Friday, September 30, 2016

30.09.16

morning run:
Rufus
Shirley
Jack
Twiggy
Luna
MoMo
(6)

To the beach at Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Getting out was much easier this time thanks to Roni releasing Rufus a little after the rest of us left. He caught up in a flash and was much less wound up. We took the monte to the beach, ran south to the tortuga sign and came home the usual way.
GRADE: A

incoming:
Frida*
(1)

A couple people told me about a poor dog that had been hit by a car at the gasoline station. Yesterday I went by and found her hanging out in a boat, which is crazy: she had to drag herself across the hot pavement, the road full of rocks and the quay and then somehow up onto the boat pitching on the water. She apparently does this a lot. Freddy, the fisherman who first told me about her, showed up and I told him we'd figure out something if he could watch her for one more day. Today I went back and got her: roni posted about it. She's very sweet considering she's half starved and only has two legs. We cleaned out a little pen that was full of weeds and spruced it up for her a little.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

28.09.16

morning walk:
Alice
Rita
Ernie
Molly
Linda
Daisy
Monkey
Perl
Ruby
(9)

I took this group for a walk to the beach at the maginot line. Linda and Ernie left on leashes and stayed that way until we were at the end of the coco trail, to keep them from running like lunatics and giving themselves limps. I think it worked: neither of them was having trouble on the way home. I kept the pace reasonably slow and everyone else obliged me by staying with me. I let everyone off on the beach and they had a great time swimming; the water is crystal clear and a nice temperature and it was calm enough for everyone to have a good time. On the way back I hooked up Perl and Ruby because we were getting barked at a lot by the dogs at the army camp; they got a little nervous at this and being on the leash makes them feel more secure. They're both little professionals on the leash. Everyone else was really good and had a great time the whole way.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

27.09.16

morning run:
Posey
Eve
Elewah
Lily
Xmul
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(9)

No-man's land: ~9k. Every dog on this run just wanted to haul ass and since we got going early I thought we might check out no-man's land, since we hadn't been there in a while. It was a bit sloggy for stretches but nothing too terrible. June and Xmul were off leashes for the majority of the way and had a blast, especially June. This is really her kind of run: fast, lots of stuff to sniff, lots of mud and fun stuff to jump in and her good buddies with her. Nobody lagged and everyone behaved themselves perfectly. We went the extra-long way coming home: south instead of heading east to the intersection, pick up the hidden trail heading west and then loop back to the tar paper shack to the south/east and home via the land bridge. Nobody minded. Good group.
GRADE: A

Monday, September 26, 2016

26.09.16

morning walk:
Blue
Bette
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
Zoila
(7)

Roni took this group for a brisk walk east into the monte and then west to the beach at the maginot line. Everyone did well, including Zoila on the leash. For the second time she didn't seem to have any kind of limp or problem after the walk.
GRADE: A

Sunday, September 25, 2016

25.09.16

morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Otto
Archie
Molly
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Stella
Steve McQueen
(11)

I took this group for a walk down the terreno federal trail, starting from north of the tar paper shack, winding our way through the berms that separate the charcos there and looping back via the apolcalypse cove and the land bridge. Stella was on the leash the whole way and nobody else. Everyone was perfect.
GRADE: A

Thursday, September 22, 2016

22.09.16

morning run:
Posey
Truman
Xmul
Luna
Mega
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(10)

Southern charcos: ~8k. This was nearly identical to the last southern charcos run. I let June and Xmul off their leashes early and they were really good. Nobody gave me any surprises and we all ran like lunatics. They killed the water before we got to the intersection on the way home - it was starting to get hot but at least the bugs weren't bad.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

21.09.16

morning beach walk:
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(6)

This was supposed to be a quickie with Perl, Ruby and Linda but I ended up throwing the fuzzy dogs in because they all really like the beach and this is kind of their jam. Ziggy shouldn't go too far or too fast anyway. April screwed me over early by darting east across the road before I could get everyone headed in the right direction (west, towards the beach). We all crossed and I rounded everyone up and got us turned around. I had Ruby on the leash the whole way because she's the one who needs it most; Perl is a little dream, honestly, and sticks to my heel when she isn't swimming, but Ruby gets ideas. The bluff is ridiculously high right now, especially near our house. We had to throw ourselves down onto the beach from the south road. The scene of me trying to get six wet little lunatics back up onto the bluff on the way home must've been amusing, especially since the little bastards kept jumping back down. The bluff was too high and steep for any of them to get up it without assistance so this was a Keystone Cops routine, but with wet dogs. The little black dog that seems to live south of Gary observed us on the beach but my charges were really good (and he was too) - no barking or charging off.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

20.09.16

morning run:
Eve
Frijolita
Rita
Chester
Otto
Frankie
Twiggy
Roxy
Coco
(9)

Swimming Hole: ~6k. With Frijolita along we always have to head north heading out: she just hates going across the land bridge east. Whatever... she's allowed to have her preferences. We took the long way to the intersection, hit the swimming hole and then looped around south from there to the jeep berm where we crossed west and headed home. Coco was on the leash the whole way and was good; she's been getting better on the leash, she just needs a few more outings to calm down and maybe she can be off a bit. This was Roxy's best run ever: she was off the leash the entire way except for the very end when I hooked her up near the shrimpery. She stayed with me, listened and had a great time. A very harmonious group despite having a bunch of crazy loudmouths.
GRADE: A

Monday, September 19, 2016

19.09.16

morning walk:
Blue
Gowron
Amber
Zoot
Zoila
(5)

