31.12.15

morning run:
Posey
Eve
Chester
MoMo
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Murci
(9)

Southern Charcos: ~8k. Xmul goes back to Marie and Nicole today so I wanted to get her out on a nice run with some well-behaved companions and that's what happened. Everyone was really great and had an excellent time on a high-paced run.
GRADE: A

28.12.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Osita
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
(9)

This was a disaster, mainly due to Gracie. Someone keeps a herd of goats to the south and east of us, in the monte before the first charco. They are not particularly careful and leave their herd of goats unattended for long periods of time. Sometimes they all show up at our house or very near it. Sometimes they're nowhere to be seen. This morning they were all in their enclosure (which they can easily leave on their own), almost a kilometer from our house, but that didn't stop Gracie for making a bee-line there and harassing them at the start of the walk. I don't know what possessed her. The goats have been there for a while and she hadn't done this on prior walks, but today for some reason that was her plan and it crapped all over this walk. The vast majority of the other dogs on this walk were very good, even the ones you might expect would be bad (Ernie, Osita, Ginger); they stuck with me through the whole ordeal, didn't harass any goats and let me focus on getting my hands on Gracie before she did any harm, which I managed to do. Unfortunately this came at the cost of Stella slipping her collar, at which point she just ran off and screwed around. I could tell from her attitude that she had turned her ears off so I focussed on rounding everyone up and wrangling us all back home. I tried to work in a bit of a walk anyway, thinking Stella would find her way back to me by the time we were coming home, but no dice: she screwed around the entire day, obviously close by, until finally we insisted she come back in when we saw her just a couple lots north on the beach. The outcome from this: more confirmation that Stella cannot be trusted, and now Gracie must also be on the leash when we leave.
GRADE: F

27.12.15

morning run:
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Jack
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
(8)

Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. June was good on the leash the whole way. She had a great time and ran her ass off. We took the blue.bag trail heading out and the short cut via the charcos to the north coming home. Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A

mid-day walk:
Blue
Reggie
MoMo
(3)

Roni took these three out for a walk to the north on the coco trail. Mo was kind of a pain for some of the way; it seems like she didn't like the heat and wanted to come home. Reggie and Blue were both fine but Roni cut the walk shorter than she might have due to Mo's antics... kind of a shame, but everyone still had a nice time.
GRADE: A

26.12.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Gowron
Bette
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(8)

Roni took this crew for a walk across the land bridge in a sort of clover-leaf, doing various loops off of (more or less) the base of the land bridge to the south and north. Amber was on the leash for a lot of it and was good; she seems to find comfort in the leash, and it also reels Zoot in a little bit in his orbits. Monkey is in fine fettle, fully recovered from her surgery. She's been really fun on walks and runs - no more constant stopping to pee. Everyone behaved themselves and had a great time.
GRADE: A

25.12.15

morning run:
Alice
Otto
Rita
Godzilla
George
Tuesday
Molly
Twiggy
Monkey
(9)

Past the tortuga sign: ~4k. We took the maginot line going both ways. It was a little late and starting to get hot but there was as stiff breeze, even in the monte, and the occasional cloud. We got barked at by one of the soldiers' dogs as we headed north from the maginot line but nothing noticed us coming home - the wind was coming from the south so we were invisible on the trip home. The gulf was muddy and gross from rotting seaweed but the wind made it tolerable and everyone had a good time in and out of the water. We might've gone farther but I could see two people with a little dog up past Au Soleil Couchant as we were passing the tortuga sign. I think they parked at the tortuga sign and walked up because there was a newish sedan there... I came to the conclusion that they were heading south so I didn't take us too much farther north before turning around. Nobody minded - they all had a good time no matter what we were doing.
GRADE: A

23.12.15

morning run:
Posey
Lily
Luna
Xmul
Mega
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
(9)

Southern Charcos: ~8k. As long as Roxy is on the shorter leash having her and Xmul hooked up together works out okay... sadly I didn't start out that way (not sure what I was thinking), so I had to stop just across the land bridge and wrangle their gear, but after that it was fine. We kept a high pace the whole way - Roxy's amazing that way for such a short-legged little thing. We saw a lot of flamingos and altered our route several times to not disturb them. All of the crossings from the palapa road to the swimming hole were blocked by some very large flamingos - they were beautiful and seemed happy so we ran the length of the palapa road and went the long way around. Nobody minded: the pace was high and everyone really wanted to run. There was no misbehavior. Good group, nice run on a pretty day... even the bugs weren't bad.
GRADE: A

morning pup-training walk:
Tupo
(1)

I managed to scoop Tupo up and take him out for a quick jaunt in the immediate surroundings. We tried the beach to the south at first but it's pretty gross and he found it a bit scary or at least off-putting: there are large mountains of stinking seaweed everywhere and the Gulf is errily calm and kind of strange right now. I decided that wasn't too much fun so we turned around and walked down to the shrimpery instead, which he liked much better. We jogged for little stretches and he ran with hilarious enthusiasm. Good boy Tupo!
GRADE: A

22.12.15

morning walk #1:
Alice
Ginger
Henry
Tito
Monkey
Maggie
April
Tupo*
(8)

I tried to get Tupo out on a shorty but he was too unsure so he just ran back to Roni at the gate and I carried on with the rest; next time it will be him by himself. Everyone else was really good on a short walk down to the land bridge and back. Most notable was April, who was on a leash the whole way. She's always on truck.dog duty so in some ways she goes out more than all the others but she needs to start going out on walks and runs as well. She had a blast, as did everyone else.
GRADE: A

morning walk #2:
Miles
(1)

I am catching up now on almost three weeks of posts and finally I've come to something I wrote down but that I have no memory of. I'm not sure if Roni took Miles this time or if I did... must be getting old. Anyway, Miles-alone walks always go the same way... he's a dawdling little angel.
GRADE: A

20.12.15

morning run:
Gracie
Truman
Blue
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Frankie
Daisy
Junebug
(9)

Terreno Federal serpentine: ~5k. I didn't want to go very far for multiple reasons but I didn't feel like fighting my way down to the beach again so we headed south into the monte like we were going to the southern charcos and then curled north on the Terreno Federal serpentine. We ran it all the way to the (now much less) hidden trail that lets out onto the larger north/south serpentine that leads to the cross-roads east of the intersection. This gave ample opportunity for everyone to run like maniacs and sniff stuff without too much off-roading. We came home via the road and southern part of the ridge, well away from Angel's corner. Daisy left on the leash this time, as did June; I let Daisy off at the shrimpery and left June on for the duration. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A

incoming:
Xmul*
Twiggy
(2)

Xmul is coming to stay with us over Christmas. I took Twiggy out on a leash to meet Xmul and Marie on the beach (Xmul, of course, was on a leash), then took them both up to the maginot line and came home via the monte. This works out easier when it comes to wrangling the other dogs. There were no fireworks and Xmuls re-insertion into the.matrix went smoothly. Yay Xmul!
GRADE: A

19.12.15

morning run:
Godzilla
Rufus
Jack
Lex
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
Zoila
(8)

Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. This was a pretty solid run for Zoila; she just got out with Roni on a nice walk but she's got so much energy I thought she should go again. She really likes to run flat-out on the beach and has gotten very good on the leash when we go from running to walking to swimming. Everyone else had a great time the whole way. It was stormy so nobody wanted to swim too much but the ocean had thrown so much stuff up onto the beach that the fun shifted to sniffing and investigating it all.
GRADE: A

18.12.15

morning walk #1:
Alice
Ginger
Blue
Osita
Rita
Ernie
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Twiggy
(10)

I took this crew for a walk across the land bridge and a loop to the south. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and was really good.
GRADE: A

morning walk #2:
Bette
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
Zoila
(6)

Roni took her electron dog.cloud out for a spin, with Zoila on the leash. It was nie to see Monkey looking so fit after her surgery; she also obviously feels just fine, much better than before: no more incessant stops to pee. A fun, high-paced walk.
GRADE: A

15.12.15

morning run:
Frijolita
Gowron
Otto
Shirley
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
Junebug
(9)

Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. June did well on a real big-girl run up the beach. She had an absolute blast with her running-mates and did well on the leash (the whole way). We took the blue.bag trail both directions and the pace was high. Everyone else was great and really had a good time. Shirley doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects from the longer-than-usual run but I won't do this too much with her. Roxy was off the leash on the beach and otherwise on the leash with June; this worked out better than last time. All in all a good run.
GRADE: A

afternoon walk:
Miles
(1)

Roni took Miles out for a meandering stroll in the monte.
GRADE: A

13.12.15

morning run:
Ginger
Alice
Blue
Daisy
Osita*
Cookie
Rufus
Jack
(8)

Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. Daisy should have left on a leash but she didn't and as a result she harassed Osita in the first 50m. I know she has this tendency and I should just not leave with her off the leash... she can come off at the shirmpery and she's fine but in that first ~250m she is too excited. I was putting Daisy on the leash at the shrimpery when Osita decided to go home; I knew there was no arguing with her and I didn't want to make things worse by running her down and putting her on a leash so I let her go - she was back at the gate a minute later and Roni let her in. I was not happy with Daisy but we carried on and had a decent run up past Au Soleil Couchant via the maginot line.
GRADE: C (Daisy)

12.12.15

incoming:
Nico
(3)

Today the last of Solitaria's pups that we're bringing in came home; the remaining two are going to stay with Angel, he wants them there. In some ways this makes me sad but in others it's better than the alternatives: we can't bring in any more and at they are cared after and watched over there as much as they would in in a home closer to town. I will continue to help Angel with them and the three adults that live there, including getting them sterilized somehow. The newbie I brought home today is a sweetie we're calling Nico.

