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52-768: As a gun dog , it is used to hunt for game such as quail , pheasant , and grouse . It is sometimes referred to as the Laverack or Llewellin Setter as these were famous strains of the breed during the major development period in the 19th century. Those from hunting stock are generally of a finer build and with less coat than those bred for show exhibition. The English Setter is a medium-sized dog which should have an elegant overall appearance. Its size can range from 24 inches (61 cm) for females up to 27 inches (69 cm) for males. The field or hunting type can be finer in build and construction than those from bench or show lines. The breed

104-430: A Dual Champion – the highest award available to setters – is a dog who has achieved the titles of Show Champion and Field Trial Champion. An English Setter called "Countess" was the first gun dog to ever attain a Dual Champion title. She was sired by Dash 2nd and her dam was Moll 3rd. Her breeder was Laverack, who sold her to Sam Lang; he in turn passed her on to Llewellin in whose name she was entered in field trials. In

156-718: A bitch named "Dart". His colours were given as black, white and tan. He was owned by his breeder George E. Delano of New Bedford, MA. English Setters were especially popular in the UK during the 1960s, 70s and 80s and registrations of puppies reached 1344 during 1974. In 2012, the Kennel Club listed the English Setter amongst the Vulnerable Native Breeds as only 234 puppies were registered. A decade earlier, in 2002, there were 568 English Setter puppies registered. However, during 2012

208-610: A job to do. They are active dogs that need plenty of exercise and up to two hours a day of exercise is recommended. Inside they tend to be lower energy and love to be couch potatoes and lap dogs; the breed is described as "intensely friendly," "good natured," and "adores visitors and is particularly happy with 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

260-444: A majority of waterfowl hunting employs the use of small boats in winter conditions, retrievers are expected to remain sitting calmly and quietly until sent to retrieve. As birds move into range, a well-trained retriever will watch and follow the handler's gun as he shoots, marking, and remembering each bird that is downed. This is called "marking off the gun", and the downed birds are called "marks". Retrievers often are expected to recall

312-641: A marble blewe". Argue speculates this may be a description of the blue belton colour found in English Setters. Caius went on to describe the dog called a setter using the Latin name index: Another sort of Dogges be there, serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with foote or with tongue, whiles they follow the game. They attend diligently upon their Master and frame their condition to such beckes, motions and gestures, as it shall please him to exhibite and make, either going forward, drawing backeward, inclinding to

364-456: A natural proclivity to hunting. Dogs that show excitement and interest in birds are described as being "birdy", and trainers look for puppies that show this particular trait. Training is usually done with quail as a first choice or domesticated pigeons . Writing in 1876, Arnold Burges described the "pure-blooded English Setter" as "the best animal for American upland shooting" in his book The American Kennel and Sporting Field . "Setting dogges"

416-479: A team, one works close in while the other ranges out in larger circles. If either dog becomes birdy, the other dog works its way over to assist. Good bird dogs are alert to their handlers and to the disposition of other dogs in the field. They should readily comply if the handler casts them to an area of particular interest, such as a brush pile. When game is detected, a dog freezes, either pointing or crouching. If other dogs are present, they also freeze, "honoring"

468-492: Is an old term used for setters and the original purpose of the English Setter was 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 and there are works of art created in the early 15th century showing dogs that are discernible as being of a “setter type”. There is evidence that the English Setter originated in crosses of

520-420: Is blue or liver belton with tan markings on the face, chest, and legs. The flecking should not form large patches on the body and the flecks should be distributed all over the body. The use of the word "belton" was first coined by Laverack, who developed the breed in the 19th century, to describe his ideal for flecking and is also the name of a village in the extreme north of England. Puppies' coats may not have all

572-631: Is commemorated in the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh . Llewellin's strain was based on Laverack's best dogs, which were then outcrossed with the bloodlines of his dogs Duke, Rhoebe and later Duke's littermate, Kate. It was Kate bred with Laverack's best hunting males that produced Llewellin's ideals Fd.Ch.Ch. Armstrong's Dash II and later Fd.Ch.Ch Dashing Bondhu. They were the foundation of Llewellin's personal strain known as "Dashing Bondhu". William Humphrey (1882–1963) inherited them from Llewellin in 1925 and continued them pure until his death in 1963. Jim

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624-488: Is even as little as 3 per cent "outcross," these few are inclined to feel that the dog is nothing but a rank plebeian. All of which is really ridiculous – at least so think a good many of us who have thought the matter out. Around 1826, Reverend A Harrison of Carlisle in Cumbria sold a male dog called "Ponto" and a female named "Old Moll" to Laverack and this pair formed the foundation of his English Setters. Laverack did not know

