"Dipstick" Has A New Name

A lot of people suggested changing her name. Even the past owner thought her name should be change and wondered if she would answer to a new name since she was 6 years old. I thought she could. I also thought it would take longer to come up with a new name that I liked and that she answered to.

Sometime yesterday afternoon I had a couple of names in mind, human names. Both of them were more comical than a good name. I didn't put in a lot of internet research on this. I always watched the hound, how they acted, how they looked before I would come up with a name.

I also have never named my hounds with names of relatives and I have had to pass a few times on names that would have been great for bassets or bloodhounds.

Sometime right before the daily walk yesterday afternoon, I asked her if she wanted to be called Stella. Dipstick looked up at me and wagged her tail (I'm serious) and I took that as a "yes". Later after the walk I was getting ready to take the photo below when she turned her head away from the camera .. it was the perfect time to try the new name.

I called out "Stella" and she turned to face the camera.

I know it's too soon to expect her to answer to that name all the time. Besides it's inbred in any bloodhound to ignore their owner anytime their name is called the first time. Even the basset hounds have been to the same school and they also ignore you ... like they cannot hear you ... yet from a deep dream state sleep both breeds can hear a package of food open up two rooms away and come running ... even opening a drawer or the refrigerator door.

So ... Stella is her new name.

It's only been close to 48 hours since I picked her up, but so far this bloodhound is too good to be true. There HAS to be something she does wrong! She might even be more laidback than Winston. Progress is being made though with the new arrangements. She is fitting into the new routines. She has finally eaten her first bowl of food and most of the time Sadie will allow her to drink water from "her" bowl.

Last night Sadie and I were playing some indoor fetch. She will always bring me a bone or a kong ball to toss. After a few trips she came back with the kong ball and dropped it in front of Stella. Then with her ears hanging down and face skin drooping, she held her head over Stella waiting for her to react and possibly play.

Stella did nothing more than her yoga move by lowering her chest and head to the floor, butt in the air and the kong ball between her  front paws ... then proceeded to lay down and chew the kong ball with Sadie standing over her waiting to get her ball back.

There wasn't any growling, no fighting ... Sadie laid down beside her and waited.

At the time my camera battery was being charged as well as my iPhone, so there was no way to get a photo of that. Until right now I didn't think to grab the small Nikon sitting on the shelf.

It is so tempting to let her go out the door with the other dogs without a leash. It's also temping to let her walk around free with me and the other hounds or walk in the field not tethered ... but after only two days I would hate to make that mistake and possibly end up with disastrous circumstances with her heading to the highway.

She will glance that direction when walking out to the backyard or back to the house. The sound of motorcycles seems to peak her interest as it did passing some on the freeway Sunday driving home.

She will wait for me at the door to attach the leash and she will wait for me at the edge of the yard for me to change to the tether that is anchored in the field. One interesting thing, bizarre really, for 7 years multiple times per day Sadie would be hyper, excited, bouncing up and down when we went outside or was getting ready to be fed. Now she is waiting while wagging her tail, for me to hook up Stella to go out and filling up the four food dishes to eat without the hyper activity.

Yesterday when we were walking back to the door, Stella stopped to smell the back bumper of the FJ. I'm sure she could smell her old friend she use to live with, the boxer. So I opened the back of the FJ and both bloodhounds jumped into the back at the same time. Then stood there looking at me wondering when we were leaving.

In the meantime Winston was whining to be picked up and put in the back while Heidi was barking to get in. By the time I could grab a camera, both bloodhounds had jumped out of the FJ and were at the door waiting to be let inside.

Heidi is still barking when it's time to be fed. I guess she will continue to be the food monitor.

Stella is approaching Sadie more often. Sadie is not running away from her like before and will spend time in the field walking near her. They are spending more time together inside the house. On the daily walk yesterday, they walked side by side with their noses to the ground. Stella was on the 25' retractable leash and Sadie was walking leash free.

Winston decided to boycott the walk yesterday until I came back to the yard and hooked a leash to his collar. He will do that at times and other times will cruise without any leash involved.  He likes the new bloodhound since he knows he can lay next to her and take a nap. Heidi doesn't mind her.

