May 15, 2014

It's Wildfire Awareness Week in CA. Yep, We're Aware!

I'm guessing you've seen on the news (or my Facebook posts) that San Diego county experienced a rash of fires the last few days. At one point there were 9 of them!

Here's a fuzzy pic from my phone showing the news graphic of the 9 fires.
(BTW, we're fine - we live well west of where the fires are.)

Ironically, this is all happening while it's Wildfire Awareness Week in California. Yep, you could say we are aware now! In fact, even though we aren't close to the fires, I was afraid to leave Rita home alone, just in case a fire would break out in our canyon. (It's happened before, although they put it out quickly!)

We aren't supposed to have this sort of hot, dry, windy, fire-danger-y weather until October! But unfortunately, while most of the rest of the country froze, we had a HOT, dry winter. And now we are having an even hotter, dryer spring. Ugh. (Where is my May Gray?!)

So, what to do for fitness when it's too hot to go for our usual long daily walk? Hit the beach!
Rita: hates to swim; loves to dunk. Shoulda named her Donut.

Yes, Rita and I went back to the beach. It's not our first time back since "the incident", but we haven't been since... hmmm, I think it was September. We went back a few times after I got hit by the insane-asshat-with-a-stick, but I just wasn't comfortable anymore. 

Let me 'splain - I'm not afraid for myself. I'm afraid for Rita. Lots of folks said, "Don't let the bullies win" and "you should go back!", etc. BUT... the problem is that the thing that instigated the whole ugly mess was my friend's dog running at a submissive pup. Let me clarify that her dog didn't hurt the pup in any way - just ran at it and intimidated it.

Well, Rita does the exact same thing! And since Rita's recall is not what it ought to be (yet! We're working on it - but our 2nd round of training classes was interrupted by being away for two weeks) I don't feel comfortable there now. I'm worried she'll rush a submissive dog and the owner will kick/hit her. That would be a HUGE setback for her!


Now, normally on Wed's we have a standing playdate with Rita's buddy Dakota. Dakota's mom has been working me to get us to come back to Fiesta Island. She tells me how quiet it is down there, and how all the old regulars ask about us, etc.

So, this past Wed, it was just too darn hot to walk/play in the yard, so I finally gave in and said we'd meet her at the beach. 

It started off badly, since the first person I saw was this crazy lady who walks a pack of about 7 dogs and who regularly yells at other people/dogs. (She once yelled at Rita, while Rita was just playing, "No showing teeth at the dog park!" Well... that's how Rita plays. How do you play Bitey Face with no teeth showing?) So, Rita and I hung back and I put her on the LONG lead.
Rita on her 25 foot lead, cooling off
Once Dakota showed up (and the crazy lady was off in the distance), I switched her to the short lead.

She was actually fine with this Great Dane, which was good as she can be scared of big dogs.
"Come back! I actually liked you!"

But then the very next dog, she rushed and bullied. Luckily the owner was cool about it, but after that, she spent the rest of the time on the long lead!

There were no other incidents, and she got some good exercise, but I was on edge the whole time, looking for dogs we didn't know. And there were TONS of strange dogs there yesterday because it was so darn hot that EVERYPAWDY wanted to take their dogs to the beach for their exercise!

And... worst of all... two of the regulars told me that last week they saw the insane asshats that hit me! The regulars hadn't seen them since the incident... but they're baaack. (At least they were sans sticks.)
An exhausted, damp puppy
So, we likely won't be going again anytime soon. We'll be waiting until Rita's recall is vastly improved, and until the weather cools off and it's no longer insane asshat season. (So.. in other words, we might never go back...)

I suppose I should search and read people's posts about staying fit when it's too cold to walk, because now we are in the too-hot-to-walk situation! Guess we'll start with some indoor training!

Any other ideas for indoor exercise? (Keeping in mind that Rita is not a ball/fetch-player!)

Thanks to SlimDoggy and co-hosts Peggy's Pet Place and To Dog With Love for hosting FitDog Friday!

40 comments:

  1. Glad you went back to the beach and maybe the more you go the more relaxed you will be. Not nice to be worried but we understand. Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. Now that the weather is getting warmer and school is almost out, it will be much more crowded there, so if we do ever start going back, it won't be until the fall!