11.12.15

morning run:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
George
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Frankie
(8)

Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. We took the maginot line in both directions.
GRADE: A

09.12.15

vet:
Monkey
(1)

Today I went to pick Monkey up from her surgery. She had to stay overnight because she needed a catheter and observation for 24h after her surgery, which removed a large quantity of stones. Yuck. She's on meds now and will need a special diet for the rest of her life, like Maggie. She was a champ during the whole ordeal.

08.12.15

vet:
Reggie
Monkey
(2)

Today I took Monkey in to Dra. Sandra's for surgery to remove her bladder stones and Reggie in for an ultrasound with Dr. Avalos, one of the vets Sandra collaborates with; he came as part of the group that did our second clinic and we've worked with him before when we needed an ultrasound. It turns out Reggie's odd growth in his lower abdomen is some kind of benign tumor made mostly of fat. We're going to keep an eye on it but it's good to have some more information. It was a stressful day for everyone on the road and at home but it went well.

05.12.15

vet trip:
Monkey
Bosha
Nikki
(3)

Last night I chanced to see Monkey pee and she passed a lot of blood. We have suspected for a while that some dog here had some kind of urinary issue but we couldn't pinpoint who until now. Today I took her to Dra. Sandra. It turns out she has a lot of stones that will need to be removed by surgery in a subsequent visit (probably Tuesday). Since I was going unexpectedly anyway I decided to throw Bosha and Nikki in. Kikis, Bosha's person, told me last week she had noticed Bosha drinking and peeing more than usual. She's getting older and she's had all kinds of issues in the past so we got her examined. Sandra took blood and we're waiting for the results. This was Nikki's fourth and final chemotherapy treatment for CTVT. She's really a great dog, I'm glad we can help her out and at her treatments are out of the way now.

04.12.15

late morning run:
Alice
Rita
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
(7)

Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. Rufus left without a muzzle for the first time in a few runs; he was much better, didn't jump at me in excitement or take any crazy runs at anyone in the first 300m. After that he settled down, although I left him on the leash until we hit the beach. We took the maginot line in both directions. It was windy out (a norte is blowing through) so I was fairly confident that the dogs at the army encampment wouldn't hear us over the noise. This worked out well. The wind on the beach was so strong it was hard to make progress in places, also due in part to the huge, thick carpet of seaweed that has been thrown up onto the beach by the storm. It's a bit like one of those training exercises where they run through tires: you have to pick your feet up and really push to make any headway... unless you're a dog, in which case you have doggie super powers and you don't care. We all ran pretty hard; I took us just north of A.S.C. and turned around. I had to hook Shirley up heading south because she was too far ahead, so I left her on until the shrimpery where I switched her for Rufus. Rita rolled in some awful poo at the shrimpery and had to be bathed afterwards, but otherwise everyone was perfect.
GRADE: A

03.12.15

vet trip:
Reggie
Zoila
Junebug
(3)

I took these three to the city, with their crates packed tightly into the back of the Jeep. Reggie got his strange "udder" situation looked at and Dra. Sandra agrees it is strange and something we need to investigate. Sadly he needs an ultrasound so we have to schedule something with another vet she collaborates with who has a machine (Dr. Avalos, he also came to operate at our last clinic). Zoila and June went in to be spayed. We had some (self-inflicted) car trouble on the way and the usual quota of nonsense but everyone was good on the road. They're all definitely country dogs, though - nobody was fond of the city one bit. Zoila and June are recovering nicely. Reggie goes back next week sometime.

01.12.15

morning walK:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Reggie
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)

Roni took this crew for a walk around the cow pasture and to the north a bit. There were salt workers just across the land bridge and to the north on the ridge, so instead of crossing she continued back onto the dirty road and around. Everyone was really good and had a good time.
GRADE: A

incoming:
Coco
(1)

Today we brought in another of Solitaria's pups, this time the smallest female left. She's quite a bit smaller than her sisters and might've been tied for "runt" with Tupo. We're calling her Coco. She's a cutie.

30.11.15

morning run:
Posey
Lily
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
Junebug
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. June was on the leash the whole way and was a good girl; I kept the pace high enough for most of the way that she wasn't pulling terribly. It was also all new to her, since she's never been on a run in the monte before - only the beach. She had a great time jumping in the charcos and running through the sloggy bits with water up to her chest. I put Roxy on the other leash at the shrimpery as we were heading out and she also stayed on for the whole run from there. I had a hard time with Roxy and June both on leashes on a previous walk but it was easier on a run, since we move faster and there's less opportunity for them to get crossed up. It worked out well enough and Roxy really needed to burn off some of that manic energy of hers. Everyone else was exemplary: no waterfowl were chased and everyone stayed close and listened well. All in all a nice run and a positive experience for June.
GRADE: A

29.11.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Rita
Ernie
Molly
Twiggy
Stella
Maggie
Ziggy
(10)

I took this group for a walk in the monte, with Stella on the leash the whole way. We went across the land bridge and south, looped around a bit on the shore of the charco and came home the way we went. Everyone was really great and had a good time.
GRADE: A

28.11.15

mid-day swim:
Greta
(1)

I took Greta for a bit of a swim in less than ideal conditions: shallow, muddy, slightly choppy. She did well anyway and had a good time.
GRADE: A

mid-day walk:
Archie
(1)

I thought I'd take Archie up the beach a bit and back on the leash but the dogs at the army encampment were unusually aggressive in their barking and attitude and closed us off from behind a bit as we were walking north. I changed plans and took the maginot line to get home via the monte. Since Roni was expecting me to come back on the beach I took a little detour up doce two corners to come down to the beach to the north; there was no traffic and we hot-footed it up doce. Archie was good about everything and had a good time.
GRADE: A

26.11.15

vet trip:
Osita
Nikki*
(2)

Osita had some kind of wound on her belly and a swolen, red area near it, so she went today instead of the twins (who have to be next). I also took Nikki for her third chemo treatment for CTVT. Both of them were really good on the road and at the vet's office. Osita's wound seems to have come from a snake or some other creature that leaves two puncture marks; she's on prednisone and antibiotics now. It was an exhausting day for me and for Roni with the pack at home.
GRADE: A

25.11.15

morning run:
Eve
Luna
MoMo
Mega
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
Zoila
(9)

Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~8k. Zoila left on the leash - she's too hard to wrangle once we leave and Roni and I both thought it would be best that way. This worked out well: she was swept up in the excitement of leaving and was good on the leash the whole way. She does pull but she got better as the run went on. She also just likes to run fast and had the best time when we were hauling ass as fast as we could up the beach. I wanted to take the blue.bag trail to the beach but she balked at crossing the bridge, so we took the shorter way instead. I had Roxy on the other leash from and to the beach; she was good off the leash on the beach but I wanted her under control in the monte. Everyone else was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A

24.11.15

morning run:
Godzilla
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Junebug
(5)

Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Everyone left off the leash but I hooked June up at the shrimpery and she stayed on for the duration. She had a great time and was good on the leash the whole way. Everyone else was also good and had a good time.
GRADE: A

23.11.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Monkey
Linda
Stella
Amber
Zoot
(8)

Roni took this group out for a walk in the monte. I'm catching up on posting this now several days after the fact so the details are a bit fuzzy, but Stella was on the leash the whole way and everyone was good.
GRADE: A

20.11.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
Osita
George
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Junebug
(9)

I took this group for what turned out to be a fairly quick walk around the cow pasture plus a little more. I had thought to go across the land bridge and head south but there were salt workers right across the bridge bagging one of the huge mountains of salt right in our path. June was already being a little skittish so intead I took us north along the shore of the charco, up onto the dirty road and around to the coco trail. June definitely was wary of me and didn't want to let me get her on the leash, but I persevered and managed to get her at the northern end of the coco trail, just after we turned. I had wanted to continue on to the beach but by that point a couple of them were tired from the pace (Ernie, George) and the bugs were starting to get bad. June was okay on the leash but she pulled quite a bit; she didn't try to get off or give me any attitude, she just needs more practice and time. We made it home pretty quickly from the point where I put her on the leash and everyone stayed together and listened. Osita deserves special mention for staying with the group and listening, two things she has not been good at recently.
GRADE: A

