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morning run:
Otto
George
Tuesday
Archie
Shirley
Linda
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
(9)
To the swimming hole and home via the monte: ~6k. Tuesday likes the slightly shorter runs now; this works out well because she keeps the pace up the entire way instead of getting irritated about 5k-6k in and dragging her feet. George lagged a bit at times due to the pace but always caught up and had a good time. The sun was bright and it was starting to get hot but the air still had a tiny chill in it so it wasn't as hard on the bigger dogs; George and Shirley drank a lot of water. Linda was enthusiastic about running with the big dogs and showed no signs of weakness the entire way. We kicked ass to the swimming hole, took it down a little to loop around on the Au Soleil Couchant road and finished strong doubling back to the cut-over and the alt. land bridge. A good time was had by all.
GRADE: A
emergency vet trip:
Alice
Sugar*
(1.5)
Alice had surgery to remove a couple of troublesome lumps from her leg and abdomen a couple days ago; this morning the stitches on her leg were completely ripped out so she had to go back. While I was at it I took Sugar the cat to be looked over; she had developed a log of strange bare patches, which turned out to be some kind of fungus. Alice came back with super-strong stitches in place and is wearing an Elizabethan collar to make sure she can't damange them. They were both good girls and traveled well.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Bette
Blue
Amber
Zoot
(4)
Roni took this group out for a walk between the land bridges. Amber and Zoot were thrilled after the long, illness-induced layoff and behaved themselves well... I wish we could get some kind of camera drone to float over Roni and capture the electron-cloud nature of those two as they orbit her. Bette's front right paw has been injured for a while and the salty water hurt it a bit but she was so glad to go it was impossible to say no; her feet were rinsed off when they got home and she's getting over it.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Eve
Frijolita
Rufus
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. Today was the first day in forever that I felt like I could run. We left a little late but thanks to the power of passion flower the dogs were not nearly as wound up as you might think. We left with Rufus and Murci on leashes; Murci came off the short black leash at the shrimpery but I left Rufus on until we were almost to the swimming hole just to make sure he didn't take runs at anyone in his excitement; he was good off the leash. The monte has dried out quite a bit since our last run but there was still enough water in the swimming hole for a few cannonballs and other shenanigans. I wasn't totally set on the route we would take and we sort of naturally fell into our standard northern charcos route. The pace was high for most of the run; there was a bit of chill in the air despite it being sunny and bright and everyone was highly energized. On the way back Frijolita started hanging back and looking at me suspiciously. She's been put on the leash coming home the last few outings because she's given me reason to not trust her (turning her ears off, tearing off after strays and marmots). I had no intention of putting her on the leash today but she didn't know that and even thought about coming home on her own via the ridge after we had crossed the alt. land bridge. I decided not to make a federal case out of it and sure enough she thought better of it and came back to us while we were on the dirty road. Twiggy was a bit of an ass at the end of the dirty road and ran down to the land bridge to munch on some nasty fish leftovers; some locals had laid out sardines to dry on the ground a week or two ago and there were bits of it everywhere. I had to go get her so she ended up on a leash, as did Tori and Rufus. I ended up looping the long leash through Hazel's collar as well, charm-bracelet style, just to make sure everyone got the message that we come home together. This worked out fine. Considering the long layoff everyone did extremely well and had a blast.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Molly
Monkey
Bosha
Tori
Roxy
(6)
Neither of us were really over our colds as of my last post; I took these six out for a shorty just to get some of them out and mix it up a bit since anything more was not in the cards. Tori was on the leash the whole way to work on manners when not running and she was very good; she stopped pulling on the leash almost immediately and was good even when I switched her to the short leash so I could put Roxy on the long one. Roxy was her usual boisterous self but once on the leash she was good. We walked around the cow pasture slowly, stopping quite a lot for screwing around. I had Molly on the other end of the long leash with Roxy towards the end and we all managed to arrive at the gate together. Strange group but they had a good time on a nice day.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Alice
Rita
Ernie
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Stella
Linda
Roxy
(10)
We have both been sick or just plain under the weather, tired, beat down, whatever: taking dogs out has not really been possible for a variety of reasons. The passion flower has definitely helped but as today dawned blustery and a bit chilly and neither of us felt all that awful it seemed a good day to reverse the trend. I took this group out for a brisk walk between the land bridges; we took the coco trail to the alt. land bridge on the way out (thanks to Roxy and Rita running ahead) and the main land bridge on the way home. I did my usual swicheroo with Stella, Ernie, Roxy vis a vis the leashes and it all worked out alright. There were no bugs due to the wind, which invigorated everyone. In spite of the long layoff everyone was pretty good, both getting ready beforehand and on the actual walk. I'm definitely not 100% yet but much better than I have been in a week. Pretty day, anyway.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Bette
Amber
Zoot
(4)
Roni took this group for an extended walk between the land bridges. Ginger was by far the worst-behaved but she's never really bad, she just likes to screw around a bit in the monte. A slightly longer, not so highly paced walk with lots of time for having fun is just her speed and she had a good time. Amber and Zoot were thrilled as well. This was a harmonious combination of dogs and they all had a great time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Truman