676-415: Is how the term “setter” evolved. Once the dog has indicated where the birds are by freezing on point, on command it would then slowly creep forward to disturb the birds into flight. Once the birds were in flight the hunter who had been following the dog would release hawks to capture the birds in the air. When netting superseded the use of hawks, setting dogs would still be used to indicate the whereabouts of

728-414: Is to it. Thus an English Setter may not always be a "Llewellin"; but a "Llewellin" is always an English Setter. Furthermore, the craze for this particular strain that came to this country with the importation of the first "Llewellins" caused ninety per cent of the owners of all Setters that are not either distinctly Irish or Gordon, to refer to their dogs as "Llewellins". Yet in ninety per cent of these cases,

780-551: The American Kennel Club group them in a sporting group. Deaf animal Some strains of animals, such as white cats , have a tendency to congenital deafness . Some known chemicals and elements can also affect deafness in animals. Deafness can occur in almost any breed of cat or dog. This includes both pure-breed and mixed-breed animals, although there may be more prevalence in some specific breeds. "The association between patterns of pigmentation and deafness in

832-570: The Louisiana State University in 2010. As at 2013, there has not been any detailed research on this condition undertaken in the UK; autoimmune thyroiditis , which was shown to affect 26.2 percent of 747 English Setters examined between January 1974 until December 2012 in an Orthopedic Foundation for Animals listing; canine hypothyroidism ; elbow dysplasia ; and allergies, which can include some sensitivity to certain food ingredients and also skin conditions, are known to occur. In 2004,

884-472: The ABS must screen for hip dysplasia . The breed is predisposed to atopic dermatitis. Setters hunt by ranging over large distances in a systematic, methodical manner, silently seeking game by scent. When prey is found by scenting the air, the dog will freeze rather than give chase. The dog will stop in a sort of crouch or "set" by freezing in a standing position upon finding their quarry and this distinctive stance

936-490: The Duke, Rhoebe and later Duke's littermate Kate bloodlines with the best results. Historically, many dogs descending from the same bloodline were referred to by the name of their breeder or owner and the nomenclatures "Laverack Setter" and "Llewellin Setter" describe English Setters bred by Laverack and Llewellin. Horace Lytle, one time gundog editor of Field & Stream , author and a well-known gundog trainer, clarified this in

988-475: The Spanish Pointer , large Water Spaniel, and English Springer Spaniel , which combined to produce an excellent bird dog with a high degree of proficiency in finding and pointing game in open country. Writing in 1576, Dr Johannes Caius states: "There is also at this date among us a new kind of dogge brought out of Fraunce, and they bee speckled all over with white and black, which mingled colours incline to

1040-682: The U.K. Kennel Club established the Accredited Breeders Scheme, which was later called the Assured Breeders Scheme (ABS). The scheme received UKAS accreditation in April 2013. ABS members are required to adhere to additional criteria than those necessary for basic KC registration. Among the extra requirements is "Ensuring that the parents of each litter are readily identifiable by either microchip , tattoo or DNA profile ." As at March 2013, breeders of English Setters who are members of

1092-600: The U.K., the breed has been successful at Crufts and secured the award of Best in Show in 1964, 1977 and 1988. At the Westminster show in America an English Setter won the Best in Show title in 1938. He was only 11 months old and at his first show. This was before entry to the show was restricted to Champions in 1992. As of 2013, he is the only setter to achieve Best in Show at Westminster since

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1144-555: The UK. These are Show Champion (Sh Ch) which is awarded to dogs who have won three Challenge Certificates (CCs) under three different judges with at least one CC won after 12 months of age; Champion (Ch) is the title gained by dogs who have won a Sh Ch title plus a field trial award, Diploma of Merit or a Show Gundog Working Certificate; Field Trial Champion (Ft Ch) means the dog has won a pointer or setter open stake or two first prizes at two different stakes under two different A Panel judges. There must be no less than 16 runners entered; and

1196-589: The Wonder Dog , described as a Llewellin setter, was said to have "possessed an occult power" and there is a bronze statue of him in a memorial garden on the square in Marshall, Missouri , built to commemorate him. The field type and 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

1248-533: The award of Best in Show started to be made in 1907. When the American Kennel Club was established in 1878, English Setters, together with eight other sporting breeds, were accepted as the first pure-bred registrations by the club. The very first dog registered with the AKC and the holder of registration number one was an English Setter named "Adonis". He was born in 1875 and is recorded as sired by "Leicester" out of

1300-496: The birds, but the hunter would come up behind the dog and throw a net over the birds. In the mid-1600s, guns became more readily available and shooting game birds became a popular pastime of the landed gentry . The basic work of setters was still to find and point to the location of game birds but it also had to be steady to shot. The scent of game birds is airborne so to pick up this scent the setter carries its head well up and should never follow foot scent. Most setters are born with

