Overview
English Setters are medium-sized, eye-catching hunting dogs. Their sweet and totally gentle temperament make them a perfect family companion. It is one of the four British setters created around XVIII century to help humans point and retrieve bird game.
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.
Appearance
English Setters are powerful, athletic but very elegant dogs that stand out with their beauty. They come in 4 colors: liver, lemon, orange and blue belton. Apart from that, blue and liver can come in tricolor version - with light brown tan around ears, eyes and paws.Here you can view all of the english setter markings on photos.
The English Setter is known as the gentleman of the dog world - moving gracefully, with a long neck, highly positioned head, strong back and beautiful coat around the ears, belly, legs and the tail. Their eyes are round, beautifully rimmed and bright - always full of love.
Character
This breed gets on well with other dogs and people. English Setters were bred to be a totally aggression free breed - that makes them a perfect family companion. Whith 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.
English Setters will make everyone smile. They act as children pretty much all the time. Just take a look at Nela and Misia playing! 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!
A bored setter, left alone with no activity, may develop destructive behaviours. However, we crate train all our dogs to be calm during our absence. Properly trained and physically tired dogs will sleep patietly until you come back home. Read more about crate training your dog here.
Training
English Setters are very intelligent. In the past, they were supposed to present a certain level of independent thinking while working in the field. Their desire to please everyone makes them quite easy to train. They are nevertheless quite stubborn, but consequence and repetition can result in an obedient English Setter. Males can be more "bossy" at a certain age and need a firm hand - but that's not a rule.
Please remember most setters are very gentle. They require calm but firm guidance as they will not forget someone who treated them badly. Early training is crucial to ensure your dog will be a problem free and reliable companion. We teach our puppies basic commands as soon as they start to move and wiggle around!
