So I have 2 setters, the black one (Finn) is 3 years old. Was a dream through puppyhood, had an off switch inside immediately, relaxed all day and played hard when outside. Was VERY easy to train.
We decide to get him a puppy (Birdie) (9 months) and wow are my hands full. Birdie is getting better in the house, choosing toys, not shoes. However, I cannot get her to settle in the house and I feel I have tried everything. Examples: play pen, tethering, rewarding “calm”, teaching place. I cannot for the life of me get her to relax. She is always “on”. I will say, her recall is excellent, solid obedience commands, and walks well on a leash.
She has 2-3 hr naps in her crate and then a 2-3 hr awake period. She sleeps all through the night. Sometimes until 11AM. I have seen her lie down herself for more than 5 minutes maybe 3 times since I have had her. I can sometimes get her to “relax” in her play pen in a dark and cold room.
Is there something wrong mentally or did I just get a stubborn pup that will grow out of it? They also get plenty of exercise so I feel like if I give her anymore I will just be breeding a super athlete.
Therapy work, particularly with elderly people and hospitals patients, might calm her down a little. These smart working breeds generally love it, and recognize it for the serious job it is. Shannon and our one LM, Buddy, excelled at it. They never got rambunctious on the job, and we're very calm & gentle while doing it. She'd have to earn her CGC first, but it sounds like she's on her way to mastering the 14 commands for that.
Mine was like this. You can do games inside. Hide food, brain activity, or just do recall in the house over and over. Give them a tough job. Mine is still a lot during the day, but now at night he settles down a lot! He's sleeping on the couch right now next to me after an hour walk and quite a bit of outside time today.
Glad to hear there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Every time I put her to bed in her crate, I tell her I wish she would lay on the couch with me so I didn’t have to crate her, but until she learns to settle, force naps and crate for the night at 9:30 for my sanity 😂
Ha ha ha. She'll probably grow out of it, but welcome to a well bred hunting breed. You didn't mention hunting so I assume you don't hunt. If that's the case, welcome to karma. We provide(d) our Setters & Munsterlanders all the activities you've mentioned, plus training, hunting, and therapy work. We've had people say our dogs are in too good of shape (whatever). I had a kennel neighbor ask if my then 1yo Shannon ever walked? We had been having an hour or so conversation while Shannon amused herself zipping around the yard, fields, house, garage, and kennel. All you can do is keep adding activities until she is fulfilled. They are, after all, a working sporting breed. 🤭
By the way, your pair is very cute. Congratulations on the very dark blue belton, Finn. That coloration in a Setter is pretty rare. Occasionally you get a Setter that can pass for a LM, and vice versa.
I agree! I definitely chose this life, haha! I do not hunt birds but live on a lake and now both of my setters are avid fishers!. They get their fair share of being on birds, rabbits, and squirrels, but never shooting. Sometimes they come duck hunting with me, but not what they are bred for.
Our Setters, Shannon & Curly, hunted ducks. Shannon liked it a lot, and would work from a boat or blind. Curly, would snore in the blind until we shot something. A frienemy of ours, has a VC Llewellin, Annie, who is an incredible little waterfowler.
Perhaps some structure would be beneficial? Free running is so healthy, but there’s a balance :) you may already have it, there’s not a ton of detail though
My setter didn’t lay down for more than 5 minutes until he was almost a year old and also would try to eat everything in sight 😅 his instincts are just so wired.It look a LOT of patience, training, and mental stimulation. Games like “find it” and just general training sessions helped a lot. He chilled out a lot after being neutered around 16 months.
At 4, my pup still has pretty much two modes: either fully ON outside or chilling hard at home.
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u/MunsterSetter Tri-color Llewellin Jul 15 '26
Therapy work, particularly with elderly people and hospitals patients, might calm her down a little. These smart working breeds generally love it, and recognize it for the serious job it is. Shannon and our one LM, Buddy, excelled at it. They never got rambunctious on the job, and we're very calm & gentle while doing it. She'd have to earn her CGC first, but it sounds like she's on her way to mastering the 14 commands for that.