19.11.15

morning run:
Posey
Truman
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. This is Xmul's last run before she goes back to Marie and Nicole for six months; they're picking her up at 9am and I wanted to give her a good send-off. This was a perfect group of running dogs. They all listened, they all behaved and they all wanted to run their asses off. I am happy to report there was slack in Xmul's leash for most of the way but it wasn't easy. We even ran through the sloggy bits for the most part. It is still too flooded to get anything larger than a moto in through the southern approach to the charcos and we saw nobody working out there. There were a ton of flamingos everywhere, some of them very close and nobody made any move towards them, although I stayed on Posey and Murci pretty closely verbally through those stretches. The bugs were starting to get bad as we neared the northern end of the palapa road so I took us across the wide berm instead of going the whole way. There were three very large flamingos more or less in our path at the other end of the berm and everyone was very good about staying with me, approaching slowly and letting them walk calmly out of our way and into the water. The swimming hole was fun and everyone had a good time generally. We'll miss you, Xmul!
GRADE: A

17.11.15

morning run:
Frijolita
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(9)

Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. We did the blue.bag trail heading out and the short-cut around the charcos heading back; it was on the latter route where Shirley inexplicably lunged after some flamingos in the middle of the charco, dragging Rufus with her. I was not happy that two senior dogs decided to misbehave like that - they both know better and haven't done anything like that in a while. Rufus went back on the leash but I only had the short white one, too short to put her on the other end, so I just stayed on her verbally the rest of the way. The flamingos weren't really in any danger and they just flew a few meters and set down again, but we can't have that kind of thing. Other than that one bit of misbehavior my charges were perfect. It was overcast and not so awfully hot so we kept a high pace throughout.
GRADE: B

16.11.15

incoming:
Tupo
(1)

Today I brought in the first of Solitaria's pups that we're going to take in. He's the last male, the runt of the litter and a little cutie who I've been calling "Tupo" for a while (it means "runt" in Mayan, more or less).

15.11.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
Shirley
Ziggy
Hazel
Cookie
Roxy
Zoila
(9)

I took this crew for a walk in the monte to the south as we've been going lately. The two objectives of getting Roxy out and working with Zoila don't mix, or didn't today. Roxy is normally okay on the leash, at least by herself, but when I put Zoila on with her halfway through she went through every dumb thing and dirty leash trick she could to screw me over: crossing me up from behind, stopping in front of my unexpectedly, tangling the leash in her front paws, etc. Zoila ended up backing out of her collar and running ahead the rest of the way... at least I know she knows where she lives. She never got very far ahead but it was not a good leash-work walk. I won't take Roxy with a pup next time. Even though Zoila wasn't great on the leash she did stay with the group and have a good time. She didn't tear around like a nut in the barbed wire that's lying on the ground everywhere on the road to the land bridge and she played a lot with her companions.
GRADE: B

13.11.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)

Roni took this group for a fast walk in the monte. She wasn't feeling well for a lot of it; she thought she had shaken off a cold that was not quite ready to leave, so she left feeling fine and started to feel not so fine as the walk progressed. Everyone was generally good and although Tuesday and Amber on leashes together is always fun there were no great surprises. Monkey screwed around in the rearguard on the way home but always caught up. Roni gets an A+ for getting out early with dogs on a Merida trip day.
GRADE: A

vet trip:
Frankie
Nikki*
(2)

Today was a vet trip day. Frankie had some growths on her legs and underside that needed to be removed and checked out. Nikki is our friend Jackie's dog. She is a fellow CADA member and was instrumental in helping make the clinics we've sponsored a success. Nikki was sterilized at our second clinic but sadly her humans didn't want her anymore after her surgery, so Jackie took her in. At her surgery Dra. Sandra discovered that she has CTVT and needed chemotherapy. Today was her second treatment. Both she and Frankie were angels on the way to the city; both traveled in crates and were great about it (technically illegal to transport dogs not in crates now in Yucatan). We ended up getting a flat tire on the way home in a serious rain storm and were saved by a nice vulcanizador in Kinchil named Sam. A stressful, exhausting day on the road but in the end all good.

11.11.15

morning run:
Eve
Godzilla
Lily
Luna
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
(10)

Southern charcos: ~8k. Luna was 10th dog; I threw her in because she's always good and she's been getting thrown in on shorter runs lately but she really likes long ones. Everyone was really perfect the whole way. We went across the land bridge south and into the monte the usual way, where it quickly becomes flooded up to my shins in places. No flamingos were chased, no harsh words were said, nobody so much as barked the whole way. We ran the whole length of the palapa road from south to north, looped back to the swimming hole and came home on the main road from the intersection, cutting over to the ridge at the very end. The bugs were pretty bad but the pace was high. Xmul will be going back to her OtherMothers soon and we'll miss her - it was nice to have a good time with her.
GRADE: A

10.11.15

morning walk:
Gracie
Ernie
Molly
Twiggy
Bette
Ziggy
Maggie
Linda
Junebug
(9)

I took this group for a walk across the land bridge and to the south, since it avoids Angel's corner and has lots of fun stuff for dogs to do. They were all excellent the whole way but I have to give special mention to June. She left off the leash and stayed that way until we were heading back towards the land bridge. I put her on the leash and although she pulled a little she also listened, didn't try to get off the leash and continued to have a good time with everyone the whole way home. It was muggy and buggy but everyone enjoyed themselves.
GRADE: A

07.11.15

morning run:
Eve
Rita
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Jack
Daisy
Cookie
(9)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. We did our usual blue.bag.trail route in both directions. Rufus did better again on the muzzle. Part of it is that I've gotten to know all of his moves now and deal with them better; he tries to get it off three or four times before he gives up and today I was ready for him so it wasn't such a big deal. I removed the muzzle at the shrimpery and he was calm from there on, although I didn't take him off the leash until we were past the blue.bag trail. On the way home he barked at a bird trapper just across doce from the tortuga sign. He knocked it off immediately when I told him to stop and waited patiently for me to put the leash on him, so at least that was good. Shirley chased a flamingo in the charcos south of the wooden shack coming home and that irritated me doubly: she knows better and she got Angel's dogs barking at us as a result. I put her on the other end of the leash with Rufus until we got home - I'm going to have to watch her next time out, we can't have her chasing flamingos. Otherwise it was a great run and everyone behaved perfectly.
GRADE: B

06.11.15

morning run:
Posey
Truman
Elewah
Lily
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Lex
Murci
Roxy
(10)

Southern charcos: ~8k. Roxy got thrown in as tenth dog because she has to get out on these or she drives us crazy. Everyone was good on this run except for Elewah, who was only good when there was nothing bad to do. She chased some stray dog way out at the northern end of the run as we were heading back towards the swimming hole; I don't know if it was one of the dogs that hangs out at Angel's corner, I didn't get much of a look. Everyone else came back to me quickly but Elewah screwed around and forced me to change my route to go round her up. Then as we were nearing the intersection from the east she tried to chase a far-away moto that was driving south on the road through that intersection. I don't think she got near, but the fact that she went for it pissed me off. We came home via the road until we could cut over onto the ridge and get back to the land bridge. I carried Elewah for most of the way on the road and expressed my displeasure to her but it was a crazy idea to carry her all the way home from there, so I put her down when we got off the road. I knew she would run ahead a little the whole way home after that but at least she kept looking in my direction and she ran straight to the gate. Everyone else was stellar. We kept a high pace.
GRADE: B

05.11.15

morning jog:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Reggie
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)

Roni took this group for a pretty fast walk/jog across the land bridge and to the south. Reggie left with his leash in harness-mode but was upgraded to plain old leash-on-a-collar and was a good boy throughout. Bette left on the leash but came off quickly and was good as usual. Roni detected some weirdness in Amber's attitude as they were heading back towards the land bridge from the other side so she hooked her up sooner than she thought she would; this always complicates things a bit but she and Reggie were both good, albeit kinetic... Zoot does rein it in a little when his sister's on the leash, at least. Monkey engaged in her usual habit of screwing around in the rear-guard and then hauling ass to catch up. In general this was a really great group that had fun, stayed together and listened.
GRADE: A

morning walk:
Zasu
Alice
Osita
Archie
Tito
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
(8)

