahead of everyone else down the coco trail, while Bosha lagged behind and Zasu took her time dropping "packages" in every possible intersection; Archie ended up arriving home by himself a few mintues ahead of Henry and Murci, who he dragged with him - not good for many reasons (crossing the road, teaching the puppy bad habits, etc.). It is infuriating when a dog you've come to consider reliable decides to turn their ears off and do what they want. The fact is that Archie, like Jack and a couple others, frequently skates by on his "good boy" rep when maybe he should be on the leash a little more; he mostly goes on runs, which have a different dynamic, and even there I frequently have to ride him to make sure he sticks with the rest of us. Henry is also in this category: it isn't the first time he's done this to both of us, although at least he's sensible about the road. Bosha is a freak and gets strange when another dog on a walk or run is spoken to harshly, so that made the whole trip home even less pleasant; the bugs were really bad, especially down near the charcos where there are standing puddles. Roni managed to get some nice photos anyway but Archie kind of crapped on the walk. At least Lucy, Bette, Tito and Monkey listened well and Zasu, although irritating with her dawdling, is always all about Mom.
GRADE: C
