August 12, 2014

Less-Wordy Wednesday: Hitting the Beach

I've written before about how we don't go back to the off-leash bay-front dog park anymore. (After The Worst Walk Ever we tried a few other times, but Rita doesn't have a perfect recall and I worried too much that she'd get in trouble with another crazy person.)

But recently we tried one of the many on-leash beaches. There are lots of beaches in San Diego where you can walk your on-leash dog - the only catch is that it has to be before 9am all year, and then after 4pm in the winter/6pm in the summer. 

We hadn't tried the on-leash beaches before for a couple of reasons: (1) the hubs and Rita both like to sleep in on the weekends and (2) I didn't trust people to actually have their dogs leashed. (Rita, understandably, hates to be charged at by off-leash dogs while she is on leash.)

When the hubs took the day off work recently, we decided to get up early enough so we could head down to the beach for a nice long walk. Rita had a great time! She was happy and romping as soon as we hit the sand! We walked a nice long ways.
We ran a little bit, and walked under the pier.
She attacked some seaweed (scary stuff cuz the waves kept moving it)...
...and rolled in some seaweed. 
She dug a bit. 
She was a little afraid of the waves (she's used to the bay) and would only get her feet wet, but a good time was had by all.

And the best part was that over 2 different days trying this, we never had a run-in with an off-leash dog! I was shocked. I really expected folks to be breaking the law - cuz you know how people are. (The cops must actually go down there and enforce the rule every once in a while!) 

We'll definitely be going back, as long as I can get the 2 of them up early enough!

Happy Less-Wordy Wednesday!

Thanks to BlogPaws for hosting Wordless Wednesday!

37 comments:

  1. Beach walks are the best! Mostly because there are fewer joggers and almost never a bicycle!

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  2. FUN! That's great that everyone was following the rules. Happy Wednesday. Golden Woofs

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  3. Hooray Rita!!! We are so glad that it worked out!!!

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  4. Lucky Rita. Beach + Me = Sore Point. However glad you all had a good time and at least going early you pretty much have the beach to yourselves. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  5. That's interesting about the time rules. Looks like Rita did have a great time. Good work with that seaweed too, Rita!

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  6. Dogs on the beach is a major part of my job. We allow dogs 24/7 whereas the neighboring beaches have specific times. We allow dogs off leash in the water with their owners, but on the beach they must be leashed. These rules are tested daily. Not everybody on the beach likes dogs. It's a nightmare. I spend 20-30% of my day just patrolling the beach. (And I see some oddities. Check out my post "Freaks on the Beach" for examples.)

    I read your worst walk ever. I know those jerks (well, not them specifically, but I do know their ilk). They're the reason I carry pepper spray when I walk. I can handle the dogs! And yes, what that man did would be considered battery. And a stick is a weapon. And you're a better human being than I am.

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  7. Glad to see people following the rules.

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  8. Looks fantastic. I want to come visit.

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  9. Looks fantastic. I want to come visit.

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  10. That looks like so much fun! When we lived in Cali, I loved taking Mauja to the on leash beaches. She does great with off leash dogs when she's on leash, but her recall is pretty sorry!

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  11. That looks like such a fun time was had! Every now and then my Momma, Poppa and I take a trip down to the shore for a weekend and it's always a blast! I love getting my feets wet (but ONLY my feets!) in the ocean water!

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  12. Oh we are living vicariously through you.
    stella rose

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  13. Rita looks like she's in heaven on that beach!

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  14. Looks like you had a nice day. We've never been to the beach, not sure how we'd like the waves either! Happy WW!

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  15. Most of the nearby beaches are off-leash here, I think. We haven't met any weird people there but we've met plenty on our daily walks.

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  16. On a relatively empty beach I would have to confess to being one of those law-breakers sometimes.....but my guys are trained to ignore other dogs, and if I have any doubt at all, the leashes go back on or never come off. This is especially true if there are lots of humans walking around. They are generally worse than running into other dogs. ;-)

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  17. What fun on the beach! We are wondering if you created the artwork in your website header. It is fabulous!

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    Replies
    1. No, my sis did the art for me. Isn't it great? :)

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  18. Looks like a great walk! We have an off leash beach/dog park here that I go to, most people just throw balls in the water for the dogs so its pretty safe. Love Dolly

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  19. Rita looks happy as a clam! Glad you all enjoyed yourselves.

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  20. That beach looks like tons of fun! Rita found all the best ways to enjoy it too.

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  21. What a pretty dog! So glad you got to go to the beach in peace. Our dog was attacked as a puppy by some crazy dogs who ganged up on her. :( We still go to the beach, but only on weekdays, and only during odd hours, as a rule. Wow, you have some funny hours for the beach!
    Glad I found your blog on the blog hop. Happy WW!
    Behr's mom :)

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  22. Looks like a great day at the beach. Maybe the rule-breakers can't be bothered to get up early. ;-)

    Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats

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  23. Great photos - looks like you have a wonderful beach to enjoy!

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  24. It's great to see you back at the beach. Looks like rita missed it.

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  25. Looks like a fun day. That's great that you didn't run into any off leash dogs. My front yard opens up right into a park where dogs are not allowed however I live in a very dog friendly neighborhood so many people bring their dogs there anyway...which is fine if they are off leash or well behaved. It's so nice when people are considerate.

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  26. So glad you found a beach to have some fun on. I love taking Harley to the beach - we go to Charleston as often as we can. He loves it there.

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  27. Firstly I understand how hard it can be to use no words... But less-wordy Wednesday - fantastic idea ;)

    Chowski has never been to the beach so I think we'd try him on an on leash beach first incase he gets spooked by the wave. Then progress onto of leash. There is also something special about being connected to your pet and also its probably better exercise because they encourage you to walk fast rather than being able to sit back and watch them exercise! Haha!

    Thanks for sharing.

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  28. Sigh... I must confess to jealousy of your proximity to beaches. (Pause for a moment to imagine being on the beach with my pack.) Sigh. That just looks fantastic and like you pretty much had that beach to yourselves. So glad you didn't run in to any rule breakers. And Jeffie is pretty sure Rita smelled delicious after that roll in the seaweed ;-)

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  29. That looks like a wonderful place to walk. Did she smell after the seaweed roll?

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  30. What a great time! We too love the beach and are very lucky to live on an island with many, many beaches available. The majority of them are not patrolled/controlled and with so many, there are often no people. Yippee!

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  31. Oh man! It makes me miss racing around on the beach. It was always so much fun.

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  32. Glad you guys had fun. Sure wish CA had better rules at the beach. The one beach we can go to up here isn't 'leashed' or at least no one pays attention. We can't walk too far down here either - too rocky.

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  33. That looks like such a great time! When I was at the Maine coast recently, they had similar rules....early in the morning I walked the beach (I didn't have any dogs with me), and enjoyed seeing all the people out there with their dogs. But sure enough a few of them let their dogs go off leash! I'd love to take my dogs to the ocean someday.

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  34. What a great day! So glad it went so well for you, yes you must do that more often. When did you cut your hair off? I think it looks great, I'm still deciding if I want to plunge back into short hair. I loved it when it was short but just don't know now.

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  35. LOVE LOVE LOVE that they have "leash on" beaches. So wish I lived near one. I am not a fan of "off leash" ANYTHING that involves dogs that i don't know.

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  36. Beach walks are always FABULOUSLY fun! We have a section of our beach that is no-dogs, but the rest is off-leash-do-what-you-like! One thing though, I certainly would not have rolled in that water!
    have a super week,
    Pippa :)

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