I took this group for a walk down to the land bridge and back, with time for screwing around and sniffing stuff. Archie and Stella both left on leashes, but I let Archie off just past the shrimpery and he was good: he didn't run around too much and listened reasonably well... he obviously wanted to go farther but he shouldn't go too far because of his hips, so this was fine. Zasu and Tito did very well. The bugs were starting to get bad by the time we were coming home but it wasn't as bad as it has been. All in all a nice walk with some great dogs.
GRADE: A

03.11.15

morning run:
Rufus
Daisy
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
Lex
Murci
Zoila
(8)

Monte loop: ~3k. I wanted to go to the beach at the tortuga sign like last time with Zoila but we ran into people and she balked. I was in fact just thinking that I should put her on the leash before we got to the end of the blue.bag trail when I heard people ahead: salt workers bagging up salt right at the end of the blue bag trail. Zoila veered off into the monte just shy of the trail and I thought she was going to run around the people, which most of the rest of the dogs had already done. I tried to catch up with her where I thought she would come out on the road but she didn't appear - she obviously just turned around right there and ran home. I suspected this but since I didn't know I took the rest of us around for a few loops to try and find her, and we ended up coming home without ever having made it to the beach. Oh, well. Zoila did in fact run straight home. I'll have her on the leash early next time. Rufus was not so bad getting out today and everyone else was perfect, dealing with all the stopping and changing direction without a hitch.
GRADE: A

mid-day swim #1:
Greta
(1)

It has been stormy for quite a while now but in the last couple of days the ocean has calmed down. Today it was reasonably pleasant and Greta was an angel.
GRADE: A

mid-day walk/swim #2:
Archie
(1)

Archie really wanted to go running but we can't let him do that, so we just walked north on the beach with him on the leash. I let him off for a little while after we were north of the HoJo but he wanted to run too much so I put him back on and we jogged most of the way home. He wasn't interested in swimming but I managed to drag him in for a quick dip anyway.
GRADE: A

01.11.15

morning run:
George
Tuesday
Otto
Shirley
Linda
Hazel
Cookie
Junebug
(8)

To the beach at the tortuga sign: ~4k. We took our usual way north, looped around on the beach and came home on the maginot line. Tuesday was on the leash the whole way as usual. Hazel left on the other leash and came off when we turned north towards the shack. June was off the leash until we were up on the road to the tortuga sign. I saw some people with a trike full of firewood pushing it slowly westward towards the road when we were back near the shack, so I knew I was going to have to wrangle June. When we got closer I heard a vehicle in our path so I put her on the leash. She was okay with this at first but when we got nearer to the people and vehicle she balked a bit, so I scooped her up and carried her past. Everyone else was perfect and once past them I put June down and she ran willingly on the leash. I left her on for the rest of the way because she was being good and I wanted her to get the feeling that there was nothing wrong about being on the leash. She swam like a nut in the ocean and was good on the leash in general... there were a couple of times when she made it clear she'd rather not be on the leash but a little coaxing got her over it. Hazel ran ahead a little at the very end; I usually have her on the leash coming home, so it was perhaps not the best tactical decision to take her with Tuesday but it wasn't a big deal. Everyone was good and had a good time on a shorty.
GRADE: A

31.10.15

morning walk:
Blue
Bette
Reggie
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(6)

Roni took this group for a very fast walk in the monte. They took the land bridge to the area below the ridge near the charcos and walked north, got barked at by Angel's dogs a little across the land bridge, looped around and came home more or less the way the came. Bette was only on the leash for the first 50m, Reggie was on for the whole way (using Roni's harness technique plus one of the blue leashes for some length). Amber got put on the hook coming home as usual. Everyone had a good time and kept a high pace.
GRADE: A

30.10.15

morning run:
Posey
Frijolita*
Truman
Gowron
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. Frijolita screwed me like she did once before: she decided she didn't want to go south just as we got across the land bridge, turned tail and ran home. When I saw the look on her face I knew she was going to do that so I didn't bother arguing with her. I don't know what she has against that route but I won't take her that way again. The rest of my charges were just fine with this route - it was, in fact, a blast. Once we turned east into the monte it was extremely flooded in parts and everyone had a good time slogging through the water and muck until we reached a dry trail again. As we passed the intersection with the bag-end land bridge I heard machinery to the northeast, where it sounded like they were running a salt loader, so we crossed west at the wide berm just south of that spot. Everyone knew what I was thinking and did exactly what they should do without my saying anything. The swimming hole was fun and everyone enjoyed it. I forgot about Angel's corner being so populated with dogs right now and crossed at the alt. land bridge, which got us barked at. A few of my charges went to investigate but came back quickly. I should just run the ridge to get home for a while, since we all like it and it bypasses that spot. No real misbheavior and a very high pace on an overcast day.
GRADE: A

29.10.14

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Blue
Rita
Ernie
Molly
Zoila
(8)

I took this group for a walk to and on the beach for the most part. We headed north to the shack, cut across the charcos and arrived at the tortuga sign in fairly quick order. Zoila was off the leash for the early part of the walk and was really good. I had Ernie on the leash early to keep him from punching himself out with his manic enthusiasim and this worked well... I let him off on the beach and he was great for the rest of the way. We went south down the beach from the tortuga sign and cut back into the monte at the maginot line; we were barked at dutifully by the dogs at the HoJo and Zoila paid them no attention. As we crossed doce I got her on the leash and this worked out well for the rest of the way home. She wanted to pull but that's better than sitting down and refusing to walk. In fact she lightened up on the pulling by the time we got to the shrimpery and enjoyed herself on the leash. Everyone else was really good the whole way to the gate.
GRADE: A

27.10.15

morning walk:
Miles
Henry
Tito
Blue
Bette
Stella
Monkey
Linda
(8)

Roni took this group out for a walk across the land bridge and to the south. Henry and Miles made it difficult in different spots, for different reasons... Miles because of his dawdling and Henry because he simply didn't want to go down a bluff coming back towards the land bridge. Keeping a group together with Miles in it is pretty difficult. Everyone did well and had a good time.
GRADE: A

26.10.15

morning run #1:
Godzilla
Otto
Shirley
Daisy
Hazel
Junebug
(6)

Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. The main idea was a training run for June that also got some of the shorter-distance dogs out. I decided before I left I wouldn't try any leash work with June on this one, I just wanted her to listen, have a good time and be influenced by good dogs. It worked out well: we did not run into any salt workers and even if we had I think June was listening well enough that it wouldn't have been a problem; last time when I had both her and her sister it was that much harder when we ran into humans, and the fact that they were uncooperative made it worse. We left with Hazel on the leash; I let her off as we were reaching the wooden shack to the north and she was fine from there on. We took the long way via the blue bag trail in both directions. The ocean is churned up right now from a storm but even so June was game to swim several times and tested herself in the waves a bit - very cute. Otherwise she listened well and played a lot with Hazel and Daisy; I made sure neither of them roughhoused too much with her but she doesn't seem to have any issues that way and everyone was friendly. On the way home she got a little squirrely at the shrimpery and wanted to run ahead a little to get home but she didn't just run off and I managed to keep us together across the road and to the gate.
GRADE: A

morning run #2:
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
Roxy
(6)

Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant: ~4k. Rufus really wanted to get out and it will probably be the case that I have to take dogs to the vet this week so we wanted to make sure he got a run in today. Roxy can always get thrown in on these kinds of runs - she always needs it. Rufus was a little less of a bear about the muzzle yet again. Every time we do it it gets a little easier; I think he's starting to get that it comes off when he calms down but he still gets himself worked up too much. I think if we keep this up for a while he will calm down more and not need it but for now this is better than the old way. I had Rufus and Roxy both on the leash from the shrimpery until we turned north at which point I let Rufus off, but I ended up putting him right back on when I saw Angel's moto up at the wooden shack. As we got near I saw four of the adults that both Angel and we have been watching over emerge from the shack, where Angel was obviously hanging out with Chino, his buddy who spends a lot of time there. Once everyone saw everyone else the four monte dogs bolted up the blue bag trail, which is their normal way to get around and south to Angel's corner. Luna and Jack were the only ones serious about giving chase and I reeled them in verbally before we made it down the embankment. There were no hostilities or even barking. I'll go see Solitaria (the female) and her pups later. I took the shorter way around the charco to the north to leave those dogs alone, and we took the maginot line from the beach coming home to avoid the shack altogether. All in all everyone was good, listened and had a good time. It was overcast yet hot; it even rained on us a bit on the beach but when the weather is like this nothing gives a break. Hardly any bugs noticeable for some reason.
GRADE: A

