Not Even For Skippy Peanutbutter!

We have a Gordon who is afraid of the camera. 

Actually, I believe she is afraid of the flash that goes off in her face. 

Gordon's are mostly black.....you have to use a flash 90% of the time if you are going to get a decent picture. And even then, it's tough.

 Our little 12 year old Gracie, hates it. 

 She's been like this most of her life. 

We don't usually force it, but you have to get a picture once in a while! 

We never really tried to analyze why, because some 

Gordon's just don't seem to like getting their picture taken.

 So we tried Skippy Peanut butter to coax her into the room.

She loves peanut butter!

Everything was fine.....until she saw me and the camera! 

Can you feel the vacuum in the room from her retreat?

 

 She won't even look at me,  and she runs and hides as soon as she see's the camera. 

Even with no escape, she will turn her head and bow it down.

 Then she will run into her kennel.

And if that's not a clear enough message for me..........

she'll turn her back on me.

 

 This has always seemed like a funny little quirk and nothing to be worried about. Until now.

Recently, Gracie started having seizures. She's had 2 now*. The vet says when she's had a few, they will put her on a medication to control them.  I have wondered if the reason she doesn't like the camera flash, is because it is like the light aura that people (and possibly dogs) see just before they have a seizure. Maybe that's what she sees? She refused her favorite food just before she had the last one. I think she may have known it was coming.

Dogs are very sensitive to those things, that's how they have become assistants to people who have seizures. The dog can actually predict the seizure and warn them. 

So it made me wonder, can a Gordon  predict a seizure,

whether it be in someone else, or themselves? 

Turns out, they can at least predict it, when they are about to have one themselves.

*NOTE: Ironically as I sat here and wrote this post, Gracie went into her third seizure. This time we were here and able to comfort her and keep her safe during the seizure. I don't know if it helped, it's hard to know how much she was aware of, but it didn't hurt.

Poor girl. There's really not much else we could do. 

We're documenting them so the vet will know when and how much meds to give her. Thank goodness there is something to help her. If you've ever seen a human have a seizure, it's very scary. 

It's no less scary if you witness this with your beloved pet.

For more information on seizures in dogs go here:

PETMD.COMhttp://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_dg_seizures_convulsions?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Seizures&utm_campaign=Dogs&gclid=CJ6v6J-jh6gCFQkFbAodQHPQrQ

Gordon Setters Have Reasoning Ability

Gordon Setters are known for their intelligence and good memory. That's not really news, especially for those of us who own them. But did you know that a Gordon Setter can recall where she found a bird, an entire year later? This may explain some of their "bird sense" they are known for.

Gordon's also have the reasoning capacity of a 5 to 7 year old child. For anyone who is a parent, they know that 5 - 7 yrs old, for a child, is probably the most reasonable age in a  child's life.  And like a child,  Gordon's are so open to learning and having new experiences.

These factors alone, make training a Gordon Setter easier than most, and a pleasure to work with.

Big Beautiful Gordon Setter From Hungary

Liric Jupiter Ludstar  -  "Petey"

I was surfing the internet and came across this picture. I was instantly drawn to it. Look at the way the  Gordon Setter is looking up at this man. Intently looking into this mans eyes and listening to him speak. That is a very expressive look that is typical for Gordon Setters. They try so hard to understand us. They look directly into our eyes. They listen when we speak.

This Gordon's name is "Petey" and he is 5 years old. He belongs to Zsofia Csatari from Hungary and that is her father in the picture with Petey.  

If you'd like to see Zsofie's web page, and more pics of beautiful Gordon Setters, including Petey, here's a link for you!

Over The Hills Kennels in Hungary

Thanks to Zsofia Csatari for sending me this beautiful picture to publish on my blog!

YOU GET AS MUCH OUT OF THE DOG AS YOU PUT IN

Stacey & Blitz, starting at just 7 mo.
All Photos's from Stacey









Peat X Celtie










Years ago we had a litter with one pup we could not place in a home. The litter had been picked over and this little guy was passed up. Dave Meisner and Steve Smith were hunting with us and we offered the pup to them free. We could not even give him away. He was later placed with a 19 yr. old female college student who wanted to field trial him. Her folks field trialed so she had some guidance. Stacy did the training herself and pretty much dedicated her life to "Blitz". "Blitz" became an A.K.C. Fld. Ch. and Amateur Fld. Ch. I watched Blitz run in the nationals and he was absolute perfection. Steady on eight finds, with a covey of chuckers flushing right in his face. He finished the National and National Amateur courses clean and running 200 yds. ahead of the gallery. I asked a judge why he didn't place and was told he was on point too much and they didn't get to see him run. That was my last field trial. Blitz passed away several years ago and we know Stacy still misses him. This young woman made "Blitz" what he was because she put so much into him. If Stacy can accomplish so much, then I guess that makes all my excuses invalid! DWT

Welcome to Gordon Setter Crossing!

Welcome and Thanks to all of you who followed us here!

