Carmel Wake

@Bruadarach_labs Brilliant

A day out with Cassie and Jamie, at East Anglian Champ show today. Cassie 3rd in her Class. 🎖️ Jamie in his first KC Champ show, winning his class, Best Minor Puppy in Show and qualifying for Crufts 2027 (he is six months old).🎖️ As always we are super proud of you xx ❤️

Doris is a four-year-old Texel ewe on a fell in the Lake District. Doris is, according to several recent opinion pieces, destroying the planet. Let's check in on Doris. 6:30am - Doris began grazing. The fell she is grazing is semi-natural upland grassland. It has existed in this condition for approximately eight hundred years because sheep have been grazing it continuously for approximately eight hundred years. Without Doris, the coarse grasses outcompete the finer ones. The wildflowers disappear. The skylarks that nest at ground level lose the open sward they need and abandon the site. Doris does not know what a skylark is. She has found some good grass near the wall and that is the full extent of her agenda. 7:45am - Doris walked into the bog. This was not the plan. There was no plan. Doris extracted herself, turned around, and regarded the bog with the expression of an animal that has decided the bog started it. 9:00am - Doris found a gap in the wall and went through it. She was now in Brian's field. Brian's field is, by any measurable standard, identical to Doris's field. Doris is aware of this and does not consider it relevant. 10:30am - Doris was returned to her field. The farmer repaired the gap. Doris watched the repair with the focused attention of an animal taking measurements. 11:15am - Doris rolled into a dip in the fell and got cast. This means she ended up on her back and could not right herself because the weight of her fleece shifted her centre of gravity past the point of recovery. She lay there in the dip looking at the sky with the composure of an animal that has decided the sky is quite interesting actually. 11:40am - The farmer found her, righted her. Doris walked away at speed. No acknowledgement. Complete dignity. As though the last twenty-five minutes had happened to a different sheep. 1:00pm - Doris grazed the area around the base of the dry-stone wall. The grazing keeps the vegetation short enough that the wall's base stays dry and frost doesn't work into the joints and expand. The wall is two hundred and sixty years old. It will outlast everything currently being written about livestock farming if the vegetation around it is managed. It is being managed by Doris eating grass. Doris does not know she is doing conservation work. Doris has found something particularly good near the fourth stone from the bottom. 3:00pm - Doris produced manure. The manure will feed the soil microbiome. The soil microbiome will grow the grass. The grass will grow back where Doris has grazed it. The grazed areas will remain open enough for the tormentil and harebells to survive. The tormentil and harebells are why people drive three hours from Manchester to walk on this fell. This system has no external inputs. It has been running since Texel sheep were brought to these fells from the Netherlands in 1970 and discovered the gaps in the walls shortly afterward. 5:00pm - Doris lay down. The fell was quiet. The skylarks were still up. The wildflowers were still in the turf. 5:47pm - Doris found a new gap. She was in Brian's field again. Brian has started keeping a log.

@Otis_labrador @dogie_the @Winnie_Choclab @SpringerSaint @SpanielsSuper can you recommend anywhere for @Winnie_Choclab

@Otis_labrador @dogie_the @Winnie_Choclab There is chicken wire through the hedges apparently and under the gate to block the gaps. We’ve never had a problem yet however I’m not convinced you’d be ok. Lots of lovely dog friendly properties around though, this suits us because we can take all of ours

@Bruadarach_labs As @PPupski and @dogie_the have posted their own, here’s the hooligan Ciara.

What a wonderful idea 🙂 Here is ours, please add yours 🐾🐾🙂

@Bruadarach_labs @ChrisMartzWX @PPupski 🌈 at 9 weeks

@ChrisMartzWX Thank you, yes, more puppy pictures are required. Jamie at 6 weeks 🐾🐾🙂

I interrupt your doom scrolling. While everyone argues about Iran, here’s a picture of Daisy when she was a puppy.

@SpringerSaint @Saints1890 Happens here too!

When you're trying to watch @Saints1890 but your Golden Retriever reminds you that they are far more important!

Chances to see sunrises like this were few last year. Gorgeous sunrise from Alnmouth today though! Here’s to many more! #Northumberland

@Otis_labrador @dogie_the @Arthur_ChocLab Actually since Bobs wore a trench in the lawn dancing up and down in the rain, and the whole house was covered in mud, we have fake grass. She now dances on the patio! Mud still appears though!

@dogie_the @Arthur_ChocLab Unless you have fake grass @dogie_the then there must be an awful lot of muddy pawprints for your Mum to battle.

Mum has taken advantage of a brief break in the rain to remind us all that the dining room floor tiles are actually grey, not mud brown.

@Otis_labrador Well done boys, hope there were lots of treats

Confirmed: ☑️We were good boys for Uncle David the dog walker. ☑️Mum is on the train on her way home from that London. ☑️There was a big queue to see Platform 9 3/4! ☑️Mum has been on a roof terrace for the first time ever. ☑️Mum is already fed up of the children on the train.

@dogie_the @PPupski @bill_da_dog @BellaShihTzuAce We certainly do

#FlybyFriday remembering @PPupski, Ozzy, Henry, all our 🌈frens, especially this week @bill_da_dog and @BellaShihTzuAce’s Hoomum Barbara. Run free, we misses you.

@dogie_the She was pawsome … and so were the sausages!

Da hooligan Anty Ciara was giving a Therapy Dog talk at da local breffust club an SHE GOT BREFFUST! Any more chances - asking for a fren… #therapydog #sausagesforciara

2025 saw the arrival of Paddy in January, who is firmly part of the Pupski pack now. And in August, the departure of our beautiful @PPupski 🌈 forever missed. @dogie_the who knows what 2026 will bring?

@SpringerSaint We love the Rocky too

We ready know it's the best café ever but it's great to see them making the news 😀 🐶 BBC News - Alnwick cafe offering free drinks and mince pies on Christmas Day - BBC News bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@dogie_the Such a change from a cold barn to snoozing on a sofa, surrounded by the pack or chasing after a frisbee. He’s a happy boy.

#TongueOutTuesday is happy Paddy! This times last year, Pads was about to be rescued!! Been Muchly exciting year for Paddy! #rescuedog

@dogie_the @Bleddyn25598275 You’d have eaten the hat by now Logie! Bleddyn is amazing 🤩

@Bleddyn25598275 Pfft looking a bit sheepish there!

Day sixteen of Hatvent Whilst Bleddyn counted sheep one night All snuggly in his bed His mummy thought it’s time to pop A hat upon his head

@dogie_the Lovely Jasper, you’d have got on well with him Logie

Is muchly wet stuff here again, so here is a snoozling Jasper photo to cheer ups your Mondays #underwater #buildanarkhoomum #mightaswellsnoozle

@dogie_the @PPupski Smudgey, Flick, Ciara and Pupski, many treats were involved in the taking of this photo!

#ThrowbackThursday to Pawsome Foursome 2! Was long times before Logie but @PPupski is there

@dogie_the Beautiful EllieBell, the giddiest retriever. Always sunny in Ellie’s world.

Classic Christmas #WontLookWednesday from bootiful EllieBell 🌈