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morning run:
Truman
Rita
Chester
Elewah
Frankie
Twiggy
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Roxy
(10)
To the beach via the maginot line: ~7k. Since Roni said there were so many salt-workers around the day before I decided to avoid all of them and take the maginot line to the beach both ways; I took us very far north to make up for the short distance in the monte, so everyone got a chance to run hard and have fun. Elewah has developed the habit of running down to the water on the south road when we come home so I decided to let her do what she wanted in the last 50m, took everyone else to the gate and went back out to round her up. This time she swam and sauntered north up to the north road and came around to meet me instead from the opposite direction. She just likes to rebel a little, she isn't wild anymore and it's no big deal. Maybe when there are a lot of people around on the beach I'll be more careful about keeping her under control but right now the tabanos own the beach. Good run for everyone. Steve had a limp afterwards, he'll go on shorter ones for a while to see if it's just an injury or something more.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Bette
Reggie
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(8)
Roni took this group for a walk in the monte to the east. There were a ton of salt workers everywhere but everyone was really good and Roni picked a good route. Amber has been better off the leash every time recently. Zoot also has calmed down in the last year or so, although he's still frenetic at times; he and Amber feed off each other in both the negative and the positive, I think. Reggie was happy as a clam to be with his favorite human. The bugs are starting to become a factor.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rufus
Jack
Shirley
Daisy
Tupo
(5)
Beach run: 5k. Just a quick one to get some energy out. This time we caught everyone at the army base napping, including the dogs; they finally realized we had darted past when we were well north of the HoJo and came down to give us a few obgligatory barks. We came home via the maginot line and neither the dogs at the HoJo nor the army dogs noticed. We went all the way to Au Soleil Couchant. Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
George
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Nico
(10)
I took this crew for a walk on the beach via the maginot line. Nico was hilarious and a little nuts. We left with Ernie and Gracie on the leash but I let them off at the shrimpery. Nico was galumphing around like a lunatic and it took me until the end of the coco trail to get her on the leash. She's okay but needs a bit of work, mainly because she's goofy. Once on the beach I let her off as we headed north and she went seriously goofy. She was giving me a hard time getting a hold of her and I didn't want to make a big issue of it so I let her goof around in her funny way up and down the beach. On the maginot line coming home she got ahead of the rest of us and I could see the light come on over her head that she just wanted to run home and get mom. I picked up the pace for the rest of us but she stayed 50m ahead of me the whole way home. I was a little nervous about this but it turned out okay, she went straight to the gate and everyone else was fine. Next time she'll be on the leash more, but at least it's clear she knows the way home.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Eve
Posey
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Murci
Cookie*
Junebug
Tupo
(9)
Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. I tried to cut a fine line through the monte to the east to avoid active groups of salt workers... and failed. They were everywhere and their annoying refuse was unavoidable. I took the ridge the whole way north for the first time in a while, and although we got barked at by Angel's dogs that wasn't a problem. The dogs to the east of us near the main road turned out to be the problem, as Cookie and Tupo took off to greet them. Tupo came back quickly but Cookie ditched us, for the first time ever (I think). She must've got pulled off too far to the east running after those dogs or something, but I circled us all around the entire area calling for her and she didn't appear. Everyone else was really good about staying with me; both Xmul and June were on leashes at that point and they did well with the strange goings on. In the end I figured Cookie had either run home or was ahead of me, since she knew where we were going, so I took us to the beach at the tortuga sign. It turns out she had run home and arrived not too long after we had left; at least she did the sensible thing there, but I was worried and it was strange that she did it at all. Everyone else behaved perfectly for the rest of the run, including on the way back when we got barked at again.
