Friendly English Setters

Setters are such friendly beings...admittedly Claire was a shy thing when she first came, and would even get vociferous at an invasive buttsniff, but lately she'll gambol and skip when some of her favorite friends show up on the horizon. Sherlock seems to enjoy meeting every new friend, which is perhaps the reason it has been such a smooth integration into the pack, Nobunaga also being a friendly and easy-going type. 

Nobu and Sherlock's first introductions were haphazard the night he came, somehow occurring in the tiny space between the kitchen table and the wall, among the legs of me and Rie Kaneko, CACI Ceo as we chatted. This was mainly my fault, blithely trusting Nobu to be the genius he is with other dogs, and letting Sherlock out of his cage too soon as it were. She was trying to explain to me about how to go about it safely, there being difficulties if the male dogs go at each other in some dominance rivalry, but fortunately there was no need to worry. To be honest I was more nervous previously about how Claire would accept Chiaro di Luna, and pleasantly surprised by their complete lack of tension. As for Sherlock, I had to walk him separately a couple of times because he simply didn't have the stamina to keep up with Claire and Nobunaga initially, but now the threesome set is absolutely no problem. 

I admit it takes some juggling of leashes and focus to cope with three dogs, and when beagle Bell's mum offered to take Sherlock on one of our initial walks, I was much obliged. Now we meet around here and there often, enjoying a wee chat: she has taken quite a shine to Sherlock.

Sherlock has decided Claire is his lady, and sprinkles her liberally with his pee when she settles for a wee of her own in the garden. The awful thing is, she doesn't seem to mind...I have to keep an eye out and wipe it off...methinks the whole house doth smell of Sherlock!

Photos by Lelantos