https://www.facebook.com/105897034611817/

The Docious Dog, Trinity, Edinburgh (2025)

14/07/2024

So, after all the hype, it’s finally the big one - Spain v. England - in the men’s singles wheelchair final at Wimbledon - & what a match it’s turning out to be!

And later…. THAT match, & as an English lass born in 1966, living in Scotland, I reckon it might be wisest to lay low, so no, not planning on getting the barky pack dressed up in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 gear, got enough of an issue with my neighbours as is. However, if you are out & about for the big one & your dog is keen to watch & not bothered too much by noise, would suggest the Place on Raeburn Place - big screen, very efficient service & extremely dog/child/family friendly… Enjoy.

13/03/2024

First post I’m writing where I won’t get a guaranteed ‘like’ from my lovely Mum. She died unexpectedly on Mother’s Day. 😥

May be slight disruption to dog walking services over next few weeks but everyone affected will be contacted directly…. Edit>>>

Thanks for the lovely messages & just to prove it’s my Mum I’ve lost, not my SOH:-

A funeral service has just taken place for Old Mother Hubbard (I think the dog attacked her, purely through hunger). The minister/celebrant/humanist is just winding up at the end of the service, with Old Father Hubbard sat in the front row, a tear in his eye…

M/C/H:- “So, just finally, I’d like to ask if anybody has got any questions…?”

Old Father Hubbard (reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket for his mobile ‘phone, pulling out several doggie bags & half a dog biscuit in the process:- “Er.. yes, Do you have the WiFi code for here?”

M//C/H (Walking up to him, incredulously):- “We’re…just…cremating… YOUR… WIFE!”

Old Father Hubbard (looking up briefly from his ‘phone):- “Er… is that all lower case?”

(Above is courtesy of the brilliant Rob Brydon https://robbrydon.live - catch him if you can, though dog editings my responsibility with no apologies…)

22/01/2024

If it’s not enough of a challenge tripping over all the abandoned x xmas trees on the pavements of Trinity over the last few weeks, our furry friends now have the casualties of Isha on the walkways to investigate too now - but the good news is it’s their equivalent of an interesting new Facebook post which they really like😍…

Sniffing is hugely beneficial for dogs and essential for their wellbeing. It's stimulating too, apparently just 20 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to an hour's walk in terms of enrichment for your dog. As humans, we are very visual, but for dogs, smells are everything - their nose contains up to a billion scent receptors – humans only have about 6 million. The reason your dog sniffs so much on a walk is that they're gathering information about other dogs that have been in the same area - they can tell from sniffing a tree or lamppost when a dog has passed, who it is, and what status they have – male/female, top dog, or not so it’s essential to give them some periods of time where your dog knows they can relax and smell around.

Even more storms are on the way - we can look forward to jostling with Jocelyn tomorrow… & the one after that - Kathleen - you been suggesting names again mother? Here’s the link if you want to know more/suggest your dog’s name etc:- https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-storm-centre/index

17/01/2024

Jeeeso it’s nippy out there today & forecast over the next few days, with temps in Edinburgh unlikely to rise above 0. (Can’t help thinking a flight to Rwanda @ circa 25 degrees doesn’t seem particularly unattractive today…) But, back to point, what temperature can a dog’s paws get frostbite? Your dog is at risk once the temperature falls below 0 Celsius/32 degrees Fahrenheit. As a general rule, a large cold-weather breed will likely enjoy a 30-minute walk in the snow, possibly longer, but smaller/short-haired breeds/recently defurred Trinity cockapoos really shouldn't walk outside barefoot for 15-20 minutes at most. Just like humans, frostbite is a dog's natural process where blood is redirected from the body's extremities, paws, ears, tail etc. to vital organs when there is a drop in body temperature. This protects the organs but puts those wee extremities at risk. Hence, no excuses from me today to stop to take all dogs for a wee warm up cafe break, prob Iona or Mr Eion mid walk, & an extra careful paw rub down & ear rub after…. Take care out there…

22/01/2023

Happy Chinese New Year - bye bye tiger, hello rabbit! (Next dog year not until 2030 so no connection there, it simply fitted with my NY resolution not to waffle so much, which happened to last a full 3 weeks…)

