Ozzy – The Wizard

The Name
The Talents
The Dog Shows
The Stud Dog – Litters Sired
The Caretaker – Life with Puppies
Videography

Ozzy is the only male in our pack. We did not plan to keep any puppies from Mamba’s Christmas 2010 litter, but Ozzy was special from the very beginning. He was the last puppy born – number 3 just like his Mom! He was big (1lb 7oz), long and skinny. Not very attractive – if you want to know the truth. Then, he started eating. Suddenly, long and skinny became round and cute. While his siblings were wandering around the whelping box, he stayed close to the ‘milk bar’ for a few extra sips. The transformation was hard to miss!

For the first 4 weeks, Ozzy was a bully. As the biggest puppy he was just dominating his siblings in play and competing for Mom’s milk. During week 5 something strange happened: Ozzy figured that if he was more submissive, his brother and sister would play with him more! He became this happy giant bear on the bottom of the puppy pile. His new strategy worked REALLY well 😉 He was truly enjoying his new role. Maybe because he knew he could get out from the bottom of the pile in a second, just by standing up. After all he was still the biggest!

Ozzy is very playful and fearless. Every day is a new adventure and an opportunity to make new friends. Everywhere we go he can’t wait to meet and greet people. These days, however, Ozzy prefers to hang out with his girls: Leeloo, Bella & even Mamba. Leeloo gives him an opportunity to stretch his legs and provides a wrestling challenge. Bella is a full time playmate: they share toys, chewies and enjoy daily mayhem 🙂 Bella can definitely keep up with Ozzy when all other dogs (and humans) are ready for a nap. Growing up Otterhounds!

Obedience training comes in handy when dealing with a giant 100+lb goof ball on a leash and I must admit, Ozzy is a hand-full and never runs out of energy. Even after a long run at the beach, he is ready for more fetch play with his favorite orange ball in the yard or in our living room. Ozzy permanently took over the toy box inventory duties from Leeloo just to keep himself entertained. He’s really good about sharing the toys with Bella and loves to engage us humans every chance he gets. Ozzy is a pretty good retriever: he loves playing fetch and catching a ball up in the air. Never ending happy times 🙂

The Name

The name was very easy to pick. All puppies in Mamba’s first litter have movie names. Wizard of Oz was a perfect fit for our boy: a little bit of rainbow, heart of a Lion and a lot of Rock’n Roll!

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The Talents

Ozzy has many talents due to his never-ending supply of energy. He is extremely active and constantly looks for new ways to have fun. Otterhound curiosity and enthusiasm in action!

Ozzy is a great swimmer. His love for water started when he was only 10 weeks old. He simply followed his Mom Mamba and Aunt Leeloo into the ocean. He never slowed down, just naturally transitioned from waking into swimming. He simply had to stay with the Pack. No time to be scared! Ozzy is also a great retriever – he’ll swim out into the ocean waves and even dive under to get a stick or a ball. He’s truly a water creature!

Ozzy’s other talent is his beautiful voice. All of our hounds have sung the song of an Otterhound, but nobody does it as well as Ozzy. He has a wide range of sounds and volumes depending on his mood and occasion. He helped with the National Anthem at dog shows more than once with his soft, long hum. Pure hound 🙂

Ozzy inherited some of Mamba’s obedience gene. He enjoyed the beginner obedience classes. Puppy push-ups Otterhound edition were unforgettable: lots of shagginess, giant smile and enthusiasm to do anything for a treat! AKC S.T.A.R Puppy Medallion was his first prize and Canine Good Citizen certificate followed, just before his 1st Birthday. If you’d like to find out more about Ozzy’s CGC test visit page Adventures: AKC Canine Good Citizen.

As the only male in our Pack, Ozzy takes his guarding duties very seriously. His favorite post is on the top of the stairs looking over the front yard and on the deck with excellent view of the back yard. He often patrols the yard, especially when he spots other dogs or humans enter his territory. We are pretty confident, that the Blue Fairy headquarter is very well protected. And Ozzy looks regal getting the job done. King of the castle 🙂

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The Dog Shows

Conformation was and still is a challenge. Oz just prefers to be in control. Standing still is not his strength. After all, there are soooo many other things to do at a dog show, starting withother dogs and people and ending with well-deserved treats at the Red Barn booth 😉 Road to Championship was tough! A combination of Ozzy’s size and independence were a challenge, but over time, we worked out a good understanding and a routine that worked for both of us. With or without treats. We attended several local shows and took a trip to 2011 Otterhound Specialty. We celebrated Ozzy’s first major right after his 1st birthday at the 2012 Hound Show in Indio, CA and a year later, at the 2013 Hound Show – the second major and the AKC Championship title.