24.10.15

morning run:
Eve
Posey
Chester
Elewah
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos and then some: ~9k (maybe 10k, have to check). We did the usual route up the length of the palapa road, but then I thought maybe they would enjoy a swim. It was overcast and slightly cooler out and the heat wasn't a factor so I took us all the way down the Au Soleil Couchant access road only to discover a group of boats about 800m to the south on the beach. If I hadn't had Elewah with me I wouldn't have cared but she can be an ass and I didn't feel like wrangling her so I just let everyone have a dip, turned us around and headed back the way we came, coming home instead via the blue bag trail. This added quite a bit of length to the run. I scooped Elewah up at the shrimpery; it was absolutely no fun jog/walking that final 300m home without being able to use my hands to defend against the bugs, which were terrible at the end. Still, everyone had a great time.
GRADE: A

23.10.15

morning walk:
Bette
Reggie
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(5)

Roni took this group out for a very fast walk in the monte. They went across the land bridge and to the south to avoid the salt worker clusters on the dirty road and elsewhere. Reggie was off the leash a little but Roni left him on for the most part, with Amber on the leash coming home. The pace was high and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A

20.10.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Blue
Chester
Ernie
Molly
Ziggy
Stella
Linda
(10)

I took this group for a walk in the monte; we jogged a little in spots when the bugs were especially terrible. Ernie and Stella left on leashes; Ernie came off after we crossed the land bridge heading out. I had a feeling there would be salt workers between the land bridges and I was correct, so instead we took an odd southern route we haven't done in a while: all the way south to the last entrace into the monte, on the "terreno federal" road back north and across the charco to the tar paper shack and the main road again and home the way we went. This is basically the same distance as the ridge (maybe a little bit longer). Everyone was really good and enjoyed the different scenery.
GRADE: A

19.10.15

morning run:
Godzilla
Rita
Rufus
Lily
Jack
Luna
Roxy
(7)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Rufus was less of a bear on the muzzle - he didn't try any crazy flips to get it off and was calmer by the time I did than on previous runs. I put Roxy on the other leash at the shrimpery. She came off on the beach but I put her back on again when we headed back into the monte at the tortuga sign. EVeryone behaved themselves the whole run, kept up and had a good time.
GRADE: A

18.10.15

morning run:
George
Otto
Shirley
Maggie
Twiggy
MoMo
Cookie
Zoila
Junebug
(9)

Up the beach and back a twisted way: ~7k. This started out as a short puppy training run and ended up being quite a bit longer due mainly to the actions of a few irritating salt workers. We left heading north towards the shack and took the short-cut to the beach around the charcos, which are now filling up from rain. We didn't see or hear any salt workers anywhere heading out. Zoila and June were really good and had a good time with the rest of the group. George and Maggie were lagging a little bit on the way back but I didn't think it was a big deal. We were almost home, on the last stretch of the road heading south from the shack before the dead goat intersection when we saw a truck of salt workers heading towards us. Neither Zoila nor June were too thrilled about this, as I suspected they would be. I thought I wrangled things pretty well by leading us all down onto the shore of the charco to get around them but one of the salt workers insisted on walking down and blocking our paths, freaking Zoila out a bit; worse, he acted as though he somehow couldn't understand Spanish and simply stood there like a lump with his mouth hanging open after I asked him several times to please move back a bit. Finally it became obvious that he would not move without a fight and I had bigger problems, as Zoila now wanted to head the other direction. I decided there was no dealing with the people so I turned us around to head back to the blue bag trail. George had alread moved ahead and obviously didn't want to turn around and go all the way back, as he had already been lagging and wanted to get home, so I left him to go home himself (he knows the way) and concentrated on the rest of the group. I thought Maggie might go with George but she wanted to stay with me, even though she had already been lagging... she was a real trooper on the way home. We ended up going all the way back to the cut-over and the ridge, and came home via the land bridge - almost double the distance I had intended. I tried Zoila on the leash a little near the end but there was really no point - we were all tired and wanted to get home. The pups had a lot of fun but I won't be taking them both out like this together for a while until they get better on leashes. Nobody really misbehaved, we just got screwed over by some very uncooperative people.
GRADE: B

17.10.15

morning run:
Posey
Eve
Truman
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Lex
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. Everyone was really up for this one and the whole group consisted of serious running dogs so we more or less flew the whole way. We ran the entire palapa road from south to north, looped around to the swimming hole and came home via the alt. land bridge. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A

16.10.15

morning walk:
Zasu
Blue
Bette
Tito
Linda
Monkey
Zoila
(7)

Roni too this group for a walk in the monte. The idea was to hit the land bridge but there were people there and when they turned to head down the dirty road there were more salt workers and a dog barking around the bend. Roni did a little leash work with Zoila. The bugs were terrible so the walk was a little shorter than normal but nobody minded.
GRADE: A

14.10.15

morning walk:
Bette
Monkey
Linda
Stella
Amber
Zoot
(6)

Roni took this group out for a fast walk more or less around the cow pasture and environs. There were groups of salt workers everywhere close by but everyone was good about staying with their human. The bugs were bad so everyone kept moving.
GRADE: A

morning walk #2:
Zoila
(1)

Roni took Zoila out on her own for a little one-on-one with the leash.
GRADE: A

morning walk #3:
Miles
(1)

I took Miles for a stroll in the bugs. He dawdled, I did the dance of the mosquitoes.
GRADE: A

13.10.15

morning run:
Rita
Gowron
Otto
Shirley
Rufus
Twiggy
(6)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Rufus needed to get out, as did everyone else in this group. We took the blue.bag trail to the tortuga sign road to the beach, headed north just past Au Soleil Couchant and came home via the slightly shorter way from the tortuga sign. Rufus was slightly less of a bear in the first 250m and was a good boy once off the muzzle. Shirley had to be on the leash for a spell to keep her from punching herself out. Nobody misbheaved and everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A

10.10.15

morning run:
Godzilla
Chester
Daisy
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Up the beach and back: ~8k. We really wanted Xmul to get out today because we'll be busy all day tomorrow with the sterilization clinic. Since we left late I took us mostly up the beach; it's basically 2k to the tortuga sign the way we normally go, and we ran at least 2k up the beach with a lot of swimming and horsing around on the way. Chester, as usual, avoided the water and had his own, weird kind of fun in the sand instead. Everyone was really good the whole way.
GRADE: A

07.10.15

morning walk #1:
Blue
Bette
Reggie
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(6)

Roni took this group for a fast walk in the monte. Bette and Reggie left on leashes, with Reggie's tied into a harness; Bette came off quickly and Reggie was downgraded to plain-old-leash/no-harness once across the road. Linda was slated to go but was just too disruptive getting into the launchpad and even caused a briefly-terrifying accident: Amber got her front right paw stuck under a metal hook sticking out from the gate and freaked out. It turned out that she was alright but the whole thing was caused by Linda's poor pre-walk behavior, so she went in the box for a bit and sat this one out. She has to learn to tone it down when told, so we're being sterner with her and she can't always get her way. Once past this incident everyone else was fine. Roni got Amber on the leash on the way home and everyone behaved themselves well. The bugs were unreal, really for the first time this rainy season: black clouds of mosquitos were visible at any stopping point, so there were not too many of those. Roni actually had to use a bit of bug spray in the air around her generally to dispell the cloud of blood-suckers that had harried her all the way home and into the yard... haven't done that for a few months now. On the other hand it was pretty out and there were large flamingos in the nearby charcos; the dogs were good and the flamingos were mellow. Everyone did well and had a good time.
GRADE: A

morning walk #2:
Zasu*
Miles
Henry*
Stella
(4)

This was supposed to be a short jaunt down to the beach to screw around in the surf while avoiding most of the bugs. Zasu more or less scotched it by turning her ears off to investigate the brush near the road, which was in the wrong direction as Roni was heading to the beach via the southern access road. Roni had to turn around and go get Zasu, who was now surrounded by a black cloud of mosquitos near the road. Zasu decided she'd had enough of the world and came back to the gate. Henry followed her, so I let them both back in and Roni took Stella and Miles down to the beach for a short walk. They both had a good time.
GRADE: B

06.10.15

morning run:
Posey
Eve
Rufus
Frankie
Mega
Petey
Hazel
(7)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. We took the blue.bag trail to the tortuga sign, went north past Au Soleil Couchant and came home via the shortcut next to the charcos. Rufus was a bear about the muzzle for the first 250m, but this time I didn't screw it up and it stayed on so he had to settle down and deal; the muzzle came off shortly after the shrimpery and he came off the leash after we were heading north towards the shack. Everyone was good the whole way. This is Petey's distance and also his kind of run. He rolled in some awful filth early on but one dip in the ocean fixed that. The sea was really churned up and there were even waves, something all of The Tribe love. Mega and Pete swam every time I asked them to and didn't mind the rough seas at all. It wasn't hot and the bugs were only bad in spots. All in all a nice, short, fast-paced run with some fun in the surf to boot.
GRADE: A

05.10.15

morning walk:
Gracie
George
Rita
Godzilla
Otto
Tuesday
Shirley
Molly
Daisy
(9)