Given another icy spell the council‘s bins are overflowing & they’ve been out again with a vengeance spreading the grit & salt mix (and judging by some of the delicious goodies in the cafes in the area, presume many may have had their windows/doors open when the spreader went past…) Much as it’s welcome to the likes of me now paranoid of slipping again, your dog will not appreciate it. Even a small amount (few grams per kg of body weight) of salt, whether the finest Himalayan or table NaCl - is toxic & potentially hazardous. Signs of salt ingestion may include vomiting, lethargy, confusion, weakness, muscle tremors & diarrhoea, (I’d imagine much as one would feel after ingesting a large cinnamon/salt palmier, followed by 2 chocolate & rock salt cookies in quick succession), potentially leading to seizures. If suspected, try to encourage your dog to drink as much water as possible, & also consume foods rich in potassium such as bananas. Seriously, if worried or in any doubt please contact your vet!

Hence, it makes excellent sense to wash, or at least remove as much salt as possible from your dog’s paws after every walk, & before they try to remove it themselves & end up ingesting. (Thanks to everyone who leaves a towel out at the door ready, as rest assured I do this after every walk with your dog). Luckily BBC Weather assure us it’s due to warm up again fairly soon, and there’s also some rain due soon to wash it all away.

09/12/2022

Yes - it’s official - my wee Dylan is now the official doggy face of Macdonald Hotels!! 😍Thank you SO, SO much to absolutely everyone who voted & also shared the competition post info - particular thanks to Mad About Schnauzers, St. Columba’s Hospice, Canine Concern, Marie & Michael, MC Mel, Lynne, Lynn, my mother, my friendly MSP & many others I can’t name but who I know have helped with the result & also given us so much encouragement & positive vibes. Thanks so much too of course to Macdonald Hotels for this wonderful opportunity for Dylan to help get their dog friendly message across.

Press report here:-https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/people/edinburgh-dog-a-miniature-schnauzer-named-dylan-wins-national-competition-to-be-face-of-hotel-group-3950441
(They got pic info wrong, Dylan‘s in the middle!)

As an aside, I’m rather chuffed my threat of putting all names who voted in a raffle to share the prize of a night in a swanky Macdonald Hotel with me & Dylan also didn’t seem to put too many off voting… 🤣

09/11/2022

Moving on, slowly on crutches… Did no one else enter their doggy to be the dog face of Macdonald Hotels competition!!!? Confirmation now it was wide open - Dylan amazingly has won the Edinburgh heat & now goes through to a public vote! Honestly I was fairly flabbergasted when I found out last Wednesday, (& I’m now able to part blame my dizzy spell for the fall as I was dashing in to tell him!) but was sworn to secrecy until it was officially announced just now.

Love, if anyone has time, for you to cast a public vote for my dug (or for any of the other six equally gorgeous other regional winners in the mix of course - take your pick!) But do appreciate we aren’t all able to lounge in rehab for 4-6 weeks pressing random competition, shopping & dating site buttons. Voting open until 5th December here:-

https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/news/top-of-the-pups-competition

& local press report here:- https://nen.press/2022/11/10/miniature-schnauzer-dylan-reaches-final-of-macdonald-hotels-national-top-pup-competition/

Just slightly miffed they’ve cropped the shot on the voting picture so his floofy legs aren’t on show! Oh well, here’s where I really regret not getting more social media savvy & building my Facebook following to 50,000+ instead of my loyal group of 50 odd! 🤣

Hope you’re all doing well, fingers crossed I’ll be back to fullest fitness & not completely addicted to opioids in approx 3 weeks.

02/11/2022

Sorry folks, & for not emailing everyone personally. Took another fall this afternoon, no dogs or alcohol involved, just wet Autumn leaves, almost right outside my house too. Now in Royal Infirmary with hip broken in 2 places & waiting surgery - almost certainly full replacement, pros & cons with both repair & replacement options.

Hence, I don’t think I’ll be walking in a wee while. Will update when I can individually but head full of drugs at the mo. So, so sorry for any & all inconvenience caused. I’ll update this post a bit later with couple of dog walking cos I recommend. btw Writing on leg says ‘hip’ & not ‘diy’ - I hope anyway!