So things are going very well with Stella getting adjusted to her new environment and new routines. Speaking of Heidi ... last night or 48 hours after her 30 minute soak with warm water with Epsom Salts, her skin looked the best it has in a very long time. The photos show that redness was gone and all of her skin was the natural color.

Last week late at night her skin rash exploded with redness and inflammation. I thought it might have been the raw carrots I had given her. At the same time it was a high pollen day with yellow power on the black roof of my washed Mini Cooper. Plus my own sinuses were plugged up all night.

Last night with her skin really looking better than it had in a long time, I decided to give her a full size carrot that was cut down the center and pealed. That would tell me if she was allergic to carrots. I was hoping she wasn't because carrots are in her Earthborn grain free food and in many other foods that we have tried in the past.

I checked her skin at 1am and there was no skin rash explosion. It looks like pollen, as suspected, being a factor in her allergies as well as other airborne causes. This morning seems to be another high pollen day based on how my allergies have reacted so by this afternoon I may be able to find out more later this afternoon after looking at Heidi's skin. Her problem is she has so many skin folds that it's hard to heal. Although the tops of her paws don't have that problem.

From photos it does look like a yeast infection, caused by allergy problems, when those paws and legs are reddish and raw.

Winston on the hand is nonchalant about the outside world. Nothing bothers him, even new bloodhound. All he needs is the couch to sleep on, some food, some sunshine to lay in and me (the doorman) to let him in and out at his request.

This morning we took a trip outside, they like to go back outside within the hour of their very first trip that lately is between 6:15am - 6:45am. During this 2nd time, the sun is up and they can roam the field. Winston's latest new activity is eating the soft dirt in the yard that has been pushed up through the ground by moles. By the time I could get inside to grab the camera to record the evidence he had licked all the dirt off of his nose and had left the scene of the crime.

She Is Not Camera Shy

A Lot Of New Smells

Sadie Watching Stella's Every Move

Time To Go In

It is suppose to storm today so I will be able to see how Stella reacts to thunder .. which I am told is one of her issues. Of course where I live a lot of times those storms split and follow I-70 north of me and the Ohio River south of me and we end up with nothing more than overcast skies.

Usually in the afternoons or after the daily walk, Stella has claimed this spot in the house to be hers. She will also sleep there at night until I move all the hounds into the bedroom with the door shut. They are all good hounds where they could roam the house at night and sleep anywhere they want ... but I know for sure that Sadie and Winston like to get into things based on the times I have tested them running free at night.

This Is Her Spot

Still Hot After The Daily Walk

I had a suggestion yesterday to start four new blogs, written from each of the hounds perspective. That would be a lot of work and might even toss me off the edge into insanity. I am already being accused by some that I am insane for having two large hounds and a total of four, let alone speaking in 3rd hound language. Some friends have told me without hesitation that I am definitely crazy after this latest decision.

I reply to that "You have to be a little crazy to keep from going insane".

Another suggestion was to start a new blog with the title of "The Hounds of The Indiana Tropics". That's a nice idea but I remember last year when I started a new blog wanting to split this blog into hounds/rvs and retirement living on the other blog. It was too hard to maintain and took way too much time to write for multiple blogs plus editing the uploading the photos.

I might think about that second suggestion.  I do write on a private blot that I use as a personal journal, with no photos and not every day ... still just one blog takes a lot of time.

I almost forgot and didn't remember until I saw some of these photos. Since they look almost like twins and a new name came forward, I thought I'd swap out her pink John Deere collar for a red one like Sadie. That way I can confuse myself even more and will have to look at their tails to confirm whom I am talking to. Believe me it's already hard at time to tell the two apart.

I rummaged through my drawer of old dog collars, dog leashes, leash splitters ... all kinds of stuff after having hounds for 28 years ... and found a red collar in pretty good shape, same color as Sadie's. Based on the color of hair underneath trapped by the clip of the collar I found, it looks like this was Bertha's collar ... which was another red bloodhound before Sadie.