GRADE: B
mid-day swim:
Pearl
Ruby
(2)
I took these two little terrors out for a dip in The Big Water, as per their request. They are hilarious and fun, both incredible swimmers already. There was a lot of gross seaweed on the shore but we dealt with it and had a good time in the shallows.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
Gowron
Coco
(7)
Roni took this group out for a fast one in the monte to the east. Coco was on the leash the whole way and was generally good about it. Amber yet again was off the leash most of the way - very nice. They all went down to the water when they got home and everyone was good about the change.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Rita
Otto
Shirley
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
Hazel
Zoila
(9)
Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. Our dog.kabuki was nearly flawless this morning: I wrangled everyone but Zoila into the launchpad while Roni got her into her harness. Once the gate opens Zoila's demeanor changes completely. Her tail comes up, her ears go back and she just wants to run. Today she was so happy she yipped all the way from the gate to the road. She is happiest when hauling ass so we did a lot of that. We took the long way to the beach and ran into nobody. I left Zoila on her harness the whole way but there was a lot more slack in the leash on the beach. She had a good time swimming with everyone else and I gave her lots of opportunity to go sniff stuff and roll around in it with her running mates. We took the maginot line on the way back and Mo misbehaved a little, although it was really not a big deal. For some reason she got ahead of me cutting up off the beach onto the trail and then I had to wait for Otto and Rita to catch up, while Mo obviously continued to run. By the time the rest of us were all together on the trail and heading east Mo was nearly at the road and, and then she decided it was fun and kept running ahead, stopping briefly to make sure we were behind. I knew she would just go home but I was still irritated that she effectively ditched us without any real reason. I don't know what got into her. Everyone else was perfect on the way home and everywhere else. Nice run on a cloudy day.
GRADE: B
morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
(2)
Roni took these two for a meander down to the shrimpery. Zasu wanted to go visit the goat herd that was wandering around close by but Roni disuaded her. Miles was in zen.meander mode. It wasn't hideously hot out ane everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Eve
Xmul
Mega
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(9)
North beach run: ~7k. We took the long way to the beach in the monte and the maginot line coming home. We ran into a group of salt workers heading out on the road to the interesection that had a dog with them; Truman ran over to say hi but came back quickly and we were past them with just a little barking. They probably weren't there when we were coming home but the maginot line maximizes beach-time and it was hot as blazes out, so everyone but Tupo wanted to swim a lot (he got lots of drinks from the water-bottle). Everyone was really good the whole way and had a nice time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Bette
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
Nico
(8)
Roni took this group for a walk in the monte. There are salt workers everywhere and it was hot as blazes but she found a route that was good for everyone. Nico was on the leash a bit to keep her from prancing around like a nut in the razorwire along the coco trail; she doesn't love the leash but she didn't dig her heels in or sit down and refuse to go and did well the whole way. Zoot decided to go for a dip in the ocean at the very end and Amber went with him; Roni rounded them up quickly and everyone else was good. Besides that one bit of misbehavior they were perfect.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Osita
George
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
(10)
I took this group for a walk to the beach at the maginot line and back the same way; we wandered up to the tortuga sign and back while everyone had a good time doing whatever they like to do on the beach. Everyone swam a ton and was really perfect the whole way.
GRADE: A
puppy training mission:
Pearl
Ruby
(2)
I took these two munchkins down to the water to swim, which is hysterically funny and entertaining. The big water is a little intimidating compared to their watering dish, which they insist on swimming in, but they overcame their puppy.fears and swam like little otters. We walked up and down a little in front of our house and went in and out of the ocean many times. They both swam out to get me every time I called them. Mildly terrifying but cute.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rufus
Jack
Shirley
Daisy
Tupo
(5)
Up the beach and home via the tortuga sign: ~5k. Just a shorty to get some energy out. We got harassed by two dogs at the army encampment but everyone was great, ignored them and carried on with me; we were by them in a flash and didn't look back. I was especially proud of Tupo - he's becoming very sensible and reliable. We took the long way home in the monte. Everyone was great the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Luna
Xmul
Mega
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. This was a high paced run with some stops for screwing around and swimming. We didn't do the standard northern charcos route, instead cutting it shorter to the north and adding on length by hitting the beach at Au Soleil Couchant heading home... the easiest way to rinse Mega off is by letting him do it himself in the ocean. The tabanos were bad on the beach - I must've killed a dozen (and got bit a lot more than that) between A.S.C. and the tortuga sign. Everyone listened and had a good time on a cloudy morning.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Reggie
Gowron
Bette
Monkey
Linda
Amber
Zoot
(8)
Roni took this group for a nice walk in the monte. Reg and Amber left on leashes but they came off early and stayed off the rest of the way for the most part. At the end instead of coming straight to the gate she took everyone down to the beach for a little rinse-off/yay-we're-home swim. This was a capital idea as the hairier dogs had gone into the incredibly stinky charco at the land bridge. Everyone had fun and was great.
