Mist’s Blog
Mist on the Dales Way
5 big days walking, great bring it on and if Mist could think ahead I am sure that would be what she was thinking. Frankly she could not care less about whether it was ‘exciting’ walking or simply a drag, to her the pleasure is pretty much the same. It is all about being out and about and the longer you are out the better it is. As it happened I did not complete the Dales Way in a continual 5 days but ended up splitting it up over 10 days although my suspicions are Mist could get used to continual walking rather easily!
My own journey of the Dales Way can be found here but this is Mist’s perspective – the pleasures and problems of a typical long distance walk. The problems of a long distance walk with a dog (particularly an official trail) can be put in to 3 categories
- Finding somewhere to stay. A good chunk of B & Bs do not take dogs and this does create problems in finding somewhere to stay. Farms are notoriously reluctant as are larger towns. The Dales Way being typical of some of these difficulties, clearly camping is the best option. Fortunately for us we were returning home each night so that was fine.
Stiles & Gates. I wish I had counted the number of stiles and gates on the Dales Way. There are certainly many hundreds. Now Mist is pretty agile and can leap most of them but some defeated even her. A choice of allowing her to become impaled on some barbed wire or picking up and lifting a filthy dog is an unappealing choice at the end of a long day.- Farmers. Despite my prior reservations I encountered no difficult farmers; outraged that I had the audacity to be taking a dog on the walk. I never have Mist on a lead at any stage on a walk, she sticks to me like glue in the presence of sheep (or cars!) and this can upset some farmers. However some watched, some even grunted, but good on them, none complained. I know of a walking friend who will rarely walk their dog on lower levels because of the animosity towards people with dogs and sticks to the high level at all possible times.
Previous Posts
Mist, Snow & the Langdales. Feb 2012
Winter Woes Dec 2011
Frollicking around Eskdale Oct 2011
Mist’s Summer Frolics Sept 2011
Mist Heads North July 2011
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Mist, Snow & the Langdales
Like any proper hound Mist loves the hills but when there is snow the pleasure increases many fold. Yesterday on the fells of Langdale she enjoyed one of her best ever walks as we headed up Mickleden and then back over the high, snowy moors on to Pike O’ Stickle and the Langdale Pikes. Rather than describe the walk in detail here (it is described here) I have included 2 sets of 8 photographs, the first showing just Mist frolicking and frankly going a little crazy whilst the second set is a more traditional set of Langdale scenery in sun and snow.
Photos of Mist…..
Photos of the Langdales in the snow….
Previous posts on Mist the Border Collie:
Winter Woes Dec 2011
Frollicking around Eskdale Oct 2011
Mist’s Summer Frolics Sept 2011
Mist Heads North July 2011
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Winter Woes
Walking the dog with a brisk northerly breeze blowing horizontal sleet in to your face does bring you to question the worth of having a dog, an active dog and a border collie in particular. I know plenty of dog owners who would have stayed at home today, maybe give the dog a little bit more inside play but certainly not venture out. However the punishment for having Mist, and Bracken before her, is that twice a day, or one mega walk a day, I am obliged to take Mist out in whatever the elements throw at me. I say me because it is always me at this time of the year; the ladies of the family tend to go hiding when walk time approaches muttering such lines as ‘she’s your dog’ and ‘no chance’.
However Mist of course loves a walk whatever the weather. It makes not a jot of difference if the sun is shining or the sleet blowing in from the north, she loves it. Kicking wet snow in her face or rolling in the ever present mud is all greeted with a big smile, wags of the tail and even what we have come to call ‘rabitting’ when she simply races madly around with the simple joy of being alive. I have not been on such big walks in the last few months, aside from a scramble on Sharp Edge, so the majority has been on the local moors around Long Preston and Settle but the pleasure for Mist is simply being out and about. There is simply no option but to take her.
Actually being out and about in bad weather is not nearly as bad as the thought of going out in bad weather! Wrap up warm and after 10 minutes it hardly matters what is happening beyond the hopefully waterproof jacket and trousers. In fact bad weather is invigorating and as long as I am not out for any more than about 3 hours it can be immensely satisfying. Returning to a warm house or better still a warm pub makes it all the more worthwhile. That is of course with the exception of having to towel down a wet, muddy and exceedingly squalid dog. A bit more snipping of excess hair on her underneath is definitely needed.