06/11/22 Update - Op done on 04/11 & out hospital this afternoon, walking, albeit slowly, on crutches. On enhanced rehab as young (compared to most hip opers), healthy & saved recovery time through not going gen anaesthetic route (not playing the hero card, I was so tired I just slept through it anyway!) Am hopeful therefore I could start back walking non pulling dogs in not much more than couple of weeks, but will just have to take it day by day. I think I’ve been in contact with everyone booked in with a plan of sorts, but if not please do drop me a reminder… (NHS were totally amazing btw. under obviously very stretched resources.) Please do watch out for those leaves everyone, wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone!

16/10/2022

Great wee competition by Macdonald Hotels looking for a dog to be their doggy face promoting their dog friendly hotels.

https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/news/top-of-the-pups-competition

Entries open until 28th October. No cash prize but for the overall U.K. winner there’s a priceless night for you & your dog in a cosy hotel bed at one of Macdonald’s rather plush hotels throughout the U.K. Must be worth the time getting couple of pictures or a wee video of your dog submitted…

I had half an intention of entering Dylan, until today, when my son, obviously midst school holiday euphoria, decided to try out his artistic fur cutting skills, got hold of my clippers, and aforementioned dog, and transformed him into a gross pantomime like Mohican wearing poodledoodle cross, that I can only dare let out at nighttime until I’ve sorted it. Which will no doubt take several weeks of regrowth…. So, the competition’s wide open.

Thankfully there’s no photo of dog available, so here’s Daisy, who wins my ‘Pub Dog of the Week’ award, for being extremely cute, pub friendly & totally oblivious to the Man City v. Liverpool match on earlier…

Hope everyone & your lovely dogs have a great school holiday & get to enjoy some quality time if you’re getting away.

19/09/2022

I’m not religious… or royalist… (sitting atop the fence as the norm), but found that service incredibly moving. And my dugs (Starry Queen pictured here enjoying the service) truly enjoyed lots of hugs throughout. Back to norm next week…

13/09/2022

Moving on from plums in mouths, Scotland has just bid a final farewell to HM our Queen, herself a lifelong dog lover, particularly of corgis who featured in their own race at Musselburgh to celebrate the recent jubilee.
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/corgi-derby-watch-as-adorable-dogs-race-in-corgi-derby-at-east-lothian-racecourse-for-queens-platinum-jubilee-3720371

Everything possible about our dear departed monarch has been said on TV & in the news over the last few days & Scotland has given her a most superb send off. (Tracking app flightradar actually crashed watching her last flight just now as over 500K watching online!) I didn’t get to see the coffin, but paid my respects instead by spending last night 1am-5am volunteering for unicorn project on crowd control/expectation management in the Meadows for the vigil queue, which was an absolute pleasure albeit totally bizarre experience. I’d probably expected the worst given the timing combined with freshers week, but as it turned out, everyone was just happy to be there despite the crazy waiting times to get in to St Giles’, so there were very few
issues that needed escalating & the bonus of a lot of nice dog lovers to talk to. So, back to dogs, what will happen to the Queen’s? She leaves behind four royal canines - two corgis, Candy and Muick, a corgi-dachshund cross - or 'dorgi' - named Sandy, and her most recent addition, Lissy, a cocker spaniel she named after herself. Just like the Unicorn project, their full provision has been exceptionally well planned, with apparently Andrew taking on main responsibility. Royal biographer Ingrid Seward is quoted as saying “It would seem most logical that the corgis go to Andrew … Let’s face it, he hasn’t got anything else to do.”

Any more dog angles? Well, will the price of King Charles puppies rocket sharper than our energy prices? Time will tell, but King Charles himself doesn’t look like following Charles I & II in the tradition of owning the breed as my sources (Mail on line, later backed up by several reputable sources) say he prefers a Jack Russell. And apparently also is quite partial to a Schnauzer. Fine taste.

30/08/2022

Just a quick* wee warning to anyone walking dogs in Starbank Park (and elsewhere with plum trees). The plum tree on the east side near the top of the hill is dropping fruit like mad at the mo - no doubt due to the recent deluges. While the fruit itself is not toxic, the leaves, stems, and especially pits are potentially harmful when ingested due to their amygdalin content. If dogs eat these, their bodies convert the amygdalin into toxic hydrogen cyanide. Consuming amygdalin in high enough quantities can cause cyanide poisoning in dogs, sometimes known as plum poisoning. I obviously didn’t stop Dylan scoffing in time last night & poor boy threw up a couple of pits this morning (he’s fine btw but keeping close eye on him) but please, please do take care.

btw On a happier note, pic of Sunday’s shenanigans at Trinity Community Gala in Lomond Park - what a fantastic turn out generally, lovely unexpected weather, & great to see so many varieties of dogs & their owners having a lot of fun in the show ring. Note to self, I’ve definitely got to bring a cute kid or OAP with white stick next time to show my dog! 😍

*I’ll check this for scientific accuracy in a bit, just wanted to get out quickly!

