Three English Setters

Sherlock...

Claire

Nobunaga

and photos taken by Lelantos

Baker Street

I went to the ward office yesterday and registered Sherlock as officially ours. Thank you so much Gundogrescue CACI and CEO Rie Kaneko for saving this precious little life. Sherlock, you are finally truly home, welcome to your furever family!

This is without at doubt Chiaro di Luna's doing: she came to us as a temporary foster two and a half years ago, and when the vet said she had only three months to live, we decided to keep her- no way she had the strength to adapt to yet another family even if someone stepped up to take her. And she was so happy and determined to be with us, she made it to two fulfilled and joyous years of life before crossing the rainbow bridge to freedom...yet her energy is still so present in the house and around us, and I know she has sent us wee Sherlock to be here in her stead, a wee boy so she won't be jealous, but a creamy little being to pamper and love while reminding us of Luna every day.

Boy Toys

Rescued English setter Sherlock gets peckish around five, and supper isn't for another hour or so...plus today it's been raining, so walkies have been damp squibs, and short ones at that. 

Sherlock told me he loved kong food toys, picking them out of the basket himself, and today I noticed how to use this (no wonder Nobu never showed any interest when I bought it for him years ago, I never realized I had to stuff it with kibble before!). Here goes!

Claire is suddenly very interested (she's a doughnut girl- I taught her how aeons ago) and needs another kong toy, while Nobu kind of watches hoping to pick up a stray piece of kibble now and then. Sherlock doesn't want to get in a fight with Claire, so he picks up his toy and takes it to the kitchen to his little blue blanket.

After the excitement of the game, Sherlock is all hyped up and pees in two locations in the sitting room...fortunately I had the corner of the TV covered, taped up a pet pee sheet, and the long towel protected the armchair from a dousing...

Then he's off to double check if Claire left any food in the squirrel kong...

...and finally fell fast asleep at my feet as I blog...wake up sweetie, it's suppertime!

English Setter Yoda

Wet fur, I have, wet fur. Being good, I be, being good. Quiet, in the cage, sitting, I be. Yes.

Claire's cage, this be...good smells, good smells, food and women...yes, food and beautiful women...

May the English setter force be with you...yes...feel it flow, strong in you is the force...drying now, I be....yes

Perky

Slowly increasing the scope of our walks, this afternoon sees us down in Gumyoji. Lots of kids screaming and playing, bikes whizzing by, so we sat on top of the knoll for a bit to get a feel for the place. This is a fantastic technique for calming dogs suggested by Ian Dunbar, my all time dog trainer hero. We sat down again in the clover on the other side of the baseball park which is where this picture was taken. Sherlock is finally acting like a setter, prancing on ahead, lifting his head high taking in the scents, getting a lay for the land. Maybe ready for a Kuraki Park walkies soon. Two more sit downs on the steps up the hill, and now we're home it's time for Mummy to get supper ready...

The good news I'm getting the counter-surfing and table-surfing under control with my big booty ass in your face to take over the territory technique, plus some shock-clapping and screeching/ setting up a wooden tray to clatter and fall over as he goes for the foodbags, plus reinforcing you get something if you sit and wait for it treats...Sherlock's not so good at waiting, and if he gets impatient, he will bark imperiously, obviously a habit which has served him well in the past, or maybe not, as he was walloped for something...I make sure he only gets out of the cage when he's quiet after his dinner, and he has to wait for Claire and Nobu to be finished. He'll get the idea over time, methinks...

Believing

Back from the Yokohama Vet Eye Clinic, if but for one brief moment...they say it's pretty thin chances of staying in...I pray, please pray with me...

...and losing hope...after our walkies at 16:30 the cherry eye popped out again and things are the way they were before...just as the vet predicted...plus, he thinks one operation won't be enough to sort the problem, probably multiple operations as the problem continues. So disappointed, I had kept up pressure on the corner of Sherlock's eye for at least an hour after the procedure, and then felt quite exhausted, tried to have a wee sleep and a very late lunch, but things were still okay until the very last lap of our walkies...feeling glum. He was such a different dog, no heeling any more, standing up proud and perky and hunting, taking control, independent, if that all disappears again now the cherry eye has come back....please pray some more, I need a miracle...

English Setter Dreaming

Sherlock loves playing with food toys, which have lain abandoned at the bottom of the toy basket for nigh on five years...he dug them out himself, at which point I filled them with kibble, and off he was...this got Claire interested, so I had to fill up another for her, and a third for measure, although Sherlock seemed most fond of the orange squirrel.

I wish he'd sleep like this at night, he wakes me up every hour or so for a peewees, and I feel a bit like a mum with a newborn babe, lacking sleep...but things are slowly settling down, I'm beginning to  know where to pin up the toilet sheet to catch his marking. His body odor is thankfully almost gone after two shampoos since he arrived (thank you Luminosa!), and rubbing in chamomile oil helps too...

Photos by Lelantos

English Setter with Baby

The noise and bustle of grandkids is very stressful for the dogs, and Granma is busy busy busy with the wains...

Claire and Nobu are pretty much resigned to the presence of wee kids, but for Sherlock it was a new experience in what must have been a peaceful haven so far...

