Rocky the Otterhound: Merry Christmas

Rocky and family send seasons greetings to everyone and hope you are having as much fun as he is.

This weeks blog will only be a short one as we have visitors, Christmas (of course) with all that entails and a new puppy to boot! This all means that my time is divided too much to give you a usual account of Rocky’s week.

However, there is time for a few pictures to keep you going until the next blog ……..


Rocky and Rosie have been out on lots of joint walks and Rocky has been showing her around his territory.

“Come over here Rosie, you’ve gotta see this”!!

As both our luvverlies are Otterhounds they share a few things in common even though they are different personalities …….




The sitting and watching seems to be a general Otterhound thing, and it never ceases to amuse us; especially as the large and the small one tend to undertake this behaviour almost in synchronisation!

Rosie, for her part, seems pretty impressed by Rocky’s “patch” and will generally follow Rocky almost anywhere. She does however need encouragement in the dark, but having Rocky around makes her feel braver.

They both share a love of comfort and sleep as well; cuddles are for the big babies as well as the little ones!

They share a love of playing – Rocky will even go into “Rosie’s” bed (?) to play; which tends to be a bit crowded as she has plundered many toys and keeps them in there as well! But they seem to have a good time despite the many bumps in the bed!

Both hounds tend to hang around the kitchen when food is being prepared ……. Both prefer to lie comfortably rather than sit patiently!!

In fact, hanging around the kitchen has become quite a family affair!!!!

Christmas day was just too exciting for them both and they spent nearly all day (a fairly short one this time of year) awake and active. Rocky and Rosie were obviously very good this year as Santa bought them lots of lovely toys. Rocky also wants to say a big "Thank You" to his friends who gave him super presents as well!

Both tend to be children over them though …..

“I want that one”

“No, I want it – you can have the other one”!

This sometimes leads to a bit of a kerfuffle!

But the Otterhound temperament works well and they remain good natured about their disagreements.

In the end ……. Rocky gets the toy of the moment …….

Errr, I mean Rosie gets the toy ……. Err; actually they just keep swapping!!

Sometimes Rocky ends up sharing his sofa with Rosie, he’s cool about that as it only happens when “mum and dad” are around to help her up.

Although you wouldn’t think so from this photo, Rosie shares Rockies reluctance to leave the warmth and comfort of a comfy bed to go out for a walk.

But as you can see, they both really enjoy it once persuaded.

Rocky gets a big boy game with “daddy”.

But just as he does with Mij when she’s out – he has to go and check if Rosie is OK!

What a great mother he would have made!!

There is always praise for Rocky as he is such a good lad.

Of course, our other wonderful Otterhound gets lots as well!! (How lucky are we)?????




So, to end a short but sweet blog …….

What does our hero need after a Christmas full of fun and games, visitors and good food ……?

Of course, cuddly sleeps …..

Night night Rocky, happy dreams!!

Happy holidays to you all.

Rocky the Otterhound: Wow, what a week and I get to keep this one!!

At the start, let me apologise for the variable quality of some of the photographs recently, I fear my camera has decided it is rather overworked and is on the way out. But hopefully you will enjoy most of them.

Rocky has had a very exciting and full week; he has used a lot of energy, stayed up very late and had a tiring and happy time.





The week started well for Rocky as his friend Ludo came to visit him.







The two pals quickly got down to the important business of playing.







Ludo has grown up and is now able to match Rocky with speed and wrestling.








They had a great time and used up loads of energy, which was good for all of us!






When the evening drew in (very quick this time of year) they carried on indoors.







But all too soon Ludo had to say goodbye and head home. Never mind Rocky, you’ll meet again …….







…….. And you are rather tired after your exciting day!




The next day “daddy” disappeared while “mummy went to work. Rocky was happy at home with Danny, then mummy came home and we all settled down for a warm cosy evening.



“Daddy” arrived home later with a lovely surprise for Rocky!

“Rocky meet Rosie, she's a little Otterhound just like you were” …..

Rosie had a nice warm bath then, felt much better after her journey and decided to explore …..

She met Danny and Rocky followed her like a mother hen. He didn’t overwhelm her or crowd her …. Just kept a watchful Otterhound eye on her, like he does with Mij.

