Rocky the Otterhound: Rocky to the Rescue

This week our Rocky is a hero! He has ventured out and found an abandoned orphan who would have died without his help.


Rocky pulled on his lead while out (something he rarely does) and would not be dissuaded from the path he wanted to take ............... he led me straight to this slow, wobbly little might.








Harry the hedgehog (yes its a boy, I checked) was cold and dehydrated, his mummy is probably hibernating and the last litter of the year left to fend for itself. This is common with hedgehogs, but this little fellow was lucky! Rocky wasn't keen on letting him die.










Little Harry was only 6oz in weight and would not have survived the winter, or hibernation.













So we gave him some puppy food, Rocky gave him lots of love and kisses, and took him to our local wildlife hospital. Where he would be hydrated, kept warm and safe and released next spring!







Well done Rocky!!

We knew Rocky was going to grow up to be a large dog ...................... we now know he is going to be one of lifes gentle giants!! That's my boy!!

This week we have also had some wonderful bright sunny days with hard Hore Frost, beautifully cold and bright! Rocky has therefore been introduced to frozen grass .................... have you ever seen a playful baby horse?? All legs and bouncing about like a crazy thing!

Yep, that was Rocky; he jumped in the air (a lot), twirled around (a lot), tried to bite the grass (a lot) and ran like a thing posessed. He had such fun and, apart from the effort of us oldies trying to keep up with him, so did we. We really hope we get snow this winter, he'll go nuts!! I want to have a snowball fight with him .......... fingers crossed!

Rocky has been very busy this week and as a result has been very tired at times.

It was my week for cleaning windows, especially the patio doors which were covered in muddy nose prints (inside and out). Rocky found this work fascinating, and thought he'd lend a hand.

Everywhere the cloth went (within reach) rocky's nose followed, so I went over it again ................. and so did rocky! Not to be beaten I then decided to wipe with a dry cloth immediately I had gone across an area (before his helpfulness got a look in)! Rocky was so impressed by the clean clear glass he proceeded to wash it himself again, with big doggy licks!! Ah well, at least they're not muddy anymore!

The cold war between Rocky and Biskitt continues, although there have been episodes where they have got reasonably cose to each other ...................

The rules are still the same, she can go where she wants and look as much as she can, poor Rocky on the other hand can stay as long as he doesn't make eye contact. If he should it'd be the hissy fit and paws of claws ........................ he doesn't seem to mind anymore though but I think he gets confused by the whole issue as everyone elso loves him??!!

Lastly, Rocky had a small set back this week which was entirely my fault. Being so keen to socialise him to everything ................... I'd forgotten about the humble lamp post. Whilst out on a walk Rocky decided to go one way round the post while I went the other. Suddenly realising something was wrong when the lead went tight and he could go no further he started to panic. No amount of cajoling would bring him back round the post so I started to follow him.

Big mistake!!! As I turned and travelled round to him, he became concerned that I was going away so pulled forward to follow me. The result was both he and I walking round and round this lamppost like a pair of numpty's! Thank goodness it was dark as we must have looked very odd! Rocky began to get concerned, his ears went down and he started to wimper .................. psychological trauma was averted though as I burst out laughing, his ears went back up, he smiled and relaxed. Eventually after several hand swaps of the lead and managing to move faster than he, we were out of the roundabout and back on our way!

So, any puppy owners out there .................... don't dismiss the importance of good lamppost training!

Rocky the Otterhound: Autumn in England

Autumn mornings are dark and dreary; Otterhounds have a propensity to become couch potatoes as it is, add in dark mornings and this picture shows what you get from Rocky at 7 am! This is he, excited about having breakfast and going for a morning walk??!!

Unlike other dogs we have known we have to show manic enthusiasm over morning food and "walkies" to even get his attention. Picture us jumping up and down saying "walkies" in highly excitable high voices (for a few minutes! ........ Yes, minutes!!) - eventually we are rewarded with a yawny look of tired wisdom that illustrates a "dear dear, poor things" frame of mind. I am beginning to wonder if he is here to help keep us fit or we are needed to keep him fit??

Still, it does result in a relaxed atmosphere in the mornings, you never get the feeling that you need to rush!