Roni took this group out for a brisk walk in the monte and then to the beach at the maginot line. Zoila was on the leash the whole way and was a good girl. Most importantly: she didn't have a limp afterwards when she got home. We've been worried she has some kind of a problem which is why she hasn't gone on runs: the last two times she went running she had a limp an hour later. She's going to have to go in and get checked but at least this walk didn't seem to set her back. Everyone else was great: it's nice to have a smaller group sometimes.
GRADE: A

Sunday, September 18, 2016

18.09.16

morning run:
Truman
Xmul
Luna
Mega
Lex
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
June
Tupo
(10)

Southern Charcos: ~8k. June was off the leash a lot on this one, as was Xmul. They both did very well and had an excellent time. The monte was eerily silent: there was no wind, no people, very few birds and hardly any bugs. The water in the charcos was like a sheet of glass for long stretches. I had June on and off the leash several times and she gave me no problems - in fact she had a great attitude. She tells me when she senses people or vehicles nearby: her tail goes down, her ears go up and she gets a concerned look on her face. When this happens I hook her up again and she feels more secure on the leash. There were some pretty good sprints in stretches on this run, and a lot of horsing around in the water.
GRADE: A

Friday, September 16, 2016

16.09.16

morning walk:
Perl
Ruby
Monkey
Linda
Amber*
(5)

Perl and Ruby are over their surgeries now - hurray! I took this group out for a walk to the maginot line, although Amber had other ideas; she bailed on me on the coco trail just past the shrimpery. Roni and I thought she might do this but it's good to try to switch things up once in a while. Amber's behavior has been so much better on walks with Roni we thought maybe her "paranoia" would be better but she got all weirded out when I said her name ("good girl, Amber") and she decided to bolt for home. Everyone else continued on with me and was perfect. I had Ruby and Perl on leashes for the last stretch to the beach because we were getting barked at quite a lot by the dogs at the HoJo and it made them unsure; they are both good on the leash and felt more secure that way. I let them off to have fun and swim but had them both back on leashes as we crossed the road coming home and left them that way to get some quality leash time in.
GRADE: A

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

14.09.16

morning run:
Posey
Eve
Elewah
Xmul
Mega
Steve
Murci
Cookie
June
Tupo
(10)

Au Soleil Couchant and north: ~8k. We took the long way in the monte to the beach at Au Soleil Couchant. My idea was to head north on the beach a bit and come home via the maginot line but it was not to be. As we were heading south I saw one of those dogs we've seen around lately, about 100m to the south and up on the bluff a bit (it isn't as pronounced that far to the north). He saw us but none of my charges seemed to see him so I slowed everyone down and went into the water while making some noise so he'd hear us and have time to clear out. He did this, but just ran off into the monte in a loop and came back down farther to the south on the beach ahead of us. Again, nobody seemed to see him and he was clearly trying to stay ahead of us heading south, so I took us back into the monte at Au Soleil Couchant again instead and came home the long way. I was amazed that Elewah didn't notice him and charge off but I guess I did a good job of keeping everyone's attention away from him. Other than that it was an uneventful run. Everyone was really up for it and the heat in the monte was a little more bearable after being on the beach for a while.
GRADE: A

Sunday, September 11, 2016

11.09.16

beach jaunt:
Rufus
Jack
Shirley
Daisy
(4)

Up the beach: ~5k. Just to get some energy out. Everyone was great and had a good time.
GRADE: A

Saturday, September 10, 2016

10.09.16

morning walk:
Alice
Gracie
Rita
Osita
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Stella
Maggie
April
Ziggy
(11)

I took another large group for a walk to the east. Ernie has trouble with the distance and probably should not go on this one again. Stella was on the leash the whole way and was great. Recent rain made the charos not quite so disgusting, but still plenty disgusting for the dogs to enjoy. Everyone had a blast.
GRADE: A

Thursday, September 8, 2016

08.09.16

morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Bette
Monkey
Gowron
Reggie
Amber
Zoot
Nico
(9)

Roni took this crew for a walk in the monte to the east, to the maginot line and the beach and finally back on the coco trail. Nico was on the hook the whole way and was good about it for the most part. She gets a little weird sometimes on the way home, like she's sick of the leash, but she's been getting better with both of us. The leash does nothing to abate the goofy abandon with which she enjoys outings, which makes it hard not to have a good time. It was hot out but then it's hot out at 9pm, too - just crazy this year how hot it seems all the time. Amber continued her run of good behavior off the leash and Zoot does seem to keep himself in check a little better as he gets older. A good walk with a fun, cute group.
GRADE: A

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

06.09.16

morning run:
Truman
Posey
Lily
Xmul
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(9)

Southern charcos: ~8k. Xmul and June had a good time and were off the leash a fair bit far out in the monte. We ran across another person running, heading south as we were starting north on the palapa road. It hardly ever happens that I see anyone else out there running; the dogs were good, but I made sure to have Xmul and June on the hook before we got to him. This was a hard, fast run and everyone was great the whole way.
GRADE: A

Friday, September 2, 2016

02.09.16

morning jaunt:
Miles
(1)

Roni took Miles out for a jaunt to the shrimpery and back while also foraging a bag of pasiflora.
GRADE: A

vet trip:
Perl
Ruby
(2)

Today I took these two to get spayed. They were both troopers, charmed everyone at the vet's and did well on the way home.
GRADE: A

Thursday, September 1, 2016

01.09.16

morning walk:
Reggie
Gowron
Bette
Amber
Zoot
Nico
(6)

Roni took this crew out for a brisk walk in the buggy, hot monte. At this point I think the only time it isn't buggy and hot is at 4.30am and even then the bugs are probably not great. Nico enjoys walks with mom a lot and is getting better on the leash. Amber continues her run of good behavior off the leash. Nice job everyone.
GRADE: A