Being only little, Rosie kept taking puppy naps to catch up on her sleep ….. Rocky watched on …..

“Can we keep this one mum”? “Can we”???

“Yes Rocky, Rosie is your new baby sister”!!!

“Yippee”!!!!!

Over the next few days Rosie came to grips with her new surroundings and house mates.

“So this is a cat ….. What does it do”??

Mij was just as interested in Rosie as Rosie was in her, they soon became favourite wrestling buddies.

Rocky was still taking a back seat and letting Rosie settle in!

But he kept close as he was sure we weren’t keeping a close enough eye on her.

Rosie meanwhile had discovered Rocky’s toy box …..

“Hang on a minute ….Where is she going with my toy”?

Rosie has shown a propensity for pinching toys and collecting them in what she has decided is her bed!

“Oh so that’s where all my toys are disappearing to ….. Aaah, that’s cute”!!!

Before too long Rosie and Rocky started doing things together, like sniffing out the food …..

Then when Rocky felt she had settled well enough he started to gently see if she would like to play with him.

Very quietly he got up on the sofa and shoved a friendly face at her (and a beautiful face it is too)!

And before long they were having a great game ……

….. Rocky is amazing, he pitches his play for whomever he is playing with and can be incredibly gentle!

Rosie was more than happy to play with this hulking great hound!

And when Rocky decided she had had enough games for a while Rosie checked out what he was doing ….

….. Sat down next to her new brother …….

Then decided to join him …… But still had enough energy to keep a weather eye on Mij!

Oh yes …. There is another reason Mij likes having little Rosie here …..

The obligatory newspapers on the floor make for a terrific game for a young cat!

Rocky and Rosie like going out on walks together ….. We do have to keep on our toes though as leads tend to get a little tangled if you are not careful!

Rocky continues to keep an eye on Rosie, I think he feels we don’t mother her enough ….. So he will!!

They both check that they can stay where they are for a while ….

…. Then it’s full on puppy playtime ….. What fun!!

Rocky doesn’t get as much rest as he usually does at the moment; he is too overjoyed to have a playmate to hand when he wants one.

Rocky likes to get one of his toys, tease Rosie a little – this ensures a good chasing game ….. Yippee!!

They do have gentle games too …. And spend a bit of “time out” together.

And ….. I’m not totally sure …… But I think he tells her doggy jokes too!!!!!

After a few hours of fun and games Rosie just has to have a nap ….

…. Oh yes, and so does our big baby too

As if all this wasn’t enough joy for one Otterhound, some more of his favourite people came for a visit this week as well!!! How cool is that?

Rocky revelled in the attention and fun and games.

He offered to share his toys with Rosie ….

….. Rosie, of course, didn’t want to seem rude, so accepted.

By now they were bosom pals; you’d think they had been together forever.

The next morning we told our terrible twosome that we were all going out on our weekly expedition!

“Yes Rocky, Rosie is coming too”!

Rocky ran joyfully with one of his visitors ….

Where she could, Rosie tried to keep up with Rocky …

When she lost sight of him, she would hunt ….

….”Errrr, excuse me, have you seen my big brother”??

“Here I am Rosie; I wasn’t far from you honest”!!

Rosie was interested in everything …

“Ooohh, what have you got daddy”? “Can I eat it”?

When Rosie rested there was always someone close by to see if she needed anything.

And when she showed she was tired, there was always a helping hand.

“Come down Rocky, come and walk with Rosie”.

“Don’t want to, not yet anyway” ….

We were taking turns to carry little Rosie, when ……

….. Rocky decided he wanted to come down and join us again …..

“Helloooo, I’m here”!!!

Happy as an Otterhound gets, Rocky decides to show Rosie what is up ahead.

So Rocky led the way for a while.

After walking down through the tree tunnels, it was time to turn back …..

The return journey …. One man and his dogs!

A little further on Rocky gets put back on his lead; but he still wants to make sure little Rosie is still with us.

Danny checks that Rosie is coping with the expedition …

But she has walked happily for some way, so it’s time to give her a lift.

After the expedition it’s a case of night night Rosie.

Rocky struggles on for a while (after all he is a big boy ….NOT).
Eventually he gives in …..

…… Night night Rocky, sweet dreams and catch up with your sleep after a very busy week!!