We think this is a much better place to be and you will too! And now, you'll see some great pics, great Links, lots of blogs, and suppliers for all your Gordon Setter and Hunting needs. We encourage you to comment and join discussions. We hope you will enjoy and learn from our blogs. Thanks for your time and Happy Hunting!

In My Gordon Setter's Dreams

Does your Gordon Setter twitch and jump and even appear to be running sometimes when he is sleeping? Our Gordon, "Happy", does this and sometimes it's comical to see. The twitching and jumping is harmless. Your Gordon is just dreaming. Probably dreaming about birds, birds, and more birds. Happy even barks, lightly, in a high pitch tone. I'd love to know , if in his dreams, my husband gets the bird, or misses!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jul 29 9:49 PM

Trust Your Bird Dog! (Or You May Have to Eat Crow)

Once when I was out hunting with my husband and some of his friends, we were in some really thick Alder trees. You could hardly see 10 feet in front of you. The Gordon we were hunting with went on point, the bird flushed, and her owner shot, and was sure he had hit the bird. He told her"dead bird" "fetch"! Then he repeated his command. She started nosing the ground but was getting further and further away. So her owner yelled, "Here!" Dead bird! Fetch it up". Well, the Gordon had a mind of her own. She wasn't coming back. Her owner kept yelling,"Dead bird, Fetch it up!" and calling, "HERE!, HERE!" , all the while trying to explain why she might not be listening to him like she should. His temper was rising and she was gonna get it good when she come back! After about 10 or 15 minutes, here come the Gordon, grouse in her mouth, and dropped it at her owners feet. She knew exactly what she was doing, and stayed with it, until she found the dead bird. Sometimes we need to trust our dogs nose and instincts before we assume they are deliberately ignoring our commands. We all had grouse that night, except her owner. He had to eat crow!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jul 25 5:22 PM |

"Rosie" ~ Jealous Little Gordon Setter

I was thinking of "Rosie" today. She was the female Gordon Setter my husband had when we met and got married. Until I came along, she was very content to have Dan all to herself. When we married, she was a little jealous. I had moved in on her territory. She was a real sweetheart, but apparently felt the need to express her unhappiness with sharing Dan with a new female. She would get one of my house shoes and take it to another room. She never once chewed it, although it was a little wetter than I would have preferred! It was the funniest thing. No matter where I would leave my shoes, she would move one of them to another spot in the house. I think maybe she was trying to say,"Look, it's my house, and I can chew your shoe up any time I like, but I won't. I'm just letting you know I CAN." Gordon Setters have a way of letting you know when their not happy, for sure!!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jul 21 12:29 PM

Gordon Sense - Celtie Entertained Herself

We used to have a Gordon Setter named Celtie, (pronounced like"keltie"), who loved to chase a tennis ball. Even when she came in the house, that's what she wanted to do. When no one would play with her, she would go to the top of the second floor steps, ball in mouth, and then drop the ball down the steps. By the time the ball rolled down 1 or 2 steps she would come flying down the steps and chase the ball. She learned to entertain herself which is a sign of intelligence. But then, anyone who has a Gordon Setter would not be too surprised.

posted by Karen Thomason on Jul 19 11:20 PM

Gordon Setters, If Only They Could Talk

Almost every time my Gordon, "Happy", leaves this house, it's to go bird hunting. His whole world is hunting and pointing. I'm sure that he thinks, every time I leave, I must be going bird hunting also. I always bring him a little left overs treat, just a bite or two, when I've been out to eat. I bet Happy must be thinking, "Mom's not a very good hunter, she sure doesn't bring home much!" If only they could talk..........or maybe......it's better they can't!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jul 15 11:24 PM

Gordon Sense

A client of ours once told me that he keeps his Gordon in the garage when no one is at home. Apparently, the dog was getting lose every day and the client was blaming his kids for leaving the garage door open. The kids swore it was not them. Then, one day when the family was home, they heard the garage door open. Upon further investigation, they found that their Gordon had learned how to jump up and "paw" the button to open the garage door. Yep, Gordons Setters, are pretty darn smart!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jun 30 6:17 PM

Gordon Sense - "Boone"

"Boone" recently learned a new trick. He has learned to push the door handle down, then push his weight against the door and open it. He learned this all by himself simply by watching his beloved human, Luera. Never underestimate a Gordon! Just when you think you've got them figured out, they will surprise you!

posted by Karen Thomason on Jun 30 6:09 PM

Who's Training Who?

Gordon Setters are so smart, you don't even realize they've trained you.

posted by Karen Thomason on Jun 27 11:46 PM

Gordon Setters are Highly Intellegent

As an example, I once taught our Gordon, "Gracie" to retrieve her toys, one by one, by name. She had a pink toy, a red toy, a purple monster toy, a ball, and a rope toy. I could line them up on the floor and ask her to retrieve a particular toy. Every time she would bring back the toy I asked for. Granted, this has nothing at all to do with hunting birds, but it sure was entertaining! It also was a great example of how easy it is to train a Gordon Setter and how much fun it can be.

posted by Karen Thomason on Jun 26 5:38 PM