Snow Much Fun!

Snow bound roads & paths... winter white landscapes... icy cold blizzard winds... sound bleak?? No way!! Perfect conditions for plenty of crazy doggy excitement & exstatic fun. The snow brings a whole new heightened state of exhileration to a wintery walk in the wilderness... its electrifying... new smells... new sensations... new adventures!! Just one member of the doggy duo missing... Drifty-boy... but Finn has his besties for company again, Miss Molly & Curious Cuillin!

Bounding through the drifts, chasing each other is so much fun and our inquisitive little cold noses pick up every scent to follow and trail back & forth across the path, through the trees and up & down the snow-packed bankings.

Meeting the locals!

Poor little Mollydog struggled at a few points with snow clankers building up on the her soft feathery tummy & leg hair. At a few points she looked like the abominable snowman and we had to break the hard packed icy snowballs from her fur before she was carrying her own weight in snow!! But after a certain point, once out in the open of the glen, the snow changed in texture becoming more dry and crystalline and less wet and sticky so it was no longer a problem... I wonder if its possible to get anti-balling plates for dogs?

A wee sensory bonus on the way back. We ended up following the tracks of a stalker's quad-bike with the fresh scent of venison blood to follow... all of a sudden the rest of the walk was very focused... and quiet... i'm sure the dogs expected to find their dinner at the end of the trail!!

2 Mutts & Their Mates...

What could be better than a day at the beach after being off my paws for a few weeks? Well.... a day at the beach with all my bestest canine chums of course!! First time for about 10 weeks i've been able to have a proper run around, stretch my legs, feel the wind in my fur and the freshness of the waves... and cause some chaos with Finn, Cuillin & Mollydog!

Concentrating Cuillin.

Mollydog chasing waves!

Last paddle before sunset.

2 lazy pups in their pits!

Well... we've been a little quiet of late! No adventurous tales for a few weeks. Drifty boy is laid up with a broken metacarpal in his paw. A delicate little bone that can't really be plastered... its just a case of house rest and trying to restrict his movements as much as possible... which is extremely hard for an energetic Border Collie that normally lives life full speed ahead! 

The Offending Paw!

He's actually done really well, the poor wee soul, i thought he'd have major cabin fever and be going round the twist but he's been really chilled out about it. It happened 3 weeks ago now, not entirely sure how? Its been really wet and muddy and Drift is always running around full pelt chasing Finn and balls and sticks. I think he slid and twisted as he's been catching a ball and maybe initially just had a hair-line fracture. He had a day of limping then seemed fine.. looking like it was just a little muscle pull... then a few days later it was much much worse again. He was limping badly and infact not using his foot, avoiding putting any weight on it at all. His foot was really quite swollen so hard to feel anything. Sitting infront of me, looking very sorry for himself, he insisted on constantly proffering me his sore paw! Expecting me to be able to fix it... i felt pretty useless apart from being able to give out as many snuggles as possible to reassure him. The Vet concurred my initial suspicion and committed him to total rest apart from going out for quick 'business' breaks!

Taking it easy & putting his paws up!

Little Finn has been a curious little guy without his side-kick! Out on walks he seems a lot less confident, looking to me for reassurance rather than following in the footsteps of his brother without a worry. He looks at every other dog excitedly hoping for a play-mate to run around and play chase with. We've been doing a lot of running together, 3 miles every other evening so he's been enjoying that and its giving him a focus on something other than the absence of his best buddy. Its been really enjoyable & beneficial for both of us and become something that we do together, so when Drift isn't there, Finn expects this routine. I can also say its been doing a good job of getting rid of excess energy & tiring him out...

Lazy bones Finn putting his paws up too!

So 3 weeks on and we are doing really well... Drift is walking around fine now, putting full weight on his foot but not wanting to cause any problems further down the line, it'll be another couple of weeks before he's back running around like normal. We've been on a couple of short on lead walks with a few days of rest in between, gradually building up exercise slowly again. Drifty is by no means an old dog, at just 5 there's more than just little bit of life left in him yet. But i'm very conscious... maybe overly so... that injuries and ailments that are not given a chance to heal properly are going to cause worse problems further down the line. So hard as it may be to keep Drift to minimal exercise it will serve his body well in the long term.

Happy 2014!!

Well 2013 was a year filled with lots of fun... a winter chasing the snow, plenty of solo adventures walking & camping out in the Scottish Mountains with Miss Mel, hanging out on the hills and running riot in the park with our special buddy Mollydog, a summer full of doggy paddling and chilling in the sun on our favourite beach, our best friends new pup Cuillin who brings a whole load of mischief and daftness to our pack and of course not forgetting the fact we were made immortal in a stunning pet portrait.. a very proud moment for us!!

Here's some of our favourite bits of 2013...

Fun in the white stuff at Whitelees.

In search of snow, Blackmount.

Winter glamping in a cosy a Mongolian Yurt, Loch Ken.

Swimming in the Moonlight.

Springtime in the park.

Hot summer walking!

Cooling down with a doggy paddle.

Chasing thro the summer meadows.

Summer walking & camping in the hills.

Gorge-walking, Glen Kinglass.

High camp in the Lairig Ghru, Cairngorm.

Long distance walking in the Cairngorms.

Creag a' Chalamain Summit over-looking the Lairig Ghru.

Our favourite beach at Portencross.

Charging thro the waves... 

Madness with Mollydog in the park.

Team Collie... The Doggy Duo & Cuillin!

Our Pet Portrait by Jennifer McKay

Here's to an equally exciting 2014 full of even more adventure and fun... more snuffling about in the snow, more hills and mountains, more long walks and camping, more woodland wanderings, more summer lazing on the beach and more capers with our canine chums. Happy New Year to all our friends & followers!!

Cosy Christmas!

Team Collie had an exciting morning opening their pressies... a bit like kids and boxes, we have a lot more fun with the wrapping paper!! We even gave Mel a helping hand to shred the paper off her presents! It was great spending Christmas morning with our chum Cuillin too before heading to see Mel's Mum & Dad and of course Old Boy Mr Tam! 

We even got our very own precious present from a very special friend. Thank-you so much Jennifer... We love it!! (and Miss Mel too) You have made little Finn look all grown-up & handsome and of course me even more so and as intelligent and proud as i am in real life! We have no idea how you manage to capture our spirit and essence but you do it with great talent and sensitivity. It is definately not a portrait of any other doggy duo but THE Doggy Duo!!

Drift & Finn by Jennifer McKay @ Pet Portraits Scotland

A quick drive down the road and walk along a very stormy beach to tire us out before heading to Miss Mel's folks house. Where else would we find Tam but at his favourite spot in front of the log fire... toasting his tootsies & frying his brain.

Later, after all the visiting and family time and eating Christmas dinner... all the festive fun was just a little too much for some... cute Cuillin found his comfy wee snooze spot curled up on the chair.

"It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!"

The Christmas tree is up and we are all getting into the festive spirit... altho fairy lights are proving to be just too much for some with a flashing light fetish....

We even have a Christmas Delivery addressed especially to us!! Can't wait to shred the wrapping paper off our pressies on Christmas day. Its the only time we don't get into trouble for; (1) chewing something and (2) making a mess!

Awaiting Winter!