What makes your setter a special one?

[Christine]

Dear setterfans, someone told me that this was a thread in another forum and I thought this would be a nice one for Exclusively Setters as well.
What are the moments with your setters you love the most? What is special about your setter? What makes you laugh?
(I think after we already had the "setter-in-bed"-thread this one` s not too private, is it?
:-)

[Ilona Crotogino]

Hi Christine,

Nice question! Well, I love Gina most for her way of outsmarting me.
When we do training and I am not clear enough, she gets confused. I see her eyes fixed on me, next moment she rolls over, looks at me as if to say, "well, I don't know what this was about, but that trick always works..." It does. It makes me laugh every time.

Or this one: We drive into the garage, and she knows, that means jumping out of the car and sit and stay to wait for me by the door to the backyard. Well, little Madam stays in the car until I open the backdoor of the garage....this way she does not need to sit and stay. She just walks through the door behind me.

Another one: When I put her harness on, I let her sit, give me her paw to slip the leg through the harness, and then stand (get up). Now, little mandam found out that standing is actually much better than having to sit first. Yes, I admit: we changed our little going out ritual, because Gina's way to do it makes more sense.

Sometimes I wonder who is the most practical brain in the family...

[Tracie Vincent]

Hi there Christine

for me it has to be when Cyder gives me one of his smiles and the woow oo sound that goes with it!!! for a handsome boy it sure is an ugly smile but not everyone gets one though so your alright with Cy if he smiles at you.
Ronnie sings sometimes but thankfully not too often its never gonna win him a place on one of those tallent shows!
As for my Findlay he just loves everyone such a gentle boy.

[Susan L.]

So many things....
His ability to attract attention where ever we go.
The way he speaks in so many different ways, that I understand him more often than not.
His beauty.
His sweetness.
His intensity.
His resiliance even though he has been going through a tough time with his illness.

[Kristin]

What makes my dog special is how he appreciates little things. For example, baby carrots. It makes me laugh that such a simple treat makes him sooo excited. I will bite off half of one carrot and give him the rest. You would think he just won the lottery. That is one happy dog with his carrots.

[Melinda Auld]

With Fionn, his sweet nature and his gentleness with all things smaller than him. Watching him with my nearly 3 month old daughter, or with any baby puppy, just warms my heart. He will lie down on his side on the ground to play more gently with a baby puppy - and with Niamh, he will come get me if I haven't heard her crying, or just lie quietly, watching her play.

With Maia, her cheeky confidence and her absolute loyalty to me. She makes me laugh every day, and I have never had another dog who gazes so lovingly into my eyes the way she does.

[Denise Vince]

We have had some adventures over the years! In the early days, I remember she bolted off with the 'cross country runners' from Lancing College, leaving me standing high on the downs in my stilletos (early days of setter ownership you understand). Was kindly returned by nice lady in sensible dog walking gear and 2 gundogs in tow. Apart from all that, and ten years later, here is what is special about my gal.

Companion by day, pillow by night,
Wonderful friend I hold so tight.
All forgiving, Never asking,
Always loving, Never passing......
On a chance to steal 'the' chair,
To sleep, To dream, To be still there.
Or sit upon my lap and rest
Her auburn beauty 'pon my breast.
Oh Bonnie-Love
Be always mine,
My special sweetie, RED DIVINE.

[lyn hathaway]

this is a lovely poem denise and every word is so true of our beloved redheads

[Christine]

This is gorgeous, it brings tears to my eyes. How wonderful.

[Agnieszka Rola]

I love my dog because of:
- when I work at my desk, he brings toy, rests head on my right arm and when I don't respond he throws the toy over my arm on the desk, then he goes for another toy, when my work is finished, there are four-five toys on the desk among my papers :) and next few toys are on the floor near my chair,
- everyday (specially at evenings) he sucks his blanket as a little puppy sucks mother, he does it since the first day at me (as 8 weeks puppy),
- he follows me everytime and everywhere, he enters bathroom when I take a shower, he sunbathes with me even though he hates sun, etc.
- when he see camera, he starts posing,
- he always knows when we talk about him and even knows is it a positive or negativ and he is happy or very sad and apologetic,
- he is so sweet when he is afraid of puppies and runs away of them...
...and many many things that I can't decsribe because my english is so bad ;)

[Teresa]

there are too many things to love... I love the long walks, the hours of fun, how easy and hard it is to train them... Well they are Setters :)
But personaly I looove the way Pitanga places her head when I'm talking to her... And my joy is to find that little Romã already does the same thing :)

[Christine]

Finally I find the time to repeat to my own question :-)
While I´m writing this, there`s a huge puddle of water next to my keyboard. Guess whose head rested there until a few seconds ago. (A setter who just had his evening meal and water :-)
Thank you all for sharing all the lovely little things with us.
* I had to laugh as I read about the carrots. With Vito it`s the same with walnuts! We dry them in our cellar next to my studio. Sometimes he gets up from his place and then I hear him sneaking around, I can hear from the sound his paws make when he`s a little bored. But then, all of a sudden I hear him galopping `round the basement, as he took himself one of the walnuts. Then he brings it to me with glossy eyes, he keeps it in his mouth until the game begins: I have to ask him what he has found there that makes him so happy? Then he spits it in my hands, the wet and slimy walnut that he wants to share with me. You should see his eyes in this situation. He`s so happy with such litlle things! Then I help him to open the nut, of course he could do this on his own but that is our little game.. :-)
* I love how he trusts in me, how he always wants to be as close as possible, how he even wants to share treats with me when my mother gives him a piece of sausage for example.
* He`s so uncomplicated, so pure and so brilliant when he wants to "tell" me something. ("Hey Christine, I cannot watch TV without my bone, it`s on the cupboard, please give it to me, so I can finally jump on the sofa and relax") :-)
* It`s so so so many small things each and every day, his eyes, the way he looks at me, the way he puts his paw on my knee when I´m sitting in front of the PC for too long ;-)...

[Hilary Crosswell]

Well, I suppose above all else it's those lovely eyes! Everything is forgiven and forgotten when you look into them! The unconditional love etc. etc.!