Autumn is almost over in this part of the world, the leaves have almost all hit the ground resulting in times when you are ankle deep in the things. Occasional high winds kick them up into a whirling frenzy ............................ this is the time you see real enthusiasm from Rocky. He will somehow pick out one single leaf from the hundreds swirling around, he then single mindedly runs around trying to capture the object of his attention. How he decides is anybodys guess but no other will do and fraudulent attempts to persuade him that the leaf you hold is his one will be met with nonchalant disdain. He always seems to get the one he wants (generally one with prickles on), my living room is sometimes a post modern arty display of the miriad colours of autumn. He gets great pleasure from paddy pawing them, picking them up and running around the room with them. Then, as suddenly as the mood took him to pick and play with his leaf, it is forgotten and left for the housekeeper (me) to clear up. I wonder if I could eventually train him to make collages (?), he could possibly make us both a fortune?

I don't want you to get the idea that Rocky only ever sleeps or chases leaves, far from it ........................... have a cup of tea and a biscuit and you have his undying and complete attention! This is the time that you have got him where you want him. It is where food is involved that Rocky appears to learn the quickest ............... he will now give you his paw on demand, will sit up and beg (we didn't teach him that one - I think he thought he would get his treat quicker if he looked real cute!), will even stay when let off the lead in a safe place .................... and the piece De Resistance ...................... he will walk off the lead and come when he is called!!!! Da Daaa !!!

I must clarify the last statment however, in that this has only happened in a secure place with no other distractions, but, I'm dead chuffed with it! He is still very young and I have no intention of trying it anywhere else at them moment, but treats and loads of fusses does work wonders. I am hopefull that by the time he is 18 months or so we can work on this particular behaviour with full attention.

We have had some cold but beautifully sunny days this autumn and Rocky has had new places to visit as a result. He has been taken down to the river walk and introduced to sheep. He was remarkably unmoved by sheep actually, he sat and watched them for some time (a thing he does very often, sitting and watching that is), then walked on as if they didn't even exist. I am not a dog psychologist or whisperer, or whatever, but he does make you think that he is a deep thinker ............... probably find that he is just thinking about bedtime though! A couple of times I did get quite close to one or two of them and tried to generate interest from Rocky but sheep are obviously not his thing, as although being within spitting distance Rocky was oblivious!

As always though, passers by had to stop and fuss him, all asking what breed he was. I have run out of fingers to count the amount of times couples have walked away from him with one or other saying to thier partner ......... "I want one"! Yet we are the lucky ones.

I remember Rocky's breeder saying that she thinks Otterhounds are one of Britains best kept secrets, I do agree as I don't think you can ever meet one without appreciating what they could add to your life!!

Anyway, futher on in our walk we went down to the rivers edge. Otterhounds / water = a match made in heaven you may think? Well, Rocky was interested in the ducks and the swans and the herons but water ............. NO! Throw sticks or stones in the water and you are met with a look of "what on earth are doing that for ..... Silly"! Hubby even tried the "gentle push from the back while making excited noises" trick, all to no avail ............. so, being a man and therefore not to be beaten .............. he picked him up and getly placed him (ankle deep) in the wet stuff! I can honestly say that I have never seen Rocky move so fast ......... he was out of there like a shot and up as close to the nearest tree trunk as he could get. You almost got the feeling that if you had tried to get near enough to him to try again, he would have thrown his front paws around the tree and held on for dear life!!

After a short discussion, it was decided to try again in the spring when the water was a little warmer. In the mean time we would make efforts to talk to him about why he was born with webbed feet!!

Otterhounds love people, as I'm sure I've told you before; they are renowned for prefering to greet a loved one by standing on thier back feet with paws on your shoulder and giving a big sloppy kiss. Well at 4 months old Rocky can't quite reach that high, but it doesn't stop him trying. Hubby can't wait for that time and takes delight in measuring how far Rocky reaches, this week. I must say I'm impressed, but being that bit shorter than my man am expecting Rocky to be able to pat me on the top of my head when he's full grown, just like my kids do!

Things are moving on a pace between Rocky and the cat ................. not a fast pace but a pace none the less!

On the whole they will ignore each other when in the same room, although you can tell Rocky is desperate to play with her. He is a cuddly sort of dog who loves a lap to lounge on and, surprisingly, so does the cat. When Biskitt is on my lap you can usually do almost anything with her and she'll put up with it gladly; Rocky seems to have worked that one out and so takes liberties when the chance presents itself.

