Stella Sets A New Boundary

Bloodhounds are so much different than Basset Hounds. They are not as laidback as Basset Hounds and every day to them is a vacation full of potential excitement.

They are somewhere between a child experiencing their "terrible two's" or one starting their teens.

There is never a dull moment when you own a bloodhound, let alone two of them.


With a beautiful warm morning, Sadie wanted her walk before I had made coffee. She wasn't giving up and stood their in that stare for over five minutes.

When neither one would come back to the house when I called their names, I went back inside and poured my daily ration of coffee grounds into the filter, poured just the right amount of water to make two large cups of coffee and flipped the lid down for it to start dripping into the decanter.

I took a warm wash cloth and cleaned Heidi's face and eyes. I even opened my Activity Monitor on my computer since it tracks data usage live, all before I went back outside. I figured during the elapsed time both bloodhound had probably wondered off in the field or the woods by the neighbors house.

I was shocked when I walk out around the corner of the carport ... they were both slowly walking back to the house, almost at the yard exploring every inch of ground.

An hour later we were taking our first walk of the day. There are two things that Sadie will chase at a full speed sprint ... falling leaves and birds that are on the ground. If you look closely on the upper left side of the picture you can see the bird that is going to give Sadie some great aerobic exercise.

Once she decided the bird was gone and out of 'her' field it was time to circle back and check the area of the crime, then meet me to let me know it was time to start the walk.

Stella moved out in front of us so it was looking like this was going to be the perfect early Sunday morning walk in beautiful weather. Little did I know at the time that a little later Stella would be setting a new record for any hound walk taken in the past 19 years.

Sadie was still focused on the bird that got away. It had to be here somewhere and she was going to find it.

Stella was getting in her extra protein for breakfast but came trotting any time I called her. I walked over once to look and hopefully see what she was eating but all I found were leaves soaked with bloodhound drool.

As we turn the corner we are walking at a good pace and I decided that if the hounds headed to the far right corner I would stand on the path along the back edge of the field and give them all the time they wanted to explore.

I didn't know just how quickly those plans would change.

Things are looking normal and good at this point of the walk. They are walking away from the heavy deer traffic area and following the edge of the wooded area that will bring them back to the field along the path we walk.

I continued to walk a little further up the path, where I was going to take some pictures of all the field and some of the corn field behind us.

When Sadie ran up beside me panting and then looking back to where Stella was I knew something must be wrong. She seemed agitated.

When I turned around there was no sign of Stella. I've seen this before, even in this direction so it wasn't a big deal ... except Sadie was not acting normal. She took off running in that direction. It was like she came to get me to show me something.

As I ran toward that wooded area I am now concerned because Stella is not on the left side where you see the green bushes, where she normally is hidden. She is not responding to me yelling her name. I don't see her anywhere ... I start to feel a little panic.

I stepped over that fallen tree limb you see in the picture below. I walked to the tree just to the left of center and found out just past that tree is a very steep slope ... no sign of Stella.

But wait !!!!  Just barely I see the tip of a red bloodhound tail, wagging in the air and it is moving away from me faster than I can move through the area. She is down heading down this steep slope into a thick wooded gully.

I try to take a picture of what I see of her, for me and this blog post ... but the camera isn't locking into an auto focus and at the rate Stella is moving away from me I don't take the chance of trying to get a picture ... because I am running down this slope yelling her name. She is taking off, locked into to something.

It was new territory for me. I had never been in this part of the woods. Sadie stood back in the field and I assume was watching all of this. She did not move into the wooded area.

I was finally able to catch up with Stella and grabbed her collar. Otherwise she was not going to turn around even with me that close. Whatever she had locked into with her nose, she was not going to stop until she found it.

After I walked her up the slope and back into the field, she and Sadie went running down our normal path along the back of the field as if nothing had happened.

She looks at the camera as if to say "what's the big deal?"

With my pulse rate up over my threshold from running down that slope, I had a pretty good idea that my hands would be moving enough that sharp clear pictures the rest of the way home probably was not going to happen.

I did not have the leash with me today but once Stella knew we were heading home she and Sadie trotted along the path in front of me.

Does this mean it's officially Spring? Does the groundhog in Pa have any influence on determining when Spring will arrive in the Midwest? I think the dandelion is a sign that Spring is close to being here.

It's going to get up to 64° today. The hounds and I will take at least one more walk, possibly two. I'll take the leash this time because it looks like I could use it, unless Stella decides to do something entirely different. You never know whats up ahead with these two partners in crime.

