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morning run:
Blue
Chester
MoMo
Frankie
Mega
Murci
Roxy
Tupo
Coco
Beach loop: ~6k. Roxy and Coco were the leash.dogs and this was fine all the way until the end, when Coco backed out of her harness somehow as we were heading south along the shore of the charcos to the north of the shack. I tried to leave Roxy off the leash more this run and she was good most of the way but started screwing around too much for my liking as we were heading back. In retrospect I should've just ignored Roxy - she would've been okay. Instead I made an issue of it and the last 2km of the run turned into a steeplechase, with Coco in the lead. Tupo and Murci helpfully ran back and forth between Coco (about 100m to the north) and me, just to let me know everything was alright. Kinda sweet, honestly. Coco ran straight home but I won't let that happen again. She's still too skittish but she really had a great time for the majority of the run. Everyone else was great.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Posey
Luna
Xmul
Lex
Murci
Cookie
June
Tupo
(10)
Weird beach loop: ~8k. We took a strange route in order to avoid bumping into the dogs that have been hanging out at the tortuga sign: to Au Soleil Couchant via the monte, south to the sign, into the monte all the way to the intersection, east, then south to the secret trail back to the tar paper shack to the south and home via the land bridge. Everyone was great the whole way. June was off the leash for a couple spells. Hot, buggy.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Tuesday
Gowron
Blue
Bette
Amber
Zoot
Nico
(8)
Roni took this crew for a walk in the monte to the east. Nico was on the leash the whole way and continues to improve, but the big story is Tuesday, who was off the leash the entire walk. This hasn't happened in a while and it's very nice to see. She has been good on many walks in a row now and this time Roni just didn't want to have a third leash in play, since she sometimes needs to get Amber on the leash and Nico was there as well. Tuesday did not disappoint and was good the entire way. Amber left off the leash but was on for the last half of the trail home to keep her honest about darting down to the beach. Everyone else was good. There were salt workers everywhere in the monte and it frustrated Roni's plans a bit but at least Zoot was good about it and didn't freak out; this has been a recent trend, too. It was Augusty out, like you'd expect at the tail end of the hottest August ever. We'd have to get up at 4am and take the dogs out when it's still dark to have any hope of avoiding the heat now, so it's just something to roll with.
GRADE: A
beach jaunt:
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(4)
Perl and Ruby are officially not puplings anymore; they're getting their own ideas and also need to be spayed, which means: attitude. Especially Ruby. Everyone started out well and swam a lot with me but then Ruby started to wander more on the beach. Linda also was encouraging Ruby to wander, misbehave and defend bits of beach.sushi she found and claimed. I ended up cutting things short and running Ruby down so she didn't get too far out of control; she got carried back in, along with Linda. Ziggy was mostly clueless as usual and Perl was good, but the days of no-collar/no-leash puppy-style outings with these two are over. Ah, well. It was fun while it lasted.
GRADE: A
vet trip:
Monkey
Greta
(2)
Today I took Monkey and Greta to Dra. Sandra. Monkey had a little mass of some kind on her eye that has been bothering her, and she needed to have her teeth cleaned. Greta has been laboring a lot and worrying us and we wanted Sandra to see her, since it's been years. Monkey is recovering now and Greta needs to loose some weight, so she's on a special diet now. Monkey doesn't mind outings like this - everyone loves her at Sandra's. Greta doesn't travel as well but was a real trooper. This time of year these kind of trips are grueling. I also managed to get some ivermectina into a dog with a terrible case of sarna in Tetiz along the way and got a local there some frontline for their dog as well. Roni is right: we need a magnetic CADA logo sign or sticker or something on the Jeep.
