Sunday 10 February 2019

Scottie talk


So here I am on the beach at Nairn (our favourite stop-off en route to Torridon), enjoying a break in the wintery weather, checking out some driftwood and minding my own business, when along come two Scotties and their owner.

Has it ever struck you that the conversations your human engages in with other dog owners are not of the highest intellectual  calibre? 

It seems a bit rich to be criticised as uncouth for sniffing each other's rear ends by way of introduction by a species that rarely ventures beyond "Oooh, SO cute. Boy or girl? What's his name? How old is he? Weather's not so bad today is it?"

(This final question is purely rhetorical. Unless it is freezing cold AND rain is bucketing down AND a gale is blowing AND visibility is at the 'can't see beyond the tip of your nose' range, the typical Scottish dogwalker will classify conditions as "nae bad".)
For the record, these Scottie guys are called Archie and Phoebe and they are, respectively, five and seven years old. It is agreed that we are all three exceptionally handsome terriers and that the weather is indeed "nae bad".

Later at the Torridon cottage I am pleased to see that Gail had packed some suitably brain stimulating reading material for the weekend, and live in hope of hearing her discussing the relevance of quantum decoherence to the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, or the role of non-locality in avoiding violations of Special Relativity, with the next dog owner we run into....
Beats Brexit anyway.


12 comments:

  1. Hari Om
    it certainly does, Bertie lad... I have added that to my Kindle collection, to be read on the OZ trip!

    As for the polite and innocuous conversations on meeting strangers... it's a human convention called 'keeping it safe'. If we only had a sniff test the way you canines do... Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  2. Our lady says that kind of talk is called small talk and it is like our butt sniffing to check people out. We agree it is just weird.

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  3. Oh ....Bertie I thoroughly enjoyed your Terrier conversation. Just as I thought Terriers get right to the point. I bet Phoebe was a bit smitten with you and Archie a tad jealous handsome WFT-ness.

    It is a lovely day to be on the beach though.

    I mostly see dogs walking their humans towards me. So first thing I say is gorgeous pup (I figure gorgeous is appropriate for male or female), followed by looking at the pup asking what is your name. If at that point I can't figure out the sex I'll ask. Most recently I've encountered the most gorgeous Great Dane
    1 1/2 years old......great-normous named Nellie. Knowing the Outlook Twins I was still not sure of the sex until the Mom said she has an older (G.D.) brother at home.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  4. It looks like you and the Scotties had a fun time on the beach.

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  5. We say just ignore the human babble and enjoy your time with your canine pals:)

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  6. It is interesting that my humans always remember dog names while out walking our trails...but never remember the human names....

    I must say, your Gail and our Daddy would have some fun physics conversations(He majored in Solid State Physics)

    xoxo,
    Rosy, Jakey & Arty

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  7. Hi hi hi! Ojo here! That looks nae bad indeed! You are on the BEACH! I love the Beach! Everything looks bigger where you are - bigger Beaches, bigger hills for climbing, bigger spots for running... AND you get to go inside places with your people instead of being left in the car because of all the "no dogs" rules that we have here. So I think, with your nae bad weather, that I might come live with you for a while. Although not quite yet, because we got SNOW!

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  8. Oh Bertie, I so agree! How in the world can peeps laugh at us for a good sniff, when they talk abouts nothin' butts weather and doggie stuffs???
    Butts...OMD....DID YOU SEE??? DID YOU SEE???? A WIREHAIR FOX TERRIER WON WESTMINSTER!!!!! (I was hoping for an Airedale, butts alas, not to be AGAIN! sigh.) Butts, a cousin is just as good!!! WoooHooooo!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  9. Scotties in Scotland why that is the first time I have seen that since blogging! WOW I wonder if it could be my long lost cousins?
    Your Friend
    Sweet William The Scot

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    1. Sweet William, they definitely could be your cousins! As for Scotties in Scotland, it is true that they are less common than Westies, but there are quite a few around. I must instruct Gail to try harder to get more Scottie pics. Toodle pip!
      Bertie.

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