She is a great bloodhound, with a funny personality and I admit she continues to give me "a run for my money" ...

They are both begging to be fed lunch right now, so I have to go.

It's a beautiful day here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Hounds Veg Out On Saturday

Due to a terrible night of sleep, I didn't start the day as earlier as normal. We were up and walked before any coffee was made.

Even with a late start, the first hound walk of the day was completed by 10:30am ... our first pictures were not taken until almost 1pm.

Heidi made it outside for a short trip after the lunch time kibble was served. Sadie and Stella wanted lunch at the normal time but didn't get it due to their late breakfast.

She still looks thin but it feels like she has gained a little weight. I noticed the other day looking at the different breeds of Basset Hounds, yes there are sub-breeds, that she looks like the smaller breed of bassets.

I would have to dig back through those websites to find the official name of the basset hound that she looks like.

The ballgame I wanted to watch today started at 1pm. My couch is shorter than a normal couch but longer than a love seat. It sits me and two hounds comfortably ... when a third hound wants to get on the couch with us, it gets interesting.

Normally Sadie sits in her own chair, it's a large leather chair with an ottoman. Stella usually lays on the left side taking as much room as possible and then when she is not in bed, Heidi will lay next to me.

Today when Sadie jumped up in Stella's spot before anyone else sat down ... the puzzle was in danger of having problems.

Stella did her pouting stance where she will sit in front of the couch and lower her head and eyes toward the floor ... not moving a muscle ... until I decide to move something or someone.

Today I did not tell Sadie to get off the couch but I slide about 2" to my left and Stella thought that 2" of open space was enough room for her to squeeze in and then turn and force herself into a bigger spot on the couch.

Heidi didn't move an inch during Stella forcing her way on the couch in a space about 2" wide. In fact she did not even wake up.

She slept through the whole game.

Sadie was totally unaware that Stella was trying to force herself onto the couch. She started snoring sometime in the first half of the college basketball game ... but did wake up long enough to eat her lunch at halftime of the game.

She didn't beg for a walk today and was more interested in sleeping.

More than likely all of this sleeping was caused by a late lunch, although they normally sleep during the same time every afternoon.

It was sometime close to 3pm that Sadie woke up and started acting like she wanted to go for a walk. Stella had woken up and nudged the door handle with her nose to go outside ... so it was time. I decided to take the camera with me on this walk along with the standard 6' leash.

This morning's walk was with only the 25' retractable leash. I was pretty sure by the time I stepped outside that Sadie and I would complete the walk without Stella. It was a gut feeling I had. I wasn't wrong about that and it didn't take much time to confirm my thoughts on what Stella would do.

It was nice out today although it was cooler than predicated. There were zero clouds in the sky, cold enough for a ski cap, light gloves and a light jacket. Once again Sadie got some running in today, two or three different times during the walk.

She loves going on these walks. I say that a lot but she does. It's her nose that keeps her focused and active.

Glancing back I see that Stella has barely moved into view. Since she isn't trotting in our direction I can tell I'll probably find her in the middle of the field on the way back if not over by the wooded area.

What would you do if you had a hound like this ??

Sadie was almost positive that Stella was behind us or at least catching up to us ... I let her in on the bad news.

In fact Stella was seen going the opposite direction and something had caught her undivided attention to where she didn't even move from that one spot as Sadie and I walked the return path.

I called Stella's name one time to see what she would do. She heard me and then went right back to eating.

While I was taking the picture of Stella, Sadie had snuck off behind me and for some reason had gone over to the opposite side of the field. She acted as if she heard something in direction of the farm a couple of lots over.

A zoomed picture of Stella, just to make sure she was still around.

Once Sadie found out that Stella was up ahead she ran to let her know it was time to go and head back to the house. Whatever Stella had found, it was so good that Sadie couldn't pull herself away either. I had to walk over with the leash in hand to get Stella to move.

It wasn't ten SECONDS after getting back inside the house that both bloodhounds laid down and were sound to sleep, like the walk never happened. It's been a good Saturday today with enough daylight to get a Z4 drive in, with the top up. The next game I wanted to watch doesn't start until 8pm, so I will probably read a little until then.

I took the Mini Cooper Countryman out on the freeway yesterday for the first time. It drove as good as I thought it would. It was very comfortable and I could see making a trip out west in this car without any issues. I don't like to stop a lot when I am driving and the comfort of the seat confirmed I could do that in this car.

