How can a dog sleep in this position.

Comment by Chantal McIlveen-Wright on October 5, 2011 at 12:00pm

You really have a very special case here Andy :-) :-)  I love you so very special boy, please do not change  :-)

Comment by john murphy on October 5, 2011 at 3:19pm

with great difficulty

Comment by Andy Benstead on October 5, 2011 at 4:46pm

Chantal, he is so special to us and never a dull moment with him around.

John, very little difficulty for him. He goes from turbo mode to sleep mode in an instant.

Eva, you could say he is quite the lad!

Riley is so handsome, so naughty and great fun. Cassie the Labradoodle puts up with him very well.

Comment by Delia Bryce on October 8, 2011 at 2:57pm

They are soooooo special, at almost two years old we still say look at him sleepng that way ......

Comment by Maggie Smith on October 8, 2011 at 3:32pm

Oh you have worn him out! Enjoy him..

Comment by Andy Benstead on October 8, 2011 at 5:42pm

Delia, I think we are all a little bit silly, as we enjoy watching our dogs sleeping. People that are not dog lovers would think that's the same as watching paint dry. I watch Riley for ages when he is sleeping, he looks so cute.

Comment by Andy Benstead on October 8, 2011 at 5:50pm

Maggie, I stand absolutely no chance of wearing him out!
He is in a league of his own when it comes to energy.
He has so much energy, I am thinking of connecting him to the national grid (not plugging him into the mains!).

Comment by Andy Benstead on October 8, 2011 at 5:56pm

Watching an Irish Setter for an hour is better than watching the best comedy show ever.
I think they are the true clowns of the dog world. Riley never fails to make me laugh.
They have such wonderful facial expressions and they DO know when they have done wrong! I think if Riley was human, he would be in prison now. I have never had a dog that steals as much as he does. He steals things that are no use to him whatsoever.
He even taunts us with the stolen items as he makes sure we have seen him (most of the time) and then charges round the garden with them saying “catch me if you can”. That’s not really true as he is unable to speak, but if he could, that’s what he would be saying! What chance have we got of catching a young healthy Setter in turbo mode?
He is getting so tall and that makes it impossible to put things out of his reach.
We have to keep our electric cooker turned off at the main switch if we are not using it, as he quite often jumps up and turns it on.
Riley is total fun and everyone loves him to bits. He loves his girlfriend Cassie to bits.

I watch him when he is sleeping and enjoy it. This is the only time he is not naughty!

Comment by Chantal McIlveen-Wright on October 9, 2011 at 6:51am

What a great description of what is an Irish puppy Andy!!!!!  I am sure all of us do recognise our own pup  :-) but so much love in your message, I love to read that  :-)

Comment by Andy Benstead on October 12, 2011 at 8:07pm

Thank you so much Chantal. Riley and Cassie are both so special to us. Our kids are grown up and they have kids.

These two are like our kids. Riley is still naughty and he is teaching Cassie to be naughty. Whatever they do, how can we tell them off. Obviously they are so different to look at, but both give us so much enjoyment.

We have had Irish Setters for about 30 years. Our last two were a Lab cross and a setter, but we lost them both within 12 days of each other. Although they were both quite old, it was still a very difficult time for us.

We said we would never have another dog as we did not want to go through that again. We shed so many tears, but within hours of the second one going, we were searching for another Setter. We got Riley and he has helped us get over the loss. He needed a playmate, so we got Cassie.

They get on so well together, like partners in crime. Double trouble.

A house is not a home without a Setter (or any other dog).

These two naughty dogs take up so much of our time and we love it. Never a dull moment in our house.

Riley is getting so big now and takes up most of the settee when he is stretched out.

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