Rocky the Otterhound: The Party Season.

The party season has arrived and as a result Rocky is having trouble finding time instructing me on what to put into his blog. If truth be told I think he is panicking over fairly last minute Christmas shopping ...... I wonder what he's going to get me?

Anyway, in the hope you are all having as good a time as Rocky's pack is, perhaps you will forgive us for not posting a blog this week. We will be back again next week to let you know Rocky's particular view on life the universe and everything.

Rocky the Otterhound: Mountaineering and part of the furniture!

The winter monsoons seem to have stopped for a while, which is great, this has left Rocky and Rosie wondering what they are going to do with their days!

Well this week we have had some spells of lovely sunshine in between the showers, so we decided to make the most of it.

So we took a good long walk up to the butterfly path.

Unlike previous visits, our two hounds decided to put on their crampons and take to a spot of mountain climbing!

There were obviously loads of smashing smells up there because their scenting bones were being decidedly tickled!!

Rocky did a spot of excavating but the interesting smell must have run out below the surface, so he stopped without getting his beard too muddy! Bonus!!!

They came back down to the path when I called ....... But only 'cause I offered a treat! Bribery and corruption!

Having devoured said treat, the two little darlings shot off up the bank again!

Ah well, I suppose I should be grateful they came to me at all!

But they were having a great time and you could hear them snuffling away at scents of mole and vole!

They seemed to be having a lovely time and ranged backwards and forwards, following the tickly scents.

Rosie was like a little mountain goat, she hardly seemed to pay any attention to where she was going but was as sure footed as any self respecting goat!

Rocky seemed a little more deliberate with his footing, but then he is a good deal heavier than Rosie at the moment!

All along the butterfly trail they went, with me on the path and my Otterhounds in the air (so to speak).

Quite an adventure they were having, but a spot of surveying the kingdom was involved along the way!

The bank became more grassy towards the end of the path and it's here that Rocky made contact with bunny scent.

But he was having such a good time with the tiny animal scenting that he left it, without too much trouble, and went for some more "mini bone tickling"!

When it was time to head back, Rocky came quite quickly but Rosie had gone over the hill (literally) ........ Oh dear thinks I ......... Am I heading for some more famous Otterhound stubbornness!

But no! I called her twice and she came shooting back over the top of the hill to walk home with us!

Well done Rosie, you are a good girl!

So we removed the crampons and headed for home!

During the long evenings there is always something for a young Otterhound to do .......

...... There is the "challenge the box-full of cat to a game of peek-a-boo" game!

This is a game Mij is always up for ..... Rosie will issue the challenge (all done on eye contact) .....

..... Mij will tense and brace herself ..... Then as Rosie slowly approaches the box Mij will duck down ....

Then, just as Rosie's nose reaches the box Mij will jump up and give her a bop on the nose.

This game can go on for a fair old while and they both seem to love it! How cute is that!!

During the evening there is usually a time when Rosie fancies a game of rough and tumble.

She will commence each game by taking a small leap and landing squarely on top of Rocky!

"Wake up and play with me you lazy hound"!!

"Oh what"! "No Rosie leave me alone I'm snoozy"!

But Rosie can be determined and after wriggling her way underneath him, a couple of playful nips in the right place will always persuade Rocky that he really does want a game!

If you happen to be sat on the same sofa at the time, I'm afraid you have to be prepared to be treated as part of the furniture .......

....... Nothing comes between an Otterhound and a bit of fun!

So, now it's "Game On", a point at which the telly or anything else is ignored .... It's just too much fun to watch ..... I think we get almost as much enjoyment out of it as they do!

Rocky tries to fend Rosie off as she aims for her favourite nip points on him?!

Rocky realises that she is a little more maneuverable than he is so he takes the logical way out and lays down.

"Aw, come on Rocky .....Get up and play"!

Once he's up again Rosie laughs with glee ..... He he! He's mine now!

First she goes for a back leg .......

Then an ear ........

