Rocky the Otterhound, an endangered breed: Rocky the Otterhound: Instinct, diets and home-comings.

This week I am going to tell you about Rocky’s expedition near the start, as I want to tell you a little about Otterhound instinct!

We have had some very sunny days with hard frost which together make just about the best winter weather you can get.

Rocky, still being a youngster, really enjoys different things and a crunchy garden is one of them!

“Oooh, yummy, grassy ice lollies”!!!

“Errr …. Help mum, I think my tongue's got stuck”!!!!!

After having his tongue rescued, Rocky came with us for an expedition to another area on the plain that he had not been to before.

He enjoyed a jolly good sniff round, looking for scents to make his scenting bones tingle.

He enjoyed sniffing in the long grass.

And soaking up the warmth from the winter sun ……Mmmm lovely!

Then we were off to see what we could see.

Rocky trotted along happily …….. Nose leading the way as always …..

Distracted as he was (by his nose bones), he accidentally let us get a little in front of him …… He suddenly realised this fact when he looked up and we were specks in the distance ............

“Hey wait up folks …….I’m coming too”!!!

At the top of the rise we couldn’t decide which way to go.

Eventually picking a direction, we were off again, striding out in the midday sun.

Rocky was having a great time and skipped and bounced all over the place!

He heard a tinkling sound and turned round to see me and “dad” a way behind him jumping up and down ….. “Just gotta investigate this”!!

“What on earth are you two doing”?

Well, we were just like kids …….. On finding some ice covered puddles ….. We couldn’t resist jumping up and down on them ……. Well who could?

So Rocky came across to sniff this funny, hard stuff.

We thought he might like a closer look …..

…… “Funny …. It smells like water but it’s in big lumps”!?

So, just for research purposes you understand, Rocky had to see what it tasted like!

He seemed to like it …… So we gave him some more …….. Happy Otterhound!!

Eventually he got bored with that game and the patient but insistent look he gave us reminded us that we were grown ups (?) and we should move on.

On we went, having a great time, just walking and talking and sniffing (Rocky sniffed not us …. Honest) and enjoying the sunshine

Eventually it was time to head back to the car.

Unfortunately that meant walking in the shade of the woods ……….. I don’t know about Rocky’s paws, mine were freezing!

We came to a break in the woods so Rocky went for a little explore …… With his nose of course!

He followed his nose for a little while …

Then came trotting back to us ..... Good Otterhound!

“Daddy” was very pleased with him so found him something to play with!

Rocky had been so good we decided to give him a little more time out and just mooched around by the car.

This is an appropriate place to tell you a little about Otterhound instinct. We obviously spent too much time mooching because Rocky’s scenting bones were well tickled, he followed his nose at a faster and faster pace then he was off up the hill and out of sight!

Any Otterhound breeder will tell you that they are scent dogs and should only be let off in a safe area (away from traffic etc). Well, Rocky was in a very safe area, but unlike previous times when he came back to our calls fairly quickly ( 30 minutes or so); this time he was gone some time. We ended up going in separate directions to find him; you see once they get onto a scent instinct takes over and they do not even register that you are calling them. All this we knew, we just wanted to keep track of him so he didn’t get lost.

We eventually all got back together and nothing was harmed - we saw the 2 deer he was tracking trot out of the woods and away unharmed - he was a way behind them and seemed to be loosing the scent as he was milling more than following. But we had a very tired and happy Otterhound when we got him back.

We are, however, reconsidering our decision to let him walk without a lead on the plain. He is growing up and his Otterhound instinct (scent chasing) seems to be getting stronger ……….. We’ll let you know what we decide.

Anyway, when we got him back he was covered in burrs and seeds and had become Velcro again.

Time to take him home and groom him to within an inch of his life ….. Again!!!

After a jolly good grooming, he slept and he slept and he slept …… Tired Otterhound! And while he was sleeping he was moving his legs and howling ……….. Very funny to watch!!

The weather changed and the garden turned muddy. But that is no barrier to an Otterhound and Rocky spent a lot of time out there ….. Just mooching about and surveying his domain!! He’s not the least bit territorial but he does like to watch the world.

Rocky enjoys a good bone twice a week and if it’s raining he eats it in the kitchen (thank heavens for laminate flooring)!

He was so happy with it that he wagged his tail while he gnawed and chomped.

He was so engrossed that he didn’t even notice the sneak attack on his tail …… That’ll be Mij then!!

This brings me nicely on to tell you a bit about his diet. Rocky has had a fair few problems with a sensitive stomach (not unusual in a big dog I am told) he has been on an almost constant sensitive diet. Daisey’s “mum” has three dogs and she has recently moved them on to a “natural” diet, which she says has done wonders for her dogs.

We decided to try it with Rocky and he has been on it for a few weeks now. It consists of raw meat with fresh fruit and vegetables (put through a kitchen food processor), it is slightly more complicated than that, but not much. Anyway, it does seem to have done wonders for Rocky’s stomach and he is leaner and fitter looking too. What’s more, he really looks forward to meal times and takes his time over his food; he really seems to savour it.

He looks good after a few weeks of this diet, and very healthy too!

I am not advocating this for every dog but it has worked well with Rocky – If you are interested I will include the web address where you can read more at the end of the blog. I will also put a link onto the site.

To finish, Rocky had a wonderful surprise at the end of the week. One of his favourite friends came home for the Christmas Holiday.

They were so pleased to see each other that he didn’t even have time to take off his coat!