FitK9 Walking

For months before his daughter's wedding, Gary was asked the same question over and over again. "Dad... have you written your speech yet?" The only problem was... he hadn't. Well... not exactly. While most fathers of the bride spend months writing, rehearsing and worrying about the perfect speech, Gary prepared just one sentence and trusted the wedding itself to provide the rest. What followed bec...

Milo isn't interested in making friends. He's interested in the beach. But one quiet morning at Horseshoe Bay, a group of Labradors and Golden Retrievers accidentally wander into his world. What follows is one of the funniest and most unexpected encounters Gary has ever witnessed, as a working Kelpie quietly reveals instincts that hundreds of years of breeding never quite forgot. Sometimes the gre...

Dogs have a remarkable way of becoming part of our lives. Not just our homes—but our routines, our friendships, our identity, and the quiet rhythm of each day. After losing her beloved Labrador, Kobi, a close friend believed she'd never own another dog. But over time, something unexpected began calling her back—not simply another dog, but the walks, the beach, the conversations and the community t...

Bowser may only be a tiny Chihuahua living in the Canadian wilderness, but don't even think about telling him that. As far as Bowser's concerned... "I'm dog." While Bowser patrols for bears, coyotes and anything remotely suspicious, his loving family seem far more interested in dinosaur costumes, knitted jumpers and finding ever more creative ways to stop him barking. After five electronic anti-ba...

At five years old, Gary quietly retired one of the Rs from his name. It seemed like a perfectly sensible solution at the time. After all, when you're five, Father Christmas delivers presents with flying reindeer, the Easter Bunny hides chocolate eggs, and removing an extra letter from your name hardly feels like a life-changing decision. What follows is the true story of a left-handed little boy,...

Charlie was the star pupil at puppy school. Sit. Stay. Drop. Recall. There was just one small problem... Charlie only seemed to remember his training when roast chicken was involved. Growing up around working dogs in the Northern Territory, Gary couldn't help imagining two old stockmen sitting around a campfire explaining how the day's cattle muster fell apart because they'd run out of roast chick...

Replacing a second-storey window should have been a straightforward engineering job. Until Charlie quietly followed Gary across a narrow plank suspended five metres above the ground. What follows is more than a story about scaffolding. It's a story about trust. About staying calm when panic would make everything worse. And about discovering that sometimes the greatest act of leadership isn't askin...

When barking, growling and shouting suddenly erupt behind the trees, Gary fears the worst. But the real surprise isn't the noisy bulldog next door—it's the completely different way Milo and Charlie respond to the same situation. What begins as a neighbourhood misunderstanding becomes a lesson in nervous systems, connection and why two dogs can experience the same moment in completely different way...

At first, it looked like nothing more than an embarrassing fall down the stairs. Two Kelpies. One seventy-year-old bloke. And a bruised ego. But the more Gary thought about it, the more he realised the staircase wasn't really the story. This episode explores anticipation, connection, and why Milo seems to arrive at every destination long before his body does. Along the way, Gary discovers that the...

Everybody talks about the jump. Nobody talks about the walk to the edge. In the Season 2 opener, Gary reflects on fear, excuses, growth, courage, spectators, jumpers and the moments in life when we decide whether to step forward or stay where we are. Featuring Milo, Charlie, an old Edith Piaf song, and a simple question: Are you putting your toes on the line?

At first, I thought I was jealous of a puppy. Which sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud. A cavoodle entered the picture and somehow began acquiring more influence than seemed entirely reasonable. The couch. The attention. The affection. The emotional authority. The funny thing is, the more I thought about it, the more I realised the puppy wasn't really the story. The puppy was just the clue....

At some point in life every Kelpie owner asks the same question. Usually while chasing them. Usually while exhausted. Usually after they've ignored a perfectly reasonable instruction. The question is simple: Why did I get a damn Kelpie? What starts as admiration for an intelligent working dog quickly becomes a lesson in energy, chaos, persistence and humility. In this episode I reflect on what att...

S01E08 — I Never Had A Business Card For most of my working life I built businesses. I employed people. Negotiated deals. Started ventures. Met customers. Attended conferences. And somehow, through all of that...I never had a business card. Not one. Ever. People found that strange. The funny thing is, so do I. Looking back, I think it says something about how I've always seen myself. Not as a titl...

When my daughter announced she'd bought a Chihuahua, I wasn't entirely convinced it was a sensible decision. After all, I'd spent most of my life around larger dogs. Working dogs. Farm dogs. Dobermans. Kelpies. Dogs that looked capable of surviving a minor apocalypse. A Chihuahua seemed more like a nervous mouse with a bark. But as often happens in life, reality had other ideas. In this episode I...

S01E06 — The Sailboards I Couldn't Throw Away. I was standing in my shed looking at a couple of old sailboards the other day. The problem is they're nearly fifty years old. What started as a simple clean-up turned into a question about memories, getting older, and why some things are much harder to throw away than they should be.

Charlie was only supposed to spend one night at an Airbnb. That was the plan. What nobody considered was the existence of a doggy door. While normal guests use the front door, Charlie apparently believed accommodation came with unlimited access to the entire neighbourhood. What followed was one of those moments every dog owner dreads, followed by a discovery that was equal parts embarrassing, hila...

S01E04 — Milo Was Banned From Civilisation When I got Milo, I did everything the dog books recommended. Puppy school. Cafes. Markets. Busy streets. The problem was Milo had already decided who mattered in his world. And it wasn't civilisation.

S01E03 — Muster Dog: Charlie and the Black Cat When an indoor black cat escapes into the night, Charlie unexpectedly reveals a hidden talent. What follows is part working dog instinct, part comedy and one of the most surprising moments Gary has experienced with a Kelpie.

S01E02 — Milo Peed On A Stranger. Most dog owners experience embarrassing moments. Few experience this one. Gary tells the story of the day Milo introduced himself to a complete stranger in a way that created an unforgettable social situation and a valuable lesson about public appearances.

S01E01 — A 70-Year-Old Bloke With Two Kelpies Meet Gary, Milo and Charlie. Milo is anxious, strategic and emotionally invested in everything. Charlie is athletic, optimistic and convinced everybody is his friend. Together they turn ordinary beach walks into unexpected adventures. This is where the story begins.

FitK9 Walking is a story-driven podcast about dogs, people, ageing, connection, humour, reflection, and finding meaning in ordinary walks. It is not a fitness podcast. It is not a self-help podcast. It is not a dog-training podcast. It is a podcast about life, told through the adventures of a 70-year-old bloke and two Kelpies.