1352-496: The book "How to train your bird dog", which he wrote in 1928: Another tremendous uncertainty exists among the widest possible class of hunters with reference to the so-called Llewellin Setters. Llewellin Setters are nothing more – and nothing less – than English Setters. Llewellin Setters are simply English Setters that trace back to two particular English Setters. They represent a certain definite English Setter ancestry. That's all there

1404-428: The breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds . A 2024 Italian study found a life expectancy of 10 years for the breed compared to 10 years overall. Dogs, both pedigree and cross breeds, can be affected with genetic problems. Those known to sometimes occur in English Setters can include congenital deafness , which was reported as affecting 12.4 percent of the 701 English Setters tested by

1456-553: The breed is in sharp decline, going from 20,999 registrations in 2002, to 14510 registrations in 2011. In contrast, the American Kennel Club stated that 2011 was the "year of the setters, with all four making big jumps over the past year". English Setters had previously ranked at 101 in 2010 but moved up to 87 in 2011, a position the breed maintained in 2012. Gun dog Gun dogs or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game , typically various fowls that are shot down on

1508-448: The byrdes last abode, whereby it is supposed that this kind of dogge is calles in Index, Setter, being in deede a name most consonant and agreeable to his quality. By the 17th century setters, or "setting dogges", had become established and were widespread on British estates, although the evolution into the more specific individual breeds of setters occurred at a later date. The interbreeding of

1560-413: The coat is white with differing coloured ticking also called flecks or speckling. The various speckled coat colours when occurring in English Setters are referred to as belton ; valid combinations are white with black flecks ( blue belton ), white with orange flecks ( orange belton ), white with orange flecks and lighter nose ( lemon belton ), white with liver flecks ( liver belton ), or "tricolour", which

1612-515: The different colours was still taking place during this period but it gradually changed and sportsman/breeders began to segregate matings to dogs adapted to the terrain it was required to work on. The modern English Setter owes its appearance to 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, Richard Purcell Llewellin (1840–1925), who founded his strain using Laverack's best dogs and outcrossed them with

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1664-424: The dog has a long-documented history, with reports dating back over one hundred years. Long suspected of having a genetic basis, the search for loci with a pronounced influence in the expression of hearing loss in the dog has yet to be successful." Deafness in animals can occur as either unilateral (one ear affected) or bilateral (both ears affected). This occurrence of either type of deafness seems to be relatively

1716-481: The dog is performing a retrieve. Retrievers are taught to ignore these "diversions" until the current retrieve has been completed. Also at times multiple dogs are used on a hunt, and retrievers are also taught to "honor" another dog's retrieve by remaining calm and quiet while the other dog is working. When competing in conformation shows most kennel clubs , including The Kennel Club group pedigree gun dog breeds together in their own gun dog group, whilst some such as

1768-409: The dog's initial exuberance and may help the dog establish its bearings and form a "background" upon which game smells will be processed. The dog then begins working back and forth, starting near the hunter and slowly ranging out. The dog repeats this process as the hunters move through the field. How far a handler allows the dog to range is a matter of personal preference. When a pair of dogs work as

1820-552: The dogs so referred to are not of the Llewellin strain at all. Not one person in a hundred who owns an English Setter can tell even from the pedigree whether the dog is of the Llewellin strain or not. They simply don't know. Most of those who refer to their Setters as "Llewellins" do so because the name is rather euphonious and pleasing to pronounce. Many of those who really do know, insist that their Llewellins be one hundred per cent, and they refer to those that are not as "grades". If there

1872-461: The exact pedigree of these dogs but maintained the strain had been pure-bred for the previous thirty-five years. Laverack closely inbred to these two dogs for generations and his bloodline was successful in dog shows and as a working dog in field trials . In 1874, C. H. Raymond from Morris Plains, New Jersey imported the first English Setter from the Laverack bloodline to America. The working setter Count Noble descended from these early imports and

1924-420: 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 to be gentle and as English Setters can be very sensitive to criticism, positive reinforcement training methods using treats and praise work best when undertaking basic training. A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 13.1 years for

1976-463: The eyes and lie in an elegant fold. It has a long muscular neck, well angled shoulders and a brisket of good depth. The body is of a moderate length proportionate to its height and it has strong powerful hindquarters. It carries its tail in line with its back and the tail should be long enough to reach the hock . The main body coat is short to medium length, lies flat and has a silky texture. Long silky coat – usually called "feathering", forms fringes on

2028-562: The field: less feathering makes getting burs out of their coat easier and the spotting makes them easier to see in the field. English Setters are classified within the gundog group in the UK and the Sporting group in America and Canada. The FCI place them in section 2, British and Irish Pointers and Setters, of Group 7. In the English Setter breed, compared to other breeds, there are very few Dual Champions. The Kennel Club have four champion titles available to be achieved by setters competing in

