Rocky the Otterhound: Cuddles and a smashing walk!

Thank you for your patience and apologies for the slight delay in posting this weeks blog. Life remains very busy but Rocky wanted to wait until today as he knew he was going on a special walk.

So, on with the blog.

Don't let anyone tell you that Otterhounds are not cuddly dogs! Our two are very cuddly ..... Sometimes it is under their terms but they are very open to an impromptu cuddle from you ..... they do love it!

When sleeping on the floor (Yes, they do sometimes), you will find either Rocky or Rosie seeking out the other in order to get all cuddly for snoozes!

Rocky enjoys a cuddle with James, and to be honest .... If you fancy a snooze yourself there is nothing better than an Otterhound to cuddle up to!

They are very warm and always eager to snooze ..... Just so you don't feel alone that is !?

But sometimes they like to cuddle for the sake of it .....

..... Here, Dan gets the bonus of a good grooming as well as a cuddle ..... If you're accepted as a member of the pack (and most living things are), you will find yourself in receipt of all sorts of lovely bonding rituals!

It's not just Rosie that snuggles up to Mij either!

Rocky is rather partial to snuggling into the smallest member of the pack too!

But then Mij thinks she is an Otterhound anyway, so it's only natural!

After all, Mij has perfected the "abandoned Otterhound position"!

Who wouldn't think she was one???

"Oh yes, and another of Rocky's favourites is a good cuddle with the cushions!

Even when chilling out before a walk there is always an opportunity for cuddles and snuggling!

It's great living with Otterhounds .... The house just oozes relaxation and good will!!

Anyway, as I have already mentioned today was the day for a special walk .....

So we turned up at the pre-arranged time ..... At the pub!

Some of Rocky and Rosie's friends were already there but they waited patiently for the rest to turn up!

The day was warm but not hot with a gentle cool breeze ..... Just right for a stroll across the plain ..... and with so many friends it was an Otterhounds dream!

On their extendable leads Rocky and Rosie were able to walk where they liked, while still keeping as close to us as their friends were doing off lead with their owners!

We have found that on lead they seem to feel less need to go into hunt mode and follow scents ..... They certainly act as if the pressure is off and they can enjoy the exercise!

A few stops to check how long a walk everybody was up for .....

..... And we were off again into the big wide open!

The scenery was lovely and all dogs got on like a house on fire ..... having a wonderful time!

Their friends kept popping up to share some time with our two hounds and share any information on interesting scents and the like!

There was even an opportunity for a water break for those who wanted it .....

..... So Rosie had a little drink .....

..... And even Rocky was happy to partake in some of the wet stuff!!

The line of friends and dogs strung out along the track, each going at their own pace and enjoying the day.

We spent sometime in wooded areas and some time out.

It was warm and quiet with the gentle song of the Skylark to listen to ..... It was simply great.

A lovely place was found to stop and wait for some of the stragglers to catch up.

All the dogs would do the rounds and spend sometime with everyone ..... that was nice too!

Stragglers having caught up it was time to move off again.

As "laid back" as ever, Rocky had to be reminded it was time to move off .....

..... But he was, of course, the first to take advantage of another break while others caught up!

Rocky, Rosie and friend enjoy exploring around the track verges.

Back on track again, so to speak, and ALL the dogs noticed an enticingly large puddle along the track ..... Would our (water loving??!) Otterhounds join in the fun?

..... Of course they did ..... No chance of getting out of your depth here you see!!

And just as predictably ..... They came out the other side with mud wellies on!!

A quick break for some more water on the way back ......

Then it was back to the pub where everyone had a nice drink!

While most of the dogs enjoyed a rest in the sunshine Rosie and her friend just couldn't resist a game .....

..... And some kisses too ..... Aaah!

And tonight, after they got home?

Well, Rosie and Mij snuggled up in the Otterhound position .....

.....And later Rocky too found a friend to cuddle up with too!!!

Night, night Rocky ..... Sleep well and dream of cosy cuddles and wonderful walks with friends

Rocky the Otterhound: Mum's busy!

"Mum" sends her apologies but she is still (yes, still!) busy in the garden. It appears that the garden is going to be "dog proof" when she is finished ...... Whatever that means!

Rosie and me are still waiting to get into the garden, Sigh! And the weather is so nice too!!

We are getting extra walks though, while we wait, but we are a little peeved at only being able to watch from the steps ..... "Mum" says it's too muddy at the moment!

Still, never mind; we will have a whole new garden to explore when she's finished!