...... And as Rocky seeks the safety of the floor she just manages to get another hit on a back leg!

Now it's Rocky's turn and Rosie is almost giggling with the fun of it!

Rocky is almost as skillful at this game as she is and they each maneuver and wrestle to score hits on each others legs and ears ....... All the while there is the gentle growling of two dogs having a lot of fun! It really is funny to watch!

Eventually though, they tire and decide to go back to snoozing .........

And after a long day of mountaineering and play ...... As we are heading off to bed and leaving our two hounds to the living room......

.....We get the impression they will sleep well tonight!

So night night Rosie, and night night Rocky, dream of climbing mountains and sunny days!

Rocky the Otterhound: Let's play ..... Where's Rocky?

Due to the fact that photographic opportunities these days are either during the dark or when the winter monsoon (yes, it's still monsooning!) makes it too wet to get the camera out; Rocky and I have had to come up with a different idea for the blog. So we have gone back over our many photographs and picked out some suitable for a little game. Some you may recognise, others weren't used before due to the digital camera delay causing a missed shot, being too far away, being over-exposed or simply because I didn't have my glasses on!

I have tried to make all the zoomed in photo's "small" but am obviously not techno enough, so apologies if one or two are a little pixelated.

Some pictures are very easy to spot Rocky in (I know we have some small children following this blog), some have clues and some are a little tricky ...... But we hope you play and we hope you get some enjoyment from it ......

If you want to play without cheating make sure you only view one photo at a time and keep the picture size small!

.... So, let's play "Where's Rocky"! ....... Good luck!

An old T- shirt ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Wearing it of course!

A broken flower pot ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Inside it of course!

A sunny day at the sea-side ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Walking on the pebbles!

A sunny day in the garden ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Hiding behind the chair of course!

Stopping for a quick look at the map ....... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Waiting behind the gate wondering why we aren't moving on!

Waiting for the girls to catch up ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Hiding behind Paul!

Playing "catch" with "dad" ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... On the other side of the fence!

Let's go for a walk in the rain ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Hiding 'cause he doesn't want to get wet of course!

That's an interesting smelling bush ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ........ Still looking for bunnies!

After a bath on a sunny day ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is .... All wrapped up in a towel!

Having a shake in the long grass ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Trying to look like a blur!

Playing with equipment ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Just going into his favourite tunnel!

Walking among the heather ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Trying to be first to the top of the hill!

His first introduction to balloons ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ........ Hiding behind his beloved sofa of course!

Chasing Daisy in the long grass ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Trying to creep up on her!

Some lovely smelling trees ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Where are those bunnies?!

Lots of lovely Otterhounds ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Last Otterhound on the right!

Lovely open space on the plain ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Running back to "mum and dad"!

A great game with friends ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... He's so excited he's having a mad fit of course!

A relaxing moment at home ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Being nosey of course!

more lovely Otterhounds ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Being nosey again!

Another beautiful day on the plain ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Paddling at the back of the picture!

Talking of paddling, there's water ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Just under the trees!

A hot day for walking ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Cooling off in the long grass!

An evening on the sofa ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Peeking out at dear old Biccy!

A blissful walk by the canal ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... sneaking up on a narrowboat!

Down the butterfly path, it has steep banks ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Laying on the top of the hill!

Lovely smells down the butterfly path ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is by the big bush ...... Still looking for bunnies!

More playing with equipment ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ....... Hiding inside a soft tunnel!

"Daddy's" dropped something in the water ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... right in the middle of the splash!

Hide and seek, close your eyes and count to 10 ......... But where's Rocky?

There he is ..... Hiding behind the trig point!

Another summer bath time ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ........ Trying to hide in the towel!

Lovely snuffling among the trees ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is sniffing out all those bunnies!

A wrestling match with brother Morse ..... But where's Rocky?

There he is ...... Playing gently of course!

And after all that looking and guessing Rocky is worn out ........

So night night Rocky, dream of dry weather and a chance to take some more photo's!