All comments are welcome. Anonymous has been turned off months ago due to all the spam.

All the hounds are sleeping currently but once they are awake, I plan on cleaning ears, cutting toenails and doing some brushing. I hope today Sadie decides I can cut her nails, otherwise I'll be calling the vet for an appointment to take her in to let the vet assistants cut them. She always cooperates with them.

My Love Of Hounds ... Wins

I know ...  Really I know.

Something just felt right about giving this bloodhound a new home, a request from her owner that was trying to re-home her for the hound's safety. I went back and forth for a couple of weeks. I even canceled the trip to pick her up once. Still it felt like the right thing to do. There was excitement the night before I was to leave and I am thrilled with my decision this morning as I type this.

I thought long and hard about the consequences of adding a bloodhound to the house. Would she be big and obnoxious with Sadie? Would two bloodhounds turn this house into a romping playground? Or would she be mellow like Sadie. Was she destructive? Plus what would happen to my traveling plans? Traveling with 4 hounds would not be easy to do, although I know of one person that does with additional cats.

It might even be impossible to do with one person and four hounds ... but I found out my love of hounds made other decisions not a priority.

To be honest, as long as Heidi is going through her skin rash issues ... I have no plans to travel. She is improving based on where hair is growing back. The vet said last February to never expect hair to grow again on her rear shoulder ... but it continues to grow. I am seeing a weekly bath is giving her relief and making her feel better ... it would be hard to find a tub for her bathe in while camping in the middle of nowhere, unless I would rent a motel room once per week.

I plan to travel to a vet in Illinois a couple of hours away that specializes in dog dermatology.

She felt better Saturday night after her weekly bath, only this time she was soaking in Epsom Salts. By Sunday night those bright red spots had calmed down and all of her sore looking skin was soft to the touch.  Still comparing to last weeks post bath photos, there was little change ... except she looks like she is starting to gain weight.

She did okay on the trip in June but came back with her skin going downhill and a little problem with her stools. I just feel it's best for her to stay at home in a normal routine. With that in mind, adopting this bloodhound was a 'no brainer'. This picture is from her owner that use to dress her up when taking her into work on "casual" Friday. I mean how could anyone resist a face like this?

From the ad she had some separation anxiety and was afraid of thunder. She also has the ability of opening doors as long as they have a lever handle. I have only one door like that going outside, but it's locked when we are not using it. She has nudged that door lever with her nose and even nudged the bedroom door handle but found it out was round. She doesn't bolt if she sees the door is opening but is still leashed at this time whenever we are going outside.

The owner hated giving her up. She had plenty of land, living in the beautiful horse country of Kentucky. She had to be crated when she was at work. Photos showed that some how this bloodhound got the bottom of those big black wire crates you are familiar with, open ... then pried herself out of the crate. She then opened the door to inside the house, which let the 2 year old boxer out of the house into the garage. The bloodhound then opened the door to go outside. They were off for a day of fun and excitement. No one was home.

So when the owner came home after work a little after 5pm, the dogs she thought were locked in her house were near the highway before turning into her house. The highway is a country highway and not as busy as the US highway I live on ... but any road can kill a loose dog. She was wanting to find a home for her possibly with someone that had or knew about the bloodhound breed. Only bloodhound owners can understand what she is talking about.

She also suggested it might help if the new owner would be working at home or home all day, so crating would not be a requirement. There had to be something else ... but after almost 24 hours I haven't seen it. There is still a chance for her bad side to come out, but she sure seems like a good bloodhound just like the ad stated.

She was great traveling the 4 hour drive home. Half of it was freeway, driving through a city and across a large bridge over water ... but nothing bothered her. I did catch her in the mirror trying to nudge the rear window open with her nose ... that would have been impossible to open since only using a key from the outside does the trick. She stopped at the word "no".

The interesting thing was, with all the room in the back of the Toyota FJ and blankets strewn about ... at times she liked to climb into the passenger see up front. She made numerous trips back and forth. She loved looking out the windows and one time propping her one foot up on the dashboard. So that Toyota I cleaned last week now has a fresh supply of bloodhound drool in different sniffing spots. By the time we were inside the stateline of Indiana, she slept in the back. It's great to have a 4th hound added to the herd.

