Rocky the Otterhound: Ice-creams and anecdotes!

On some of our walks together if the weather is particularly nice, we treat our hounds to an ice- cream on the way home.

Well, we want one too and it saves an awful lot of sharing if they get one of their own!

So, they wait outside the shop like good dogs.

As you can see they are very attentive if we go into the shop ..... anyone would think they knew what was coming??!

We thought it would be nice this week if you were let in on a few anecdotes about our lovely hounds ..... And while we are into the telling you can watch Rocky and Rosie enjoying their favourite ice-creams!

Rocky and Rabbits ......

As we have told you, our Otterhounds love the smell of bunnies ...... we have also told you they are very gentle .....

Well, whilst walking along the edge of a field a big clear eyed, healthy looking bunny hopped lethargically out of the hedge right next to Rocky. Rocky stopped and looked down at it in amazement. Said bunny then hopped right up to him and sniffed his front paw!!! All of a sudden Rocky dropped his head and when he lifted it up; it had the offending bunny in it!

Well, I panicked ...... said "drop it" in a very clear and commanding voice! Rocky dropped the bunny immediately (Yes, I was surprised too!). Said silly bunny then hopped lethargically back into the hedge as though nothing untoward had happened!

The bunny had not been harmed in any way and left the meeting in the same state it had arrived in!

Amazing to see how gentle mouthed these big dogs can be, no malice, no excitement at the thought of a free meal ..... just gentle collection of an unusual object!

How cool was that!!!

By now Rocky and Rosie have finished their ice-creams and are about to get stuck into ensuring there are no tiny bits left in the wrappings .....

Rocky, Rosie and the Guard Dogs ........

On one of our many walks, we walk past a fence which has guard dog kennels behind it. Each kennel has a run attached and on this day four of the dogs were out in their runs.

As we walked past, the guard dogs became quite excited at having our two hounds within sight, they barked incessantly and ran backwards and forwards in their runs.

Our two hero's stopped and faced the fence in order to observe this phenomena! Rocky immediately sat down and his eyebrows (yes, he does have them) shot up. He sat quiet as a church mouse with a "What on earth are they doing"(?) expression on his face.

Meanwhile Rosie had also sat but was in the throws of rolling onto her back in a completely submissive posture (this was executed in extreme slow motion).

Both dogs stayed that way, totally silent and interested in their own way, until we had stopped laughing and decided to carry on walking!

Otterhounds find most things interesting and worth a bit of time to study ..... They are also extremely good natured and appear to be without a confrontational bone in their bodies!

There's still some ice-cream in those wrappers apparently!

Rosie and the bunny .....

Rosie also has a bunny story (yes, there are loads of bunnies around us)! On another walk, Rosie suddenly disappeared over a mound of earth and grass. Very quickly she reappeared with a dead bunny hanging from her mouth.

"Dad", seeing my distress, commanded Rosie to drop it ..... Again (and equally unbelievably) the said bunny was dropped instantly.

Immediately, the bunny got up and shot away over the mound as if the devil itself was after it! Once again the gentle mouth of the Otterhound is illustrated. The only difference this time is that it was a cunning bunny who thought that playing dead would provide an opportunity for escape ..... Guess what ..... It worked!!

By now Rosie has decided that her ice-cream is no more ..... she has also noted that I am eating mine .....

..... "I've finished mum, can I have some more please"?

Rocky on the other hand is determined to get that last tiny bit out of the bottom of his wrapper!

"I'm still finished mum, please can I have some more"!!

Rocky, finished at last, gives us a big smile and notices that I am now eating my treat!

So he gives a big .... "I've finished ..... Can I have yours please" bark!

Now Rocky has a very deep chest and a very big bark (on the few occasions he uses his voice) .....

..... His chest seems to act as an amplifier for his voice and each bark is inevitably followed by a big shake of the head as the amplified sound tickles the bones in his ears!

His brother and sisters appear to do the same thing!

So, a couple of attention seeking barks ......

..... And a few "goodness that tickles" shakes of the head later and .....

"Mum" gives in and shares her ice-cream with the hairy monsters!

Otterhounds know a pushover when they see one!

Rocky and the Mij Monster .....

Most evenings, when Rocky is sleeping peacefully on the sofa with his head hanging down and his nose on the edge of the seat; Mij (our cat that thinks she's an Otterhound) will amble downstairs.

She will sit on the floor and look to see where Rocky is and what he's doing. Once she is satisfied he is asleep she will creep along the bottom of the sofa .....

..... Position herself below his big, black soft nose ..... Reach up slowly with her paw and start smacking him on his nose as often as she can before he wakes up!

This happens so regularly, yet Rocky continues to wake up with a surprised and confused look on his face ..... But, being a lazy hound; instead of looking for where the disturbance comes from he just rolls over and goes back to sleep!

Mij will keep happily tormenting him as long as he sweet naturedly just removes his nose from the problem!

Aren't Otterhounds great??!!!!!!

Anyway, night time comes as inevitably as the day ..... Rosie is comfy for a while .....

So night, night Rosie, sleep well and dream of ice-cream!

..... And when she moves into her bed after a bit of sleepy wriggling; it's .....

..... Night, night Rocky, sleep well too and dream of audacious bunnies and yummy ice-creams!!