Welcome to MagicWood Otterhounds in Beautiful Door County, WI.
We enjoy living here in the Woods with our Otterhound, Wicket and our Italian Spinone, Petey. We have occasionally bred our girls producing 6 litters of Otterhounds over 11 years with 3 different females using 6 different males. We will no longer be breeding our own girls but continue to mentor some of our puppy buyers as they move up to take over the task. Check out this link about promoting the Otterhound, a rare breed dog. http://akcdoglovers.com/2014/11/17/helping-people-get-to-know-a-rare-breed/ I had the pleasure of writing this article for the AKC Gazette. Check out my blog post describing the differences as I see it between the Otterhound and the Italian Spinone. trying-another-breed.html
Petey, our wonderful Italian Spinone.
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Petey age 3 1/2 months to 16 months.
One of the Highlights of our breeding program was Wicket's 2012 Litter
Now they are 8 years old--12/14/20--Our Civil War Litter of 12.
You can see them together in the photo in the banner above (8 wks.)
Congratulations to owners and hounds on their accomplishments! Most continue to thrive in their homes. We have lost 2 of our girls, Henrie and Birdee. Four of them have been bred to produce the next generation, Getty in Colorado, Gabel in California, Dustin in Pennsylvania and Lincoln in Minnesota.
His face called "I'm yours" to his new owner Donna, also one of the owners of the sire of this litter, Rufus. Needless to say after going back home and thinking of him, Stonewall, now called Dustin, went to the home of Scentasia with Donna and Betsy in Pennsylvania! In the last picture, he is on the left side next to Lincoln, Birdee, Millie and General. Handsome dude won Select Dog on the final day at the Otterhound National in St. Louis in September 2015. Dustin sired a litter born in California.
Gabel seems to like company! In the first picture he is shown on the bottom sound asleep with his brother Lincoln above. In the next picture he is shown again on the bottom with his housemate Barley. We called him Grant at our house and he has had good success in the show ring both with his owner Marilyn and several other handlers as well. Gabel is papa to a large litter born in Montana.
Davis' family John, Kathyjo and their daughter named him Otis! They liked him so much they took on a second Otterhound so Otis now lives near Indianapolis with an Otterhound "brother" and many other interesting animals. I'm sure he never has a dull day!
Dylan used to be called Harrison after an actor during the Civil War. Trish and Sam have let us know that Dylan is a good actor in his household in Mason City, IA. He has also served as an ambassador for the breed encouraging a new owner for Wicket's litter in 2014.
The photogenic Birdee used to be called Harriet at our house. Here in Door County, her picture can be found in many places as she was photographed by Heidi Atanasov as a puppy so she has been entered in many art shows and displays! Interestingly enough, her owner Jodi is also a photographer and shared the picture of her in a sweater with me shortly after she got home in 2013. Jodi and Brian are always entertained by their Birdee! Sadly, Birdee died in 2020 from lymphoma.
We called this one Longstreet, Laura and Bob called him Murphey. Murphey lives near Dallas, Texas and has a new housemate, a Kuvasz puppy. In the middle photo he is with his kitty partner as a puppy. Looks like he is going to be very busy these days.
Clara is now called Millie and has been in obedience as well as agility classes. It was wonderful to see her at our family reunion in St. Louis which she calls her hometown. Christy reports that Millie is the most beautiful dog she has ever had the pleasure to live with. In fact Christy loves her so much she brought home another Otterhound called Milo!
Here's the guy that was the recent star at the Eukanuba Kennel Club dog show winning Best of Breed, December 2015. Thrilling for all of us! General is a happy guy and lives in Greeley, CO with his Clumber buddy Axel and his mom and dad, Sarah and Rusty. He also had a very successful outing at the National Specialty winning Select Dog several days. Update: The General won Best of Breed 3 out of 4 days at the Otterhound Regional specialty in Louisville March 2016 and took home a Group 2 and a Group 4 as well!
It's Lincoln, the star of Facebook. He, Erik and Jamie have many adventures in Minnesota. We have enjoyed the stories of Jewell, a very small dog who rules over Lincoln and all the wonderful fishing trips Lincoln and Erik enjoy. Lincoln even loves ice fishing--as only a Minnesota dog would! Lincoln is father to three puppies born in Texas.
Our smallest puppy at birth, Stuart was only 5 ounces. He has turned into a big loveable guy and enjoys life with his baby sister Darby who is actually his cousin! It's hard to have only one Otterhound! We are so glad Ron and Cindy have come to realize this!
It's Getty who we called Melanie. She has grown up to be a beauty and lives in Colorado. You might see her out on the show scene--a Grand Champion and # 3 Otterhound for 2015. It's great to see that Sue and Wayne are converts to the Otterhound world now with 3 at their house! Getty won a Select Bitch a couple of days in Louisville 2016. Getty is the proud mom of 6 puppies born in the Spring of 2017.