morning run:
Posey
Eve
Elewah
Jack
Luna
Steve McQueen
Murci
Zoila
Tupo
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. This was a hard, fast run with brief but intense periods of Zoila-wrangling. She still freaks out hard at vehicles and people and we saw both this time. I took us on a route that wa flooded pretty badly, thinking nobody would chance their moto there, but I was wrong: two intrepid souls were working in the charco that abuts the southernmost crossing, the place I call the Last Good Turn South. One of them rode by us heading into the monte near the terreno federal sign, carrying gasoline and whatnot on his moto. I heard him coming and reeled Zoila in and picked her up before he got to us. Once he passed us I knew we'd be seeing him again, because there's not really another sane route to go but the one we (and he) took, so I just stayed alert. I carried Zoila past where they were working in the charco, but at least it was gratifying to see how good the other eight dogs were: no barking at the people, no bothering their things, everyone listened to me and got going as soon as I put Zoila down. Even Elewah wasn't obnoxious and barky - quite amazing and cool. We ran the palapa road to the bag-end land bridge, hit the swimming hole and came home via the ridge and the land bridge. Everyone ran their asses off and listened well. At the very end Elewah, Luna and Tupo went down to the beach to the south, which I was expecting. I put everyone else back in the launchpad, and Tupo ran back to me before I got a chance to head down to collect the others, who were just swimming a bit. I put Luna on the hook and scooped Elewah up. So long as Elewah isn't being a jerk and barking at people I don't have a problem with her little modifications to the route. All in all a great run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Archie
Ernie
Molly
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
(11)
The guest list for this outing obviously got beyond me, but it was okay. All the "extra" dogs got thrown in for good behavior and it turned out to be a mellow and together group, with occasional bursts of energy. Gracie and April left on leashes but they came off quickly; Stella was on for the duration but had no complaints and enjoyed herself immensely. We took a loop around the tar paper shack to the southeast, not too fast and with lots of time to sniff stuff and play in the iceplant. We saw nobody in the monte this time, a welcome change. It was hot and buggy but it's August, so there.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
Linda
Ziggy
Archie*
(6)
Roni took these six out for a short walk in the monte, but Archie had other ideas early, bailed on her and ran home from just across the road. He's done this a couple of times over the years and we never know why. Maybe he just didn't like the smell of the monte that day. I was listening from the gate and saw him round the bend before I had even closed it so he just came back in and that was that. The remaining five had a blast with Roni walking down to the land bridge. Zasu is 18 years old and absoltely amazing. She's positively zippy and had a great time. Henry is obviously feeling better; we think he had some kind of foot or leg injury for a bit, it wasn't obvious why, but his limp is gone now and he's in fine fettle. It was hot and buggy but everyone had a blast. Hurray for Zasu!
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Rita
Gowron
Otto
Hazel
Tupo
Nico
Perl
Ruby
(9)
Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. This was Perl and Ruby's first big-girl run and they were excellent, like they were pros and had done it a thousand times. They both even drank from the bottle. We didn't run full-out the whole way, but we did take the blue.bag trail to and from the beach and hauled ass pretty good in stretches on that route. I saw a little black dog, not even a yearling, ahead of us after we crossed the road on the way to the beach; I held everyone up verbally, except Nico who was on the leash the whole way. The other dog ran down to the beach ahead of us and turned south, so I gave it plenty of room and kept my charges from seeing it until it was well south of us and we neaded north. Everyone had a great time on the beach, and Nico is getting better on the leash. Heading back I was conscious that there might be other dogs around, but I didn't see any until we got near the road, when a larger, older female with a coat much like Blue's darted by us heading back to the beach, obviously trying to get away from us. None of mine gave chase or was in any way aggressive and she was past us quickly. As we crossed the road a few meters later I saw a group of three smaller dogs, including the black one from before; they were standing in the road south about 100m away and just watched us as we crossed the road. I'm sure they were the dogs I saw on the previous outing. Nobody seemed to notice or want to give chase so I got us across quickly and headed home. My suspicion is that the larger grey female we saw is the mother and the other three are her full-grown pups... there's not much we can do but pay attention. It was gratifying to see that Nico didn't bark at them and Ruby and Perl were not interested in chasing. Maybe some opportunity to help them will present itself, but they're at least 1km north if that's where they hang out normally. This might also explain some of the late-night barking we've heard in the monte of late.
GRADE: A
beach run:
Rufus
Twiggy
Shirley
(3)
Tortuga sign: ~4k. We did the usual up the beach and come home via the maginot line route. Everyone was good, swam a ton and had a blast. One interesting note: I saw a group of three youngish dogs to the north on the beach as we were passing the tortuga sign. They were heading south, about 200m away, but noticed us and stopped. I called Shirley back to me quickly then and we all turned around long before we got within hailing distance, but good to know.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Posey
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Murci
Cookie
June
Tupo
(9)
North beach run: ~7k. Hard to get back on track after George's death. Today was the first day I felt like doing anything and this group needed to go. The pace was extremely high and we got pretty far north on the beach before we turned around.
GRADE: A
death:
George
He was one of the first wild/stray dogs we took in from the monte around us. He, Gracie and Chester were "the others" for a while... until we got to know them. George was the first to come in after Gracie showed him it was okay. Chester's naturally suspicious nature had him hanging around outside the fence a good deal longer, so George warmed the couch for him until he got his head straight. George survived heartworm, temporary paralysis and ehrliciosis and was good natured through it all. He could put the smack down on an uppity puppy once in a while but he was never mean; he did like to give the what-for to the cats, but who can blame him? He was Good King George to us, worshiped by every puppy that ever came here and loved by us all. He was on intravenous antibiotics and fluids but it wasn't enough and we lost him. We will always miss him and love him.
morning walk:
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(6)
I took these six down to the shirmpery, turned around and headed to the beach near our house; we went south a bit, swam a lot and came home. Everyone had a great time. April was off the leash the whole time for the first time in forever; I think maybe she's not quite such a nut anymore.
