I'd like to introduce you to two famous (to me anyway) Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers who live right there in north Texas in Grapevine. I've been following them on Instagram (jay.and.willow) for a few months now - well Jay for longer as he was formerly known on Instagram as jay.the.toller but when little sister Willow came along, a change had to be made. Their IG feed says "Two Tollers living the good life in Grapevine, TX!" and I believe it. I would look at the posts of Jay kicking it on trails around Grapevine Lake and think "I wonder where that is?".
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Two Tollers Living The Good Life In Grapevine, Texas
My New Favorite Dog-Friendly Hike And Photo Shoot Location On Grapevine Lake
When this week's topic of "Favorite Hike or Neighborhood Walk" was announced in the Pet Photographers blog circle I knew I wanted to reach out to Jay and Willow to see if they'd be willing to meet up and show me one of their hike locations. Well technically I reached out to their human, Katie, and she was game. I have to admit, meeting a dog that I've only seen on a screen, I was a bit star struck. Jay's smile is as great in person as it is in his pictures and Willow was the perfect tag-a-long little sister.
Katie and I met at 6:30am, right at sunrise, to beat the Dallas heat. It was a little dark, overcast and humid when we set out, but eventually the sun did pop out for a few minutes. The weather didn't stop us from having a great time. Katie and I walked all the way down to Rockledge park, I think at least a couple of miles, and I took photos of the dogs along the way. Some fun action dog photography as well as posed (we love dogs on rocks!). Not only was this trail amazing for dogs, it was also a winner for future photo shoots for both my pet portrait clients as well as families, engagement and high school seniors.
The North Shore Trail on Grapevine Lake
The trail is pet-friendly and technically requires dogs to be on leash (that's my interpretation and I'm sticking with it), but with the entire trail to ourselves and two well-trained dogs, we let them rip! Recalls were practiced often and always rewarded with a bit of food that Katie brought along to keep up their positive reinforcement training. A well-planned hike is a successful hike!
I had been on other parts of the trail before but fast moving mountain bikers always kept me from bringing my dogs. This stretch of trail is pretty rough and rocky so bikers don't frequent it, making it a great, safe place to run the pups!