Rufus
Elewah
Lily
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
(8)
Northern charcos: ~8k. We've been wrangling Rufus differently to go on a run and it works a little better; he's still excited at the gate but it is easier to deal with his energy. It also helped that I didn't insist on filling my usual quota of nine dogs and instead just took who I had because we got out faster. Mega and Steve threw themselves out there early so I took advantage of it and ushered them into the launchpad 5min before we left, along with Elewah, Lily and Hazel. We left with Rufus on the leash; I only took one this time because I have a feeling that just taking the black leash kind of freaks Elewah out and in any event I didn't need two leashes with this group. Rufus came off after we crossed the alt. land bridge heading out and was an angel the rest of the way. We hit the swimming hole on the way out, did our usual loop through the northern charcos and came back via the parallel access road. I avoided the blue.bag trail (salt workers) and instead took that odd little road that brings you down to the cut over and the alt. land bridge from the north/west. It was bright out when we left but clouds kept rolling in from the west while we were out there so the heat wasn't terrible. The bugs were absolutely awful in a few spots but we managed to outrun them for the most part. Elewah ran off towards the army base when we got to the shrimpery but I didn't make a big deal of it; I called for her once or twice as we were heading towards the last trail home and she finally did appear in line behind me just after we made the turn. I had Rufus and Truman on either ends of the leash since they are the ones most interested in charging off when we get close to home. Everyone arrived at the gate together.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Eve
Frijolita
Godzilla
Reggie
Jack
Tori
Murci
(9)
No-man's land: ~8k. I'm going to stop calling things "backwards" since who cares: we ran the route I call no-man's land from north to south this time, approaching it from the swimming hole and coming home via the bag-end land bridge and the jeep berm (called so because Roni and I almost got our jeep stuck there once). I have not checked in Google Earth yet but I'm pretty sure if you do it this way it's a little over 8k; any other way that I run no-man's land is normally at least 9k, probably more like 10k. We left with Tori on the leash to keep the general energy level manageable for the first kilometer; she was fine once she came off and a good girl throughout. Everyone else was similarly perfect and made a happy little group of running dogs. It was quiet in the monte; we saw no people but lots of flamingos, especially way out there. The large charcos that run north/south to the east of no-man's land had a ton of them along the eastern shore and in clusters all around. We took the alt. land bridge coming and going to avoid scaring any flamingos at the main land bridge. I put Frijolita on the hook after we crossed said bridge coming home because she's misbehaved recently and I think it prudent to occasionally put my fascist thing down for a spot check... just to make sure everyone is still clear on the rules. She dug her heels in a little at first but relented and behaved reasonably all the way home. Murci joined her on the short leash at the shrimpery and everyone arrived at the gate together. High clouds were giving way to ever-larger patches of blue for the duration of the run; when we left it felt like it might rain but by the time we were coming home it was sunny and bright. The bugs weren't bad.
GRADE: A
morning run:
George
Chester
Tuesday
Gowron
Archie
Shirley
Daisy
Twiggy
MoMo
(9)
To the swimming hole and back the short way: ~6k. Tuesday was an angel on the leash the whole way; she prefers these shorter ones now and that's fine with me so long as she's happy. Daisy left on the short leash and was good about it; I let her off after we crossed the land bridge heading out and she was fine from there on. We took the ridge to the intersection heading out. The recent rain has freshened the water in the charcos a bit but the intersection and other low-lying areas are still mostly dry. This did not stop PupG from jumping into every puddle she could manage on the way. I was considering going to the beach after the swimming hole but then I remembered I had both Twigs and Mo with me and it was around the time that Xmul might be on the beach with Nicole. I don't think there would've been a problem if I had Twigs on the leash before we got there but it was getting a bit hot and I didn't feel like dealing with it so I opted for the shorter route home in the monte. We didn't take the blue.bag trail because there have been larger groups of salt workers in those charcos lately; instead I doubled back on the road that leads to the cut-over and we came home via the other land bridge and the dirty road. Mo and Archie ran ahead a little on the last trail home but nothing too egregious; we all arrived at the gate together. Nice short run on a pretty morning.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Osita
Ernie
Frankie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
Bosha
Roxy
(9)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges, with Stella on the leash the whole way. I did my now-usual trick of starting with Stella on the long leash and then switched her to the short one halfway through to get Roxy on the long leash; Ernie left on the short leash and came off just across the land bridge heading out. Everyone was highly enthusiastic but settled down well and had a good time the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry*
Ginger
Otto
Tito
Bette
Blue
Monkey
Linda
(9)
Roni took this group out for a walk between the land bridges. Henry came up lame early, before they even crossed the road; Roni called back to me and I went out and retrieved him... we think he may have just stepped on a spine because he seemed fine later. Everyone else did well and had a great time.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Zasu
Miles
Alice
Greta
(4)
I took these four out for a jaunt down to the land bridge and back. Alice and Miles did their usual amounts of screwing around but since the whole point was to dawdle and meander it was no big deal. The bugs were a little annoying towards the end but everyone did well.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Frijolita
Rita
Chester
Rufus
Luna
