English Setter

The English Setter is the oldest of the setting breeds — a feathered bird dog speckled with the flecking called belton.

History

Setting dogs that crouched to mark game for a net are recorded in England from the sixteenth century, and the modern breed was fixed in the nineteenth by Edward Laverack and Purcell Llewellin, who bred along different lines: Laverack for the show ring, Llewellin for the field. Both types persist and they no longer much resemble each other.

Temperament

The breed is known for being gentle, sociable and mild-mannered — often called the gentleman of the setters — friendly with everyone and slow to take offence.

Care and training

It needs a great deal of exercise, particularly from field lines, and company. Training should be gentle; it is soft and shuts down under pressure. The feathered coat needs regular brushing and the drop ears want checking.

Health

Known tendencies include hip and elbow dysplasia, hypothyroidism and deafness in some heavily white-marked lines. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.