I took this group for an extended walk to the north. We took the blue.bag trail to the road and headed north to the crossroads, went east a bit to catch the road that comes back on the opposite shore of the charcos and came home via the ridge and the land bridge. Everyone was really up for this one. I left with only Tuesday on the leash but I put Shirley on before we turned north towards the shack - she was going too fast, pulling everyone forward and was set to gas out halfway through if I didn't rein her in. I left her on the long leash for most of the walk and she had a good time; it was also a much nicer pace for everyone else without her frenetic energy on point. Gracie and George were cute together, frequently paling around. We saw nobody but we did get barked at halfway to the cut-over heading south, perhaps by the same dog that barked at Roni yesterday. We saw a couple flamingos in the nearby charcos here and there; recent rain accumulated a little. Everyone was really good and had a great time the whole way.
GRADE: A

04.10.15

morning walk:
Blue
Bette
Tito
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Zoila
Junebug
(8)

Roni took this group for a walk in the monte on the other side of the land bridge. She originally thought to go across the ridge between the land bridges but as she got close to the northern bridge she heard a dog barking just across it. PupG decided she was going to charge off and investigate so Roni redirected everyone back towards the charcos just to the east of the ridge and PupG turned around. Everyone liked that route since there's a lot of fun to be had sliding around in the charcos and sniffing around on their banks. They continued south of the main land bridge for a southern bonus loop and came home the way they left. The pups did well for the most part but taking both of them was probably a mistake - there was too much mischievous energy in this group (PupG). Roni tried Zoila on the leash a little towards the end with mixed results. They both had a good time but could use some more outings with fewer dogs to make sure they have good habits. Tito did amazingly well considering the pace. Roni carried him a couple of times over large puddles (he prefers to supervise the fordings) but he was generally game and kept up. Bette, as always, said "YAY!".
GRADE: B (PupG)

03.10.15

morning run:
Truman
Frijolita
Elewah
Lily
Jack
Xmul
Lex
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. The monte was soaked after recent rains but the bugs are still not terrible. We ran the palapa road in its entirety from south to north, looped around to the swimming hole and came home via the alt. land bridge. The only place we saw salt workers was at the very end crossing that last bridge, where there was a small group to the north in the charco just west of Angel's corner. Everyone was good the entire way until the very end, when Elewah jumped some poor dude on a bike who happened to appear at the end of the last trail just as we were nearing it; she led Lily and a couple others north up the road after him lackadaisically, making more noise than doing anything. At least she had the sense to come back to me and come to the gate with the rest of us. The guy in question was going to work at a house to the north of us, so I walked up and apologized after I let the dogs in. No harm, no foul, but she's a jerk about bikes and I should be scooping her up at the shrimpery instead of letting her have her head at the end. Otherwise it was a high-paced, fun run.
GRADE: B

01.10.15

afternoon beach jaunt:
Blue
Chester
Rufus
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(6)

Up the beach past the tortuga sign: ~4k. It was early afternoon and a bit cloudy so what the hell - Rufus really wanted to get out. The rest of the group suggested itself quickly. It was a bit rough getting out of the launchpad; Rufus got the muzzle off by himself so I had to force him to focus on running the old-fashioned way... it was operator error, I put it on too loose. Once over that hurdle everything was fine. We took the maginot line to the beach, which was really churned up by a storm. Nobody wanted to swim all that much but I made them go in a few times heading north. We got barked at a little by a stray near the HoJo but it was so windy we could barely hear - I saw it give up as we turned north. Since swimming wasn't that fun I figured we might as well stretch our legs running, so we went a bit farther than the sign, turned around and went into the monte there instead of going all the way back on the beach. I took the pace up when we entered the monte and everyone enjoyed that. There was some cloud-cover so it wasn't too bad and I had a little water in the bottle so I gave it out and we hauled ass for most of the way home. Nice, short run with the black-and-blue crew (all black dogs except for Blue).
GRADE: A

30.09.15

morning walk:
Gracie
Rita
Otto
Shirley
Ernie
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Stella
(9)

I took this group for a walk to the northern shack and back along the other side of the charco (Roni-style). Ernie and Stella started on leashes. Ernie came off his leash as we turned north towards the shack, Stella stayed on the long lead for the duration and was good the whole way. Otto and Gracie ran ahead a little at first but they calmed down quickly and in general everyone was excellent the whole way. The bugs weren't as bad as I thought they'd be but it was a bit hot. I brought water for the larger dogs and everyone was fine. Nice walk.
GRADE: A

29.09.15

morning walk:
Miles
(1)

Miles took Roni out for a meandering walk to the land bridge so she could play in the abandoned shrimpery pools and forage pasiflora. He did a lot of serious work in the close underbrush, read his pee-mail and Roni sure was cute and well-behaved the whole way. Nice walk with a good companion.
GRADE: A

28.09.15

morning walk:
Reggie
Gowron
Amber
Zoot
(4)

Roni took this group for a walk between the land bridges. Reggie left on the leash but came off quickly and was an angel throughout. The pace was fairly high but Reggie kept Zoot's eliptical orbits much closer - he's the proton to the Amber/Zoot electrons (maybe two protons). Amber was on the leash late coming home and was good about it. Everyone had a blast and behaved themselves.
GRADE: A

27.09.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Twiggy
Stella
Linda
(9)

I took this group for a walk to the shack and back on the other side of the charco; I had never taken this route home but Roni has done it a bunch of times recently and I wanted to try it for a change. Everyone loves this way because there's lots of stuff to sniff and rummage around in; the dogs that like the charco can easily go down and jump in and the dogs that like to avoid the salt (Rita) have a nice trail. We started with Molly and Stella on leashes but Molly came off quickly and was good throughout; I left Stella on the long leash and she was really good and enjoyed herself the whole way. I hooked Molly up at the shrimpery coming back to keep her from running too far ahead. Twiggy was good and didn't harass Linda or get into other mischief; I reminded her that I was watching a few times early on and that was that. A very nice group on a pretty, quiet morning.
GRADE: A

26.09.15

morning run:
Posey
Jack
Luna
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
(9)

Au Soleil Couchant and beyond via the swimming hole: ~8k. I put Roxy on the second leash at the shrimpery as usual, and had Xmul on her normal leash for the duration; both of them were really good. We took the blue.bag trail for once, since we had just had a rain and I doubted very much anyone was out early on a Saturday working in the bugs. I was right - there was noone there and it looks like maybe they're done working on that road for a little while. The swimming hole was worthy of the name again and everyone had a blast jumping in and horsing around. We took the Au Soleil Couchant access road to the beach, headed north for a while, turned around and came home via the tortuga sign the usual way. Everyone swam a lot on the beach, behaved themselves very well and had a good time.
GRADE: A

25.09.15

morning swim #1:
Greta
(1)

She's an angel and had a good time. The conditions were excellent: the bluff isn't too high, the water drops off in depth quickly from the shore and becomes comfortably deep and it was warm and clear. She did well over many laps.
GRADE: A

morning swim #2:
Archie
(1)

I mainly carried him in and made him swim to shore a lot but we walked around and sniffed stuff a bit near the house. What a good boy he is.
GRADE: A

morning swim #3:
Junebug
Zoila
(2)

Roni and I went down to the beach together for some work with the pups on how to hang out in front of the house and swim in the ocean. June looks like she's more of a water dog than Zoila; she was unsure at first but then remembered that she's totally got this swimming thing and did okay. Zoila needed coaxing but wasn't bad. They both listened well about sticking close and going back in.
GRADE: A

morning swim #4:
Amber
Zoila
(2)

Roni went for an extended swim since it was so nice. She thought Amber would really like some one-on-one time on the beach since she loves the water so much, but she was hell to convince. Roni went out first and I worked on Amber until I could get her out. I carried her down to the beach but once she realized Roni was way out in the water there was no problem and she swam out to get her. She more or less stayed in the water the entire time she was out with Roni. I went back in and a little while later brought Zoila out to join in. She did better this time in the water and let Amber's enthusiasm for swimming carry her into the water a couple of times on her own instead of being carried in. I went back in to deal with the others while those two swam and hung out with Roni for a while. They were both good and had a good time, especially Amber.
GRADE: A

24.09.15

early afternoon run:
Rufus
(1)

Tortuga sign: ~3k. We were both really tired but Rufus needed to get out so I managed to get him out late on the beach for a run up to the tortuga sign and back via the maginot line. He was, as always, an angel and we had a good time together.
GRADE: A