GRADE: A
emergency vet trip:
George
(1)
George got very sick over the night and it was worse than we realized. I had to run to Merida with him late in the afternoon. He came back with a catheter and was on fluids all night.
morning walk:
Bette
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
Zoila
(6)
Roni took this group out on a fast, long walk to the east in the monte and then west to the beach at the maginot line. The pace was high enough that she said the bugs weren't bad when they were moving. Zoila is a little horse in her harness; she is reminiscent of Tuesday when she was young. Amber was an angel, continuing her run of good behavior, and everyone else was also good. It was incredibly humid but a fun walk.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
George
Gracie
Rita
Archie
Stella
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
(10)
I took this crew on a walk up the maginot line, north on the beach and then back the way we came. Everyone was excellent and had a great time. The bugs were pretty bad.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Xmul
Hazel
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(9)
Southern charcos: 9k. This was a fast, long run with a bit of everything. I had Xmul and June on leashes until we reached the southern tip of the palapa road; I was able to see very far to the north and I neither saw nor heard anyone working in the salt, so why not. They were both excellent the whole way north to the end of the road, where I put them on again to keep them honest. I thought they might be loading salt up there but, again, nobody. Since we had been so fast to that point I decided to hit the beach at Au Soleil Couchant. I let Xmul and June off their leashes again on the beach. June was perfect and I had her back on well before the maginot line. Xmul ran ahead and barked at two of the dogs that hang out with the soldiers but she came back to me quickly as I turned east off the beach and I put her on there. All in all a nice run.
GRADE: A
morning pup training mission:
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(4)
I took these four for another short walk to the south on the beach with frequent breaks for swimming. The pups were excellent as always and swam their little butts off. Ziggy swam quite a bit and Linda did her share but the pups were nuts. They cannot get enough of the water and are getting stronger every time. I had to scoop them both up to get us all in the gate at the same time coming back.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Otto
Bette
Reggie
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Nico
Coco
(9)
Roni took this group for a walk in the monte. She intended to take the same route down to the beach she took the day before but it was not to be. Yesterday she managed to snake her way north from the land bridge to the smaller northern land bridge and across without alerting Angel's dogs. Today Otto and Ginger likely tipped them off; they ran ahead at one point on the ridge and then Roni heard Solitaria barking her head off nearby a few seconds after they came back. Although this probably would not have been a big deal Roni didn't feel like screwing around so she turned back and came home the way she went. Coco was on her harness and is a real bear on the leash. Nico was off the leash and gave Roni trouble catching her, just like on the last run. They've both had a rough time of it for different reasons but we're focusing on them more now for a while: they'll be good on the leash in short order and then things will get easier. Nico at least doesn't do anything bad (other than avoid her human); she stayed with the group and crossed the road with everyone, didn't run ahead and try to get home first and had a good time galumphing around. Reggie was a good boy and Amber was a little angel. The bugs were hideously bad for the first time this year and the humidity is starting to get crazy even early in the morning. A fun walk for the dogs.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(6)
Roni took this crew out for a quick walk in the monte and down to the beach at the maginot line. Their pace is impressive because that's a long walk and they were almost home before they left. Tuesday and Amber left on leashes but came off quickly and were good the whole way home. This is real progress for both of them now, over several months: they used to have to be on the leash coming home and now they listen and do the right thing. Very gratifying. The heat seemed like maybe it was giving Monkey a little trouble but then when they got to the beach everyone has a nice dip and the heat isn't such an issue. We're starting to notice the bugs more now on walks and runs.
GRADE: A
morning beach run:
Rufus
Daisy
Shirley
Tupo
Jack
(5)
Tortuga sign: ~2k. I took these five out via the beach gate for a dash up to the tortuga sign. Everyone was perfect: the lead dogs held up on the beach when I called them, we all ran past the army encampment together and at a high pace, drew no fire from the dogs there and generally had a good time. Everyone likes the tide pools when they're full and stinky so we slowed down a bit on the way home and everyone screwed around properly in them. We came home via the maginot line and everyone was good to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Eve
Rita
Chester
Twiggy
Lily
Mega
Lex
Junebug
Nico
(10)
Beach run: 7k. Nico left on the leash with June and they both stayed that way until we hit the beach at the tortuga sign. Nico once again would not let me get her back on the leash, although she was much better this time than the last: she stayed with me, listened when I called her and did not dash home on the final leg and ditch us like last time. In fact she stayed near and crossed the road coming home with everyone, so at least that was good. She's smart and kooky and definitely doesn't like the leash, so we're going to work on that. She also "swam" in her manic way and played a lot with her pals on the beach. As soon as she figures out how to get all four of her incredibly long legs going in the same direction at the same time we're going to need a motorcycle to catch her: she's already crazy fast, but just in strange fits and starts. June was really great, and a good running partner for her, as was the rest of the crew. She didn't seemed freaked out or bothered by the few salt workers we saw. Altogether a nice run.
GRADE: B
