New puppy

[sputnik]

Sadly, we lost our German Shepherd, Ben, to abdominal cancer last October. He was an incredible dog in every sense and got me through some hard times during the past couple of years and, at least, he never suffered. We had no intention of getting a new dog for quite some time then, last week, a friend brought this 9-week-old English Setter into my office and it was love at first sight. We're calling him Rover.

I've raised working Border Collies and trained German Shepherds for avalanche SAR but this is my first field dog. He's been a sweetheart so far. He's very social and eager to please. Any training advice or FHE with English Setters would be very welcome.

I like the heart shape marking around his nose.

He found Ben's favorite toy.

[dtel]

Both are cool looking dogs, for a second I thought you shot one. []

[Tarheel]

A handsome pup there. Congrats!

[EM3]

I know the pain of losing a dear friend all too well. Lost my Yorkie named Peanut on December 1 but found another precious soul in the form of a Pembroke Corgi named Blaze and I wasn't looking for a new family member.

Anyway I am glad you found a new love and I am sure you will be happy for years to come.

[CECAA850]

I lost the dog in my avatar 3 years ago. Still miss him. Congrats on the new family member.

Carl

[greg928gts]

Yup, I can see that - love at first sight.

Greg

[Jeff Matthews]

Dogs are great! I have 4.

[Olorin]

Congrats on your new pup! I know how you feel about German Shepherds -- lost Gracie last summer.

I still miss her and believe she was the best dog I've ever had the pleasure to have live with me, not that I don't love Minna, who now rules the roost.

She's a very different dog from Gracie, but they share a love of their pal Riley.

Your new guy looks like a charmer. I hope you'll have many happy adventures together.

[laager]

Just make sure he doesn't eat the Rolex.

[Boxx]

Great looking pup... I have two (well past the puppy stage)

For this one, it's his busiest time of the day....

[winchester21]

Nice pup. I remember the agony last year when we lost my buddy's German shorthair. Both of my boys shot their first Pheasant behind that dog. Became like a family member. I getr a lump in my throat reading this thread.

Nice looking Air King- I think

[sputnik]

[:$] I changed the thread title after seeing dtel's comment and a thoughtful email from a concerned member who thought, for a moment, that I might have actually shot a puppy. Sorry, I just find it amusing when someone acquires new gear they often say they "pulled the trigger." A failed attempt at a humorous title on my part.

It's great seeing the other dogs. Thanks for posting them up with the comments. I love dog stories (smiles and tears.)

ps: I'm always amazed by the observational powers of audiophiles. I got the watch over 25 years ago (when they were much cheaper) while I was doing remote geophysical work that required precise time measurements in a very cold climate. Now that I think about it, it's been gnawed on by four pups over the years.

[sputnik]

After seeing there are some kindred spirits here, I’ll offer a little more background on Ben. He had been at my side since he was six weeks old. I was able to have him in my office every day and he had a bed under my desk. I took him out in the field me – it seems like he was always with me. I borrowed a lot of the training from the New Skete Monks’ book – “The Art of Raising a Puppy.” Olorin, I’ll bet you know this book. He was loving, exuberant, eager to please, and absolutely adored my wife. When I’d leave for longer stints he was the man of the house, always on the watch for my return and he’d be a picture of pure joy when I came home again. He was way better at being a dog than I’ll ever be at being a man.

About two and a half years ago I very nearly killed myself in a motorcycle wreck. Ben truly was a God send for my wife while she had to endure the initial shock of the wreck, my multiple surgeries, hospital recovery, infections, rehab time, and home care. It was a long ordeal going from being utterly helpless and bed ridden to where I’m at today and Ben was there for me the whole way. By the way, I want to thank members of this forum for their concern and encouragement through that time.

My wife moved the furniture out of the living room and had a hospital bed brought in for me when I could finally come home. Ben was always by my bedside while I was recuperating - all I had to do was reach out and get a nuzzle.

Even as an adult, he slept on his back to our amusement. I took these pictures from the hospital bed while on strong pain meds so they’re not the greatest.

While Ben helped me through a recovery that was taking way longer than I ever thought, my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of thyroid cancer early last year. It was a tough year, in addition to the many trips to Colorado to be with my mom, I was also working on a demanding project for the Air Force, about 300 miles away, and still trying to work on my physical therapy. I was only home on short weekends from April through mid-September unless I was in Colorado. I was able to take Ben along with me on the project sometimes but mostly he stayed home with my wife – she needed him too. When he was with me, he just had a way of making me smile even with everything else going on.