*******
Bracken, our 15 year old collie was sadly put to sleep a few weeks ago. A very sad day for she was a wonderful dog. However I was quite touched when my 11 year old daughter put together a mini power point of her life (she loves doing power points!!) – it captured so much of her character and characteristics I thought I would include it here for anyone who fancied a quick ‘Ahhhh…..’ Bracken – the life of a Border Collie 1
Previous posts on Mist the Border Collie:
Frollicking around Eskdale Oct 2011
Mist’s Summer Frolics Sept 2011
Mist Heads North July 2011
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Glorious Eskdale
Before winter encased us all in its icy (or so it seems) grip myself and Mist headed off for a couple of days in the South West lakes and in particular Wasdale & Eskdale. My favourite (cheap and near the pub) campsite at Wasdale Head provided the base with Mist delighting in being allowed to sleep next to her master – curled up and barely moved for the entire night. Only when the British army moved in to take up the remainder of the camping field did she stir but aside from a little woof she was suspiciously quiet.
Day 1 involved the classic route over the Scafells, loved by many and loathed by some but undoubtedly the only sensible way to capture both 3,000 footers 
in one go (actually not so sure about that – Eskdale is another option). We took the Lingmell route on the way up to avoid the worst of the erosion but soon found ourselves in cloud – dreich as the Scots love to call it. Mist was unperturbed and skated over the summit boulders to greet the 15 members of our armed services at the trig point and sharing whatever bully beef she could extract from them. Finding Mickledore in the muck always proves testing both in navigation terms but also the wet and slippery boulders and on arrival decided the grim looking Broad Strand was not for us. Mist however did make an attempt on the Stand but it was not going to happen so we dropped down to the entry of crumbling Lords Rake. Mist was still enjoying the scrambling until I took the wrong chimney out of the Rake and ended up a creek as the saying goes. Mist has the habit of attempting anything that is ahead 
and actually fell 12 foot as the chimney simply gave out. Unperturbed she was about to try again till I hauled her back and we retreated back on to the main gully and the correct chimney. Lords Rake is challenging and badly eroded – death appearing to loom in the form of an overhanging boulder just waiting to crush an innocent collie and her master.
Day 2. A glorious warm and sunny day greeted us (not that Mist cares) and a full day exploring areas of the Eskdale valley I know very little about. The east flank of the valley near the Woolpack is one of those great areas of minature lakeland I am sometimes reluctant to talk about (but I will) – all I can say is visit it, it is absolutely lovely and full of interest – Mist had a swim in the tarn and even I was tempted. After sharing a pork pie at lunchtime (not that she would ever share her own dinner even if I wanted to) we headed on a low level walk in to Upper Eskdale. 
Upper Eskdale is simply marvellous and I have described the walk here but if you ever want to camp in an amphitheatre of mountains with no-one else near this is the place. A few interpid walkers were assaulted by the dog although she was as baffled as me by a couple in wet suits frollicking in the deeper pools of the Esk. Mist’s crowning glory was walking off a lead through a crowded field of sheep without disturbing one. She is under control when sheep are in the area but still insists on taking up the tense sheepdoggery stance that would not necessarily convince a farmer she is. Hey ho…collies!
Previous posts on Mist the Border Collie:
Mist’s Summer Frolics Sept 2011
Mist Heads North July 2011
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Mist’s Summer Frolics
Just like the weather Mist has had a very mixed Summer. OK some of the walks have been quite good, particularly those walks with the family but this has been mixed with the indignity of a taster weekend in kennels and being spayed. I think she found the kennels fine but who really knows whether a dog enjoys a stay in kennels. On the plus side there is always something going on; dogs barking, people coming and going but for a border collie particularly being cooped up all day and only receiving a couple of relatively short lead walks cannot be great for such an active mind! Not so sure I like kennels mind at £8.50 a pop per day.
However being spayed has to be all bad, particularly when she had the indignity of wearing one of those plastic collars for the best part of 10 days. 