GRADE: A
morning puppy training mission:
Nico
Pearl
Ruby
(3)
Roni took these three down to the beach for some fun and a photo-op. I can't wait to see the pictures on her blog, they're great. In short, it turns out all three of them are water dogs. A good time was had by all.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Osita
Rita
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Frankie
Twiggy
Junebug
Tupo
(9)
Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~7k. We took the extra-long way to and from the beach today: across the land bridge, north immediately onto the ridge for a tinge and then over onto the main road, through the intersection and down to the beach at the tortuga sign. Once on the beach June came off the leash and we went north a bit past A.S.C. June started to get her wild-eyed paranoid look as we were heading home south on the beach so I took that as a sign, got her to come into the water to swim and hooked her back up. She's getting better but she's also one of the weirdest dogs I've ever known; it's better to play it safe. She didn't care, she has fun running on the leash or off once she forgets whatever is bugging her. Good run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
George
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Linda
Ziggy
Maggie
(10)
I took this group for a fairly long walk in the monte to the east and south. I had Gracie and Ernie on leashes to leave just to keep everyone honest but they both came off at the shrimpery and were fine throughout. It was a good group, we kept a decent pace and it wasn't too hot yet.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It has been hard to get her out lately. The ocean was a bit rough but we managed. She always tries hard and gives me kisses, what more can I ask for.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Eve
Blue
Xmul
Luna
Hazel
Murci
Roxy
Tupo
(10)
Southern charcos: ~8k. I threw Blue in as tenth dog at the end because she's always so good and really wanted to go. We took a strange route today - I don't recall if we've ever done it before but I'm sure it's at least 8k: into the monte south as usual, down the southernmost part of the palapa road until the turn east on the "Y"-shaped intersection that leads to no-man's land, south down the serpentine in the deep woods to the intersection where you can loop back north and home the way we came. We did this mainly to avoid large groups of salt workers on more northern reaches of the palapa road. As it was we ran into several vehicles and Tupo was great. Roxy was off the leash a little but I left her on to keep everyone together - she likes to screw around too much in the rearguard. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A
vet:
Nico
Coco
Loba*
(3)
Today I took three dogs to Dra. Sandra to get spayed. She used left-over donated materials from the clinic and didn't charge us, effectively extending the clinic to three more dogs, which brings the count to 39. Loba is one of Angel's dogs, practically part of the family. We got Solitaria (Coco, Nico and Tupo's mom) sterilized at the last clinic and she has fully recovered, except for another case of ehrlichiosis, which is being treated. This experience gave us all (Angel, Roni and I) a bit of confidence that we can do this stuff, so Loba's next. Once she's recovered enough we'll do the two of Solitaria's daughters that live with Angel, Canela and Gemelas. It was a tough day for everyone but it's looking good post-op for all of them.
morning run:
Frijolita
Elewah
Lily
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Cookie
Zoila
Tupo
(9)
Far up the beach: ~9k. With Frijolita we have to go north because she just won't do south. She's so strange. If I try to head out east via the land bridge she looks at me like I'm going to skin her and runs home, but if we go north she's happy as a clam... so, north. I thought maybe we'd do a run out in the monte but there were already so many salt workers in the nearby charcos to the north that we just hit the beach again. This has been the logic behind all the beach runs recently, since I am always working with at least one dog who has issues. Zoila runs on a harness for a reason: she really gets freaked out by people and especially vehicles. She didn't come off the leash but had a good time and forgot what a freak she is for long stretches. She also loves to swim and the ocean was good for that today: calm and warm. I put Tupo on the other end of the leash with her a couple of times in anticipation of encountering large groups of salt workers and machinery but I don't think it was necessary; he was off the whole way coming home, we ran into plenty of people and vehicles and he was fine. If it wasn't for Elewah I would've opted for the maginot line coming home but I was sure she would give those beach dogs the what-for if they came out to greet us. Instead we took the extra long way into the monte from the tortuga sign, through the intersection and down the road a bit until there's a place to turn west onto the ridge. I was betting that the salt workers would not be at the land bridge, since there were so many of them farther north, and I turned out to be correct. We ran into a large truck with stereo blaring on the narrow part of the road and I had to get control of Zoila and keep her with me in the iceplant on the side of the road - she does not like loud noises. At the very end Elewah ran down to the beach like she has the last two runs; this time she dragged a few others with her but it was no big deal. I put Zoila and Mega in the launchpad and went down to collect them. Maybe next time I'll just join them. Everyone was good and had a nice time.
GRADE: A