I had a couple of cars passing me but slowed down just slightly to the side of me to take a look at the "blacked out stealth" Mini. For the first time that I can remember, I didn't see any State Police on the freeway in either direction of my trip.

Warmer temps are here for at least another week in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.

Stella's Out Of Bounds

As we stepped outside in freezing air this morning it was nice to remember this would be the last day of cold weather for a few weeks if not longer.

We took the morning walk between my two cups of coffee. I had all of my internet reading done faster than normal, staying away from any news websites. Of course after Sadie and Stella came back inside from the trip they make after they eat breakfast ... Sadie sat in the doorway giving me the stare that she wanted the walk right then. I had to have at least one cup of coffee before we could do that.

The grass was frozen and I could hear the crunching sound as I walked into the backyard. Slight winds out of the north which is opposite than the normal air flow. That didn't bother either hound this morning. Although I didn't sense the intense focus like they have had these past few days.

I had decided while putting my down parka on that I would let them have total freedom on the walk this morning. I was going to walk my pace, take some pictures and hopefully both of them would be close to me as I returned homed.

I could tell soon after starting the walk that this would be a morning where Stella was in her own little world. Nothing needed to be said because any words from me would be ignored. I kept walking ... it was colder than I had planned for. The coat and gloves were great but the jeans were not keeping the cold air out too well.

As I was about the make the first turn of the walk Stella confirmed she wasn't interested in walking today. It was going to be a morning of protein supplement in the natural way. I didn't want to think about it. Besides, the air from the north was freezing ... wasn't it just a week or so ago I was out in cargo shorts and a t-shirt?

After downloading the pictures from the camera this morning into my Apple Photo program on my iMac ... I wasn't really happy with any of them. Even after editing a little, the colors were pale, nothing stood out from the hounds being active ... all of them seemed dull to me.

Yet, the sky was blue, sunshine and a slight breeze ... it's a nice day without the pictures.

Sadie decided it would be a good time to get some running in. I wasn't to the back of the field yet but close. She sprinted all the way to me, hitting me in the knee with her nose ... letting me know she was there. That is good exercise for her.

There was no sign of Stella anywhere. My eyes scanned the field toward the wooded area behind the neighbors house and she wasn't seen. Although it might look like the field is flat, there is some slight inclines. This morning I found out just how steep some of those inclines are.

I asked Sadie "where's Stella?" ... little did I know at the time she was looking in the right direction but in an area that is way out of bounds for all the hounds.

Finally 'out of the ground' pops Stella. She had walked much farther past the wooded area and was in an area that is definitely out of bounds. The only time she had been this far north was chasing deer and chasing the surprised dog that was walking with my neighbors in the wooded area behind my house last Christmas.

I had no doubt she was scarfing down something as fast as she could before I could get to her. She didn't move and was eating as fast as possible. The closer I got to her, the more leash I was pulling out of my pocket.

It looks like she has a mouthful of something.

She wanted to show you she could still scratch with a leash on.

After walking a few feet, I took the leash off of her and let her slowly walk back to the house. Sadie couldn't figure out what the problem was, but there was still something interesting in the other direction.

I'm not sure what's up for today. I have nothing to do outside but have the urge to go somewhere. At the same time I am not sure I want to fight the traffic. Friday traffic always seems to be a little worse that during the week.

The Mini Countryman is still working out well and I am pleased with the change in vehicles. It is still running at 31mpg for all types of driving. There are times I do wish I still had the Toyota FJ but when you drive as few miles as I do in a year's time, it really doesn't matter what vehicle I have.

I am happy to be back blogging on Wordpress. I found out what may be the problem with my blog traffic although it is a new blog and it takes a few weeks for the search engines to index it. The keyword of 'bloodhound' in the search on Wordpress lists all kinds of blogs for everything that had the word 'bloodhound' in it ... but none of them are about dogs.

Basset Hound blogs seemed to be more popular but a lot of them started and then stopped blogging. From all the 'pros and cons' I read about yesterday, comparing which platform to use ... Blogger or Wordpress ... for what I am doing on this blog I can just stay here.

It was fun playing around yesterday looking at different templates. They call them 'themes' on Wordpress, and so many more to chose from.

After being up for 2-1/2 hours, Sadie has decided this is the day she is going to bug me, bother me, beg for stuff ... she seems restless this morning ... I don't ever remember basset hounds being as driven for attention as bloodhounds are, but that might be because I have two bloodhounds.

I might blog later but right now things are pretty quiet here in 'the tropics' of southern Indiana.