From the Highlands to the loch: Ash the retired border collie's second chapter

Some dogs get a career. Ash got two lives.

For a decade, she was up before dawn, nose to the wind, reading the hillside, gathering sheep across the hills and glens of the Scottish Highlands with her owner Mike. She was a working border collie in the truest sense: registered with the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS), daughter of the well known trials and hill dog Moss, and a competitor in local and Open sheepdog trials. She and Mike had some great results together, built on years of trust and quiet communication that only a working partnership like theirs can produce.

Then, in March 2026, at 10.5 years old, it was time to hang up her working collar.

Letting a working dog retire is never straightforward. These animals aren't pets who happen to have a job; the work is woven into who they are. Mike knew Ash needed to step back from the physical demands of the hill, but finding the right home for her mattered deeply.

When Shela Ann lost her own Border Collie, Judy, a dog with the same bloodlines as Ash, Mike had an idea. He wanted Ash to retire to someone who already understood what these dogs are made of. Shela Ann was that person.

Working a dog like Ash on the open hill is a relationship built over years. It's early mornings in all weathers, learning to read each other across vast distances, and a kind of quiet trust that takes a long time to earn. Mike and Ash had that in full. She came from good stock; her father, Moss, was a well known trials and hill dog, and she lived up to every bit of it. Competing in Open sheepdog trials isn't something any dog can do. It takes intelligence, instinct, and a partnership that goes beyond commands.

"It was hard for him to let her go," Shela Ann says. "But it has turned out to be a huge success for all of us."

Ash now lives on the West Coast of Scotland at Loch Linnhe, at the foot of Ben Nevis. She has walks on the shore and the beach, goes out with the ponies daily, and has become a cherished house and family dog. Shela Ann's other merle collie and the children all love her. The dog who once covered miles of open moorland is now content to sit on a bench by the river and watch the mountains.

A sensitive stomach, years in the making

Retirement changes everything: the activity levels drop, the routine shifts, and what they eat needs to shift with it. A dog like Ash isn't just transitioning to a quieter life; she's transitioning to a completely different relationship with her own body. Get that balance wrong and you risk weight gain, digestive upset, or simply not giving them what they need to stay comfortable into their older years. That balance was exactly what Shela Ann was looking for when she found Years.

Here's what changed for Ash once she switched to Years:

• Her coat became noticeably shinier
• She reached a healthy weight, putting on 2kg after leaving the hill
• Her digestion settled after years of an unsettled stomach
• She has energy for her daily walks, the shore, and keeping up with the ponies

Working dogs are scavengers by nature. Years on the hill means years of finding and eating things they probably shouldn't, and Ash had always had an unsettled stomach as a result. It was one of those things that had just become part of life with her.

When she transitioned to retirement, Shela Ann was determined to give Ash the very best start to this new chapter, and that meant sorting her stomach out properly. She found Years, took her time with the transition, and moved Ash onto the food gradually over a couple of weeks.

The difference was noticeable. Ash has put on 2 kg, a healthy weight for a dog no longer running the hills all day. Her coat is shiny, her digestion has settled, and she loves the treats. In Shela Ann's words: "she's worth every penny."

A new routine, a new Ash

Ash's days now look nothing like they used to, and that's a wonderful thing.

She wakes up in a warm house, not a kennel. Her mornings are spent out with the ponies, her afternoons on the shore or the beach at Loch Linnhe, with Ben Nevis watching over everything. She has a merle collie for company, children who adore her, and a family who make sure she wants for nothing. The instincts are still there; you don't switch off ten years of working life overnight, but they're quieter now, softened by comfort and contentment.

There's a version of retirement for working dogs that feels like loss. And then there's Ash's version.

She has gone from the remoteness of the Highland glens to the shore of one of Scotland's most beautiful lochs. From a working partnership with Mike, who she won't be far from the thoughts of, to a family who dotes on her completely. She is a precious wee girl, as Shela Ann puts it, and she is thriving.

It's a privilege that Years could play even a small part in helping her feel her best.

If you have a retired working dog at home, you'll know that the transition isn't always smooth. These are dogs who have lived with purpose, and purpose doesn't just disappear. What they need most in that adjustment period is consistency, calm, and nutrition that genuinely supports them. That's what Years is built around, and Ash is living proof that getting it right makes all the difference.

Here's to you, Ash. You've earned every walk on that shore.