Post Christmas, our two little loves have really bonded and have become best pals
However, their main aim in life remains playing themselves into the ground.
We had had a couple of days of very low temperatures and the mud was now frozen, so their enclosed field was even less likely to leave them looking like they have had a mud bath ……. So they have had frequent playtimes there.
Rocky rather enjoys his new ball on a rope …. Great to throw for him to chase!
He will happily play with it by himself …..
Or invite his newest best friend to join in a game.
Then there is lots of the obligatory “Otterhound scent following” ….. Only now it is synchronised!
Home, being warm and cosy, is another favoured playground. Although there are frequent games together both will happily play by themselves.
But of course, if they play together it is twice as much fun!
“Play with me Rosie”
“Aw come on …. I want to play”!!
Our pups will compete for toys and attention but we make sure that things work out pretty even …. After all, that is part of the job of a pack leader isn't it!
The main difference between them seems to be that Rosie tends to sleep a little more and doesn’t have the stamina for the longer games that Rocky likes!
They both get on like a house on fire though and cuddles abound!
When playing, it is a case of whatever one has the other one wants (like most children). However, whereas Rosie tends to get arguemental Rocky doesn’t. What you end up with is Rosie arguing with herself, while Rocky lets her have any toy she makes enough fuss for! He’s such a gentle soul!
Back to playtimes ….. The weather got colder throughout the week and sub zero temperatures hung around for several days.
Despite this, our two hounds have been more than happy to play outside.
Rosie is by no means disadvantaged by her size, in fact, being so young she hasn’t learned how to temper her exuberance yet. This is where we come in again …… Got to make sure that Rocky doesn’t get the short end of the stick so to speak!
Rosie was delighted with the feeling of hoar frost on her feet and became a very bouncy Otterhound.
They took cardboard tubes out to play and divvied them up appropriately.
Then the obligatory game of chase!
Please excuse the slightly blurred picture but I had to show you this ….
We have now discovered how Rocky manages to catch a little dog that runs rings around him by running in and out of his legs!!!! Yes, that's her tail he's got!!!!
Otterhounds are problem solvers you know!!
He never hurts Rosie and soon they are at the top of the garden having just as much fun as they can!
Rosie tends to stop a game before Rocky but he is never pushy, trying to keep the play going. He just chills out and lets her relax.
Rocky does stay pretty close though, just in case Rosie should decide to get back into the game!
Rocky’s expedition this week saw a return to the canal-side walk. Only this time the canal had frozen over (at least 3 inches of ice if the broken bits were anything to go by) and we were joined by lots of Rocky’s friends.
Our friends bought along Daisy and their new foster dog Yanto.
Ludo and Sparky were there too of course. What a wonderful surprise for Rocky!!
Once on the tow path Rocky and Rosie were off …
But it wasn’t long until they were all enjoying the sights and smells of the walk.
Yanto had to stay on the lead, but it was extendable and he enjoyed himself as much as any of them. The others kept popping back to see him. Aren’t dogs nice people?!
The boats and barges along the way were moored up and most of them were ice bound. The whole area looked like a fairy tale with thick frost on all the vegetation.
The walk continued and the dogs ran happily off the lead as they could not leave the tow path unless they went out onto the frozen canal.
There were lots of fun and games along the way ….
Stopping to admire the scenery would see the dogs running back, to see if we had found anything more interesting than they had.
Back and forth they would run, having a terrific time.
At times it seemed as though we had taken a whole pack of dogs out, but someone said it was more like a “Pack-et”. Then, of course, some clever clogs speaks up and says …. “Considering the brain power we have with us today it’s more like a “Thicket”!!
There’s always fun to be had from walking dogs!!
We walked on, there was no hint of bad temper or argument with the dogs, they were all impeccably behaved.
Some of the dogs easily walked twice as far as us because they were having a wonderful time going backwards and forwards. I wonder if there is some way of harnessing all this energy …. Could solve global warming if enough dogs got together you know!!
Eventually though, someone had to try it …… That someone was Daisy …..
“Hey guys, this is cool ……. I mean very cool .... on your feet”!
Then, Daisy was tormented by a wagtail, it flew just out of her reach.
It flew this way ……
Then it flew that way ……
We were relying on Rocky’s innate love of water (?!!) to keep him off the ice ….
“Huh, don’t know what you’re doing out there Daisy, it smells like water to me”!!
We were right ….. He declined to go out on the ice!
Rosie then decided to find out if it did smell of water …. It did ….. So Rosie declined as well!
Our two intrepid Otterhounds ran off to find less watery interests.
When it was time to turn back and return to the car park, Rocky was in front studying one of the barges. He looked rather reluctant to go back.
So they all had a treat before we retraced our steps back to the car park.
On our return we stopped at the inn for a cup of hot chocolate and hot chocolate fudge cake (the humans that is ...Yum!) to celebrate a wonderful walk. It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery and a “thicket” of wonderful dogs. Who could want for anything more?
And what did our hero do on returning home?
That’s right …… Night night Rocky, have some smashing dreams!!
Or invite his newest best friend to join in a game.
Then there is lots of the obligatory “Otterhound scent following” ….. Only now it is synchronised!
