Today's English Setter

The modern American-bred English Setter is one of the world's great gun dog breeds. While the breed itself had its origin in England, individual dogs were brought to North America and became the nucleus of fine American breeding programs which required first-class handling of American game birds under American conditions. Many fine dogs emanated from these early setters, including Gladstone, Count Gladstone, Phil Essig, Sports Peerless, Feagin's Mohawk Pal, Mississippi Zev and others. Many moodier setters trace their origins to these excellent gun dogs.

While setters were evolving in North America, there was still considerable breed development in England. It is this breeding that is most responsible for the differences between the field type-setter and the show-type today.

The breed has had a long and enigmatic history of over four hundred years. In the very early days, the prime concern with developing setting dogs was to have the dog crouch very low to the ground when game was found, thereby allowing the hunter to cast a net over the birds. These setting dogs represented a combination of blood lines from a variety of breeds such as spaniels and Spanish pointers. Dogs which maintained a prolonged point were valued most, and those individuals with the most highly developed pointing tendency were bred to others of similar inclination, even if breeds were mixed. The pointing tendency was the trait for which early breeders (hunters) selected their foundation stock. These early setting dogs were largely land spaniel in their genetic makeup although they were the precursors of what was to become the English setter.

Edward Laverack is generally credited with being most responsible for resolving the land spaniel type English setting dogs into the breed we know as English setters today. Some of Laverack's inbreeding and outcrossing methods may have been criticized and even held suspect, but he nonetheless created a type of dog which we now consider the English setter. There were others in England also breeding setters and it was during this period in the early to mid-1800s that many of the English dogs found their way to North America.

R.I. Purcell Llewellin, a Welshman, was very instrumental in developing a strain of setters by mixing the Laverack strain with others of similar quality. There is some mystery, however, as to what lines were bred because it appears, secrets were kept. It is generally suspected that Gordon, Russian, and Irish setters, as well as pointers and spaniels, were incorporated into the foundation of this early stock. In any event, it was Llewellin who developed the fine strain of field dogs which became known as Llewellin setters. While some controversy raged in England regarding the breed's development into rather diverse strains, the American English setters were also developing. Throughout this period, imports were made and many of these imports were bred with the native stock. The Llewellins soon achieved fame as trial dogs and gained easier acceptance into early American field breeding than did their Laverack counterparts. Consequently, the Laverack type evolved basically into the show setter while the Llewellin, either kept pure as a strain in order to preserve the Llweellin name or blended with native setter lines, became the field-type.

Today, most gun dog enthusiasts who own an English setter own the field-type, the one most similar to the original Llewellin. This is a superior gun dog in many respects. English setters have a tremendous desire to please and accept the hunter's restrictions easily in order to work properly. Etiquette is important to the full enjoyment of the hunt. The English setter obligingly channels his energy and desire to work the game willingly in accordance with his owner's rules. HE finds game, points it, marks its fall and retrieves it to hand in a controlled and civilized manner. He willingly modifies his stalking nature to make stylish points a pretty fair distance from the quarry so as not to spook it into flight before the hunter could be in position to make the shot. The dog will bound out after a fallen bird and recover it in a fine retrieve, relinquishing the bird to hand before going out again to continue the quest. All the while the dog works, he does it with animation and style. He gives his all to his work and derives pleasure from both the pursuit of game and the pleasure he brings his owner. Today's English setter is indeed a class individual in the field.

Besides being a superb gun dog, the setter is an exceptional companion dog who thrives on maintaining close association with his owner and the family to which he belongs. Setters love children, and they love to please in general. They're an intelligent dog with a highly developed sensitivity. They obediently and enthusiastically work for their owner's satisfaction. These dogs dispel the old myth that a gun dog is never a pet. On the contrary, the closer the association with their owner, the better the field performance.

The modern field setter is a beautiful animal that moves in a graceful, animated fashion. While typically smaller than the show-style dog, they have a different appearance and represent a functional beauty lacking in their show-ring distant cousins. They move in a fluid manner and deliver an electrifying, spectacular show when working.

The English setter is particularly adept at working thick coverts in the northern, colder parts of the United States. This is where they seemed to achieve prominence early in their development on this side of the Atlantic. The heavier coat, more pronounced retrieving instinct, and close working tendencies have endeared them to grouse and woodcock hunters of New England, Appalachia and the Midwest. Since their early days up north, however, they have also become accomplished at working other kinds of game in the South and West. While many setters are still naturally close-working dogs, certain strains have also been developed which are naturally bigger running, much like the pointer. Whether you're interested in a big-running or close-working setter, there are individuals within this breed to meet your specific needs.

Setters are exceptionally good at working all game birds if given adequate experience. A finished grouse dog will adjust to hunting pheasants or quail. There is no upland game bird a setter won't hunt. 

The field sport enthusiast who has never owned a setter is missing the pleasure of working with this very fine breed. Because some setters are quite sensitive, they must be hand-led carefully to bring out all their virtues. Such dogs simply would not do well for someone who is indifferent to his dog or harsh in his handling. But for the hunter who wants an easy handling, classy beautiful, dynamic field dog who will work hard and long to enhance the hunt with bird finds and high style, today's English setter is hard to beat.