Out of character, but Rocky didn't recieve a hissy fit with nose swipe for this infringement, maybe there is hope yet!

Lastly for this week, I have seen animals perform and am aware that they like us have many talents. Some help disabled people, some find victims of natural disasters and some have guarding or law enforcement skills! Rocky, I think, is an entertainer! He not only makes us laugh a lot but has branched out towards mimicry. Last week while playing with his catalogue T shirt he got himself in a bit of a pickle ................ then, while trying to pull various corners of fabric ended up in a worse mess ..................... but I think you'll agree he's done a very good impression of ......................................... Mother Teresa!!

Rocky the Otterhound: Contrariness and Mr Fawkes

Rocky has had another eventful week. After spending most of last week sleeping and growing, he began this week with exuberant energy which manifested itself in considerable mad playing fits and much barking of challenges to "Come and Get Me"!


Yes, we have had a hyper-playfull dog that has trashed the place with chewed up toys, plastic bottles and cardboard. Mind you, we have had to bandage our sides as a consequence of them splitting from so much laughter!!
If you can imagine a pup his size (still not quite able to control all four legs at the same time), trying to reach light speed whilst going round and round the coffee table and ALWAYS ending up in a heap on the floor wondering how that happened?!!!!



You see, Otterhounds are like kids with expensive new shoes - you are always telling them to pick thier feet up and stop scuffing them along the ground, but Otterhounds will never stop - it's what they do. Consequently, light speed inevitably leads to the body outrunning the legs, while the feet barely lifting off the ground produces a cause and effect syndrome ....................... the result is a meeting of Otterhound with ground - combined with an inability to give sympathy due to the tears of laughter running down your face!! I'm worn out!!




Do you remember the blog about how much of a poser Rocky is? Even if he does request some help from his friends ......................................

Well, it does appear that contrariness is not the sole privilege of small children. Both Rocky and the cat have decided that they will totally change thier behaviour (dammitt!). If I'd known they would both be reading this, I would have been more careful about what I included!!

Alongside turning into a canine dynamo, Rocky has suddenly decided to become camera shy!!!

Pointing the camera in his general direction, expecting a sudden "Canine Catalogue Model" pose to issue forth; I was thwarted by an instant and incomprehensible change of position - he produced a "run and hide" pose??!! Ok thinks I, let him sniff the camera, give lots of fuss and reassurance and we'll get down to business as usual ................. Nope, little toady has decided that this is the modus operandi for the moment! I say for the moment, as I'm hopeful that after reading this weeks blog Rocky will decide that he looks much better when able to undertake his catalogue model pose of choice.

The cat meantime, has chosen to accompany us in the living room (yes, she's downstairs!!!!!) most evenings!!!! I could have guessed a cat would try and show you up! I have a feeling Mr Fawkes had a little hand in it, around here people seem to have started celebrations (Guy Fawkes NIGHT?! Lots of fireworks and things) about Wednesday last week, and will probably continue until Tuesday of this. Biskitt (being a cat of well camoflaged bravery) has therefore decided that downstairs, with company, is the place to be when things are whizzing and banging outside your window.

Rocky has "appeared" to have learned not to investigate this round, strange smelling, member of the pack; in order to avoid a hissing fit combined with a bop on the nose. However, he does participate in the doggy sport of approaching whilst stolidly looking at something else - and taking sneaky peeps at the cat out of the sides of his eyes. With this rouse he can get quite close to his nemisis, yet is still far enough away to avoid the lashing of the "paw with sheathed claws"!! I told you Otterhounds were problem solvers ............................. I am awaiting, with baited breath, to see how he solves the problem of how to get the "Hissy Thing" to actually play with him?!

Another thing to thank Mr Fawkes for is the opportunity he has given us to try and socialise Rocky with lots of whizzy and bangy noises. He has his post teatime walk around 5.30 (ish) and, due to the proverbial changing of the clock syndrome, that we suffer from in this part of the world, it is generally quite dark by then. So of course since Wednesday last week we have been walking whilst enjoying other peoples firework displays. Rocky did begin his exposure with a few startled turns and several cuddlings of my legs, but after reassurance and fusses has settled to gentle disdain of all noisy fireworks. Well, I say all, he does still get confused by those ones that go up with a bang and then sizzle out lots of small lights (if you know what I mean?). Apart from that I can honestly say he seems easy to socialise with all sorts of things!