2080-534: The first dog's point. The pointing dog remains motionless until the hunters are in position. Handlers give the command whoa , instructing the dog to remain still. What happens next depends on the dog's training. Some trainers train the dog to stay motionless while the hunter steps forward and flushes the game. Other trainers direct the dog to flush the game with a command such as get it! Pointing dogs excel on covey type birds such as bobwhite , quail , and grouse as these birds will hold in position well, allowing

2132-539: The flight of the bird and mark the fallen birds for retrieval. A dog which does this successfully is referred to as "steady to wing and shot". Steadiness is the hallmark of the finished spaniel. When a bird is shot, the dog should mark where it fell and wait until given the command to retrieve. Once commanded, the dog will race to the point of fall, pick up the bird, and return it to the handler. Retrievers are typically used when waterfowl hunting , although they can also be employed in hunting upland birds as well. Since

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2184-616: The flight. The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and skills of hunting canines, but "gun dogs" refers to canines that are trained to work alongside a loud firearm while hunting or retrieving game. Gun dogs are divided into three main categories: pointers and retrievers, setters and spaniels, and water dogs. There are several breeds used as gundogs with varying instinctive skill sets for each one. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers , pointing breeds , and water dogs . Although classified according to method of work, gun dogs often have skills extending beyond

2236-455: The hunter to approach and get into position. If a bird is downed, the dogs are instructed to search for and retrieve it with the command dead bird , or simply dead . When hunting upland game , flushing dogs (spaniels and retrievers) work much more closely with the hunter. Flushers will not cover the same amount of ground as a pointing dog as the flusher must be kept within shotgun distance. Flushing dogs are often used on birds that run from

2288-409: The hunter. On such birds as pheasant , an aggressive flush is necessary to spring the bird to wing. Flushing dogs excel on these types of bird because they do not point the birds, giving them little time for escape on the ground. Pointing breeds are used on such birds, but must be well trained to know when the bird pointed has moved. Once a bird has been flushed, the dog will sit or "hup" to watch

2340-455: The location of many downed birds in one sitting before they retrieve game. Once the shooting has ceased, the handler commands the dog to retrieve each bird that has been downed. If a dog did not see the bird fall, a retriever takes direction from the handler, who can use hand and whistle signals to guide the dog to the unseen downed bird. This is called a "blind" retrieve. During a typical day of shooting, additional birds are frequently downed while

2392-404: The markings that they have as adults. This breed's standard temperament is best described as a "Gentleman by Nature". However, it can also be strong-willed and mischievous, especially if coming from working/field breeding lines. 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

2444-518: The number of English Setter puppies registered increased to 314, so the breed was moved to the Kennel Club's "At Watch" list, which is for breeds with registrations from 300 to 450. In 2015 registrations fell to 289 resulting in a return to the Vulnerable Native Breeds list for 2016. The breed is still fairly well represented in Italy, where it is popular as a working gun-dog. Even in Italy, however

2496-453: The outside of the ears, neck, chest, down the back of the front legs, under the belly and on the back legs. The tail is also feathered with long coat. The body coat and feathering should be straight and flat but not profuse and never curly although a slight wave can be seen. 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 base colour of

2548-402: The right hand, or yealding toward the left. When he hath founde the byrde, he keepeth sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes and wil proceede no further, and weth a close, covert watching eye, layeth his belly to the grounde and so creepth forward like a worme. When he approaches neere to the place where the byrde is, he layes him downe, and with a marcke of his pawes, betrayeth the place of

2600-574: The same in both mixed-breed animals and pure-breed animals. Research has found a significant association between deafness in dogs and the pigment genes piebald and merle . Although merle dogs seem to have higher occurrences of both deafnesses than some other breeds, this research also showed that they had lower occurrences than others. So still there is more to be known about the causes of deafness in animals such as dogs. Common misconceptions may lead potential owners to believe that deaf dogs may be more likely to have an unpleasant disposition, or that

2652-464: The tasks outlined for their classification. Depending upon how they are trained, dogs may be useful in a variety of hunting situations. The methods described here are analogous to human-canine hunting going back tens of thousands of years. Upon reaching the field, the handler often will cast or direct the dog in a wide circle. Experienced dogs will search the edges of the field knowing that birds are usually found there. This wide run helps to burn off

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2704-442: Was designed to hunt game such as quail , pheasant , and grouse so should be able to cover a lot of ground when seeking the airborne scent of the birds, carrying its head high. The head should be slightly domed with a muzzle of good depth and show chiselling under the eyes, which should be dark in colour with a kind, gentle expression. The top of the ears (sometimes the ears are referred to as "leathers") are positioned in line with

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