Rocky the Otterhound, an endangered breed: Rocky the Otterhound: A short insight into rainy day activities for our family.

Well, what can I say? Here in sunny old England we have had a return of the monsoon weather we had during the summer ..... Sigh! I'm sure Nostradamus said something about the "Tin Isles" disappearing under water in the second millennium!!

Anyway, what do our little family of pets get up to when it's so wet that they refuse to even venture out onto the patio, unless firmly pushed?

Well, there is always (and I mean always) the beloved snooze on the sofa.

I was informed recently that large hounds need many hours of sleep per day ..... Mid to high teens of hours ...... Well, our two certainly intend to get their fair share!

Then there is the joy of physical play ....... The mouth wrestle ........ The chase round the sofa, catch me and wrestle ....... Or the give me back my toy wrestle!

After that; they just have to catch up on some snoozing time .........

If possible, snoozing with cushions is ideal!!!

Meanwhile Mij indulges in a spot of "booby trap box" play. Being smart, she has discovered that if she is in a box our hounds take a detour when passing her ....... "Do not get close to the cat" syndrome.

Great game ....... She will sit in her box, until Rocky and Rosie feel safe, then when they aren't looking she will spring out on them and send them running to the safety of "behind the sofa".

This game can go on for hours and provides endless amusement; for Mij and us!!

Talking of boxes .... A quick glimpse at our hounds' toy boxes gives another clue as to other games they find to pass the days of self enforced indoors-ness!

More hours indoors have led to a renewed interest in our activities ...... Especially our eating habits!

Mij appears to be self appointed chief beggar ..... She is especially partial to "dad's" bacon sandwiches!

Rocky and Rosie continue to employ the manners they have been taught, but they do squirm and whinge if they think Mij may get something they won't!

However, our Otterhounds seem to be the only ones interested in the fairy cakes that "mum" has a weakness for. They put on their puppy faces and would have you believe that they hadn't seen food for many months. We don't feed them tid bits very often but the possibility will keep them occupied for a very long time.

Meanwhile Mij, who has decided that she wouldn't even go out if it's dry (not until the temperature outside raises by a few degrees that is); has nabbed herself another box to play with.

This one is for her amusement alone. She loves to tear at the edges .......

Then she will spend sometime getting the decoration just right by chewing chunks out of it, here and there!

When she gets it just right ......... She will leave it for a while ....... But inevitably she will return when she is either looking for something to do or wants to try out her interior design.

Lovely! Well done!