Rocky is also the least destructive puppy I have ever known! Sure he will destroy favourite toys like his flower pot (memo to self - find another flower pot), but he hasn't touched any furniture or furnishings. Shame, I was hoping for at least a new dining table and chair set out of him (I wonder which way he will act after reading this - to fulfill my wish or thwart me?)!!


To conclude; in desperation I tried to reignite his passion for modeling yesterday, by giving him something from the catalogue to model for me ..........................


In true contrary fashion he did decide to pose ............... but with his back to me ............................... the ultimate insult!!

Maybe he's just holding out for David Bailey?!!

Rocky the Otterhound: Sleep, Comfort and Friends

There appears to be nothing as tiring as growing, and this activity seems to result in world class sleeping!



Rocky has engaged in this particular passtime to great excess this week; but he appears to be set on having the most comfort possible while doing so.

If alone (such as night time or when we are away from the house) he will sleep in his bed with aplomb; if however we are home, he will compromise and grudgingly (?!!) use our furniture. Bless!!

Next to sleep - comfort is now a high priority.




Rocky can and will amuse himself with his toys and will often indulge in the "mad fit" around the room, all by himself.


If however, he chooses to indulge in a quiet game, such as chewing a favourite article until it submits and either goes soggy or falls into pieces, he seems to want as much comfort as possible while doing this.

Rocky does seem intent on becoming a couch potatoe, and no amount of discussion will persuade him otherwise.

We have had a few wet days recently and I have been amazed how reticent he has been about going out for a walk! I have never known a dog not get excited about going out for a walk ...................... until now!!! But we all know that walkies is good for us (and our dogs) so walkies we must go. He'll thank me one day ............... maybe?!



The ongoing saga of Rocky and the cat seems to have reached a conclusion of sorts. The cat lives upstairs and Rocky downstairs. The cat may walk through Rocky's rooms but this is not recipricol. Rocky has settled to this, but does still tend to get a little confused when the cat saunters past him and walks up the stairs - leaving him to ponder what on earth is going on .......


When Rocky does manage to get close to her he gives her a jolly good wash, or invites her to play with a resounding bark .................. both of which get rewarded with a phenominal amount of hissing.

Snooty cats don't know what they are missing out on though as apart from the fun of playing with Rocky, it is also he that gets the company -because he is downstairs where we are! I am interested to see how long she is going to keep this up for?

But our lad does have other friends, one of which came over to play with him during the week.




Molly is a very sweet and pretty Spaniel who is 7 months old.



The two got on like a house on fire and played .................. and played ..................... and played. They then went for a walk together and as soon as they got home .................. they played.



It was left to the grown ups to decide when to call a halt to the proceedings, otherwise I think they would still be playing.......... Rocky did seem to be running out of steam, but I think Molly would have kept going till Christmas.




All in all Rocky has had a good week, he has had lots of sleeping (growing) time, he is now almost 16Kg. He has had a good deal of comfort, his ration of walks and a bundle of playtime; what more could a growing Otterhound want? Oh yes. food ................... he has had his ration of that as well!

On top of that, he has had loads of love and affection, all the cuddles he wants and even watched a few good telly programmes. Yes, Rocky does watch telly - but has not yet managed to pay attention enough to see a programme from start to finish.

So I must say that at this moment in time raising an Otterhound in your home is no different from raising any other dog. He has a sweet and gentle personality and like all dogs seems to adore his owners. He is already a joy to take for walks; the halti has made a tremendous difference and seems to have relieved Rocky from the hard choice of whether to eat or not eat whatever he comes across. This has led to a relaxed dog, and owner, when walking - which has improved all of our experiences of going for a walk. He has greeted, dogs with the same gentle "happy to see you" response as he has people (and children) whether in a crowd or all alone. He's a lovely chap!

So at this point in time I would heartily reccomend an Otterhound as a pet.

Rocky the Otterhound: Curiosity, Posing and Fun!!!

Rocky is being photgraphed quite frequently so that there is pictorial evidence of his life with us. This has led to him becoming very curious about the camera.................

