Hill top photo etiquette - a wee tutorial

An incident on the summit of Scolty Hill near Banchory this afternoon called to my attention that there are pups at large who are not well informed about the correct etiquette with regard to posing for photographs in such situations.

Let me explain.

You are enjoying a pleasant weekend walk with your owner and her friends (let's call them John and Françoise).

It is a lovely sunny late September day, and you have reached the top of the hill, from where you can enjoy a panoramic view reaching from the North Sea in one direction to the Cairngorm plateau in the other.

Naturally your owner wishes to take a photo of you, perhaps posing nicely with her friends, in exchange for which you are of course offered treat.

It is all going so well until some cheeky little ball of high maintenance fluff arrives on the scene.

First she gets under the feet of the photographer, nearly causing her to drop her precious Samsung Galaxy S6, again...


I hope no-one thinks I am being racist when I mention that said ball of fluff is a Japanese Spitz and her name is Yuki. (pronounced You-key not Yucky).

Yuki totally bombs your photo shoot without so much as a by-your-leave...


And then she scarpers, caring not one jot that once disturbed, one might find it hard to regain the composure required of a successful model.

Françoise tries to calm you down ...


... but your only focus now is to chase away the impudent intruder, all thoughts of "posing nicely" dissolving into a blur of red-blooded terrier action...


I am sure my readers will agree with me that Yuki's behaviour was wholly unacceptable, and furthermore that she should right away be disabused of any notion she might have about getting away with such stunts just because some humans might find her "super cute"...

Grrrrr.