Road to Grand Championship was actually easier than we expected. Ozzy was used used to the show ring by now and thankfully, the judges thought he was a winner 🙂 With several Best of Breed and Select Dog awards, it took Ozzy only 8 months to complete requirements for the AKC Grand Championship title. Getting it done in style!

After an 18-month break from the dog show world, Ozzy returned to the ring in January 2015 at the Hound Show in Indio, CA. He was a bit rusty but it did not stop him from winning the Best of Breed prize. Pretty awesome. In April 2015, he won another Best of Breed at SoCal Hound Classic. We are very pleased with our boy: he grew up to be a very handsome hound! At 4 years old, Ozzy is an impressive male with remarkable stature and great personality. My sunshine 🙂

In March 2015, Ozzy became an International and Honorary IABCA Champion. We decided to enter Ozzy in an IABCA show and follow the paw-steps of his Mom Mamba, who earned her IntCH title in 2010. IABCA is a European-style dog show with more casual atmosphere than the AKC shows. Judges are much more approachable and they provide a written evaluation as part of the judging process. It’s refreshing to actually know what a judge is thinking about the dog and how they interpreted the breed standard. And medals are much more fun that the ribbons 😉

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The Stud Dog – Litters Sired

In fall of 2014, Ozzy sired his first litter. He was bred to Amira (CH Scentasia’s Grand Finale) and as a result, 10 beautiful Otterhound puppies (5 males & 5 females, all black & tan) were born in November 2014. Thanks to Social Media, we were fortunate to get in touch some of the puppy owners and get pictures of Ozzy’s kids. I must say, they are gorgeous! We are very pleased that they all inherited Mamba’s black eyeliner. These puppies might not be Blue Fairy’s in the name, but they certainly are in spirit and good looks 😉 Very very cool!

In July 2015 Ozzy became a father again. This time, he was bred to Wynonah (Scentasia’s Final Conquest) producing 5 puppies, 2 males and 3 females, all black & tan. We are happy to report that this was our first international breeding in Switzerland. Pretty awesome!

In Summer 2015, we bred Ozzy to a Canadian female Griffin (Can. Ch. Avitar’s Quick Riffs In Jazz, RN). Ozzy had great time meeting Griffin in California and after successful breeding, at the end of October, 7 beautiful puppies were born in Canada: 3 females and 4 males, all black & tan. Good boy Ozzy!!

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The Caretaker – Life with Puppies

Ozzy was phenomenal with Leeloo’s 2012 puppies. At 15 months old, he just knew what needed to be done. On the very morning we brought puppies home, he started guarding the whelping box and observing small creatures that Leeloo was vigorously protecting. He was not discouraged by her growls, he was patiently watching and moving closer inch-by-inch. He was allowed to sniff the puppies at ~2 weeks old and he just fell in love! Just could not stay away. He was looking for every chance to get involved and help with cleaning duties. As puppies got older, Ozzy became their favorite fuzzy toy. He’d simply lay down and let them climb all over his shaggy body, pull his ears and tail. He also stood guard when puppies were out in the yard, alerting us about potential dangers. Just a perfect puppy-sitter 🙂

By the time Mamba’s Halloween Puppies 2012. arrived, Ozzy was almost a 2-year old hound. He wanted very much to meet and interact with his half-brothers and half-sisters, however, his focus was a little different this time. He was more interested in guarding than playing with the puppies. Pack protector! But at the end of the day our Ozzy is still a puppy at heart, no matter how hard he’s trying to hide it. There was no better sight than watching a 115lbs male with a toy in his mouth surrounded by tiny puppies. Gentle Giant 😉

In September 2014, when our singleton puppy and Ozzy’s half-sister Khaleesi was born, Ozzy acknowledged the arrival of a new pack member but he was all about his guarding duties. After all, it was his job and he left the caretaking and entertainment to Leeloo and Bella. He would often check how things were going and to help with cleaning or play a little with the puppy. Still playful and gentle. Some things never change!