Rocky the Otterhound: Didn’t we have a wonderful time …….!!

The recent bank holiday got us all in the mood for an expedition. Rosie is still having trouble with travel sickness, so we decided to head for somewhere fairly close by and hope that the work we have done so far would help Rosie cope with the short journey. It did help a bit but things were not perfect for her (poor thing). However once there Rosie had the time of her life and if she could have spoken to us I’m sure she would have said it was worth the short discomfort.

My thanks go to Charlotte for the use of some of her wonderful photo’s.


The day began as normal and we told our hounds that we were going on an expedition ……. Well alright, we got them a little excited and kept saying we’re going “walkies” which is pretty close!!

Anyway, while we got all the dog walking paraphernalia together Rocky and Rosie had snugly, excited chats about the coming day!

We didn’t tell them that they were meeting friends there, so it was a lovely surprise when we met up at the pub and they had a wildly excited greeting session

As well as old friends, Ludo, Daisy and Sparky, they met up with our friend’s new foster dog Gobi. Everyone was very pleased to see each other and the excitement grew.

We walked on to the tow path and the walk began.

The young ones, that were walked off lead, liked to be in front, although they would often wait for the others to catch up …… They did try to be patient ….. But it was very difficult to contain their excitement …..

“Do come on ……. What’s all this hanging about for”??

Rocky in particular preferred to walk a bit farther in front so he headed off to lead the way …… Rosie followed her “brother’s” lead.

Everyone soon settled down and the dogs comfortably ran back and forth (as they do) to see that the temporarily enlarged pack was keeping up and in order.

Rocky, Rosie and Ludo being terribly excited and not on the lead like Daisy and Gobi, tended to be in front as much as possible. Sparky was generally content to meander along …… Although he did have his moments!

The front runners would wait until we caught up ……

When we did, Rosie would run up to welcome us but, not quite as prepared to wait as Rosie, Rocky waited until we were right up to him ……..

“Oh do come on people ……. There is so much to see and do and we haven’t got all day” …..

Well, how do you explain to an excited Otterhound that you haven’t got four legs and you’ve got a fair few years on him?!!

Anyway, we regrouped and headed onwards …..

Although not sunny, it was a warm day and the towpath could get busy at times …… Not a problem as it gave our dogs the chance to meet new friends.

For us though, it did sometimes mean we had to go back to collect a dog that was having too much fun saying hello ……. Rocky and Rosie though, would usually break away without our help, and run to catch up!

On we walked enjoying the sights and smells of the canal-side walk.

The canal itself had a fair bit of traffic too, which gave our dogs added interest; they like to stop and watch the barges go past.

As we settled into a steady pace and it became obvious that this wasn’t going to be a short, fast walk, Rocky was more content to dip in and out of the pack and became less determined to lead us forward.

Occasionally they would even lag behind as they examined a particularly interesting smell. Then they enjoyed the run to catch us up.

There were breaks for cuddles and treats (we had bought tiny bits of cooked sausage and our friend had cooked them a tuna and sardine cake). What lucky dogs!!

"We just had a bit of cake …… It’s soooo yummy ….. This is such fun”!!!!!

Rocky, Rosie and Ludo still took the lead at times but they stayed closer to the pack and enjoyed being with us.

The youngsters carried on …….. Chatting amongst themselves no doubt!?

They were often the ones to find something interesting first. One or other would rush back to tell us about it …….

A discarded ball was a prize find and Rosie, being the youngest, had a great time with it ……..

….. Otterhounds don’t tend to play ball but that doesn’t exclude the joy they get from playing with something that other dogs haven’t got!!!

Mind you, the slightest whiff of a treat and any toy is instantly forgotten …..

“Excuse me …… Where’s mine”??

Eventually we decided it was time to turn back …… We had another fuss and love session while we made sure everyone was going to go in the same direction …..

By now our hounds had decided to pace themselves and there was no more rush to be out in front.

On the way back our hounds spotted a canal overspill area that they had missed on the way up …..

……….“Dad” tried to persuade them they didn’t really want to go and investigate ……. To no avail …..

It had to be the mud magnets didn’t it??!

Rocky and Rosie headed for the boggy area ……. And they took Ludo with them …..

We thought about being cross about this, but they had such fun charging about in the wet black mud ……. we couldn’t have kept it up anyway!

Rocky and Ludo emerged with mud wellies on but somehow Rosie had avoided this ……. Don’t ask me how; she usually gets as dirty as Rocky!!

Somehow the black mud slid off our our dogs and they were just left wet and Bouncy,

We carried on, us humans thinking about a hot drink and chocolate cake and our dogs thinking about exciting things like the next smell.

Rocky and Rosie continued to explore the fringes of the tow path, with as much vigour as before; but with less mud!

Rosie and Sparky spent some time together at the back of the line so to speak, then Rosie would head off to see what Rocky was up to ……

Rosie is looking more and more like a good looking, grown up Otterhound, don’t you think?

Anyway, we all continued to meet potential new friends along the way ….. Rosie was quite taken with Sally the Beagle.

Rocky, still damp, had gone ahead a little and was keen to share his find with his friends …

“Come see what I’ve found …. It’s great”!

It turned out to be a German Shepherd peeking through the curtains of one of the barges.

“See, this one comes with a free pal”!

We carried on, while the youngsters remained bouncy!

We finally arrived back at the pub ……. Sparky was very soon out like a light

We found somewhere nice in the garden to park our Otterhounds …..

……. And Ludo, Gobi and Daisy had somewhere nice too.

Rosie was soon investigating the state of the lawn ….

While Rocky took the opportunity to relax ….

And they generally relaxed together after their fun walk.

Having kept nice and clean earlier, Rosie had discovered a mud patch in the lawn ….. My “angel with a dirty face” again!!!

Having all had a nice drink of water everyone waited happily while us humans imbibed in some refreshment.

Sparky revived very quickly and enjoyed some attention.

And some treats ……..

“Hang on a minute…… That smells like treats over there ….. Oooh, yummy!!

You will never get a food smell past an Otterhound!!

“Hey don’t forget me”!!

“I do love you daddy”!

His "dad" is a sucker for this sort of thing!

Rocky, like everyone else, had some more treats too ….. So he hung around for some loves as well.

Little Rosie was contented, happy she had come along.

So she rested happily in the grass and watched the end-of-walk entertainment.

Rocky moved closer to his friends to get a better look at the coming events.

Daisy showed her remarkable jumping trick ……

While Gobi showed her hilarious smile ….

And to conclude; Daisy showed her impression of a Chinese Shar Pei dog ……


Well done chaps, lovely show and a good ending to a great walk!

Back home by early evening and Rocky and Rosie had a rawhide treat each …..

Within seconds (or so it seemed) of finishing this, Rosie was out like a light ……

Rocky wasn’t far behind!!

That night it didn’t take long for our lovely hounds to go to sleep as we headed for bed ……

Rocky didn’t even bother with his usual “Otterhound” position!

Night night Rocky, dream of what a wonderful time you had!!!!