Sometime in September.
Hello! I am Taiga the Trekking dog and I moved to the Cairngorms from Aberdeen as last year’s winter weather diminished and the days got longer. Now the days are getting shorter again I thought you might want to know a little about me.
I used to answer to the name Tigger but ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ decided to change it to Taiga which is all somewhat pretentious really. ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ talks about changing my name as something to do with ‘ownership’ and ‘business sense’. ‘She Who Is So Soft’ described this as codswallop which I used to think was a high protein pescetarian diet for working dogs. Apparently, Taiga relates to something called a terrestrial biome which runs around the northern hemisphere. The Taiga biome is the largest terrestrial biome and extends across Europe, North America, and Asia. It is located right below the tundra biome. The Taiga biome is also known as coniferous forest or boreal forest. This biome typically has short, wet summers and long, cold winters. It gets plenty of snow during the winter and plenty of rainfall during the summer. I’m not sure what all that means but sounds a bit like the Cairngorms. It is amazing what you can find on Woofepedia! Personally I prefer Tigger but I respond (usually) to Taiga as it makes for an easier life and keeps the food bowl full.
I am pretty energetic as I am a bit of a special breed…something called a Mutt. My mum (The Bitch) is a cocker spaniel and my dad (The Opportunist) is a collie…I think. I have been called other names but I have been advised that some of these are not suitable for such an erudite publication as the World Wide Web. Due to my bouncy character, ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ has tried to wear me out by attaching bags to my harness and walking me all day for up to five days in a row along glens and over mountains, often with different families of people called ‘The Clients’. I carry my own food, sleeping bag (insisted upon by ‘She Who is So Soft’) and something called the ‘Wee Dram’ which seems to cheer up ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’, and ‘The Clients’, no end! I kind of like these long walks as the smells out there are wonderful and there are some amazing things to roll in! However, this does not always please ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ and I soon learnt to swim after been introduced into Loch Avon…repeatedly… when I found something particularly fragrant to investigate and cover myself in near the Shelter Stone.
I pretend to be obedient and ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ thinks I am pretty clever although its all puppy stuff really. I respond to Stop, Go, Sit, Come, Lie, Heel, Stay and Away, although these are sometimes negotiable. I also respond to Off in various forms. When asked, I walk behind off the lead although I can be occasionally distracted by small birds. ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ thinks it is great that I am scared of sheep, deer, reindeer, cows and horses. I just think it is common sense as they are all bigger than me and squashed dog is not a pretty sight and far from conducive to long term survival.
Hope you like the photo. I understand from a recent article in the Canine Chronicle that dark coloured pets are no longer fashionable as they don’t contrast well in selfies and pets are getting dumped by vain owners. Good job that ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ doesn’t do selfies although ‘She Who is So Soft’ is always playing about on Facebook so I spend an enormous amount of time suckering up to her. If you see me around the Cairngorms please say hello as I am really friendly and I would love to meet you, especially if you scratch me behind the ears. You can also follow my blog on cairngormtreks.co.uk. Must go now as ‘He Who Must Be Obeyed’ has gone to look for more ‘Wee Drams’ and ‘She Who Is So Soft’ is curled up on the sofa…could be a snuggle opportunity here too good to miss!