Rocky Hill Basset Hounds

07/12/2024

We forgot to post here yesterday a huge Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet Idris! We love you Big Boy Drizzy! 🎉5️⃣🎂🥳🐾
(From Wycliffe & Fern’s first litter).

06/07/2024

Flashback Friday post of Fern & Wycliffe in 2018 when they first met ♥️♥️♥️

06/07/2024

Happy Beautiful Friday from Estella! 🐶☀️

01/02/2024

Happy New Year Everyone! Click on the link to see a 2023 recap of our babies! Wishing everyone a blessed and prosperous 2024! 🎊✨🐶🐾✨
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1nSxnFJzYYKBYXC1_fWPtPXq0WO2wRLv7Kx380/?igsh=MWh0ZWExbGYycGJndg==

From Instagram

12/23/2023

Estella is ready for Christmas 🐶🎄♥️

12/08/2023

✨PUPDATE✨
A wonderful portrait of Handsome Sir Henry ♥️ (Stolen from his mommy’s IG page.) 🫣

10/06/2023

‼️PUPDATE‼️ Spencer, (formerly Oz), one of our beautiful Black & White babies, living his best life in Pennsylvania with his basset brother! He goes to work every day with his pawrents and garners lots of attention! Thanks to his wonderful family for the update! ♥️🐶

09/14/2023

‼️PUPDATE‼️
Hemsworth (formerly Toto) is just spoiled rotten and looks more and more like his daddy, Wycliffe everyday! So stinking sweet! Thanks to his mama for the update! 🐾♥️

09/14/2023

‼️PUPDATE‼️ We received this precious photo from Ruby & Bob’s (formerly Hickory) Mama yesterday. She says they’re “thick and thieves,” and very happy! ♥️♥️♥️ We love getting updates about our sweet babies!

07/20/2023

‼️PUPDATE‼️
Beautiful Winnie (formerly Dorothy) is just as precious as can be! The only tricolor from our “Wizard of Oz” litter 🐲
We thank her wonderful family for the update!

06/30/2023

❗️Pupdate❗️
Precious Magnolia (formerly Lullaby) with her new kitten 🐶😻

06/19/2023

Happy Fathers Day to our Wycliffe! We love you “Twiffus!” 🤩♥️

06/16/2023

‼️PUPDATES‼️ Two of our lovely Black & White Babies 🖤🤍
Beautiful Lolli (left) sitting pretty in Vermont & handsome Hemsworth (right) living his best life with his basset pack in California.
Many thanks to their mommies for the updates!

06/06/2023

Happy Tuesday from Estella & Fern🌿
♥️

05/15/2023

Happy Mothers Day to the GOAT basset Mama, Fern🌿
And Happy Mother’s Day to all other Mamas out there, both human and canine! Rocky Hill Bassets appreciates each one of you! 💖

05/08/2023

Those ears tho 🐘

05/08/2023

Henry is staying with us while his mommy is on vacation! ♥️ It’s hard to get a good picture of all 3 together, but they sure are enjoying each other!

05/03/2023

Mama Fern & Estella enjoying this beautiful day ☀️🐶

04/19/2023

How can anyone look at this and NOT be able to tell this group is ran by S🐾AMMERS?

Just look at the bad grammar in the about section. Example: “Date ok shots” and “puppy goes alongside all papers.” Come on now!
Also, if you click on the lady’s name to view her profile, her foreign name doesn’t match with her profile and other pictures. 🤔
Anyway, these people are using pictures of our (and other’s) puppies to get 💰from people. The cover photo here is a pic of MY babies. It’s been reported.

04/16/2023

Beautiful Estella 🐾♥️🐶

04/16/2023

‼️PUPDATE‼️ We’re so proud of Fred (formerly Courage) for placing in his first 2 puppy shows this weekend! He’s such a sweet, handsome fella! ♥️🏆🏅🐾🐶🙌🏼♥️

04/14/2023

PLEASE REPORT Gertrude Molo for falsely claiming that our puppies and mother dog belong to her. They do not. These puppies are all 11+ weeks old and have been placed in new homes within the last month and the mother, Fern, has been spayed. Please let us know if you see any further scamming activity of false claims out of her.

04/13/2023

Great info! 👍🏼

WE ARE REPEATING THIS EXPERT FEATURE, for anyone who may have previously missed it, or would like to see it again.

TOO FAT, TOO THIN OR JUST RIGHT?
How to know if your dog is the right weight

One of the most heartening sights for me on this page is the number of followers who send us pictures of their active, healthy BCs who are all of an ideal weight. For being the right weight will not only preserve your dog’s active life for so much longer, it will also spare them so many more unpleasant health issues in older age.

It is also vital for working or competition dogs to maintain the right weight to minimise the risk of injury or excess strain on the heart and joints.

Obesity in dogs, in general, is now becoming as massive a problem as it is in people. Similarly it makes them more vulnerable to so many other illnesses or conditions, ranging from diabetes and arthritis to heart problems and a range of cancers. And seeing as we totally control everything a dog eats, it is also completely avoidable.