Anyway, she has been too busy this weekend to do my blog for me, so I am sorry ..... Hope you can be as patient as me 'cause she says that there will be one next week! Meanwhile, Rosie and me are just sitting around, or wrestling, or chewing our chews, or going out for walks ..... It's a dogs life really!!!

See you next week .....

Rocky.

Rocky the Otterhound: Playful days and endearing ways!

This week has been quite changeable, weather wise, and days have proceeded as usual for our two Otterhounds. There has been a mix of walks, fun and serious sleeping to be done, and our two have got on with it valiantly!

During one of their walks off lead, Rocky and Rosie find a discarded tree cover. The type they put around young tress to protect them through early growth.

There are many teeth marks on it, as various dogs have taken turns to play with this free toy. It therefore smells of lots of interesting things and is a magnet for our scent hounds.

Rocky makes a decision whether to play, or scent, on his walk!

Looks like he may be leaning towards playing!?

And yes, he picks up this free toy and heads for Rosie, aiming to entice her into a game with him!

This is not hard and it's not long before an enjoyable game of tug of war is shared.

Unusually, Rocky wins. Rosie usually takes toys from him (is it a girl thing or a youngest dog thing?), and he is never too worried about letting her have them. However, today is his lucky day and Rocky is a happy boy!

They have a couple of games of chase then it's on to tickling scenting bones.

But part way through scenting heaven, a five month old puppy comes along and gets very excited at meeting two new dogs! After a couple of run arounds with Rocky, she is rather taken with Rosie.

So she gives her loads of kisses .....

..... And lots of hugs .....

..... And Rosie, like all good Otterhounds, is as gentle as a lamb!

Sadly all games and walks must come to an end; but there is always something nice to do ....

Back home, on the post walk snooze, Rosie is joined by our honorary Otterhound, Mij the cat!

See, Mij has even perfected the "Otterhound position"!

Occasionally Mij will behave like a cat, sometimes she sits on the doorstep of her favourite box and watches what's going on in the world.

But more often than not, she thinks she is an Otterhound.

For example, although she has her own water and food upstairs (where hungry hounds can't get it), She prefers to reach up to the dogs water .....

..... And have a good long drink, just like they do!

..... She plays with them like any other dog (see Rocky the Otterhound on YouTube) .....

..... And we are even thinking of getting her a harness and lead so she can join them on walks! The only reason she hasn't got one yet is the fact that we used to have a cat that came on the dog walks ..... Lots of fun but boy wasn't progress short!

So, at present, the jury is still out on that idea!!

Meanwhile, Rocky and Rosie are snuggling together and doing their usual bookends thing!

They often do exactly the same thing at exactly the same time ..... For no other reason than ..... Otterhoundedness???!

For instance, the double Otterhound chest rub .....

..... Results in the double Otterhound "paw on the arm" trick!

We have found that this is the Otterhound way of showing their appreciation ..... Also designed to try and keep your hand there and continue the lovely treat!

This affection is usually so much appreciated, that they lay back down in order to savour the fussing! Lovely!

At other times they will get into positions which almost exactly mirrors each other! No design involved ..... It just happens!

Getting comfy on the sofa appears to be a truly mirror friendly opportunity. Both our hounds seem to particularly enjoy having an arm of the chair to get comfy on!

They will both sit and beg with utter abandon, if they think you have a particularly tasty morsel to share with them ..... For 'particularly tasty' insert our food!

Any tidbits tend to be reserved for times when they have been particularly good ..... Which I suppose (if I'm honest) is most of the time!

Anyway, last but by no means least, there is the utter abandonment of the bedtime snuggle! All attempts at staying alert and ready for instant fun or treats, goes right out the window as our hounds bed down for the night!

So night, night Rocky, dream of winning games and staying true to your endearing nature.

Rocky the Otterhound: Internet Connection!

Hi everyone, bet you've been wondering where this weeks blog was?

Well due to connectivity difficulties over the weekend, all the links to Rocky and Rosie's YouTube videos disappeared. I have spent the last two days fighting to get them back!! Wish I was more technically adept!

Anyway, Rocky and Rosie have got fed up waiting (as you can see), so this week I am leaving you with 2 more YouTube vids to tide you over to next week.

Check out "Rosie and Mij on YouTube" and "Snoozy evenings on YouTube" to the right of the blog ..... Hope you enjoy them!? More blog next week barring flood, fire, act of God or connection problems!!

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!!