Arthur's (and our) holiday!

[Howard Glansfield]

I was amazed how well an eight month old, very active, puppy coped with four trains to get to our holiday destination.The longest leg was for two hours.Arthur wasn't phased by anything.He jumped onto trains with joy then settled down and snoozed until the next change.The return journey could have been stressful for him as the trains were full and we were stuck in a non moving train for an hour outside one station due to signal failure.Arthur accepted it all.

We discovered he liked buses but not donkeys!

On the beach he was a very joyous dog and mthe first time,he joined the other two in running into the sea but he wasn't very impressed with the sea and didn't go in again, to the surprise of Joan and I. I have a problem though,he discovered crows and that it is great fun to chase them watched by a bemused Fred and Ellie.This was fine until after about a half mile chase of one poor crow the bird flew away from the sands and over the main road...followed by Arthur.Worrying but ,luckily it was early morning and very little traffic.I was heading for the road when the crow flew back to the sands still followed by a very panting Arthur! He was so tired he stopped and came to me and I got him on his lead.From then on he had to stay on his lead if there were birds about.He is good at coming back to me but in this situation he just completely 'sets' and nothing else in the world exisits except the crow! Any advice?

The dogs all love the woods and ran free until another dog ,for no reason,attacked Arthur who much prefers flight to fight.He ran away for about 100 yards but I got him back and had to keep him on his lead as I was unsure where the attack dog had gone to,he didn't hurt Arthur just frightened him.

We enjoyed our holiday and the change and rest did us both good.

 

[Garrech and Canagan]

You have it in one!

It is that part of their nature that yes "being a setter" they can get away with it! What is so great and lovable is their lack of intent or calculated want to upset. They don't mean to upset they just can't help it!! Luckily for us most of the downstairs are tile floors so carpets aren't a problem. We have just the one rug in front of the fire. I'm reliably informed by the young one's breeder that said production of by horse or cow does have some benefit to their (IS) digestion but I'm not sure that I wish to explore the theory!

Happy carpet cleaning!

[Howard Glansfield]

You both made me and my wife laugh so much.

Ellie is very partial to horse dung if she can find it but she isn't sick...it's her other end! Yuk!

Arthur has discovered Blackbirds are good to chase too.

We get a lot of red kites here but,as yet, he hasn't come across one on the ground and those he sees flying over he ignores.Perhaps there is some sense there after all.......but I doubt it!

[Garrech and Canagan]

 

It's in their nature!!!

Actually I've had some extremely embarrassing moments with neighbour’s chickens! Many roam free throughout the village! One incident cost significant amounts of Rosé wine in the local Tabac to repair relationships!

Luckily Duck incidences aren't that common but Pheasants are a different ballpark completely! As soon as they smell one it's all systems go and the fact they an owner might be on the end their lead is again totally irrelevant and merely the slightest irritation to be overcome!

[Garrech and Canagan]

Howard replying to you here rather than risking the wrath of Eva highjacking her discussion re COI (what an emotive subject!) again I’m glad that you had a good laugh!

I might be able to see the funny side now but last week it was a different matter with steam coming out of my ears! Although I spoke about impending retribution, however provocative they may have been, if they come back I never ever tell them off or punish them. I think they are pretty well attuned to that and hence always push to the limit without crossing that “line”. Garrech will respond (note the careful choice of word!) to the dog whistle but in this instance he came back without calling demonstrating an excellent example of heightened self presevation!

Actually it is great to be positive and be able to talk about the good times with them as thankfully these good times far outweigh the bad times. They give endless hours of pleasure and happiness. As you might have gathered Canagan died last year before he reached his 3^rd birthday and causing mega problems with Garrech so we decided we would have another try with an IS. So we are in a similar position to you having a male IS now aged eight months who arrived home early January. He is without doubt the naughtiest we have ever had! But very much his own “person” so to speak and whilst never a replacement for Canagan still a loved and much wanted addition to the family. Not I hasten to add we ever expected or wanted him to “replace” Canagan! We also have just the one cat called Sasha swiftly approaching ten years of age! I wouldn’t be allowed to have the number of cats you have! But I love seeing both cat and dogs living together in harmony although we do have a problem with the pup who takes exception (the only time) to the cat’s presence at dog meal times!