She was as miserable as sin in the first few days, depressed in that she hardly moved, never went out (some kind of bladder control record of nearly 24 hours), even went off her food and basically just felt sorry for herself. To paraphrase a Pet Shop Boys classic – “What did I do to deserve this?” Gradually during the week she came out of her depression – I did end up taking the collar off when I took her for a walk – and by the end of the 10 days she had clearly accepted this was what life had flung at her and she was her old self. All the experts tell me being spayed is a good thing (Mist was ‘done’ after her first season) but she did go ferrell for a while and the neck thing is a complete pain – any inventors out there must be able to come up with a better device than this..surely!
Away from the traumas Mist has spent the summer leading the children up various hills (rarely by the correct path) and swimming in various lakes and rivers. I had some recommendations on my own blog about how to encourage children to enjoy walking the fells and hills but I will now add another – get a dog! Lucy (aged 6) and Charlotte were encouraged to tackle Striding Edge on their way up Helvellyn with other memorable walks being over Ingleborough via Gaping Gill and a shorter visit to my favourite mountain of the moment – Mellbreak. I also took just Mist up Sharp Edge on Blencathra which I had not been on for many years – a wonderful little circuit from Scales on the A66. The trouble is Mist tends to take everything in a fairly direct manner – not sure she would pass any ‘Risk Management’ assessment and like her predeccessor Bracken has this disconcerting habit of rolling onto her back and then sliding head first down steep slopes.
Another positive about Mist is she has made a friend, even if it is a pen pal style friend. Fynn is also a blogging collie and appears to run an excellent little website called Paws for a Walk where you will be able to find so much more about walking the little dears!
I inferred at the beginning that the weather had been mixed this summer – that is of course wrong, it has been awful, August really is the worst month to walk….not that Mist cares.
Previous posts on Mist the Border Collie:
Mist Heads North July 2011
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Mist heads North
I always enjoy waking up after a night in the tent but when the views are as good as they are on a cool clear morning at the Kingshouse hotel in the upper reaches of Glencoe then the pleasure is multiplied x times. The views that morning were picture postcard (see photo gallery), not that Mist was particularly impressed, her main aim appeared to be to make friends with all the other happy campers and then try and steal their breakfast. I have to apologise to a Dutch (German?) couple of lads who I am convinced lost a chunk of their bacon & eggs after a quick sortie by the dog whilst they were away having a wash/clean up in the river. She is a thief and I seem to be able to do little about it.
This was a shortened trip to Scotland and we ended up bagging a couple of Corbetts north of Glenfinnan on the Saturday and returned via Tinto and the Howgills on Sunday night. Mist though was in her element, sheep are much less of a problem in the Highlands so she could fully concentrate on the walking and making sure that myself and Barry were ’rounded up’ and kept together. At one stage she shot off for nearly 1/2 a mile looking for Barry who was in fact just around a rocky outcrop – and to think that I was seriously considering training her up to be a SARDA rescue dog! It was my first time in Ardgour/Moidart, principally because there are no Munros in the region, and it is undoubtedly hard work and reminiscent of nearby Knoydart. The terrain is rough and largely trackless with sweeping views across wild peaks – an area worthy of some more exploration. Certainly Mist agreed as she has taken on Bracken’s habit of stopping when I stop and sitting bolt upright to, seemingly, admire the view. She has good taste.
A mention too for a visit to to west Cumbria and a long day in Ennerdale enjoying a superb circuit of Steeple and Haycock. However I had never walked the lakeside track which contoured the south side of Ennerdale. In fact it is as good as Ullswater (just less crowded) and Mist enjoyed it so much she spent the entire way whacking my shins with sticks which I was obliged to chuck as far as I could in to the lake. Swimming is now a favourite pastime…she loves it. All in all a good few days which avoided the worst of the late June weather.
I have selected a full set of photos which are shown in the photo gallery above..bless her!
Previous posts on Mist the Border Collie:
Early summer stay in Wasdale. May 2011
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Enjoying Wasdale
Preparing for some multi day trips later in the summer Mist and I took off for a 2 day visit to Wasdale. Wastwater is always an adventure to me but an overnight stop in a tent with an untried 1 year old border collie promised to be less so. My experience of sharing a tent with my, now, 15 year old collie Bracken had always been a bit of a nightmare – she never settled and became highly distrcted by any flapping of tent material in the wind. This culminated in her constantly making ‘a bid for freedom’ if I offered her half a chance. If anyone has ever tried to entice a dog into their tent at 3 in the morning, 3,000 foot up on the Fannich Ridge in a gale, they may sympathise. Anyway Mist was superb – she settled down (possibly through tiredness) and never stirred; one plus over Bracken (and there aren’t many!)
