This is Pogue. He's 5 months old. He's deaf. He's a setter. Formula for mayhem in any typical household.
Except we're not typical.
My husband and I have lived with setters for the last 15 years. We have discovered we are completed jaded by setter hi-jinks. When Pogue jumps into the bathtub and leaps up to steal the loofah hanging on a hook and then looks at us like "Yeah, I got it suckers" our response is to well... giggle.
It's not normal.
So smitten by this breed we have come to know their every move and motive. We will commonly say to each other "well THAT was rather Setterish" or "oh, my that was an A-Plus Setter Move". We so love these dogs that their deviance has become charming. My husband has a very well thought out theory that everybody in a multi-setter household was lured into the lifestyle with a "Sucker Setter". This is an unusually well behaved, serene and perfect dog. 15 years ago we had our dear Seamus. The Irish Setter rescue that never needed a leash, never counter-surfed, was best friends with the cat and never destroyed anything and charmed everyone he met. On his deathbed I searched my mind for one naughty thing he ever did and there was nothing. He was the perfect dog.
So why not rescue another setter? (this is where setter karma bites you on the ass)
Dugan was and is the world's most misbehaved dog. After 10 years with him we are so use to his anticipated naughtiness we have molded our lives around it. We have special doors and knobs to keep him out of places he likes to rampage (like the pantry) We have not left a shoe out or a food item unattended on the counter, stove top or grill since his arrival. He's never going to be leashed trained. Save your breathe. I've been to trainers, vet behaviorists and spent $600 on no-pull training devices. I walked him one summer rain or shine 100 days in a row in an attempt to tame his leash-frenzy. He is 12 years old folks, he still acts like a wild mustang on a leash. My therapist has told me to just accept it and move on with my life.
More setters followed - Caelan the Irish and Fiona the English. Their occasional slight naughty behavior was taken in stride. We worked hard on rewarding them for not following any type of Dugan example. Really nothing they have ever done holds a candle to what we were used to and then the Setter Gods above sent us Lily.
Lily the little pocket setter might as well have had "Sucker Setter" stamped on her forehead. Sweet, demure, tiny and velcroed to my side. She listened when called. She would never take something that was not hers. She sits on the floor in the bedroom and tilts her head as if to say "Perhaps I could join you on the bed? Only if you invite me silly, anything else would be rude!"
So thrilled with Lily we were lured into a state of mind that taking another setter would not be so bad. After all, look at Lily!
Then last week came Pogue, or as we like to call him "Dugan Junior".
He should have rocked our world. But he kind of just rumbled it a bit. He sits next to my Buddha statue in the garden with my dianthus hanging out of his mouth...roots dangling. I laugh and wonder if he is seeking zen. He scales the furniture like a mountain goat and panics when he can't navigate himself off a corner coffee table without dropping the coaster he's gnawing. We snicker and discuss if we should get tile coasters next time we go to Target as they are more durable. We love him.
Underneath all the puppy trouble making is a brilliant dog. He knows his sign language thanks to his incredible foster mom Danica, and is so smart he picks and chooses when he wants to actually acknowledge our frantic fingers signing "no!" His fur is soft and when he cuddles he melts all over you like hot butter. When he gets sleepy and gives your face soft kisses you don't care if he destroys your world like a hurricane. You just feel so in love.
I think underneath it all he may be a "Sucker Setter" too. You just have to look very hard and listen with your heart. Just as he cannot hear we have to tune out some of the naughty too and watch the signs. All signs point to love at this point.
