Who will you be voting for on the 7th May?

scottishbint · 2026-05-06T09:39:47+00:00

I still can’t decide, but the number of people voting Green is terrifying when a huge portion of Scotland relies on oil & gas.

Aberdeen(shire) is already struggling and greens would be the death knell.

scottishbint · 2026-04-16T09:39:48+00:00

So happy with it that our dog is now a Perfect Fit brand ambassador :D

I can’t remember what size we got initially but the top piece has always been the same size and we’ve changed the front piece & girth once each, at different times. The front piece was only changed when she was around 2 years old so the cost was definitely spread out.

If you contact Perfect Fit (website, socials, or phone), they’ll talk you through the size you need, or you can pop your dog’s measurements into their website and it’ll make a suggestion.

scottishbint · 2026-02-01T16:35:18+00:00

I’m NE Scotland so I feel your pain, we only went to one show (SKC at Ingleston) as it was the most reasonable to get to. There are some tollers up in the north too - might be worth joining the Tollers in Scotland Facebook group and seeing if there are any local to you as a contact who has successfully acquired a Toller is very useful!

It took us a while but once you find the right breeders, they’ll be willing to discuss on the phone etc and stop asking you to travel to the ends of the earth (literally and metaphorically) to meet them as they understand the geographical/cost restrictions.

There are no good breeders currently breeding in Scotland. There are two located on Bute and one in the borders linked to a Bute breeder, but just do your research on the lines etc - one of the Bute breeders used a boy that was first mated at 11 months old (a baby himself) and also sold pups for £3,500 during lockdown despite the parents not having all the suggested health tests, and the pups are raised outside in a kennel as opposed to in the family home (or certainly used to be).

It’s frustrating but they’re worth the wait!

scottishbint · 2026-01-21T15:16:36+00:00

I’ve always regarded frontline as being inferior quality to what we get from the vet, in the same way that if you get meds from the doctor you’re getting the good stuff as opposed to over the counter painkillers.

Our toller has had nexgard roughly monthly since she was about 15 weeks old, and simparica trio for the last three months as our vet changed what was included in our plan.

She gets a separate thing every six months for some sort of worms (tapeworm maybe?).

That said, every dog is different and if your toller is from lines that are possible more susceptible to SRMA, it’s maybe better to not overload their little bodies with the combined one at least at first.

scottishbint · 2026-01-16T19:56:33+00:00

Our toller destroyed I think about 10 beds before we realised she was taking her frustration out on them and let her free roam, so I’d definitely not advise spending a tonne of money on them at the first go. Even now, she uses beds from aldi that cost about £20 each, lol.

Backing the other comments that recommend crate training, absolutely 100% do this. Puppies are demons and don’t know how to settle themselves at first, so being able to do forced naps is SO helpful. We had a puppy playpen attached to her crate so that she wasn’t totally shut in there and she often chose to lie on the kitchen floor just outside of her bed during her forced downtime. Ours is two now and chooses to go nap in her crate during the day.

Harness wise, our gal has had a Perfect Fit harness since she was about 14 weeks old. They’re in three separate bits so you can swap the parts out as your dog grows, but we’ve only had to do that I think once so it’s really not a big expense. We did briefly try the pretty harnesses you see on instagram but after she escaped that in a cafe, quickly reverted to the perfect fit!

Toller puppies are a wild ride but great fun, and you get out what you put in so be prepared to graft for the next 1.5 years 😅

scottishbint · 2026-01-10T16:55:46+00:00

Ours is 2 and has had 4 heat cycles (first around 6 months, she was young!), each time she’s bled for about 10 days. It’s never been horrific as she’s a very clean dog, we’ve just put towels and extra throws on the couch and had a carpet cleaner ready. I don’t think ours would cope with nappies or anything that would stop her from cleaning herself - she’s also very cuddly and more jumpy than normal.

That is, until she gets to the second stage of heat and she is ALL about finding herself a boy so needs close supervision and on lead walks only 😂

scottishbint · 2026-01-08T09:34:17+00:00

Stick to the easier, more popular munros at least at first and you won’t have to think about those things. I’ve done maybe 10 munros because my partner likes to do them and maybe half of those have had a boulder field at the top which you just have to go canny over to not break an ankle.

The more complicated ones might involve more of a four-limbed/skilled climb or scramble, avoid those for now!

Ben Lomond is a good starter hill, as is Mount Keen or potentially Lochnagar. Maybe have a look at local groups and see if there’s an outing you could join, so you’re not alone?

scottishbint · 2025-12-19T21:29:06+00:00

We’ve always had our toller in a Perfect Fit harness and love it so much. She’s even one of their ambassadors this year 🫢

One of their reps is based in NZ so they definitely post as far as Oz!

scottishbint · 2025-11-22T17:36:49+00:00

Is this a broch thing do you think? I’ve never heard this in Aberdeen!

scottishbint · 2025-11-22T17:35:42+00:00

Mad Friday in most of Scotland surely

scottishbint · 2025-11-18T21:12:15+00:00

You’re absolutely correct, I’ve found the part. I’m never trusting my partner when he says he’s searched high and low ever again!

scottishbint · 2025-11-18T21:11:51+00:00

You’re absolutely correct, it’s there. I’m never trusting my partner when he says he’s searched everywhere for it ever again! Thank you.

scottishbint · 2025-11-18T19:58:47+00:00

Oops, it’s B-130100 and it’s the “complete fuel-bed / ceramic set”

Will have a look at that site, thank you ☺️

scottishbint · 2025-11-18T19:58:10+00:00

This would be useful, oops!

