Sleeping habits of Setters

[Jelena Kreitmayer]

I was wondering how lazy other dogs are? :) Mine sleeps any chance he gets. Will not even raise his head if I am not awake, even if that means getting up at noon :))
When leaving early for shows, it takes me extra time JUST to wake him up. Well, not wake him up, but get him up :D
So, I guess I have a lazy setter... who is really not lazy as soon as he steps outside the house, or when he wants to play... But, Boy! does he like his sleep! :)

[Dee Rance]

I agree, it is all a case of energy conservation...mine get up with me whatever time that happens to be, although when it is a weekday and I look after my grandchildren, Jas wakes me with a wagging tail on the bed, just before the alarm goes off, only seconds before, and then, comes down stairs, and gets onto the settee and goes back to sleep until its time for breakfast.
They like us have their own routine their own way of doing things, Saffy on the other hand is on the go 'most' of the day, but then she is a wee bit mental.....

[Lynn Spencer]

I have two Setters, one Irish and one English. They both like to sleep 'heaps'. Megg, my English Setter, is always watching the clock for her meal-times, so she wakes us up in the morning to tell us it's time for her breakfast. Not always impressed (lol). Tess (Irish), on the other hand, will not get up until we do. She would stay in bed all day if I did. Both girls get up around 6.30am. I give them breakfast, then they go back to bed and sleep sometimes til mid-day. Usually, a good long walk, which they love, then back to sleeping until dinner time. Before their meal, they usually go outside and have their play-time. Run around silly, wrestling etc. etc., wait some time, then dinner and bed again.

Yes I like to think of my girls as 'relaxed setters' rather than 'lazy setters' but in the end, I guess there is not much difference. As long as they are happy and healthy, then I don't think it matters all that much.

My girls go to a local off-lead area at least twice per week and run until their hearts content which they look forward to and absolutely love. I know they can be as active as the rest of them when they want to or have the opportunity, but in normal day to day life, they are both very quiet and loving girls, and an absolute joy to live with. AND yes, sleep heaps.

Lynn, Tess (Irish) and Megg (English) from Oz.

[Barbara]

Well my one Setter Nash, he wakes up and on the go the moment he gets up. If I am at the computer he will go traverse the property and about every 15 - 20 minutes he comes in checks on my whereabouts and goes back out. If I go and sit on the bed to do my school work or read a book he comes in and lays down on the corner of the bed. That corner is the closest one to the sliding door so he still can hear and see what is going on outside. He is a constant mover. My other setter Kelsey, she just likes to sleep on the corner of the couch, will go outside and bark a couple of times. She will check out the yard, making certain that all is in order, bark at the rabbit that runs in the back section and then come in, get a cookie(as she tap dances on the wood floor) and then go back to sleep. She is an easy keeper.
LOL
Barbara

[Speilb]

I have been around dogs most of my life and have never seen nothing like our 8 month old Setter. At the time when we got her my wife wasn't real excited because she hadn't been around pet dogs before growing up in Nigeria. She did feel like it would be nice to have a dog to bark when people came onto our property and maybe scare of those who were not up to good. I told her that despite what we read about Setters all dogs have some guard instinct. Wow, was I wrong. When we are out she sleeps by our drive way and the majority of the time we drive right past her without waking her. We ussually go and greet her and wake her up so she can greet us. After that, however, she is full of energy. If someone comes onto our property, and she awakes up, she will stretch, wag her tail and go greet them. If they don't greet her back she will give a rolling howl and wait for them to play or go grab a toy and prance around high stepping to try to make them envy her toy and try to grab it. She is a great dog but I cannot image a worse guard dog or a more sound sleeper for a dog.