There is an ongoing battle in my house over Miss London. You see, she is mommy's little girl, as you can see my the cute pictures of her I post online, and as my entire social network knows by the amount I talk about late-morning cuddles and mother-"daughter" joyrides to the city. Don't get me wrong, she's daddy's little girl too, but it is me who wants the snazzy pink collar from the pet store.
However, London is also a hunting-bred English Setter, and Jonny is a hunting-bred Newfoundlander. So, our little girl is also an extremely active, nature loving, messy pooch who lives for the woods... and who takes her job very seriously.
Owning a big, strong hunting dog with long hair and a keen sense of smell can add a bit of stress, and dirt, to ones life. You have to be a certain kind of person to find a balance between spoiled pup and Elmer Fudd in dog form. There are a few items that make finding this balance so much easier, and helps to make all of us so much more healthy and happy.
Here are our favourites:
I walk London pretty much daily, sometimes twice a day. When she was a pup this was a leisurely stroll over to the elementary school where I work. When she grew up, even as a good walker, which she usually is, I just do not have the strength to go far with the leash hooked on her coller. Enter the easy walk harness to solve all problems. This special harness has the leash hook on the dogs chest... which really lessens the dog's pull and causes no harm to the dog's throat (as collars can). This thing is so good that we even leave one at grandma's and grandpa's (London's babysitters).
Once upon a time tagging along on evening bird hunting trips, and running London in the woods behind the house was something that did my heart good. She is never happier! Then, something very bad happened- she got caught in a fox snare. Now, I'm not the most un-tough gal around, and I've had my fair share of dealings with rabbit snares, but a fox snare catches your dog by the throat. I was lucky enough to spot her through the trees and wonder why she wasn't moving, and she was smart enough to sit and wait for help rather than pull. In the end, after a few horrific moments, she was fine. She kind of didn't even know why we had to leave and go home and why her parents were so upset. Because of this experience, what used to do my heart good almost gives me a coronary every time I tag along.
Then Jonny brought home the GPS, which has a collar with a built in tracking device, and a handheld GPS that tells you where your dog is. This device is designed for hunting/sporting dogs (whenever she stops for a moment the GPS beeps and tells us London is on point). Now, I can know where London is even if I can't see her... and if she stops for two long we can find her and check it out. Every now and then I still have the odd panic attack in the woods with her, but this nifty piece of technology has certainly improved my life!
Seat Cover
We have two vehicles, a car and a truck, and both of our back seats look similar to this random person's. Our vehicles are still messy, but I would be afraid to see what they would look like without these covers. Not only does it stop a lot of pesky hair from digging its way into the car seats, never to be removed again without a lot of sweat, blood and tears (maybe a slight exaggeration), it also protects from the MOUNDS of mud that London brings into the car/truck with her after a run (or walk, or even a pee break). I'm pretty sure that an English Setter coat attracts every speck of dirt, leaf and fallen tree branch within 100 meter radius. I'm pretty sure that if she ever stayed still long enough after a run, birds would consider her fur pre-fab homes. This cover receives all the abuse... and can be thrown in the washer and hung outside to dry. It also unclips really easily, so we can be nice to our occasional backseat passengers.
I would've made a top ten list, but these three things are so important to our life that I didn't want to just fill the post up with other random things. Of course there are great toys, treats, leashes, etc., but these are the three items that go above and beyond basic dog care that I would want every future (and present) setter owner to be aware of!
Tara
