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English Setter
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The English Setter is a breed of dog. It is part of the Setter family,
which includes red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and
black-and-tan Gordon Setters.
The English Setter is a gun dog, bred for a mix of endurance and
athleticism.
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Description
Appearance
The coat is flat with light feathering of long length or short length
depending on the type. The bench or show type has a long,
flowing coat that requires regular grooming. The field or hunting
type has a shorter coat that requires less grooming.
The various speckled coat colours when occurring in English
Setters are referred to as belton; valid combinations are white with
black (blue belton), white with orange flecks (orange belton)),
White with orange flecks and lighter nose is lemon belton, white
with liver flecks (Liver Belton) or "Tricolor" which is blue or liver
belton with Tan markings on the face, chest and legs.
Temperament
This breed's standard temperament is best described as a
"Gentleman by Nature". However, it can also be strong-willed and
mischievous. English Setters are energetic, people-oriented dogs,
that are well suited to families who can give them attention and
activity, or to working with a hunter, where they have a job to do.
They are active dogs outside that need plenty of exercise in a
good sized fenced-in yard. Inside they tend to be lower energy and
love to be couch potatoes and lap dogs that love to cuddle. Many
are good around children.
They rank 37th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being
of above average working/obedience intelligence. English Setters
are very intelligent and can be trained to perform about any task
another breed can do, with the exception of herding. However, they
are not always easy to train, as their natural bird instinct tends to
distract them in outdoor environments. Their temperament is
considered a soft one. Therefore they are very sensitive to
criticism, and could be unwilling to repeat a behaviour out of fear to
disappoint the trainer. Positive reinforcement training methods
therefore work best for English Setters.
Health
A relatively healthy breed, Setters have few genetic problems but
some problems occasionally occur. Canine hip dysplasia, elbow
dysplasia, congenital deafness, and canine hypothyroidism are
some of the more well-known ailments that can affect this dog. A
specific form of cancer is also common in older members of the
breed. Some lines are prone to allergies including food allergies.
Life expectancy is between 10–12 years, though with proper
medical care 13 to 15 years is not out of the question.
History
The English Setter was originally bred to set or point upland game
birds. From the best available information, it appears that the
English Setter was a trained bird dog in England more than 400
years ago. There is evidence that the English Setter originated in
crosses of the Spanish Pointer, large Water Spaniel, and Springer
Spaniel, which combined to produce an excellent bird dog with a
high degree of proficiency in finding and pointing game in open
country. The modern English Setter owes its appearance to Mr.
Edward Laverack (1800-1877), who developed his own strain of
the breed by careful breeding during the 19th century in England
and to another Englishman, Mr. R. Purcell Llewellin (1840-1925),
based his strain using Laverack's best dogs and outcrossed them
with the Duke, Rhoebe and later Duke's littermate Kate bloodlines
with the best results. Today, you still hear the term Llewellin Setter,
in 1902 the Llewellin Setter was given separate strain status in
FDSB to put a stop to misuse of the Llewellin name. Only dogs
whose pedigrees showed the Duke-Rhoebe-Laverack and Kate
bloodlines were allowed to be named a LLewellin Setter and in
1996 the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance and
registry gave them FULL New Breed recognition for the first time.
Field-bred English Setters are often mistakenly referred to as
"Llewellin". However, only pure bred Llewellin Setters may be
registered as Llewellin Setters.
With time, Laverack bred successfully to produce beautiful
representatives of the breed. The first show for English Setters
was held in 1859 at Newcastle upon Tyne. The breed's popularity
soared across England as shows became more and more
widespread. Not long after, the first English Setters were brought to
North America, including those that began the now-famous
Llewellin strain recorded in the writing of Dr. William A Burette.
From this group of dogs came the foundation of the field-trial setter
in America, "Count Noble", who is currently mounted in the
Carnegie Museum at Pittsburgh. At present, the English is one of
the most popular and elegant sporting breeds, often grouped with
its cousins, the Irish and Gordon Setters.
The field type & show type English Setter look very different, even
though they are the same breed. Field type setters are often
smaller and are seen with less feathering and usually more
distinctive spotting than show type setters. Both traits are
beneficial in the field: less feathering makes getting burrs out of
their coat easier and the spotting makes them easier to see in the
field. For this reason, in the English Setter breed, compared to
other breeds, there are very few Dual Champions (dogs that have
completed their show & field championship titles).
English Setters have been among the premier breeds since the
formation of the American Kennel Club. Along with eight other
Sporting breeds, they were among the first pure breeds accepted
by the Club in 1878. In fact, the very first dog registered with the
AKC was an English Setter named Adonis.
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English Setter
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Country of origin
England
Weight
Males: 55-80 lb
Females: 45-70 lb
Height
Males: 24-27 in
Females: 23-26
Coat
Flat with light feathering of long length
or short length
Color
White with lemon, orange, liver or blue
colored flecks
Life span
10-12 years
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Portrait of an English Setter
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Dog DNA Test samples analyzed in about two weeks
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