Training new walking companions

On Sunday morning Gail and I went out for a walk on the Coulin Estate with our nice part-time Torridon neighbours, Tess and Richard. Despite being based in London, this couple are keen hill-walkers, and I was looking forward very much to the outing.

T & R are not dog owners, so I made allowances for the fact that some training in the matter of my walking requirements would be required.

First off, it was important to establish that an intact male dog needs time to mark his territory, and so the walking pace must permit this, especially when that dog is ten years old.

And then, I mean, can you believe, Tess imagined I might pose with her for a photo beside Loch Clair despite my knowing full well that she was not carrying treats! It was only when Gail handed her a small morsel of dried venison that I obliged (sort of).

So Tess, for future reference, I know you are a vegetarian, more or less, but perhaps you might consider putting a few pieces of hard cheese, or even a biscuit (which doesn't have to be especially for dogs, shortbread would do) in your pocket before you leave the house.

Later on, the humans chose a route that involved about a mile on newly laid gravel of the type that is rather hard on the paws. Now I appreciate that it's difficult to avoid this sort of surface altogether - after all, one can't predict if a Land Rover track will have been recently resurfaced - but I'm sure T & R will note for future reference that this terrier prefers soft grass, or a muddy path, or smooth pebbles, or even tarmac.

I will concede that the gravel track led to a very satisfactory footpath along a beautiful wee valley edged with native Scots pine trees. Here I reminded Tess of my right to block the trail whenever an interesting smell presents itself.

A bit further along, Gail and I showed how to pose nicely in the snow and beside waterfalls.

As we climbed higher, I romped ahead to give a practical demonstration of the concept of selective deafness while Gail cried: "Bertie, wait! WAIT!"

All in all though, it was a thoroughly enjoyable ten mile hike, and I am hoping, now that Tess and Richard are properly trained, we'll have many more adventures with them in the future.