English Setter
Breed overview
Introduction
English setters are medium-sized, elegant and noble looking long-hair pointing dogs with a characteristic coat colouring reffered to as 'belton'. It is one of the four British setters created around XVIII century to help humans point and retrieve bird game. According to FCI breed classification, English setters are in the 2nd section of British and Irish Pointers and Setters, a part of the 7th FCI group.
Size and weight
Males: : 65 - 68 cm in withers.
Females (usually smaller): 61 - 65 cm in withers.
English Setters are rather athletic and their weight varies from 25 to 35 kg depending on sex and structure.
Life expectancy
This breed is considered rather healthy and it's life expectancy reaches on average above 10 years of age.
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Primary breed purpose
English setters are gundogs, what means they were originally bred for searching, pointing and retrieving wild game in the field - especially birds: pheasants and quail.
English setters have plenty of stamina and drive, enabling them to work long and effortlessly in a dynamic gallop in any weather conditions.
Outstanding traits
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Very gentle, affectionate and friendly - also with youngsters
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Loves to please, sensitive to harsh training
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Intelligent, needs plenty of excersize and training
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Needs regular grooming, sheds
Did you know...
... that the four breeds: English Setter, Gordon Setter, Irish Red Setter and Irish Red & White Setter seem to be very similar in looks. Despite popular beliefs they are are NOT a colour variety of one "setter" breed but in fact completely separate breeds. Please compare the pictures of them below:
Source: http://www.akc.org
English Setter colours
This breed comes in 4 color variations: liver, lemon, orange and blue belton. Apart from that, blue and liver can be a tricolor version - with brown tan around ears, eyes and paws.
Source: http://www.pinterest.com
Origin
The English Setter was formally established as a breed around 400 years ago thanks to hard and passionate work of two gentlemen named Laverack and Llewellin, who strived to achieve an elegant and powerful medium sized hunting dog by crossing old spaniels and pointers.
The name "setter" comes out of a very characteristic trait of “setting,” when the dog located game. The term "belton”, used uniquely in this breed, describes the spotted markings on English Setter coats. Belton is a village in Northumberlad, England, and the term was used for the first time and later on became popular after publishing a book abut English Setters by Edward Laverack.
Character
This breed gets on well with other dogs and people. English Setters were bred to be a totally aggression-free breed what makes them a perfect family companion. With their sweet and mild character, they are certainly not good guard dogs. Being extremely gentle and affectionate these dogs are perfect even for families with kids. Nevertheless, you should remember to never leave your setter unattended with a child.
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English Setters will make everyone smile. They act as children pretty much all the time. Don't be surprised that your adult English Setter might come up with an idea to steal your socks and play like a pup!
They crave human company, so leaving them for long periods of time alone can be hard for them. We strongly encourage families to include their dog in all sorts of activities that can be done together: travelling, jogs, hikes or swimming
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A bored setter, left alone with no activity, most certainly will develop destructive behaviours. Properly trained and physically tired dogs will sleep patietly until you come back home.
Important!
English setters are hunting dogs. Please do not forget about it. They love free runs in the fields and meadows. This is not a lap dog, that will sleep all day on the couch.