22.09.15

morning run:
Rita
Otto
Shirley
Frankie
Daisy
Twiggy
MoMo
Hazel
Cookie
(9)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. We left with Hazel and Daisy on leashes. I switched Daisy for Shirley at the shirmpery to keep her from gassing herself out too early; I let her off when we got to the beach. Hazel came off the leash after we turned north towards the shack. We took our usual northern route to and from the beach. I had to put Frankie on the leash for a spell heading home on the beach because she was too far ahead and wouldn't slow down. I let her off after we entered the monte and she was good from there on. I rinsed Rita's feet after we passed the saltiest spot on the run coming home. They were definitely bothering her but rinsing helped immediately. Everyone did well and had a good time.
GRADE: A

21.09.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Bette
Tito
Stella
Monkey
Ziggy
(9)

Roni took this group out for a walk to the wooden shack. Miles' dawdling was manageable with this group since there was nobody who would really pump up the pace; we have learned these lessons of walk-group design at some pain. Stella didn't pull and had a good time - this is really her jam, she doesn't like to go too fast for too long. We were worried about Henry recently but he seems fine and was in fine form the whole way, as was Tito. Ziggy is always a dream outside of the fence... ah, the irony. Everyone had a really nice time.
GRADE: A

morning run/walk:
George
Murci
Junebug
Zoila*
(4)

The tortuga sign: ~3k. We wanted to try Zoila and June on a shorty run mostly on the beach. It has been a bit of a puppy tradition here that newbies go running on the beach with George a few times. All pups worship George (who wouldn't?) and he's always a good influence. He also shouldn't go too far and likes to swim a lot. We threw Murci in because she's one of Zoila and Junebug's closest friends and is also always good. Zoila bailed on me early, just as we were crossing the road. Roni and I kind of thought something like this might happen and Zoila ran straight back to the gate - she definitely knows where she lives. Junebug was more adventurous and we all jogged down the trail, with George on the leash to keep him from tearing off at first as is his custom. This went well all along the coco trail - Junebug was happy to stop and walk for a spell and then pick up the pace for a while. I tried her on the leash a bit on the coco trail but didn't push the issue and let her come with on her own until we got near the road again, where I picked her up. A couple dogs at the HoJo barked at us through their fence as we picked our way down the maginot line. June was on her own most of the way. When we got down to the bluff I picked her up again while George and Murci threw themselves into the water. June wasn't sure what to do with that at first, and she seemed a little lost so I put the leash back on her and carried her out into the water a bit; she immediately took to swimming and from there on it got easier. I left her on the leash and worked with her running and then jumping into the water. She is most definitely a water dog and was already swimming well enough after two attempts to fend Murci off when she tried to roughhouse. At some point I saw the light go on and June realized that I was also on the leash and that we were hooked together; her tail went up and she started running more readily and not being so bothered by the leash. I slowed us down a few times to let her get used to walking around and sniffing stuff on the leash but she really wanted to run. I hadn't intended to go as far as the tortuga sign but we were there in no time - George was even lagging a bit. We came back the way we went with Junebug on the leash the whole way, through all of the various changes of the trail. A very succesful outing for June's first time running on the leash and on the beach.
GRADE: A

20.09.15

morning run:
Posey
Frijolita
Godzilla
Chester
Luna
Xmul
Lex
Petey
Roxy
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. We hadn't ventured south into the monte in a while so what the hell; also, we left early enough to beat the worst of the heat. I put Roxy on the leash at the shrimpery heading out and she stayed for most of the run. I let her off for a short stretch on the palapa road but she got too far behind screwing around, so I hooked her back up. She doesn't mind the leash and is a good running buddy; this distance is no problem for her, small as she may be. Xmul really wanted to run and we barely slowed down the entire distance. Everyone was really great the whole way, but Petey presented me with a problem late: somewhere between the alt. land bridge and the coco trail he rolled in something awful. My first impulse was to run down to the beach via the maginot line and let him wash himself off, since he loves to swim. Sadly I didn't do this, and instead we had stinky fun dealing with him after we got home. I will not doubt this impulse again. Nobody misbehaved and we all arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: A (is there an emoji for Stinky Pete?)

19.09.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(9)

Roni took this group out for a fast walk to the shack and environs. Zoot really kept the pace high and Tuesday pulled a lot. Everyone had a good time on a hot day.
GRADE: A

17.09.15

morning run:
Truman
Otto
Rufus
Elewah
Mega
Steve McQueen
Lex
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Most of these dogs are used to longer runs but we really wanted to get Rufus out and Otto also should probably not go on the longest runs anymore. For these reasons I decided to run a middle disance on the beach from the tortuga sign northwards as I've been doing with other groups recently. Everyone was fine with this and did well the whole way. The only exception was Elewah, who knew from the beginning that I would try to scoop her up at the shrimpery coming home. As we were heading south on the coco trail she was already giving me that attitude she gives me when she wants to run all the way to the gate by herself, and I was countering by picking up the pace slowly behind her when out of nowhere a fairly large rabbit jumped out into the intersection, waggled its butt at Elewah (who was on point) and took off into the brush to the west. Elewah could simply not resist and shot off after it, despite my calls. Everyone else was perfect and stayed with me, which for most people would be considered a minor miracle (dogs not chasing rabbits? living with cats? mass hysteria!). I tried to get her to come back to me but after a minute or two it was obvious she had ditched me and would meet me at home. Around this time a salt work overseer I happen to know pulled up on their moto and stopped to make sure the dogs were friendly; I chatted with him for a minute and the remaining eight dogs were perfect the whole time. Finally, as we were nearing doce on the final trail home I saw Elewah already across the street on our road, looking sheepish and yet unapologetic, as if to say "where were you guys?"... she obviously did not catch her rabbit. We all arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: B (can't be an A)

16.09.15

morning walk:
Alice
Gracie
Rita
Shirley
Ernie
Daisy
Maggie
Ziggy
Hazel
(9)

I took this group for a walk to the wooden shack and back. It was getting hot and Rita didn't want to go all the way around the charco so we turned around on the little "bridge" that starts the blue bag trail. Hazel was on the leash to begin with to keep her from bailing and so I could watch her and see what was going on; it turns out it really is her fungal issue, even if it doesn't look at as bad as it gets it still bothers her and she stops frequently to lick it. Once we were past the shrimpery this seemed to stop, so maybe once she gets warmed up it doesn't bother her as much. I let her off the leash out north and she was fine coming back, or seemed so. She needs to get her meds very frequently for a few more days. Ernie was also on the leash as we left; I let him off after we turned north from the dead goat intersection and he was fine. Everyone had a great time sniffing stuff after yesterday's rain. The bugs were noticeable on the way back.
GRADE: A

15.09.15

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Gowron
Lily
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(7)

Roni took this group for a fast walk in the monte to the north. Lily was on the leash leaving to keep her from charging off like she was on a run; she was good on the leash and came off quickly. Amber was on the leash coming home and she was reasonably good about it. Everyone was harmonious and had a good time.
GRADE: A

13.09.15

late morning jaunt:
Godzilla
Rufus
Twiggy
Luna
(4)

To the tortuga sign: ~3k. Rufus left on the muzzle again, to good effect. Osita left with us but didn't want to go past the road for some reason... it was either the heat or Rufus' crazed reaction to having the muzzle on, but I saw her turn around and knew she was just going home. Rufus does get a bit nuts about the muzzle at first but by the time we're passing the shrimpery he's better, and when I take it off he's fine: no more barking or lunging at the other dogs in excitement. It does amp things up in the launchpad before we leave a little so it's good I haven't been taking him with as many other dogs. This was a good group; everyone had fun running together and swam a ton. We took the coco trail to the maginot line, where we were barked at by the grey dog that hangs out at the army camp; even though we came nowhere near him he would not shut up and kept barking at us from the south in front of the HoJo until we were almost 500m away. I figured he'd be waiting for us if we came back that way so we ran up the beach to the tortuga sign and then came home in the monte the back way via the wooden shack. Everyone swam a ton while on the beach. I didn't bring any water for such a short distance so we kept the pace high when we were moving and I let them stop to chew grass and sniff around in the shade when they wanted to. I had Rufus and Luna on either ends of the leash by the time we got to the last trail home and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A

12.09.15

morning run:
Eve
Frankie
MoMo
Xmul
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
(8)

Up the beach: ~7k. Hazel was slated to go but again pulled out just as we left the gate; I thought she was fine on her last beach jaunt but her fungal issue keeps coming back even after we've medicated it for days... we're going to try putting the Elizabethan collar on her every night with meds for a week and see if we can finally knock it out. The eight remaining dogs were raring to go so we took the pace up and kept it there for most of the run. We left and came back via the charcos to the north of the wooden shack and the tortuga sign. Other than that little bit in the monte we stayed on the beach and just went farther than we have in a while: we could clearly see the buildings at Playa Maya when we stopped heading north and turned around. Everyone swam and horsed around on the beach a lot the whole way. We saw no people except the old man at the wooden shack; I think we woke him up on our way out but he was fixing the tar-paper roof on the shack by the time we were coming back. Xmul was great on the leash the whole way and everyone else was similarly good.
GRADE: A