He was really good about it all, but I was so sad to realize he must have been beaten into submission with a stick, when Cato pranced into the room waving a toy sword, he freaked, panic, blue funk, fleeing and slipping on the parquet floor, running with nowhere to go, and ended up shaking and quivering with his head stuck under my arm for comfort. Took some good warm loving and soothing to get him to stop shaking, the kids packed off upstairs and things could go back to normal, thank God for chamomile oil, no wonder the poor boy is tight and wired all over his body...slowly getting over it this morning, such a good boy. Mummy too, enraged and shocked, trying to banish the thought of anyone taking out their ignorance and temper on this wee body...peewees on the floor and up all night every hour as he wakes and frets, no problem, he'll settle down and learn to relax just fine as time goes by.

Photos by Lelantos

Masculinity

Sherlock chilling in the sitting room...soon after this picture was taken, he was dreaming, paws twitching and making little sucking noises...I bet he was opening another hole in the food bag, the wee rascal.

Or maybe he's dreaming up new ways to steal my lunch: while I was having a piece of toast, he peed on the cupboard, at which point I jump up and begin to clean up with spray and wipes; meanwhile he's paws up on the table trying to get at the mozzarella behind my busy back! Bright as a button! 
In spite of the cute superman flying poses, in terms of chilling he still has a lot to learn from the expert, Nobunaga...

Photos by Lelantos

Pupdate Sherlock: Rescue English Setters!

So much indebted to my wonderful vet, Koyama sensei . No fuss, just straightforward explanations, solid vetting: 14kg Sherlock has a miraculous clean bill of health: clean stool, so no need for any extra deworming, sonogram pictures show a healthy wee body and no heartworm in his heart yet, so instantly swallowed heartworm meds to put a stop to incipient problems clear from the bloodwork. Next month all three dogs will be on preventive medicine together (oh the hole in my wallet). 

Sherlock was so patient on the vet's table, even having his nails clipped and blood taken, ultrasound scanning, never a cringe...after getting treats, he was even more happy with things, waiting patiently while Dr. Koyama did a thorough check.

I asked about Sherlock's ears, which were pronounced okay, and his fur, the bits are just random little scabs and no worries about dermatitis, says the vet. 

Every step was explained to me patiently and thoroughly...Sherlock's cherry eye does not restrict his vision, since dog's vision is more peripheral than humans, and no invasive surgery is necessary, since it could lead to long term issues with dry eye. Secretly I'm hoping to lick it back into place with the most delicate of massages over time...

As we bow our way out of the vet's examination room, Sherlock is still hoping to get more treats from the gentle and loving assistant. We'll be back in a month for the heartworm meds for the setter family, to discuss any issues that may crop up as Sherlock settles in, and to set a date for the big pipe-cut...

 What a lucky family, three healthy setters! Not a murmur in the heart, not a tumor in the body, just a happy wee setter to be loved and cuddled into big setter smiles: fantastic news! 

 Thank you Koyama Animal Hospital! And thank you Gundog Rescue CACI for saving this cutie!

Photos by KyouSK

Sherlock

Meet Sherlock, the latest addition to our family. Rescued from death row at the Chiba pound, Sherlock had 115 shares in FB and no-one stepped up...with four other males abandoned in the space of a few weeks, Gundog Rescue CACI was full to overflowing, and we were off to a wee holiday in Nasu with Nobunaga and Lady Claire, so poor old Sherlock had to wait for what must have seemed like an eternity before we could step in to rescue him. However, once they recieve a secure foster application, the pound will vaccinate the dog and take them off death row, not that it's any more pleasant there...

He was most agitated after his freedom walk, so CACI CEO Rie Kaneko offered to bring him over straight away, even though it was past nine pm. Thank you, Rie! Heroic! When he arrived, he was ever such a sweetie, wriggling and hugging the ground like a submissive sausage dog, and in the space of a night he banged his tail all bloody in an attempt to show his gratitude and willingness to please. I needed to get him used to being in a cage so that he's safe when I'm away, but he obviously associated it with the pound, so I spent the night sleeping next to his cage, calming him every hour as he barked furiously, letting him out to pee in the garden, brushing him down with flea combs and furminator, and my lovely sharp trimming scissors were snip snipping too, to get out some of the matted hair, and then in the morning he got an early shampoo. (I didn't want to wash off the Frontline, applied to get rid of the ticks and fleas from the pound). Spruced up nicely, methinks. Wiped his ears with marjoram essential oil in marigold carrier to soothe the inflammation, and rubbed down his spine with chamomile in marigold.

Is that ever a face of mischief! What a wee handful...determined to get what's up on the counter, the table, the trash...and already loping round the garden...methinks the back fence may be too low in future.

Far from the Madding Crowd

Double recall training ... "here"...while Mummy picks up the poops...

Photos by Lelantos at Pension Olive in Nasu

Nissan GTR

 Not much of a car buff, but this has got to be a classic...with cute wee dachshunds at Pension Olive in Nasu.

Yeah well Mum, don't forget me, says Lady Claire. After all, it's my blog. If you'd just let me out of the dog run, there's no way I'd be ogling the car. There are grouse to be hunted!