WHAT IS AN IDEAL WEIGHT FOR YOUR DOG?
What your dog weighs, on the scales, is not always the best indication of how healthy or ‘right’ their weight is, as collies can come in so many different sizes and body builds. A far better guide can be seen in our illustration, where we look at these key things:

1. WAIST. Does your dog have an immediately obvious ‘waist’ when you look down on them from above? If so, this usually signifies a healthy weight. Similarly, when you run your hands LIGHTLY down their sides, you should EASILY feel their ribs underneath without pressing harder. If your dog looks ‘squarer’ from above, without a more obvious waist and you cannot easily feel their ribs for fat, or without having to press quite hard, the chances are they are pretty overweight. Your dog’s ribs, however, should not actually be sticking out, which could indicate they are UNDERWEIGHT instead.

2. THE ‘TUCK UP’. Dogs of an ideal weight should also have a pronounced ‘tuck up’ where their underbelly tapers up, at an angle, neatly into the groin area (again see illustration). If the underbelly sags down instead, or you cannot see this same slanted angle of ‘tuck up’ your dog is likely to be overweight (though do note some health conditions can also cause swelling of the belly in dogs – covered a bit later).

3. PELVIC BONES. If you put your hand on top of your dog’s ‘bottom’ or hip area, in dogs of ideal weight you should just feel the top of the pelvic bones under the skin. If you cannot easily feel them your dog may be overweight. If they are actually sticking out, your dog may be underweight.

In longer coated dogs you may need to rely more on ‘feel’ than sight to tell if they are the right weight, or look at them when wet. And if in any doubt you can also ask your vet for their opinion.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG IS OVERWEIGHT
If your dog is overweight, the most important thing to do is accept it. It can be too easy instead to make excuses, or go into denial about it, rather than putting your dog’s health and best interests first, as opposed to your own need to not to have to change what you are doing, or feeding your dog, because this is more comfortable for you.

Weight usually creeps up steadily on dogs for the same reason it does on people – too many extra treats or snacks or portions of food that do not match your dog’s daily exercise levels. Some dogs are also more prone to weight gain than others. But the more overweight your dog gets, the more exercise becomes progressively harder work for them, and takes an ever greater toll on their heart and joints.

You should begin by cutting out all extra snacks, treats and food leftovers and then additionally cutting their daily food portions back by about a quarter to a third, so the reduction is less drastic. If you want to give them treats things like carrot sticks, or lower calorie treats made of fish skin, can be substituted. You want to aim for slow and steadier weight loss over time. Vets can also really help these days with weight loss plans and special diets if required.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG IS UNDERWEIGHT
People can be so used to seeing overweight dogs in society today – and thinking this ‘normal’ – that very often what they may think is an underweight dog is actually one of perfect weight. Again, if you are not sure check our illustration, or with your vet.

Collies who have been subjected to great trauma or stress – like rescue dogs – can lose weight very rapidly, as can dogs with more super-high metabolisms. Often when the stress element is removed from any dog’s life, their weight will return to normal. However some collies will always be harder to keep weight on than others, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not also healthy.

MORE RAPID WEIGHT GAIN OR LOSS
If your dog has suddenly gained or lost weight more rapidly, or over a shorter period of time, then a vet check up is strongly recommended. As conditions like Hypothyroidism or Cushing’s Disease can make dogs gain weight or give them a more ‘pot bellied’ appearance. Other conditions can lead to more dramatic weight loss, so it is always worth ruling these out first.

Generally, it is worth weighing your dog(s) more regularly, like every two or three months, to ensure they are maintaining a more stable, healthy weight. It will also give you a chance to act sooner, rather than later, if they need to lose or gain a bit more weight, or if their weight change is a first sign of something else not going right with their health.

Meanwhile all aspects of collie health and diet are covered in my book COLLIE PSYCHOLOGY:
https://performancedog.co.uk/product-category/books-and-dvds/authors/carol-price/ In the USA from https://www.dogwise.com/ # and https://www.cleanrun.com/product/border_collies_a_breed_apart_book_1_secrets_of_the_working_mind/index.cfm In Canada from https://www.4mymerles.com/product-category/books/ And in Australia from: https://gameondogs.com.au/
All text © Carol Price 2023

04/13/2023

We’ve reached over 5 million views on our “Puppy Stampede” reel on Instagram!
🐾👏🏼🐾🎊🐾🥂🐾
Follow for daily updates on our Rocky Hill Basset family!

04/12/2023

We absolutely love this picture of Jimi Houndrix that his mommy posted in a comment on an earlier post. He is so very handsome, just like his daddy, Wycliffe! Jimi is from our 2019 Wycliffe x Fern “Celebrity Names” litter and lives his best life in Oregon 🐾🐶♥️

04/12/2023

‼️PUPDATES‼️
First 2 photos are the dynamic duo, Ruby and Bob (formerly Hickory), enjoying some nice outdoor weather with their littles! ☀️🐶
The next 2 pics show regal Magnolia (formerly Lullaby) being the lovely queen of her home! 👑🥰
Next there’s precious Winnie (formerly Dorothy) keeping her mommy company while she naps 🛌🐶
And last, but certainly not least, is gorgeous Lolli (Lollipop), rocking her bunny snood in chilly Vermont 🐰💞
We love updates on our babies and we love their families, too!
We’ll continue to keep our wonderful Rocky Hill friends posted as we receive updates! ♥️