27.11.14

morning run:
Posey
Blue
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Lily
Twiggy
(7)

Southern charcos (backwards): ~8k. We thought it would be a good for Rufus to go with less other dogs sometimes so I could focus more on him; this turned out to be a fine idea and we'll do it again. Rufus left on the leash and he was really fired up for the first 200m. Gowron does not help: her habit of (seeming to?) tease whoever is on the leash when we leave by doubling back and barking in their face as we try to run is aggravating. She was just about as fired up as Rufus... her tiny body cannot contain it all sometimes: she has as much energy as dogs three times her size and goes on the longest runs without tiring. Rufus kept wanting to bowl Lily and Posey over with his shenanigans after I let him off the leash so I put him back on for a little to remind him and he settled down in another 500m. This would have been much harder if I had another dog along that had to be on the leash. They were an exuberant group. The chilly weather, wind and clouds always makes the running dogs want to run more. The wind was strong enough in places that large banks of salt foam have formed; it was also chilly enough near the big charcos to make me take notice. I wanted the option of going north so I took us north first via the swimming hole; when we got out there it was so pretty and deserted to the south that it seemed like the better option. If we had left earlier we probably would've gone through no-man's land but this was certainly fun enough for everyone. On the way home we got barked at by a dog apparently hanging out with the lone group of salt workers we saw today, in the charcos just to the west from the tar-paper shack near the "terreno federal" sign. Rufus led the charge to return fire and acted like a jerk when I called him to get him on the leash; he danced around and made me chase him down so he stayed on the leash until we got home. He'll have to be on the leash within ~2km of home for a few runs - I've obviously been too lax with him and he needs more attention. Despite the misbehavior it was a nice run on a chilly day and it just ended up being some excessive barking... although I did lay out an impressive 50m sprint (after running 7k) to catch up to him. I'll be feeling that.
GRADE: B