This photo was taken first thing in the morning when I was trying to creep up on him................ I was hoping to get a sweet sleepy picture.................. failed again!!!! Note the lack of Bloodhound eyes (he'a had a good nights sleep! This is his "What you doing, what's that, can I eat it, will it play with me?" face.

He has come to recognise the sound of the camera focusing, so getting photos is becoming tricky.

He can be fooled though! I tried walking up to him with my hands in the position they are when I have a camera in them; yep he was just as curious.

Curiosity has now turned into posing though; a good excuse for a game ! Don't get me wrong, he is still be curious about all sorts of things, but as far as photographs go..... he poses with one eye on the (real or pretend camera), like a pro! The rules of this game are to see how many posings you can get him to do before he realises there is no camera. So far it's 15-0 to me!!!!!

This photo was taken after he had his halti (still working by the way) put on, and before his lead was attached............he was sat up looking wise and noble when I went to fetch the camera (honest!)................. as soon as he saw it though, he lay down and did the "see how long she makes me wait" pose!

Note how the eyes are firmly fixed on the camera? As soon as the shutter sound had finished he sat bolt upright again.................Blatent posing!!!!

Rocky being an Otterhound and showing this expert manipulation, leads me to suspect that my winning streak will not continue! It won't be long (I am sure), until he decides that posing is what I want him to do and then he will ignore both the camera and the posing opportunity.

This weeks blog though, is mainly about fun! As Rocky has matured (well a sort of), he has become more fun to play with. Like all dogs he has turned from a pup you play with into a pup that plays with you........ Great fun!

He does still entertain and play by himself. There is the good old plastic plant pot (now several sizes bigger than in previous photos)!

He has also progressed to the obligatory "Mad Fit for no apparent reason" . So far this has always happened when I haven't had the presence of mind to put the camera onto film mode.

Yeterday he picked up his plant pot and decided to race around the coffe table with it, at tremendous speed!! This game evolved into a relay race (with one participant)! Impossible? No, Rocky is great at it. He will charge round the coffee table, there will be a huge kerfuffle on the other side and he will charge back out with a completely different toy in his mouth............ all literally within seconds. This game will continue for some time with toys being swapped at great speed and an accompanying soundtarack of play growls, woofs, yips and high pitched squeeks from toys!! It is so entertaining I think it ought to be suggested for the 2012 Olympics............. We're bound not to get a medal (how unusual) but we would all at least have a jolly good belly laugh!

Then there is playing with us...................... this is where you realise you no longer need a telly?!The game starts with the "challenge a person to chase me" position................ within seconds.......... the game is on.......................


Chases round the living room............... ears flying in the wind (and the dogs), back legs trying to overtake the front ones and the biggest grin possible on your face (and the humans)...................

When you have finally exhausted your human..................You tig him...................

then you can chase him!!!

However, us bipeds tend not to have quite so much energy available to our legs (well us oldies at least)........................ so games sometimes turn to the more sedate kind.............. Such as the hand monster of sofa land..................

This game can involve as many or as few humans as you wish.

This game is more of a sport really, and a deadly one at that! The rules seem to be centred around how many and how well you can disable humans, by reducing them to giggling wrecks. Tactics used are.............. making as many strange and ridiculous noises as possible, while squirming around and making unco-ordinated paw attacks on the monster.

If humans appear to be winning, tactics change........... paws go into retirement and the puppy toothed "snap and suck" comes into play. This step up on rules involves trying to capture an opponents fingers in your mouth and seeing if you can suck them away from the rest of the hand. As origianlly suggested, .....deadly! If Rocky gets more than three fingers he stops, which I suppose means he has won? You however, are left with soggy, dripping fingers that require the urgent aid of soap and water.

Lastly, as Rocky has reached the grand old age of four months a comparison of size between 11 weeks and 4 months is offered.

I finish with a question.............. If this is just 4 months what size will he be at 18 months? Do not put answers on a postcard................. just keep logging on to see the answer!

Rocky the Otterhound: Life makes me want to sleep!

As I am writing this Rocky is fast asleep with eyes like a Bloodhound and head full of sights and sounds. He is nearly 4 months old, wieghs 13 and a bit kilogramms (sorry don't know what that is in English, apart from quite heavy!) and every day is an adventure. Todays first photograph is showing how his eyes look when he is oh so tired................. This really makes me laugh, I've had children who's eyes have shown how tired they are, but this is the first dog..... Bless!!

