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Two dogs left to entertain each other in your absence are trouble. If you have the space and time to train and exersise them separately, I'd say go for it, your old dog is due for some rest and the young pup can take up some of the slack. Just be sure the setter is the dog you want!

No issue with two dogs hunting in front of you. However, I always skeptical of "free to good home" dogs. I used to shoot with a guy who got one of his first dogs from an ad in the paper. It just happens that dog was a real gem and he hunted behind her for several years before she died. Since he got one diamond, he thought all dogs in that category would be the same... wrong!! After five or six dogs, he finally came to the conclusion that these dogs had either owner problems or their own problems. He certainly did not have the ability of the "dog whisperer" where he could fix up these screwed up dogs. He finally got a pup from a good breeding and let a professional trainer do their work. All I'm saying is there maybe a possibility that this setter could work out but what would you do if it wasn't a hunter?? Life is too short to shoot a gun that doesn't shoot straight and try to hunt behind a dog that don't hunt. Most guys don't know a thing about dogs and I don't want to get their mistakes. I rather get a pup and work with it on my own, so if whatever problems that may arise are my responsibility and not someone elses...

Good luck...

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Terry, that is very sage advice indeed. I was wondering myself, why does this guy want to get rid of this dog if he's so great? He has plenty of room to keep him if he wanted to. I really don't have the space or time for another dog anyway, and if the dog wasn't a hunter as you said, then what do I do?

My alarm bells are going off. I think I'll let this go.

Joined: 31 Oct 2006 Posts: 5

Although I have three dogs at the moment, when I lived in town briefly I decided after my last dog died to go without any dog until I moved back to the country. Hunting dogs deserve room, or the kind of companionship and activity you are able to give a single dog. More isn't always better when it comes to dogs... not if it means each dog gets less of you and your family.

If the money saved by getting a free dog is a significant consideration, you'd be wiser to save the money you would have spent on food and vet bills until there is enough in the bank to eliminate cost as a factor.

I know the allure of a free dog, plus the desire to provide an otherwise homeless or poorly housed dog with care. I've only succumbed once. It was not a wise move. Ever since, I've picked pups only after watching both parents in action.

I also know the attraction of a dog bred for the far-flung plains. I just got back to MN from a field trial in Montana, at which I was powerfully attracted to two superb, big-ranging English Setters owned by another of the spaniel handlers. But... my land is wooded and I hunt pheasants, grouse & woodcock, not Sharptails and Huns spread widely in open grasslands. If you know the kind of dog that works for your home and your hunting, don't give in to the romance of what works for someone else, somewhere else!

There are great companion dogs available for free, but to get a great hunting dog and companion in one package at a time that is right for you and your family it is best to pick your own time and your own dog.