09.09.15

mid-day beach jaunt:
Chester
Rufus
Linda
Hazel
(4)

Up the beach to the sign: ~3k. It was late but I will probably go to Merida tomorrow and Rufus really wanted to go out, so I took this rag-tag crew out for a run up the beach and home via the monte. There was nobody around, not even a soldier on watch at their encampment. The tide was coming in so those of us inclined to swim had to slog around the brush that's fallen off the bluff into the ocean and the rest of us (Chester) picked their way around on the top of the bluff. Linda was really happy to come and swam like a little mermaid... a tiny, hairy mermaid. Hazel's skin issue looked to have cleared up a lot so this was a test to see if she was okay to run and swim and she was fine; she didn't hesitate once to jump in the water and didn't have to stop to lick herself or look uncomfortable at all while running. We ran up the beach to the tortuga sign (or what's left of it), went into the monte and came home the usual way. A very cute group.
GRADE: A

08.09.15

morning walk:
Bette
Blue
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
Zoila
Junebug
(9)

Roni took this group out for a walk around the cow pasture, as it turned out... she had intended to go a little farther but was blocked at several points by unexpected salt-workers. Zoot kept the pace high; Zoila was especially good about coming back to her human but Junebug was okay as well - just a tad more independent. PupG just had to dip herself in the filthiest possible puddle. Tuesday's tendency to pull on the leash was mitigated by Roni's wrapping the leash into a harness around her chest; at the end she had both Amber and Tuesday on leashes and that's a little annoying at times. Roni saw the legs of another dog (maybe Big Red) towards the southern end of the dirty road but none of her charges saw so she steered back towards the shrimpery and they all came with. Everyone had a good time and the pups got some more big-dog walk time with a pretty good group.
GRADE: A

07.09.15

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Rita
Twiggy
Molly
Stella
Maggie
Ziggy
Roxy
(10)

I took this group for a walk between the land bridges. At first we headed north towards to the wooden shack but then we've done that so much lately I thought we'd head east to the alt. land bridge instead. I couldn't hear anyone there and I hadn't seen anyone working there on the last couple of runs. It turned out that there wasn't anyone around and everyone had a great time on the ridge after a little break. I started with Molly and Stella on leashes but switched Molly for Roxy early on and that's how they stayed until the end, when I put Molly back on the other end of the leash with Roxy for the walk home from the shrimpery. The only bad behavior was at the very end, when we were crossing the road coming home. There was a vehicle coming south fast and I had to yell at both Rita and Ginger to get out of the road and stop acting like idiots; everyone else was fine. Other than that no surprises and a nice walk with a mellow group.
GRADE: A

06.09.15

morning run:
Truman
Godzilla
Otto
Jack
Daisy
Xmul
Mega
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Up the beach past Au Soliel Couchant: ~6k. We went and came home via the tortuga sign, taking the short cut that avoids the blue bag trail... this last bit is probably not necessary any more, I don't think they have been working up there for at least a week. Everyone was really good the whole way. At least half of the run was on the beach and everyone was really into swimming. Daisy must've thrown herself in every 20m for a lot of the way. I only had Xmul on the leash the whole way and everyone was really good.
GRADE: A

05.09.15

morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Henry
Tito
Bette
Blue
Ernie
Monkey
Linda
(9)

Roni took this group out for a walk to the wooden shack and back. Ernie was on the long leash for a lot of the walk; Roni fashioned the excess leash into a harness, which works well and looks stylish to boot. He's just such a nut we're always afraid he'll hurt himself, but he was off the leash coming home and was good. Bette started on the and came off almost immediately, as usual. Miles kept up really well but Roni let him lag in a couple spots, knowing she'd be coming back that way; this makes it better for everyone, since his dawdling doesn't hold anyone else back. He kept up well in spots, too. Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A

04.09.15

morning swim #1:
Greta
(1)

She swam like a champ for many long laps.
GRADE: A

morning swim #2:
Archie
(1)

Swimming isn't his favorite thing so I walked with him a bit on the leash up the beach, letting him sniff stuff when he wanted and then picked him up and carried him in to swim many times along the way. The tabanos were bad in places. I know he would rather run but he's such a good boy and such good company that he remained upbeat and cheerful the whole time, only complaining a little when I dragged him in a couple of times (and who wouldn't - how rude). Good boy Archie.
GRADE: A

03.09.15

late morning jaunt:
Osita
George
Rufus
Luna
(4)

To the tortuga sign: ~3k. It was getting late but Rufus really wanted to get out so I took him with few other dogs up to the maginot line via the monte, up the beach past the tortuga sign and home the way we went. This time we used a muzzle with him in the launchpad to try and get his excitement level down more. It was tough putting it on him at first but I managed and we left with less craziness as a result. He didn't like it at all and tried to get it off a couple of times on the first trail from our house, so I let him wear himself out a bit by keeping us running - he generally focused more on running in the first 250m than he did without the muzzle. I took it off as we neared the end of the first trail and he was much better afterwards, but I left him on the leash until we were on the beach anyway. We saw nobody the whole way. Everyone was really good on the beach and swam a lot. I thought I might go farther or come home in the monte at the tortuga sign but it was hot and George is getting older, so I opted to stick to the beach. I had Rufus and Luna on either ends of the leash coming home and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A

02.09.15

morning run:
Frijolita
Elewah
Lily
Mega
Lex
Petey
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. We took another strange route informed mainly by my vague intuitions of where there would be salt workers. I was almost completely correct; there was only one small, quiet group of them out at the northern end of the southern charcos, on the way to no-man's land. I suspected they might be there but couldn't hear them from across the berm; once I realized they were there I kept us moving south on the palapa road and nobody got into any mischief. Other than that the nearby monte was devoid of people. We headed north first, curled around south from the swimming hole and came home back in the monte the same way we went out, via the alt. land bridge. This is the first run in some time where nobody was on the leash from start to finish; I did scoop Elewah up at the shrimpery on the way home but no leash was involved. This was a real running group: everyone was happy and obedient, although in fairness they didn't have too many chances to misbehave. Petey was especially happy and had a good time; I'm going to bring him more, pain in the ass that he is. He didn't clash with his brother Steve at all the whole way. Murci and Cookie are so comical with the little games they play with each other on the run; I'll have to try and get video of it sometime. Other than being mindful of Elewah on the way home everyone was really perfect. We all crossed the road together coming home. Nice run on a mercifully cloudy day.
GRADE: A

01.09.15

morning walk #1:
Blue
Eve
Bette
Gowron
Amber
Junebug
Zoila
(7)

Roni took this group for a long walk to the north: all the way to the shack, around that charco and then down to the dirty road on the way home. June and Zoila wore their big.girl collars for the first time - the puppy ones are too small now. They both did well. Eve misbehaved a bit at first by crossing the road well in advance of everyone else but they were good in general. Roni had Amber on the leash coming home and they were good to the gate.
GRADE: A

morning walk #2:
Miles
(1)

Miles took me out for a little spin, not quite to the land bridge. We meandered and I foraged a large bag of pasiflora while Miles did important work in the surrounding brush. The bugs were not noticeable. Miles is now at least 15 years old by our reckoning and is a great companion for a walk like this.
GRADE: A

30.08.15

morning run:
Alice
Ginger
Blue
Rita
Chester
Otto
Rufus
Shirley
Roxy
(9)

On the beach to Au Soleil Couchant: ~4k. This was a group of loud-mouths who needed to get out on a shorty. It's overcast and slightly cooler so I wasn't as worried about the larger dogs getting zapped by the heat. We took the maginot line to the beach heading out and came home via the tortuga sign and the wooden shack. There was a tourist walking a dog on a leash right where the maginot line dumps you on the beach; we surprised him but my charges were very good and his dog was also well-behaved. He was heading back south anyway so we carried on north without so much as a bark. Farther on we ran into two older people walking slowly ahead of us so I verbally wrangled everyone to stay near me until they turned around and then we ran past them heading the opposite way, which always works out much better. They, too, were amused by my little crew, who were all cute and into their own thing. I put Roxy on the leash as we got to Au Soleil Couchant because she was too far ahead. Shirley went on the other end with her after we came off the beach at the tortuga sign to keep everyone together, and they stayed that way until the end. Otto managed to find some truly awful filth to roll in, which he did very thoroughly - the smell of him was wretch-inducing from the wooden shack until we got home, where he got a bath with soap. Rita's feet were bothered by all the salt and probably everything else... the beach positively stank of rag-weed in places today. She also got a bath when we got home. The weather is really bothering her allergies right now but she was game and wanted to go so badly I couldn't say no. All in all a nice group of mostly older dogs on a pleasant day on the beach.
GRADE: A