When I got home, just me and the new bloodhound roamed the field, letting her sniff away on a 20' lead. I then brought out Winston, Sadie and Heidi to meet her. Since I had her on a leash, I didn't have the camera for the welcome home party. The basset's loved her from the start, wagging their tails and getting low, if that's possible for them, to show her they wanted to play. My big 100lb baby Sadie hid behind me, not sure who that was or what she was doing here. They finally touched noses last night so Sadie is coming to terms with a new bloodhound in the house.

Winston was close behind tracking her trip through the field for the first time.

That tether pictured below is attached to a livestock anchor in the ground. The last time it was pulled up, a tractor scoop had to be used, so it's not going anywhere.

Hard To Tell Apart

Later Sunday afternoon to avoid the temps, Winston Sadie and I took her on the afternoon walk. She is what they call a "tracker" because her nose instantly went to the ground and she followed the path we take with occasional trips 20' away to lock into a different smells.

These next two photos show like any bloodhound, she is curious.

She then came back and did what all the hounds normally do, picked a spot on the floor and went to sleep. She tried one spot but Heidi let her know by barking that spot was taken. So the new hound moved to a spot that has never been used since I have lived here 18 years. She napped there last night and this morning. Winston decided to see if she minded being a pillow and plopped his 62lbs right next to her as close as possible for an afternoon nap. The new bloodhound didn't move and slept as long as he did.

Seems To Be Her Declared Sleeping Spot

It was a good first night and all the hounds were mellow. She frowned when she heard the camera beep when the auto focus locked in. For some reason the photos make her look the same size as Sadie but she is definitely smaller in bulk than Sadie is. She is the same height and a year younger. She is the one in front. Of course Sadie is protecting her favorite bone.

I was hoping the sleeping arrangement was as the owner had told me .. the bedroom floor. That proved to be true, as she slept through the night without any whining. She is smaller than Sadie but has a longer tongue. She is as laidback as Winston is, which is hard to believe. She has not barked nor howled yet, doesn't pull on the leash or lead, loves to sniff the field in back along with all of the house and not showing any instincts of being a runner.

The highway noise is new to her so that makes her curious, but she will never be in the front yard even leashed. I have a feeling that moving to a house with a little less "energy" will help her. Before she roomed with a 15 year old chihuahua that did what all do ... barked a lot. Her partner in crime was a nice black and white boxer that was well mannered, around 2-3 years old but had that boxer energy. So the new bloodhound might enjoy a quieter house with 3 hounds that have a lot less energy.

I am sure not spending days in a crate will help her. It did help Sadie. When Sadie or Winston were puppies and I had a job to do I had no choice but to crate all them all day during their younger years. I remember how much better Sadie acted when she didn't have to spend all day in her crate. I have a feeling it will be the same with the new hound.

So there will be more photos posted as usual. A new hound will be added to the Hounds page along with her photo on the right sidebar.

Her name??  It will have to be changed and I hope to have the name reveal itself this week. Her name is Dipstick!!  There are a couple of stories behind that name. As a puppy the bottom half of her tail was all black but she was a red bloodhound. Now her tail is a black and tan on the bottom half ... she must have had a black and tan parent.

About the time the owner I got her from was going to change her name ... she got loose in the garage one day while they were at work and her tail found some engine oil. Later when everyone was home, she was spreading oil on the walls with her tail ... so the name stuck.

I've always had human names for my hounds so we will see what turns up.

She turned 6 on August 9. No history of health issues, beautiful coat and very very quiet. She is a great bloodhound, still I am aware that "something" could happen later on. I can tell she is really smart just like Sadie. The training to stay with the other hounds in the bedroom while I am gone will start later this week. Right now I just want her to roam the house and field and get use to all the new smells.

Well ... Winston is letting me know that he wants to go out ... so they all will go out.

I couldn't resist adopting this great hound. This blog has been moving for a while toward a retirement life with hounds instead of rv traveling like other blogs ... my love of hounds is just hard to resist at times.