Here’s a shot of Ben on a Minuteman missile silo last year.

That February, the doctors gave my mom about four weeks – she gave us almost eight hard-fought months before passing away in October – we were all with her at the Hospice in Colorado. My wife and I flew home for a few days to take car of some things before returning to Colorado for the funeral. We had an early snow and I took this picture of Ben on our deck after a play session.

It’s the last picture I have of him. The next day, I noticed that his abdomen was somewhat swollen. At first, I thought he just ate too much but I became more concerned because his belly seemed just too rigid. I called the vet and they said they could check him out right away. He showed no pain symptoms and jumped up into the Yukon as usual for the trip to the vet. After discovering that his abdomen was actually full of blood, they prepped him for emergency surgery. I was able to lay with him for some time on the floor before the surgery. They found that his abdominal cavity was riddled with hundreds bean sized of tumors. They also found a much larger mass on his spleen, which had ruptured. I agreed with the vet to put him to sleep then and there. When my wife left for work that morning, he was dancing around and wagging his tail as usual. By noon he was gone - four days after my mom passed away.

After my mom’s funeral, we brought her cat home to live with us and she’s been doing a good job keeping Rover in line

[sputnik]

Now, we have Rover.

I don't know anything about pointing dogs but I'm looking forward to field training. I found a cool video on Youtube of an English Setter working ptarmigan rype goose grouse in Iceland.

But, it's also a bit frightening to see how much energy and English Setter can have in this video from Italy. []

[Marvel]

Sput, that was surely a rough time. Beautiful friend for sure. You are still in my prayers.

Bruce

[sputnik]

Sput, that was surely a rough time. Beautiful friend for sure. You are still in my prayers.

Bruce

Thanks Bruce, though I know that others here have endured way more hardship than me and I also know that I'm very fortunate. I truly appreciate what I've been given - especially with a new dog beside me.

[winchester21]

I have many years of expierence with field dogs. I have hunted game birds behind several national champions. I trained a lab that was -fact- no brag- the best one that I have ever seen- Had Mark for 7 years- another gut wrenching story that I will defer repeating-I have never been able to buy a dog after losing him.

Anyway- you should immedaitely- like TODAY- check out Richard Wolters- gun dog- available in book or DVD. It is the bible of training field dogs. Setters are ofter high strung and need obeidence/field training at a very early age.You may see and hear that hunting breeds can not be both bird dogs and family dogs. At some high end field trial lever that may be true. But I know many friends with pointers and setters that are eating table scraps and watching TV with the family one day and pointing birds the next. The important thing is to get the dog to listen to you early on particulary with this breed.

The Rolex is worth much more than you paid- The older ones are better than the new according to some experts.Have it serviced every 5-7 years. There are several fine oils that need changing or you will start losing time which spells trouble. If you take care of it the thing is bomb proof and will last forever. I have several of them

[jorjen]

Sputnik,

Very, very sorry about Ben, he was most certainly a beautiful boy and will never be forgotten.

But, the new little guy looks like a great pup too and I know he will have a long and wonderful life with you.

Enjoy!

[sputnik]

I have many years of expierence with field dogs. I have hunted game birds behind several national champions. I trained a lab that was -fact- no brag- the best one that I have ever seen- Had Mark for 7 years- another gut wrenching story that I will defer repeating-I have never been able to buy a dog after losing him.............

Thanks for the reading assignment Winchester, we're on our way to the bookstore. I think I know how you feel about your lab - I'd love to see pics. Sounds like you have a lot to give a dog. We had a brilliant German Shepherd before Ben, they were both great dogs but still different. Back then, it took a year or more before we could get another but I can't imagine the last ten years without Ben.

Sputnik,

Very, very sorry about Ben, he was most certainly a beautiful boy and will never be forgotten.

But, the new little guy looks like a great pup too and I know he will have a long and wonderful life with you.

Enjoy!

After living with a "perfectly" behaved older dog, it's quite a change now to deal with a squirming and demanding bundle of id. It's kind of bittersweet to see a new energetic pup laying in Ben's spot but I know he'll carve out another piece of my heart. I think it helps that he's a different breed too.