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| What to look for in a puppy. |
First, let me explain a little about "kennelosis". This is a problem with any breed of dog which has not had the opprotunity to get out of his or her kennel. Many puppies are left in their kennels because of the misconseption that puppies cannot learn anything. Quite the contrary! Puppies learn more within their first 6 months than any other time in their life. Like humans, this is when everything is absorbed into their brains. We don't lock children in the closet until they are old enough to learn, why should anyone think this of a puppy? At Sarahsetter we get our puppies out every day. We take them out to handle them, trim toenails, etc. from week one. Then at six weeks to teach them commands and to hunt birds. Another problem is Dew Claws. Puppies should have the claws on the inside of their legs removed for many reasons. First, while hunting, many dogs will fiercely tear thorugh cover and may rip out the dew claws. Also, if the dog may ever go out west, they will have to wear dog boots and the dew calws get in the way and end up getting infected. So, buy a puppy which has had their dew claws removed and has seen the outside of his/her kennel on a regular basis.
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| Male verses Female? |
The difference in males and females of Sarahsetter litters is just the gender. Both genders are loving, hard hunting bird dogs.
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| Does spaying or neutering hurt my dog's hunting abliity? |
Spaying or neutering will not affect your dog's hunting ability. If you plan to spay your female, reserch shows that if the surgery is done before the fourth heat, the chances of cancer as the dog ages is about 50% less. If you plan to neuter your male, have the surgery BEFORE he starts hiking his leg. Once the action of hiking is learned (generally about one year of age) he will continue to hike.
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| Will staying in the house hurt my dog's hunting ability? |
Most certinally NOT. Keeping your hunting dog inside the house will make him more than your dog, he will become a companion. Also, keeping your dog inside makes him smarter. Think about all of the interaction you and your family will have with your dog; telling him "here" and to "kennel", to stay "off" of the couch (or to get "up" onto the couch). This is just a sample of the commands that he will hear and learn.
My hunting dog stays in the house and she knows all kinds of neat things. For example, when the late night hour has struck and it is time for me to retire for the evening, I simply say "Time for bed", and she jumps up and heads for the bedroom!
Life is too short, let your dog show his love and appreciation for you and cherish every moment that you have with him- inside the house and in the field. Andrea Workman
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| What is the difference in the Red Setter and the Irish Setter? |
The Irish Setter became very popular because of the breed's looks, personality and show quality. The hunting Irish setter was sent on a downward spiral until 1950 when a group of bird hunters decided to take on the task of bringing the Irish Setter back into the field. The group outcrossed the best hunting Irish Setters to English Setters to bring back "the noses" of the Irish Setters. "The Purest Challenge" had been met.
To distinguish the (show) Irish setter from the (field/hunting) Irish setter, the hunters termed the "new" Irish Setters as Red Irish Setters, or more simply "Red Setters".
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| Should I put in an invisable fence? |
Let me give you the pros and cons of the fence and you should be able to decide for yourself, depending on your breed of dog, your neighborhood and your dog's personality.
First we do not recommend an invisable fence if you have a hunting dog because the electricity will only last for a short distace once your dog has crossed the line. When your dog sees something that is worth feeling the electricity for, he will go through the fence. Another problem is stray, loose dogs or children can come onto your property and have interaction with your dog. Next, if the power goes out or the battery on the dog's collar dies your dog will be free to roam. A problem we see a lot here as dog trainers is that a dog will think of boundaries when it feels pulses from a training collar and that should be avoided with a hunting dog.
However, if you have a dog that is not easily drawn to prey, or people walking down the street, and you have a dog door leading into the house where he may go if srangers or another dog comes into the yard, then maybe an invisable fence would suit your needs.
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| What makes Sarahasetter's puppies Super? |
A lot of people email with questions concerning Sarahsetter's puppies,
dogs and the training that is involved. I generally do not have the
time to sit down and write paragraphs for each email, so I have decided
to write this somewhat brief summary of how our puppies are developed and trained.
First, let me explain that we have no brood bitches at Sarahsetter. What this means is that all of our expectant mothers are trained or hunted all through pregnancy. Why does this make a difference you might ask? In studies with pregnant mice, one mouse was run through a maze to find her food. The other mouse had her food given to her and she did not have to work for it. In all of the tests EVERYTIME the mouse that had run
through the maze, bore mice with 25 percent larger brain stems. Look at nature-during pregnancy the wild canines have to hunt even harder to find enough food to feed her and the fetuses. Then after the birth, the bitch only stays continually with her pups for about the first two weeks, and then as her milk production must increase, she leaves the den to hunt for much needed food. Her hunts may last only 2 hours, but if she is not so lucky, she may be gone for 6 hours. During this time the puppies are introduced to all kinds of stresses. They get chilled, other animals go into the den and they get hungry. As humans, most kennels feed
their bitches and just let them lie around pregnant with no stimulation. After the puppies' birth we have whelping boxes that keep the puppies warm all of the time. The mother is never gone so the
puppies never even get hungry. After researching this, Sarahsetter has come up with small stresses that we do for our puppies. The Army noticed that putting puppies on ice packs for 2-3 seconds a
day stresses them just enough to increase their adrenal systems. Enhanced adrenal glands aid the puppies in handling stress for the rest of their lives. This is just a sample of what we do to enhance our puppy neo-natal period. We do have due claws removed at a few days old so they don't
pull them out while hunting later in life. (Also if you go to or live where the dogs have to wear dog boots, removing the dew claws keeps them from rubbing and becoming infected). Daily from the time the puppies are born at Sarahsetter, we handle them. At 3 weeks they are put
into the office and they are free to explore. At 4 weeks take them outside (to the yard). At 5 weeks we start calling them by name (usually by this time I have come up with names). They are introduced to food at this age, also. At 6 weeks we start the clicker training. First we teach to come to "here", during the 7th week we teach them to "kennel". At 7 weeks we start taking them to the woods. We introduce quail at this time. At 8 weeks we teach them "place" with the clicker (this is an introduction to "whoa" and a "place" to come back to when teaching to retrieve). At 8 weeks we start to see pointing in one or two of the puppies. Then at 9 weeks we start teaching them to go from the
kennel to the place and to come to me. By 9 weeks the puppies are pointing. At 10 weeks of age we teach them to walk on a leash with out pulling. At this time we also teach the puppies to stand in the presence of game on the place board. (Pigeons flap in front of them and they get
rewarded for not "jumping in" at the pigeons). At 10 weeks these puppies (most if not all) are backing their litter mates. At this time we introduce the blank gun. At 11 weeks we teach to retrieve dead quail back to the place board. During that eleventh week the puppies are actually
hunting like grown dogs. The puppies are allowed to go to the owner's homes at this time. If wanted, we will keep them for extra training (shoot birds for them to retrieve) / keep up with the clicker training.
Most people ask why our puppies are so "expensive". Well, we put DAILY work into our puppies, not to mention the work that is done before they are born! So to me these puppies aren't expensive, they are priceless.
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Mark Fulmer