Home, being warm and cosy, is another favoured playground. Although there are frequent games together both will happily play by themselves.
But of course, if they play together it is twice as much fun!
“Play with me Rosie”
“Aw come on …. I want to play”!!
They say that if you get a puppy and raise it with a well behaved older dog, the puppy will learn from its older partner. Well, whether it is because Otterhounds mature later, or because it’s just Rocky (?), I can let you know that things seem to have worked pretty well the other way in our house!
Rocky seems to have regressed to younger days and is as much a baby as Rosie is! He is still adorably cute though, despite his grand size!
Rocky seems to have regressed to younger days and is as much a baby as Rosie is! He is still adorably cute though, despite his grand size!
Our pups will compete for toys and attention but we make sure that things work out pretty even …. After all, that is part of the job of a pack leader isn't it!
The main difference between them seems to be that Rosie tends to sleep a little more and doesn’t have the stamina for the longer games that Rocky likes!
They both get on like a house on fire though and cuddles abound!
When playing, it is a case of whatever one has the other one wants (like most children). However, whereas Rosie tends to get arguemental Rocky doesn’t. What you end up with is Rosie arguing with herself, while Rocky lets her have any toy she makes enough fuss for! He’s such a gentle soul!
Back to playtimes ….. The weather got colder throughout the week and sub zero temperatures hung around for several days.
Despite this, our two hounds have been more than happy to play outside.
Rosie is by no means disadvantaged by her size, in fact, being so young she hasn’t learned how to temper her exuberance yet. This is where we come in again …… Got to make sure that Rocky doesn’t get the short end of the stick so to speak!
Our newly acquired Jurassic mud pit was frozen, so mud was no longer a problem. Rocky and Rosie made the most of it!
“Game on” …….
“Game on” …….
Rosie was delighted with the feeling of hoar frost on her feet and became a very bouncy Otterhound.
They took cardboard tubes out to play and divvied them up appropriately.
Then the obligatory game of chase!Please excuse the slightly blurred picture but I had to show you this ….
We have now discovered how Rocky manages to catch a little dog that runs rings around him by running in and out of his legs!!!! Yes, that's her tail he's got!!!!
Otterhounds are problem solvers you know!!
He never hurts Rosie and soon they are at the top of the garden having just as much fun as they can!
Rosie tends to stop a game before Rocky but he is never pushy, trying to keep the play going. He just chills out and lets her relax.
Rocky does stay pretty close though, just in case Rosie should decide to get back into the game!
Rocky’s expedition this week saw a return to the canal-side walk. Only this time the canal had frozen over (at least 3 inches of ice if the broken bits were anything to go by) and we were joined by lots of Rocky’s friends.
Our friends bought along Daisy and their new foster dog Yanto.
Ludo and Sparky were there too of course. What a wonderful surprise for Rocky!!
Once on the tow path Rocky and Rosie were off …
But it wasn’t long until they were all enjoying the sights and smells of the walk.
Yanto had to stay on the lead, but it was extendable and he enjoyed himself as much as any of them. The others kept popping back to see him. Aren’t dogs nice people?!
The boats and barges along the way were moored up and most of them were ice bound. The whole area looked like a fairy tale with thick frost on all the vegetation.
The walk continued and the dogs ran happily off the lead as they could not leave the tow path unless they went out onto the frozen canal.
There were lots of fun and games along the way ….
Stopping to admire the scenery would see the dogs running back, to see if we had found anything more interesting than they had.
Back and forth they would run, having a terrific time.
At times it seemed as though we had taken a whole pack of dogs out, but someone said it was more like a “Pack-et”. Then, of course, some clever clogs speaks up and says …. “Considering the brain power we have with us today it’s more like a “Thicket”!!There’s always fun to be had from walking dogs!!
We walked on, there was no hint of bad temper or argument with the dogs, they were all impeccably behaved.
Some of the dogs easily walked twice as far as us because they were having a wonderful time going backwards and forwards. I wonder if there is some way of harnessing all this energy …. Could solve global warming if enough dogs got together you know!!
Eventually though, someone had to try it …… That someone was Daisy …..
“Hey guys, this is cool ……. I mean very cool .... on your feet”!
Then, Daisy was tormented by a wagtail, it flew just out of her reach.
It flew this way ……
Then it flew that way ……
"Come on guys, you've got to try this .... It's fun"!
We were relying on Rocky’s innate love of water (?!!) to keep him off the ice ….“Huh, don’t know what you’re doing out there Daisy, it smells like water to me”!!
We were right ….. He declined to go out on the ice!
Rosie then decided to find out if it did smell of water …. It did ….. So Rosie declined as well!
Our two intrepid Otterhounds ran off to find less watery interests.
When it was time to turn back and return to the car park, Rocky was in front studying one of the barges. He looked rather reluctant to go back.
However, the promise of a treat for all good dogs before we went seemed to give him incentive!
So they all had a treat before we retraced our steps back to the car park.
On our return we stopped at the inn for a cup of hot chocolate and hot chocolate fudge cake (the humans that is ...Yum!) to celebrate a wonderful walk. It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery and a “thicket” of wonderful dogs. Who could want for anything more?
And what did our hero do on returning home?
That’s right …… Night night Rocky, have some smashing dreams!!
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