So what has he been up to this week?

Well there have been 3 impressive successes, two dissapointments and a truce between dog and frogs!

Let's start with the dissapointments; Biscuit the cat and Rocky have had four evenings in the same room, leading to hopes that they will sort out the pecking order and become friends. Rocky has been very good and gentle apart from one time when he rushed up shoving his nose on the seat just in front of her......... instinct took over and he was rewarded with a huge hiss and a double whack on his nose........... (no claws.......even when ruffled Biscuit doesn't do claws). This set Rocky down into a sit position with his ears down and a quiet woof. Thinking that the pecking order was now established we proceeded to congratulate Biscuit and ressuringly stroke Rocky. Well if we'd had any chickens we would obviously have counted them too early; as since then Biscuit has retired to the upper floor of the house again and we are back to square one!!!!! If anyone has an idea on how to stop a cat from sulking I would be most grateful?!

This photo is of Biscuits second favourite sulking place............ the washing basket!

Dissapointment number two is quite a biggy! On walks we happily spend ages stood around while Rocky sniffs a scent or sits down to take in the atmosphere; this can be quite a lengthy process but he seems to get such a lot out of it that we don't really mind it. What we do mind however, is when he snaffles up something revolting and proceeds to bring it up again (not always in an out of doors kind of way). It's not as if he doesn't get enough to eat!! Well, during the week he had obviously done this without us being aware (we do try and stop it happening for his sake as well as ours) and proceeded to be quite ill indeed. Unaware of what he may have got hold of a trip to the vet was initiated, and needless to say, Rocky was quickly on the road to recovery and my bank account was severely lightened! This did however lead to success number one.

No one, not even the vet, seemed able to offer any helpful advice on how to stop a pup from doing this unsavoury kind of thing. We had, however, bought a halti some time ago for use in lead training. It fits over a dogs snout and the lead clips on to the side of the head, it stops a dog from pulling in a very kind way, by resulting in the dogs head being turned to the side if it pulls; instead of the possible trauma of collars pressing on windpipes etc. Anyway, I hit upon the idea of trying it to see if it could be used to dissuade Rocky from eating things off the ground on walks. I am happy to report that it is marvelous for this and Rocky seems a lot calmer with its use. I do (and always will) let him smell his way around a walk (he is a hound dog after all) but a gentle tug on the lead at precisely the right time means his head pulls very slightly to the side, he bypasses anything remotely edible or unsavoury, and carries on quite happily. It does mean that you have to always watch for little signals that he is about to snaffle, but we were doing that anyway. Here's hoping it continues to be a success!

This is the state of Rocky after coming home from success number two...................... seems it took a lot out of him?!

This success was when Rocky became socialised with horses. On a walk in the country we came across a field with horses in, quite common in our part of the world. I saw a good opportunity to let Rocky meet some of the other animals he may well encounter throughout his life with us. We walked over to the gate and Rocky was quite curious, but when the horse came over for the handful of fresh grass I was holding, he shot behind me like the devil himself was after him! After two cuddles and being in my arms while I was stroking the horse (another feat of physical acrobatics......... my Kung Fu master would be so proud of me!) Rocky settled for sitting behind my legs while poking his head out between them. Whilst this was particularly uncomfortable, it was at least promising. Anyway, to cut a long story short, the third cuddle in my arms resulted in Rocky and the horse sniffing each other and obviously agreeing not to eat each other, as after that, he sat quite happily at the fence while the horse towered over him and indulged in some more grass.

The third and last success of the week has been Rocky's ability to show he does remember his house training lessons. I am not counting my chickens just yet (OK, if I had any I wouldn't) as I know he may make mistakes as yet, and so may we. But it does make for an easier life.

Rocky is growing well and looking so grown up and handsome some times, then he sits like a puppy and the image is shattered!! Anyway, todays exhaustion has resulted from sitting out the front of the house watching the world go by while I wash the car and my other half clears out the garage. What a lot of life he's seen, there have been cars, bikes and motorbikes going by; dogs going for walks and children coming up to say hello to him. He has been in his element; loves it! He had a soft mat to sit on, his chewey toys incase he got bored, and us around him at all times. He just sat there taking it all in and enjoying life.......but boy did it make him tired! Those eyes did thier thing and it was time to bring him in. Rocky walked briskly to his bed, fell in and after a brief peek out of one eye to check I was still around fell into a blissful sleep............... How I miss being a youngster, I used to be able to do that; oh well, such is life!!

