English Setter
Encyclopedia
The English Setter is a breed
of dog
. It is part of the Setter
family, which includes red Irish Setter
s, Irish Red and White Setter
s, and black-and-tan Gordon Setter
s. It is a gun dog
, bred for a mix of endurance and athleticism.
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 (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.
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.
, congenital deafness (affecting 12.4% of the specimens of the breed), canine hypothyroidism
, and autoimmune thyroiditis (affects 27.4% of specimens) 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 to 12 years, though with proper medical care 13 to 15 years is not out of the question.
. 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 Setter
s.
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.
The name Llewellin Setter is given to a certain breed of Setters bred by R.L. Purcell Llewellin to be perfect for foot hunting and early field trial
s. The breed was very successfully advertised even though losing to Joe, Jr. in the great match race between the Cambell (George M. Cambell of Spring Hill, Tennessee
) native English Setter strain and the blue blooded Llewellin Setter Gladstone of an American strain of Llewellin Setter.
Because of the major change in American field trials to big, wide running field trials their field trail performance began to decline against the bigger running pointers after 1914 when pointer Commanche Frank won the National Bird Dog Championship. The obsession with the Llewellin breed as champion foot hunting bird dogs and excellent family companions occurred at the same time pointers began to dominate wide ranging field trials.
The Llewellin Setter breed is making a huge comeback with the loss of large areas to hunt, leaving hunters the need for a closer ranging hunting dog and family companion.
There are basically two lines of Llewellin Setters recognised today. They are the "American Llewellins" developed from lines of early English imports from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were mainly developed by American field trial breeders. The second is the "Dashing Bondhu" line developed personally by R.L. Purcell Llewellin himself for 50 years and with William Humphrey also in England for 38 more years and Fr. Brannon in Ireland for 30 plus years. These were not imported to America until the 1960s and '80s. The breeding of these pure Dashing Bondhus in America resulted in producing the most famous of all Llewellin Setters known today. The famous "Henry Prince of Paws", aka "Hank" fame of the Outdoor Life Network 'OLN' Channel series known as Hunting with Hank.
Aside from the separately recognised Llewellin Setter breed with FDSB registry in 1902 and with the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance
(IPDBA) registry in 1996, there are many other unrecognised regional strains of English setters. One such strain, the Newfoundland Setter, was accomplished by breeding English, Irish, and Gordon setters together over a period of hundreds of years. The result is a setter which is almost perfectly adapted to the local terrain and can display the visual traits/colours from any of the setter types.
Dog breed
Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
of dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
. It is part of the Setter
Setter
The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. A setter silently searches for game by scent. When prey is encountered the dog freezes rather than chasing after the game. Setters get their name from their distinctive stance; a sort of crouch...
family, which includes red Irish Setter
Irish Setter
The Irish Setter , is a setter, a breed of gundog and family dog. The term Irish Setter is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognized by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred Red Setter recognised by the Field Dog Stud Book....
s, Irish Red and White Setter
Irish Red and White Setter
The Irish Red and White Setter is a breed of dog, more specifically a setter. It is virtually identical in use and temperament to its cousin, the Irish Setter, but is more often found as a working gundog.-Appearance:...
s, and black-and-tan Gordon Setter
Gordon Setter
A Gordon Setter is a large breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundog Group depending on the national kennel club or council. The original purpose...
s. It is a gun dog
Gun dog
thumb|right|A group of Gun dogs as printed in Dogs of All Nations by W.E. Mason in 1915Gun dogs, also gundogs or bird dogs, are types of dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually birds. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: Retrievers, flushing dogs, and...
, bred for a mix of endurance and athleticism.
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 (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.Stanley Coren
Stanley Coren is a psychology professor and neuropsychological researcher who has become best known to the general public for a series of books regarding the intelligence, mental abilities and history of dogs...
's The Intelligence of Dogs
The Intelligence of Dogs
The Intelligence of Dogs is a book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Published in 1994, the book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between different breeds 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
Setters have few genetic problems but some problems occasionally occur. Canine hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasiaElbow dysplasia
Elbow dysplasia is a condition involving multiple developmental abnormalities of the elbow-joint in the dog, specifically the growth of cartilage or the structures surrounding it. These abnormalities, known as 'primary lesions', give rise to osteoarthritic processes...
, congenital deafness (affecting 12.4% of the specimens of the breed), canine hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone.Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide but it can be caused by other causes such as several conditions of the thyroid gland or, less commonly, the pituitary gland or...
