Rocky like the rest of us has had a quieter week this week. The Christmas and New Year visitors have dissapeared and this weekend saw his much loved playmate return to University. So the family again consists of Hubby, myself, Rocky and our uncomunicative cat!So what does a quieter week consist of for Rocky?
Well, first of all there is the all important catching up on sleep issue! Silly humans are rushing around doing things like clearing up, housework and putting away decorations .................... puppy dogs (especially Rocky), however, prefer to lie back and get over the excitement in an altogether more relaxed way! This way of recharging takes second place, but only to the more important issue of .......... eating!
If Rocky was a cat I would be a little afraid he was going to turn out to be a Garfield!
Once you have got enough sleep under your belt it is important (apparently) to pester the life out of the overworked humans in order to go out and about, exploring the world you are living in!
I know in previous blogs I have stated how reticent Rocky has been over going out for walks, this still holds; on the whole .............. but when faced with a large pup who wants to play while all you want to do is sleep, it is better to visit the great outdoors where pup can explore and all you have to do is facilitate! Lets face it, there is only so much tug of war or chase a person can stand after a very busy couple of weeks!
Familiar haunts continue to provide an endless variety of unexplored sights and smells for Rocky.
But if you are getting a little bored you can always practice your impressionism .....................
How's this for a "devil dog"?
Intended to get your humans running in order to facilitate a game of chase perhaps?
However, if this was the plan; it failed miserably - as after taking and reviewing the photo, much merriment and laughter followed. This left Rocky to go off to explore any interesting smells elsewhere. I suspect he may wish to practice this particular impression a bit more - needs some polish I think!
I did say that sleeping was second only to eating, well Rocky has developed a particular trait which is both endearing and bad manners at the same time. It has not been encouraged or rewarded but appears to be a development that he is loath to give up.
When sitting at the table enjoying your own food Rocky will (of course) sit as close by as possible. After observing you eating for a while he will shuffle even closer on his bottom, look at you with big adoring eyes and with his head to one side let out a small and quite clipped bark. If this does not produce the required reaction (handing over your lunch to your dog I suspect), he will proceed to tactic number two.
Tactic number two appears to be still under construction as at present there seems to be two versions. The first is to start licking your humans leg with gentle enthusiasm until they are damp enough to react by turning and asking you politely to stop. The second is to nudge your arm (preferably the one with a forkfull of food just about to enter your mouth) with his nose. Both of these versions are followed by an expectant and smiling facial expression. Looks awfully cute!
However these tactics have failed to provide a consistant positive reaction so I am interested to see if he will continue the development of his begging tactics or not. As long as he doesn't end up launching himself into the middle of your dinner plate (like a kitten we used to have did), I recon we can cope with it.
Anyway, back to his second favourite activity ........ sleeping again! One of everyones favourite passtimes this week. So much so, that Rocky has taken to the "having an early breakfast followed by going straight back to bed" routine, very well! Loves it actually!!
Rocky doesn't usually mind the hoover when housework is being done, but I guess that after all the excitement and furore of the last couple of weeks he kinda wanted a bit more peace.
I came down to this site after finishing the hoovering up stairs, I have no idea how he did it but he was fast asleep under his favourite piece of clothing and there was no sign of a struggle in or around his bed! I guess it kept the light out of his eyes if nothing else and I guess Otterhounds must be good problem solvers!!
To finish off his peacful and relaxing week we took Rocky to a new place to walk him. Although remaining on his lead (as it was not completely secure) Rocky thoroughly enjoyed his time out.
He had a lovely trot as Hubby was able to walk at a pace that allowed Rocky to explore while not giving him enough time to consider seeing what the MASSES of Bunny Poo tasted like. Always a good idea in my opinion!
However, Hubby, like myself, often likes to stop and enjoy the view if visiting somewhere fairly new.
Rocky apparently got a little bored at this point and decided to play a practical joke!
He wound himself and his lead around and around Hubby's legs until neither could move an inch.
The joke was to resoluteley decline to move an inch in order to extricate anyone from the mess.
After much muttering under breath and finally giving in, in order to soley use the lead (and not the dog attached to it - yes Hubby can be stubborn too!), the pair were freed up and the walk could continue.
They say dogs get like thier owners but I'm not sure who is getting like who in this relationship?
Not a particularly eventful week for any of us, but there are times when all need a little rest and recuperation. It is so nice to have a dog that not only respects that - but whole heartedly joins in!!
I just hope that when we go back to work next week (which will involve a walk after breakfast instead of back to bed) Rocky adapts back to routine as well as we are going to have to?!
ah well, such is life!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment