I adopted Max late summer of 2024 and my goodness, what a whirlwind! Having lost my very elderly springer in September 2023, I was really missing my little friend and finally decided to give the Canine Rescue Centre in Glencaple a call. They introduced me to little Max and the rest is history!

Our first few months together were pretty rocky. He had a lot of problems, zero recall and not a clue how to walk nicely on a lead. He broke three harnesses and two long lines and even ran away once and was lost for almost 24hrs! My nerves were shot! Despite my best efforts, I just couldn’t find a shop locally where I would be able to take him and try on some quality, strength tested harnesses and leads. Buying online was a nightmare too as most items were either poor quality or a bad fit.

Eventually I took him down to North Wales where I grew up, to an amazing dog shop that I knew of, where I was able to properly fit him with a great harness, collar and a couple of leads to help us with our training. The staff really knew their stuff and were patient and helpful. I thought - we need a shop like this at home!

Now Max is making spectacular progress and not only are our walks lots of fun, but we’re also learning to Canicross!

Late 2024, I decided to take the plunge and set up this business. I knew the kind of brands and products I wanted to stock and have been really fortunate to have their support and help to get this store up and running.

I want Track & Trail to be a trusted, well stocked shop that supports active dogs and their owners in Dumfries and Galloway and beyond. With a special focus on hiking, canicross and gundog training to start off, we’ll only be stocking the very best items that put the safety and comfort of the dog first. Our gear will also be fantastic for the everyday dog owner who is looking for great kit and good service. In the future, I hope to expand our range to include agility, scentwork, apparel and lots more - but I need to start somewhere!

It’s been a rollercoaster and lots of hard work getting everything set up, getting trained up on all of the new products and setting out a gorgeous shop that I hope will be welcoming for all dogs and their owners.

Having a nervous and reactive dog, I especially wanted to make sure that these guys were taken care of too. It’s nerve wracking taking a dog like that into a shop so most of us just don’t bother. That’s why I’m offering an after-hours service, 3 evenings a week, where owners of nervous and reactive dogs can come and shop in a calm and stress-free environment.

Thanks so much for visiting our site and I really hope we get to see you and your dogs in store very soon!