When I arrived we headed off for Pillar and a splendid circuit of Mosedale finishing on the up turned boat of Yewbarrow (one of the finest fells in the Lake District). Full of energy to the finish I honestly think Mist covered a minimum of 10 times my mileage (so nigh on 80 miles?!) – at one stage disappearing off in to Ennerdale from the summit of Steeple. However it was on Yewbarrow that she was forced in to some real scrambling for the first time. I wish I had a picture of her hauling herself up by her front paws, back legs scrabbling for any type of purchase. After a while I left her to it – if she was going to fall, there was little I could do about it, certainly scrambling downhill she left me for dead, turning often to glance back with a look of total disdain at my own ditherings.
After good weather on the Pillar round the cloud had closed in somewhat on Friday morning as we headed off for an exploration of the 
Wastwater Screes. Heading up the steep slopes of Whin Rigg sheltered us from the tearing wind that greeted us on the ridge. Mist loved it, racing round in large arcs biting at the wind as if she could catch it somehow. Returning from the far end of the screes I bravely took the shoreline path. As we turned in to the westerly wind a curtain of rain simply appeared from nowhere and for 10 minutes tore into us. Mist, slightly perturbed, soon got the hang of it and spent the following 10 minutes shaking her drenched body. Neglecting to bring adequate rain proof gear myself (well it was sunny when we started, a fleece will be fine!!!) shaking proved to be of little use as we tramped towards the most hideous path in Lakeland. The boulders (this is not scree) to the western end of Wastwater are lethal, particularly in the wet. Mist slipped and slid along them 
looking particularly aggrieved – looking back at me as if to say ‘Why would you possibly want to walk along here?’ Bracken was the same, she hated steep scree and it is true, dogs can give you filthy looks.
A final report on Mist in Wasdale; scrambling tick, camping tick, bad weather performance tick, boulder field borderline tick, obedience when cat at the farm resounding fail.
Previous stories of Mist the Border Collie:
Mist & the outdoors in Spring. Apr 2011
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Mist & the Outdoors in Spring
Tricky times to have a young border collie. Lambs are being born and birds are nesting which makes walking a young dog a more difficult venture. Dogs, particularly collies need exercise yet landowners are perfectly within their rights to protect their livelihood. The phrase ‘under control’ which is seen all over the countryside is misplaced at this time of the year as the reality is many farmers and/or landowners do not want to see domestic dogs anywhere near their most sensitive areas, even if they are on a lead and certainly not without.
Even though I have Mist under control when sheep are around, and can walk through a field of sheep without a lead, her stalking posture does 
not look good to any loitering farmer. The good thing is that the sheep have generally been brought down for lambing and there are few sheep on the higher slopes so she can race around to her heart’s content but on the fields lower down I stick her on a lead to avoid any trouble. Similarly I am avoiding breeding grounds of birds which is fine but preserving the young chicks to be shot by a man in tweeds during September does stick in the throat somewhat. It is all about taking sensible decisions based on the behaviour of your dog; sadly a minority of dog owners make life considerably more difficult for the majority at this time of the year.
Official advice is detailed by the BMC here http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=3433 and even if you do not agree with some of it I would suggest having a read.
********************
Mist is having a wonderful time at the moment, obsessed with any type of ball and loving some of the walks we have done lately. On the wonderful beach south of Bamburgh she has discovered that salt water is not for drinking, on a small tarn to the east of Windermere that swans are not for greeting and that sometimes even for her the cliff face is just too steep and a direct descent may not be best. We could all learn much from her constant enthusiasm and real pleasure in the great outdoors.
Previous stories of Mist the Border Collie:
Training Mist. Mar 2011
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Dog Training for Mist
Dog training for Border Collies revolves round one key element, CONTROL. This is particularly so for farm animals (which Mist is) with their natural instinct to chase, round up and herd. Fortunately they are probably the most intelligent of dogs and eager to learn. I have in the last couple of months been able to control Mist in sheep – one sharp command of STAY and she drops instantly to the ground, portraying that classic sheep dog pose. ‘Stay Close’ means she sticks like glue to me in a field of sheep – ears pinned back, alert but at least under control. Even when I can see no sheep and Mist is roaming a little further afield and she senses sheep nearby she does not ‘go after’ them but goes in to stalking mode. I can then get her back to me before she disturbs them. I have considered the ‘in with ewe’ treatment (where the poor dog is penned together with a ewe and young lamb and gets in essence beaten up) which is meant to scare them so they will ignore sheep in the future but I think not – hopefully over time her interest will wane but if not at least I have her under control.