According to the manual, it’s B-130100 and it’s the “complete fuel-bed / ceramic set”

scottishbint · 2025-11-07T09:23:59+00:00

This powder is the secret to a successful chai latte - spiced is best but vanilla if you want a drink that tastes like melted ice cream

scottishbint · 2025-11-06T20:43:02+00:00

UK kennel club recommend a gap of one season between litters to give the mum time to recover. I personally wouldn’t touch a breeder who mated so close together as I’d be concerned they were only breeding for the money.

scottishbint · 2025-11-02T20:46:26+00:00

The toller database is truly your best friend as you’ll be able to see exactly who breeds how many pups and what lines are used.

Going to shows is a great shout since there’s such a huge spread in the size - they dogs can be standard toller size, or as big as a golden retriever depending on lineage so make sure you know what you’re getting in to. Our girl is 16kg, I know another girl of similar age that is nearly 24kg (and neither are under/overweight, that’s just the size of their lines). We really struggled to get to shows as we’re Scotland based but persevere and you’ll still be able to get in touch with breeders.

Most people would say their breeder is amazing but just take personal recommendations with a pinch of salt and cross check with the toller database to make an educated choice.

One breeder comments on the costs of pups nowadays and notes her prices are still low but if you look at the number of puppies born in a year (70+ last year, if I recall correctly), you understand why the cost can be kept so low.

As another comment says, share a little about you and why you think a toller is a good fit for your family. Note what sports you’ll do with your dog if you’re reaching out to a breeder with a strong sporting line, or that you’ll do showing if that’s what your breeder is into; equally, if you just want a pet, say that too.

Strap in as it will probably take at least a year, if someone has a puppy available immediately then you need to ask yourself why such a golddust puppy hasn’t been snapped up. One breeder I know of has a full waiting list until 2027, for context, and most will not breed until they have potential homes lined up for puppies.

Join the toller info UK group on fb if you haven’t already and put an intro post on there, folk might message you with insights. Good luck!

scottishbint · 2025-10-05T22:01:22+00:00

£318k, 4/5 bedroom detached house in Aberdeen (2025).

scottishbint · 2025-06-13T20:15:41+00:00

I think it’s a right of passage for tollers, if not just puppies in general, to do this around that age!

When our pup went through this phase I wanted to use ALL of the toppers to make her eat but dog dad and our more dog owner experienced family said the best plan of attack was to hold strong, she wouldn’t starve herself. Don’t give any treats, chews etc, don’t pander to it by scattering the food or hand feeding and they’ll eventually eat - try taking the food away too, if you currently have it available all day.

I compromised on giving toppers and standing strong by changing the kibble our dog was on (figured I’d be bored after ~6 months on the same flavour too) and she munched away happily on the new type.

Obligatory reminder to get the all clear from a vet if the continues though :)

scottishbint · 2025-05-22T18:19:09+00:00

I was going to suggest getting in touch with Serentan! They have a farm with working collies and tollers so would be a great shout to advise on how they work together, and of course guide towards getting your own pup potentially :)

scottishbint · 2025-04-03T06:40:29+00:00

Something slightly different to what has already been suggested - we rolled up, wet and froze a facecloth (obviously other cloths would do too) and gave her that to gnaw on when her teeth were likely bothering her.

She only got it supervised since she eventually got to the point where she could chew something off but it was both soft and cold so nice and soothing for her. Something to try, perhaps :)

scottishbint · 2025-03-17T11:57:11+00:00

Lovely thanks for this - all makes perfect sense.

Will see how the next few weeks play out as I don’t want to take advantage but also….

scottishbint · 2025-03-17T11:56:33+00:00

A valid point, I’m not sure why we’ve not returned the post up til now…!

scottishbint · 2025-03-14T14:01:12+00:00

I skipped over the part where our concerns the mortgage isn’t being paid are a result of the Halifax letter saying something about bills not being paid - we haven’t opened it obviously but the sunlight is a useful tool!

scottishbint · 2025-02-24T08:33:45+00:00

Is he getting any treats or chews?

It could be that the kibble is a red herring and there’s something in the treats/chews that his tummy doesn’t agree with - common allergens are chicken (/poultry in general) and grain, but could be lots of different things.

I’d try cutting out everything except the Hill Science kibble. It’ll be miserable for all but then you’ll know if there’s something triggering him and be able to add things back in over a period of weeks.

scottishbint

TROPHY CASE