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Long and winding road: ~10k. We didn't leave very early today but it was overcast and cool. The dogs were highly energized at the gate but we still left with Tori off the leash and Murci off the muzzle; Rufus was on the leash and I let him stay on until we were well north of the blue.bag trail. We saw one lone old dude on a moto heading north as we were running south on the alternate road to Xixim; a couple of the dogs ran ahead and Rufus barked once but they were all really good and the fellow seemed highly amused to see us out there. Hazel's skin irritation was bothering her; I had to carry her across one charco because the salty water was obviously bothering her. She got a thorough bath after the run and a lot of topical medication afterwards and will continue to get it - it's already getting a bit better. Rita was really up for this run and is feeling a bit better from her allergies due to the slightly chillier weather; she lagged a little at times but kept up and had a great time the whole way. I put Rufus on the leash early coming back; he charged ahead a few times when we were way out there and although it always turned out to be nothing I thought he should be reigned in a little. Tori ended up on the other end of the leash with him and Murci on the short leash by the time we were at the shrimpery and everyone was prefect to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
Ernie
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
Bosha
Roxy
(10)
I took this group for a walk between the land bridges; Ernie should not go much farther than that and Ziggy already seemed a little stiff before we left. April was on one of the two leashes for the whole distance; she started on the long one but I switched her to the shorty to put Roxy on the long one about halfway through. I could probably trust April most of the time but she has that crazy berzerker streak in her and Angel's pups and chickens are a bit too close when we cross the second land bridge coming home... Ernie was effusive as always; he left on the black leash and only came off after we crossed the land bridge. Thereafter he was always ahead (except when rooting around in the brush); I had to put him on the other end of the leash with Roxy on the coco trail coming home to keep everyone together. Roxy was, again, really good on the leash; amazing considering that she was until recently a stray/wild dog with no human connections. We were barked at the whole way down our trail and all the way across the land bridge by the big, brown dog who lives in the monte to the southeast of us. We're not sure if he's somebody's or a stray but our dogs are clearly not interested in whatever he's saying and stay with us on walks and runs regardless... nice to see. Rita, April, Maggie and Ziggy all got rinsed off and de-xmul'ed when we got home. All in all a nice walk with a really cute bunch of dogs.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Ginger
Bette
Tito
Blue
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(10)
Roni took this crew for a walk across the land bridge and to the south in a large loop through the charcos just west of the tar-paper shack. There were quite a few flamingos around the land bridge and everyone was perfect: no waterfowl were harassed and everyone larked around in the shallows. Amber and Zoot were enthusiastic and goofy as usual and the longer walk suited them. It was fairly hot out but there were clouds in batches. The bugs were bad coming home near the tar-paper shack. A super-cute and well-behaved group on a strange and cloudy day.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Godzilla
Reggie
Tuesday
Gowron
Elewah
MoMo
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos (backwards): ~8k. I wasn't sure how far we'd go on this one. At first I was thinking no-man's land but as we got out there I wasn't feeling it from Tuesday; she started out extremely fast but after 5km or so she wasn't as interested in running hard, so instead I took us on our usual northern loop but backwards. I noticed Tori was favoring her front right paw on the way home as we were heading down the Au Soleil Couchant road; not sure what's up with that still, we'll have to watch her. Everyone was excellent the whole way. Nice group and a pretty, quiet morning in the monte.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Miles
Greta
(2)
Roni took these two for a stroll to the land bridge and back; she also gathered a healthy bag of passion flower leaves. It was too hot to be out much but the bugs were not terrible considering the recent rain. There were a lot of strays barking and even some goats in one of the shrimpery's former ponds but neither Miles nor Greta showed any interested in pursuing either. They were both angels and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Ginger
Rita
Osita
George
Archie
Shirley
Maggie
Stella
Roxy
(10)
To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Stella left on the long leash; I switched her to the short one and put Roxy on the long leash as we were nearing the beach so that I had Roxy under control in case we ran into people. As it turned out Nicole was south of us with Xmul, Rudy and Mel almost at the tortuga sign. I heard Xmul barking in the distance so I took us north a bit on the beach to give Nicole and gang time to head south far enough to be out of range... I didn't think there would be a problem if we ran into them but I wanted to continue to work with Roxy and didn't want the distraction. Nobody minded and everyone had fun goofing around in the surf and nearby scrub. We came home via blue.bag trail and everyone was perfect to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Gracie
Posey
Chester
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
No-man's land (backwards): ~8k. It was beautiful and quiet out. We left with Rufus on the leash. He was more wound up than normal once we were running and I had to put him back on after I let him off the first time, south of the wooden shack; for some reason he always wants to take runs at Posey early on in a run. I let him off for the second time as we were heading north on the parallel access road and he did fine from there on. We took the Au Soleil Couchant access road east to the northern end of no-man's land, ran south until the 3-way intersection and then doubled back to the palapa road, hitting the swimming hole on the way home. Everyone was really great the whole way. I had Rufus and Tori on either ends of the long leash with Murci on the short one by the time we got to the shrimpery and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