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    1. It is.... One thing I might try is walking her at a different part of the beach. Dogs are still welcome there, but it's not the official off-leash part, so there are only a very small number of dogs. I could walk her on-leash there and she could go in and out of the water to stay cool.

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  3. Hi Y'all,

    Obedience practice, treadmill walking and some of the exercises for strength shown on Slim Doggy Jack.

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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    1. Thanks for the advice. We don't have a treadmill (since the weather is fine for outdoor walking here ~335 days/year) but we did some training practice yesterday. Will look up the strenght work on SlimDoggy!

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  4. BOL...I was just thinking about the 'June Gloom' and wondering if we're going to have it, it's been so warm. We've been trying to get out before 7am and then inside most of the day. Jack and Maggie are really bored and miss their mid-day walks! Stay safe with the fires. My sister lives in Rancho Santa Fe, so she's been a little freaked out.

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    1. We are lazy and don't get up before 7 am. :) (That includes Rita!) I'd be freaking out if I lived in RSF too. We looked at some houses there - man, I have to say I'm glad we chose to be by the coast instead!

      Managed to get a little longer walk in today - it's a wee bit cooler.

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  5. I have a blog friend who lives in Oceanside and has talked about going to Fiesta Island before. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I've heard there are some indoor agility areas around you, which might be a fun way for Rita to burn off a little steam, even if she doesn't know how to do agility. My husband does some nosework games with Morgan in the house where she has to be in another room and he hides treats in a variety of places in other parts of the house, usually just one room. Then he releases her and they go to the other room and she searches for the treats until she finds them. The funny part is that she will return to areas where she's found treats hidden for weeks in hopes of finding more that she missed!

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    1. Nosework might be worth a try. She's not super treat motivated, but if I used some of her faves she might be into it! Rita would totally do the same thing - look for treats over and over in the same spots!

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  6. I'm always so afraid of a house fire in which Coco and Pookums can't escape. One of my worst fears. Well that and not leaving enough tip when dining out, but mostly house fires.

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  7. I am always nervous about how other dogs will react. last night we took Greta with us to a little league game. As we walked in a Yorkie, of all dogs, barked ferociously at her, luckily he was on leash and his owner scolded him. I was proud of Greta as she was not fazed at all. Hope you continue to stay safe from the fires!
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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    1. Good girl, Greta! Rita is getting a lot better with strange men (we walked past a ton of gardeners today with no reaction other than some glances) but, yes, I'm always nervous about the other dogs and about how she'll react to them reacting! Luckily at her training class she also gets some socialization, so that helps.

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  8. I just put a cooling vest on Mr. N and we walk anyway. Granted it doesn't get over 100 degrees hot here or anything like that.

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    1. Oh, that's a pawesome idea! Hopefully it won't get over 100 here either - but it hit like 96 yesterday - and that was near the coast! Thankfully only supposed to be 90 to day!

      (Hmmm.... wonder where I can get a cooling vest in MY size??)

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  9. God that asshat, I wanted to beat HIM right then and there. If I'd been then and there. ;-)

    Will Rita do Cavaletti's? I know I had to look it up too. But I use shoes and mop handles to make them, or you could try food in boxes to work her nose. It's not ideal, but it's something.

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    1. Wish you'd been there - I know you would have kicked him for me! :)

      Hmm. Have to look up Cavaletti's. Think we will try the nose-work idea! Luckily it's supposed to cool off and hopefully the hot weather will leave us alone for a while!

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  10. You could train her on an exercise peanut. Between the exercise itself and the mental work learning to use it, she'll be one pooped pup!

    http://www.fitpawsusa.com/FitPAWS-Peanut-Peanut-DVD-Pump-Retail-Box-Dog-Fitness-Canine-Rehab-Equipment/productinfo/FPAWSP/#.U3ZN2_ldVyw

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    1. She's afraid of a lot of things, but I could try that with her... We'd have to go SLOW! We have a BOSU ball for ourselves. Maybe I could try her out on that!

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  11. There is nothing like a rousing game of indoor ball around here. Have you tried putting her in a Padre's uniform (with or without hat), watching some games and extolling the virtues of our Great American Pastime?

    Sorry. That is the best I can do except maybe suggest nose work with boiled liver. No dog can resist that.

