Hennessy English Setter Winston-Salem, NC

Hennesy is a whole lot of cute, sweet, and wiggly packed into a little body. I believe he will be a small boy, maybe even a pocket setter. He currently weighs 27lbs, and has gained 7 of those with us. He has a ton of energy. He loves his foster dog brother, so much so that I believe he would be happiest in a home with other dogs, although with the right person or family giving him lots of love and attention, he would be fine without siblings. He is great with kids and just adores our daughter. He has learned so much in the month that he has been with us and is adjusting very well to a new life outside of a cage.

Health: He is UTD on shots and is on Heartguard and has no serious health concerns. His baby teeth are falling out and he is getting his adult teeth.

Other dogs: Loves other dogs! He and his foster brother tumble and play several times a day, with Hennesey initiating nearly every play session and even when things get a little rough, he can hold his own just fine. He loves squeaky toys and chew toys. Not sure about cats as he has not seen one since he has been with us.

Food: He shows no signs of food aggression and will gladly share his food with the other dogs if we are not quick enough to shoo them away. He chews his food up as he eats and does not swallow it whole. When he is done, he is done. If Hennesey decides he is full, it doesn’t matter how much food is left in the bowl, he walks away and won’t return. Despite this, he always manages to find room in his belly for a treat, no matter the time of day.

House training: Hennessy is working on his potty training and still wakes up during the night to go outside. He seldom has an accident in the house now, and on the occasion he has, it was our fault for not letting him outside as soon as he finished his breakfast or dinner.

Crate training: Hennessy is not fully crate trained but does spend his days in a kennel while we are away at work. He is able to hold it during the day and no longer has accidents in his kennel. Hennesey does not go to his kennel on his own and has to be convinced to do so with a treat. He does whimper, but typically stops after a few minutes. He sleeps with us at night or his foster brother, but because he stills likes to chew on stuff, we limit those unsupervised slumber parties. We did attempt to have him sleep in his kennel overnight and that was unsuccessful for us. After living his life in the rabbit cage and sleeping so closely with his mother and brother at all times, he needed to be next to us or another dog for comfort to fall asleep. He really does love to snuggle!

Commands: He knows some. Sit, No, down and is working on come, off and stay. He does not always come when he is called. If he is outside alone, he will respond to..come..and Hennessy, most of the time. If he is with his dog brother or sister, he will not come back until they come back. I do not know how his recall is off leash. I have not tried this at home because we live too close to the woods and if he ran into them, we would have a difficult time getting in there to find him.

Leash training: Hennessy pulls a bit on a leash at first, but after a few minutes he will walk beside me.

Riding in cars: He is terrified to ride in vehicles. We have to pick him up to put him in the truck. He does get car sick and this is probably why he is so afraid to ride. More recently we’ve begun to experiment with short trips (1-2 miles) down the road and back and he has not thrown up, but he has to be picked up to get in and out as he freezes in fear. He should get better with vehicles and car rides as he gets older.

Hennessy is scared of the dishwasher and attacked it on a few occasions. He also beat up the vacuum cleaner during their first meeting and now we have learned it is better to put Hennessy in another room or outside prior to running the vacuum. He is also very afraid of fire. Won’t come in the house if the gas logs are on and if we have a fire in the fire pit outside, he won’t come out of the house. He barks at appropriate times when someone is at the door, pulling into the drive way, or when the big dogs bark.

Hennesey is a little skittish around new people, but does not take long to warm up. He gives the sweetest, most gentle little kisses on the noses and cheeks

He loves to run. A lot. And he is so fast. I love to watch him run circles around the big dogs.

If you are interested in adopting Hennessy or another OESR dog, you must complete the application process at www.oesr.org. We will not be able to answer your questions about this dog until you have completed the application process and are approved to adopt.

All adoptive homes must have a fenced yard or other type of containment or boundaries for the dog. Vet and personal reference checks as well as a home visit will be conducted prior to final adoption approval for all OESR dogs.

Adoption fees range from 250.00 to 395.00