Bet you thought I'd forgotten about the frogs? ................. Our patio appears to double up as the local meeting ground for frogs of all shapes and sizes, Rocky no longer appears surprised when on going out the back door there is a hoppy thing bouncing around. He moves towards it, has a quick sniff on his way past and just gets on with his life. I think he's done marvelously; but as I mentioned before frogs seem to be the most ungrateful of things and hop themselves almost into appaplexy after a quick sniff from our boy!!!! So, trying not to give the meeting ground a bad reputation, I still end up chaseing them, picking them up and putting them under cover somewhere. You'd think they would have passed the message on by now wouldn't you?!

Rocky the Otterhound: The Good, The Bad and the "Ohhh! is it time to go home already"

Lets start this weeks report with the good stuff, what's nice about owning an Otterhound pup?

Well, everywhere you go together people talk to you, mainly to enquire about what breed the pup is. Most want to fuss him and some want to take him home.

Rocky is generally very gentle and sedate, except when he has his mad fits of tearing around the floor and trying to look cool....but all puppies do that.

He learns some things very quickly, Rocky has taken to "sit" and "down" like a duck to water................maybe too well?!!!! After just two weeks of being walked on the lead he will sit at kerbs without being asked..............but honestly, we never asked him to sit down to eat his meals!!


He is cute, funny and very loving. You can always tell when he is tired as his eyes sag and he starts to look a little like a Bloodhound, thats when you leave him in peace which results in no puppy temper tantrums.


Rocky is also very cuddly, he loves people to bits and climbs on your lap for a cuddle whenever he can...................great at this age but it maight have to go onto the negative side when he is fully grown (?)!


He is growing into a very handsome dog...............


and he will leave you alone if you are busy; either by taking a nap or by entertaining himself with his toys, which can be a distraction as he's very funny. He will growl and talk to his toys and if he gets frustrated with a toy he can't pick up, will give it a right telling off!!

Rocky has a variety of faces which range from wise to happy, from tired to sorry and from goofy to serene. I think he has one of the most expressive faces of any dog I have owned. There is no need to try and guess how he is feeling!

So, let's see what we can inform you of as the drawbacks of owning an Otterhound pup. Well, if not watched carefully he will eat all manner of invertebrates, muck and unsavoury things....until he is sick!!!! But, Talking with other puppy owners I have found that they all do that!

He can be very stubborn at times, but then can't we all? He does not appear to have totally embraced his toilet training, but has done much better since he started going for walks. I don't think it is because he is emptying while out, more that he has more to think about now? He was quite difficult the week before he was allowed out for a walk; which may be because he is such an intelligent dog and the confines of house and garden alone were not enough to stimulate him (despite all the fun and games we generated for him).

When playing chase (a favourite with all dogs) he usually works out very quickly how to get to you in seconds rather than follow you round and round in circles. This does tend to remove the pleasure of the game for both of you and you are left trying to think of another game to play that he can't work out an easy way round. This in turn tends to challenge you rather than your puppy which may somewhat defeat the object of it all!!

Taking Rocky for walk can take a while, depending on where you go. For his weekend treat I take him out to the country where a 15 minute walk for him can take you an hour (he only physically walks for about 15 minutes or so).

He walks a little then does his hound thing.....he will sniff the air in all directions; often stop just to look around and generally take in the scents. Mostly standing still, but occasionally will want to follow a scent (that's when you have to out stubborn him). Although listed as a drawback I must mention that it isn't a drawback for me as I really enjoy our time out, but if you are someone in a hurry or have little time; then it would certainly be one.

Lastly, he still has not quite got the hang of his legs. He tends to look like a young teenage boy, with legs longer than his body. Rocky manages quite well apart from getting in and out of his bed, trying to jump or pounce on his toys and generally getting tangled up if he is concentrating on something else. This can lead to aching sides as you laugh yourself silly and is not to be reccomended. Apart from that he is great!!!

Finally, as I reported last week Rocky has taken well to the car and his own seat belt.............. so I thought you might like to see it. This photo was taken when Rocky had stubbornly sat away from the car as he didn't want to go home just yet, despite us being out for an hour!