, and autoimmune thyroiditis (affects 27.4% of specimens) are some of the more well-known ailments that can affect this dog. A specific form of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
is also common in older members of the breed. Some lines are prone to allergies including food allergies. Life expectancy is between 10 to 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 birdsGame (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. From the best available information, it appears that the English Setter was a trained bird dog
Bird dog
A bird dog is a type of gun dog or hunting dog used to hunt or retrieve birds or other small game animals. by tracking their scent in the air. This dog breed has special hunting abilities and they are also trained to retrieve the birds after hunting them down. Bird dogs tend to enjoy the process of...
in England more than 400 years ago. There is evidence that the English Setter originated in crosses of the Spanish Pointer
Pointing breed
A pointing breed is a type of gundog typically used in finding game. Gundogs are traditionally divided into three classes: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. The name pointer comes from the dog's instinct to point, by stopping and aiming its muzzle towards game. This demonstrates to...
, large Water Spaniel, and Springer Spaniel
Springer Spaniel
Springer Spaniel refers to two different breeds of dogs, both of which are commonly called simply Springer Spaniel:*English Springer Spaniel*Welsh 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
Field Dog Stud Book
The Field Dog Stud Book is the oldest purebred dog registry in the United States having started registrations in and currently maintaining records from 1874. The Field Dog Stud Book currently registers around 5,000 litters each year and has registered several million dogs...
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.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River 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
Irish Setter
The Irish Setter , is a setter, a breed of gundog and family dog. The term Irish Setter is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognized by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred Red Setter recognised by the Field Dog Stud Book....
and Gordon Setter
Gordon Setter
A Gordon Setter is a large breed of dog, a member of the setter family that also includes both the better-known Irish Setter and the English Setter. Setter breeds are classified as members of either the Sporting or Gundog Group depending on the national kennel club or council. The original purpose...
s.
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.
Llewellin Setter
- Main: Llewellin Setter
The name Llewellin Setter is given to a certain breed of Setters bred by R.L. Purcell Llewellin to be perfect for foot hunting and early field trial
Field trial
A field trial is a competitive event at which hunting dogs compete against one another. There are field trials for retrievers, pointing dogs and flushing dogs. Field trials are usually organized by kennel clubs or other gun dog organizations...
s. The breed was very successfully advertised even though losing to Joe, Jr. in the great match race between the Cambell (George M. Cambell of Spring Hill, Tennessee
Spring Hill, Tennessee
Spring Hill is a city in Maury and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, located approximately south of Nashville. The population was 7,715 at the 2000 census...
) native English Setter strain and the blue blooded Llewellin Setter Gladstone of an American strain of Llewellin Setter.
Because of the major change in American field trials to big, wide running field trials their field trail performance began to decline against the bigger running pointers after 1914 when pointer Commanche Frank won the National Bird Dog Championship. The obsession with the Llewellin breed as champion foot hunting bird dogs and excellent family companions occurred at the same time pointers began to dominate wide ranging field trials.
The Llewellin Setter breed is making a huge comeback with the loss of large areas to hunt, leaving hunters the need for a closer ranging hunting dog and family companion.
There are basically two lines of Llewellin Setters recognised today. They are the "American Llewellins" developed from lines of early English imports from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that were mainly developed by American field trial breeders. The second is the "Dashing Bondhu" line developed personally by R.L. Purcell Llewellin himself for 50 years and with William Humphrey also in England for 38 more years and Fr. Brannon in Ireland for 30 plus years. These were not imported to America until the 1960s and '80s. The breeding of these pure Dashing Bondhus in America resulted in producing the most famous of all Llewellin Setters known today. The famous "Henry Prince of Paws", aka "Hank" fame of the Outdoor Life Network 'OLN' Channel series known as Hunting with Hank.
Aside from the separately recognised Llewellin Setter breed with FDSB registry in 1902 and with the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance
International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance
The International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance or IPDBA is a dog breed registry based in Kentucky in the United States. The IPDBA website states that its founders "believe that the breeding of all animals is an art form, and as such, breeders should have the freedom to express themselves and...
(IPDBA) registry in 1996, there are many other unrecognised regional strains of English setters. One such strain, the Newfoundland Setter, was accomplished by breeding English, Irish, and Gordon setters together over a period of hundreds of years. The result is a setter which is almost perfectly adapted to the local terrain and can display the visual traits/colours from any of the setter types.