You see I refuse to walk Mist (or Bracken before her) on a lead except in extreme circumstances when there is a full field of sheep or on a busy road (where sadly my efforts of controlling Mist are less successful). I think for a Border Collie a walk on a lead is a waste of time. I see many dog walkers on the hills with their dogs straining on a lead and to me it is a sad sight, particularly when they are approaching a summit and clearly have spent the hours before on a lead – no fun for owner or dog. Traditional puppy training has its uses (for stimulation as much as anything) but for active dogs they need to have the freedom to roam or become involved with something more energetic such as agility classes. Ultimately with Mist I may look at training for SARDA because she certainly has the intelligence but this is a major and serious commitment and at the present time I, as much as her, am not ready for the challenge.
Previous stories of Mist:
Pleasures & Problems. Jan 2011
Early Days of Mist, October 2010
Pleasures & Problems
Mist is really fun to walk with. Tearing around, leaping, jumping and panting happily. She never seems to get tired when walking like poor old Bracken, who cannot even walk a mile without collapsing! We always bring a ball when we go for Mist’s evening walk and you can tell that she wants to play with it as she looks at you hopefully until you get it out. Then she isn’t impressed when we stop playing! However, she sometimes gets over confident and tries to do things she can’t do like leaping over a small stile. She just about did, but bumped a back leg and limped for a bit, but soon recovered. She enjoys jumping over a small stream that all of us can jump (including my 6 year old sister) and seems to effortlessly sail across as if it wasn’t there. She is also great in snow. She likes people to kick it in her face and if you have a handful of snow she jumps up and tries to eat it. We did try to put her on the sledge but she just scrabbled about and fell off. She is soo fun!!
Unfortunately, with Mist, it is not all fun and laughter. She has a bad obsession with chasing cars and sheep. This means she has to be kept on a lead whenever there are sheep around. This is not nice for us all as she strains on the lead and is longing to race around enjoying herself. The cars is also a big problem as we cannot walk her on a road at all as she keeps lying down when the cars come past. We are trying to sort this out! I really like walking with Mist and she encourages me to come along on her evening walks.
By Charlotte Age 11
Delightful as she is there are 2 issues, which Charlotte mentions, that need sorting out with Mist. Her obsession with chasing cars and sheep. ‘Parking’ the car issue for the moment my priority over the last few months and going forward is to establish control over her when near sheep. Mist is from working stock so the instinct to herd will always, I suspect, be with her. However I am aiming to control her from chasing at any sign of the sheep. Mixed success to date; if I can command her early I am fine – a sharp ‘lie down’ seems to have her crawling on her stomach and stopping till I can get her on a lead. Once gone (and she has gone a couple of times), she does not attack sheep but she does try to round them up, which is not acceptable at any time.
However the alternative of having Mist permanently on the lead is also not a great option, for a collie it really is not on and will only create problems for her going forward. So the key is to take control of her. I was delighted the other day on the Isle of Whithorn (a lovely area of coast in Dumfries) when she spotted sheep went down on her haunches but did not look to chase; the other day she did the same with some cows. She seemed happy for me to put her on a lead to pass through the sheep and although clearly checking them out showed no inclination to try and chase them. It is a dilemma (particularly with lambing approaching) to decide when to have her on and when not on a lead. At the present she is on when sheep are in sight but off at other times. She knows she must not chase, she does register commands and mainly react to them but she is certainly not yet 100%.
She is worse with traffic – the instinct to chase is strong and I could see her getting on a road. Fortunately you always know where roads are (as opposed to sheep) so it is easy to have her on a lead but frankly she is an absolute pain near traffic. The advice I have got is completely conflicting; from sit in a car park and get her used to cars to avoid roads at all cost. Any suggestions are welcome here – the thought of a couple of hours in the car park at Tesco holds little appeal!
By Jonathan age ??