10/08/2022

Wee shout out for a local walk this Saturday 13th, for a great cause - The Melville Unit at Royal Hospital doing some brilliant work for young people struggling with mental issues, particularly poignant at present. Meeting @ Prom Bar, Newhaven @ 11:00 to Haymarket & back approx 10km along the mostly shady off road paths. £2+ per person/dog, all details here, minus tel. no. to avoid the trolls. Walking, dogs, like minded lovely people, all for a good cause, it’s great you’ve organised this Gareth, good luck & hope you get a really good turn out..…

30/07/2022

Birthday outing with Reggie at Lauriston!

30/07/2022

Just a quickie! Thanks for the reminder Mum, yes pups are 1 year old today! And of course I have 4 perfectly trained, immaculately groomed Schnauzers..… IN MY DREAMS!

The full truth is that it’s impossible to take them all out together, so generally walk two at a time, or just one for training, and Florence is quite honestly a total barking mad nightmare, or rather work in progress..…. My kitchen looks like some sort of medieval torture chamber after enthusiastically getting myself on a grooming course, with various chains & restraining devices hanging from the ceiling, muzzles, scissors & stripping knives everywhere. Must think about relocating all this to the cellar methinks.

On the good news front, met up with Reggie (Dougal) a couple of days ago (minus Florence) was wonderful to see how well he’s doing, & they all had a lovely get together. I’ll stick a quick video on in a bit. I’m away next week, but full service resumes the week after..…

16/06/2022

Another wee canine event happening this Sunday in Victoria Park with the aim ‘to bring fun and pleasure to those attending the picnic’. All good stuff, but would imagine if I brought all my pack it would turn out to be mayhem in the park instead. Might just go along with one though, and bring the first aid pack in case of any dogs (or humans for that matter with all that dog parading excitement going on) needing attention.

04/06/2022

Happy Jubilee weekend all! No chance of getting my gang dressed up in corgi masks* sadly, so let’s go with this amazing diagram by Information is Beautiful https://informationisbeautiful.net (an essential website for pictorial information about anything you want/need to know and loads more!) Despite being very US focussed & missing some of my favourite canines (where’s the Irish & Airedale terriers, maybe hiding behind the cat?) it’s still a brilliant depiction of doggy data, all guaranteed to be highly accurately researched & verified!

*Aah think I’ve just worked out why flat faced breeds are so popular - they can carry off a mask much better than others when auspicious occasions such as this arise. This has probably not been taken into account in all the stats methinks…

Actually, if you’ve got this far, all this is a feeble excuse to add yet another dull housekeeping note - unfortunately from 27th June I’m required to do up to two weeks jury service so I’m consequently probably unavailable (evenings might still be OK, will update individually). Nothing I can do about this - I managed to wangle my way out of it a few months ago but not a chance this time, & with still getting the darnedest post covid weariness, two weeks in a comfy reclining cinema seat watching court proceedings unfold on screen will probably not be conducive to any lively debating from me, but, it has to be done… ☹️ Sorry for the inconvenience.

Hope you all have a great weekend, tons of stuff obviously going on everywhere & quite a lot of doggy activities built in too from the looks of it, enjoy!

27/05/2022

Spoiler alert - nothing funny here… Just a wee bit of housekeeping…

I’d intended on doing my canine first aid course yonks ago but COVID intervened. Glad to report I’m now qualified for next 3 years & now able (or very keen anyway) to assist in anything from minor ailments to dog impalements, CPR & mouth to snout, you get the gist. Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home being one of only 2 locations in Scotland offering the SQA course, provided a fantastic location, truly dedicated trainers & a wealth of information on how to deal with pretty much any canine emergency situation - well worth the few hours for anyone who has a dog, works with dogs, or could come across & wants to help a dog needing first aid. You always hope it’s not needed, but if needed, I’ll (or you’ll) be so much more confident in dealing with dog‘s lives in emergencies. It’s all good, it’s all dog.