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    1. Even with her limited interest in ball playing, she'd probably be better than most of the Padres. :)

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  12. Moses is a bit of a fetcher, so we can do that inside, but hide-and-seek is also a good inside game! Or I know people who use treadmills when it's too cold.

    It sucks that experiences can sour going to a specific park - there are a few parks here I don't like to go to because a past experience has sullied my opinion. And it doesn't help that that experience means I'm already negative about going there before I get there, and am then just looking for things to confirm my expectations. Of course, it's always owners/people who ruin everything - dog-fuelled incidents are so rare. So I don't blame you for not going back (or wanting to). Which sucks, cos it looks like a nice park!

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    1. Yeah... I hear you. Now, not only do I go there with a negative state of mind, but I find that when you start telling folks your ugly Fiesta Island stories - they then have many to share as well! So it just makes me that much more negatively inclined toward the place!

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  13. Don't tell hubs, but when he's not at home, I open the "no" parts of the house up to them, and we play hide and seek. The only thing really needed for that is a good "down" long enough for you to hide, and the recognition of "come" when you yell "Ready or not, here you come!" for them once you're hidden. You'd be surprised at how tired they seem after several rounds during 30 minutes of trying to find you. (Maybe it's the adrenaline rush?) You can switch it up and play "Find the ____," using things they know the names of as well. We do this once a week in the summer when it's too hot for them outside.

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    1. Oh... that sounds like a lot of fun! She does know down and stay and come (at least when there are no distractions she knows them!) so that could work! Will give it a try.

      (Your secret from the hubs is safe with me!)

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  14. Oh my gosh, I just read your old post about the stick incident. Yikes! People are nuts. I've thankfully never had anything quite like that happen. I've had people yell at me, but never hit me with a stick.

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    1. Yeah, people are nuts. I'd never been hit before either! (Well, by anyone other than a sibling!)

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  15. Glad you are safe from the fires. I can't believe someone did that. Asshole is the best word for it. I am sorry it has ruined the spot for you. I hope you can go back again. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Yeah... total asshole. Rita will have to listen to me a lot better before we can go back. She's MOSTLY pretty good, but there are lots of distractions down there!

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  16. We're a bit touch & go with dog parks. My dog gets way too excited & can bowl over people as well as dogs. We have to pick our places and our times. Hope the fires blow out soon & you might want to check out my latest post cause it has a few tips about what to do when the weather outside sucks. Good luck with the FitDogging :)

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    1. Headed over to check your post. Thanks for the tips!

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  17. I'm glad you are safe from the fires, and I hope they are finally settling down for now?
    It really sucks that you can't enjoy the beach, but it sounds like you got lots of good ideas for some indoor exercise anyway. We are lucky enough to have the yard where the dogs can play in their pool...I'm not sure what I'd do with them if they didn't love fetch though!

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    1. Wish Rita loved fetch, but even if she did, our yard is no good for it.. We have a very steep slope and it's easy for balls to end up at the bottom of it, caught up in the bushes.

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  18. We always have to face our demons head on. It can be stressful but avoidance isn't the right way to live...says my mom. When it is really hot, we walk real early in the morning, we also have our Kool Kollars that are filled with ice that help keep us cool.

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    1. My point is that Rita is sometimes the problem. And we are not avoiding that. We were enrolled in training, but had to drop out for a family emergency, so now we have to wait until the class is offered again so we can finish it. If I can get her to where she has better recall, we'd be Able to go back.

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  19. Wow. Just... wow. I don't know what it is about crazies at the dog park?! I'm so sorry that you've been going through all that. We had a lady yell at us once because Lucas drank her dog's water. From the bowl. That she set on the ground.

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  20. Great pictures. Be safe and have a great Sunday.

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  21. hello jackie its dennis the vizsla dog hay wow we hav not ben to fiesta island in a long time on akkownt of it mayks me nervus to be arownd that mutch aktivitee but after reeding abowt yore misadventcher with the krazy peepul and their sticks i hav the feeling i mite be better off just running arownd in my yard or at adjility praktiss!!! ok bye

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  22. You could use that long lead and proof Rita's recall at the beach once you get it solid other places. Its too bad that you can't find a time to go there and work on it when there are not too many others. It sounds like the perfect place. :)

    We have to worry about fires up at our cabin this time of year. Every Spring until the humidity rises. It can be worrisome. I feel terrible for all who lost their homes out there.

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