31.07.15

morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
Otto
Bette
Blue
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
(9)

Roni attempted to get this group out on a walk but it was not to be. We were as careful as we could be with (18 year old) Zasu at the gate, holding her and Linda back so they didn't get run over when the younger dogs left, and everything looked like it was going well until PupG came tearing back in excitement and (effectively) chest-bumped Zasu full-force just as Zasu was picking up speed in the opposite direction. PupG may be small in stature but it's deceptive: she weighs nearly 15kg and is solid muscle; this is why she generally goes on long runs, but since she's so much fun on walks we want her to be used to both. The force of the collision laid Zasu out completely. At the time we didn't know how badly she was hurt so Roni dealt with getting her and the rest of the crew that was nearby back into the launchpad and I took off after Amber, Linda, Monkey, PupG and Otto, who were all fired up and across the road already. It would've been a good idea for me to just continue on with those five on a short walk, and in fact Roni tried to communicate this to me but I didn't hear her due to a lot of factors (a salt truck, my own voice, the sound of the wind in my ears as I ran to catch Amber). I ended up rounding up my charges at the shrimpery intersection. I was also extremely worried about Zasu and wanted to get us all back. Amber decided to Get The Fear right about then, circled around the concrete tanks at the corner and ran more or less back into Roni's arms, as she had come partially down the trail already. Those two went home together and I shepherded the remaining four. In the end Zasu was fine; it sounded worse than it was, but we both had a good scare. PupG has to be restrained at the start of walks and runs for a while; she also pulls shenanigans when we leave on runs (again, in excitement and not malice), it's just the dogs she's with are usually much bigger and we're moving pretty fast so it doesn't seem like a big deal. This isn't acceptable and we're going to work on it. Nonetheless, everyone except for Amber was really good about the whole thing, including the dogs that weren't going on the walk.
GRADE: N/A