Here's Henrie formerly Ashley.(last picture at 7 weeks) She and her owner Jan are super busy with tracking, lure coursing, conformation showing and agility. In her spare time, Jan works and Henrie goes to day care. Henrie was the #1 owner handled Otterhound in the US this year 2015. She won Select Bitch one day in Louisville 2016. Jan does a great job handling her! Henrie lives with another hound and has been so happy to be a part of a pack. Sadly, Henrie passed away in 2019.
And here's Papa Rufus!
Top Ten Reasons I love Otterhounds!10. They have good substance ranging from 65 (small female) to 125 pounds (large male). This makes them very huggable!
9. They have GREAT NOSES! 8. They are very attractive with shaggy coat and expressive faces. 7. Otterhounds shed very little. 6. They enjoy sleeping by your side. 5. They are very curious! 4. They have a great sense of humor and are known as the "clown" of the hound group. 3. They are known for their good nature--amiable, boisterous and even tempered. 2. They have beautiful voices and love to sing with their heads thrown back, the more Otterhounds, the merrier. 1. Heard most often, Otterhounds are incredibly insightful toward the humans around them. |
And Mama Wicket!
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Here in the woods of Door County, Wisconsin, near the shore of Lake Michigan is the home of MagicWood Otterhounds owned by Becky and Bruce Van Houten.
Our primary goal as Otterhound breeders is to enjoy life with our amazing Otterhounds. For fun, we participate with them
in conformation events, and dabble with obedience, rally and tracking activities
as well. Occasionally we breed our hounds with the hope we can share this
delightful canine with others. Today there are fewer than 800 Otterhounds in
the world. Extinction is a definite concern for Otterhound lovers. We would like to see them survive for future generations to enjoy so in 2003 we bred our first litter of Otterhound puppies. With each succeeding
litter, we have learned more. We value good health, great temperaments and good
conformation to the breed standard established by the Otterhound Club of America.
in conformation events, and dabble with obedience, rally and tracking activities
as well. Occasionally we breed our hounds with the hope we can share this
delightful canine with others. Today there are fewer than 800 Otterhounds in
the world. Extinction is a definite concern for Otterhound lovers. We would like to see them survive for future generations to enjoy so in 2003 we bred our first litter of Otterhound puppies. With each succeeding
litter, we have learned more. We value good health, great temperaments and good
conformation to the breed standard established by the Otterhound Club of America.
What is it about Otterhounds?
The breed is loyal but surprisingly adaptable to new environments making friends with everyone they meet. They
are renowned for their affectionate and humorous nature. Every Otterhound is unique but there is a secret about
Otterhounds only Otterhound people know. I call it the empathy factor. Empathy is defined as the ability to identify with
and understand somebody else’s feelings or difficulties. Otterhounds are usually discovered by people after experiencing other breeds and are often found through live or televised dog shows. People say they’ve never had another dog like their
Otterhound and try to describe their uniqueness. Ask any Otterhound owner about their dog and they will tell you amazing tales of the dog’s spirit and insight. I like to think they simply know what we need them to be even if we don’t, then
become it for a lifetime. One breeder stated it most succinctly, “they steal our hearts and see into our souls.”
"This material first appeared in the August 2011 AKC Gazette and is reproduced here with permission." Becky Van Houten, writer on behalf of the OHCA.
We have successfully bred 6 litters of Otterhounds so our family of Hounds has included Kendall who was our first Otterhound, Harry and Jack from our first litter, Maddie from our second litter, Allie from our fourth litter and Wicket who has joined our family upon completion of her very successful show career. We are pleased with our sixth litter as we bred Wicket on March 23 and puppies were born May 22, 2014. We lost Allie March 9, 2014 and her mother Maddie on March 31, 2014. It's been a really tremendous loss.
are renowned for their affectionate and humorous nature. Every Otterhound is unique but there is a secret about
Otterhounds only Otterhound people know. I call it the empathy factor. Empathy is defined as the ability to identify with
and understand somebody else’s feelings or difficulties. Otterhounds are usually discovered by people after experiencing other breeds and are often found through live or televised dog shows. People say they’ve never had another dog like their
Otterhound and try to describe their uniqueness. Ask any Otterhound owner about their dog and they will tell you amazing tales of the dog’s spirit and insight. I like to think they simply know what we need them to be even if we don’t, then
become it for a lifetime. One breeder stated it most succinctly, “they steal our hearts and see into our souls.”
"This material first appeared in the August 2011 AKC Gazette and is reproduced here with permission." Becky Van Houten, writer on behalf of the OHCA.
We have successfully bred 6 litters of Otterhounds so our family of Hounds has included Kendall who was our first Otterhound, Harry and Jack from our first litter, Maddie from our second litter, Allie from our fourth litter and Wicket who has joined our family upon completion of her very successful show career. We are pleased with our sixth litter as we bred Wicket on March 23 and puppies were born May 22, 2014. We lost Allie March 9, 2014 and her mother Maddie on March 31, 2014. It's been a really tremendous loss.
