Search This Blog

Saturday 16 December 2017

Setter

The setter is a type of gundog used most often for hunting game, especially birds such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. It is so called because they are trained in crouching or setting on the site of game to be pursued.

Dark setter with hare Johannes Deiker - Van Ham Kunstauktionen

Training of setter puppies is usually done with quail as a first choice or domesticated pigeons.

Early specimens of the Irish setter probably originated in Ireland in early 1700s. They were imported into USA in the late 1800s.

The Breed Standard for the modern Irish Setter was first drawn up by the Irish Red Setter Club in Dublin and approved on March 29, 1886.

Irish Setter Pixiebay

The Gordon Setter breed of sporting dog is known as the black and fallow setting dog of Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon (1743–1827), who in the 1820s brought this bird-hunting breed to prominence on his castle grounds in Scotland. Its ancestors date back to early 1600s in Scotland.

The Gordon Setter was imported into U.S. in the mid-1800s and became very popular because of its intelligence and good looks.

The Kennel Club applied the name 'Gordon Setter' to the breed in 1924. Before that they were known as black and tan setters, and were found in many kennels beside those of the 4th Duke of Gordon.

Gordon Setter Pixiebay

The English Setter came from an ancient line of sporting dogs, with its origins most probably from the Spaniel and the Old Spanish Pointer. Similar looking dogs were known prior to the 1800s.

The English Setter as we know it today was developed in the mid-1800s by an English breeder, Edward Laverack (1800–1877) who bred from a pair and inbred them until he achieved the type he wanted.

Another Englishman, R. Purcell Llewellin (1840–1925), founded 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.

Further breeding by Sir Purcell Llewellin established the English setter breed in the USA and, although going by different names, the Laverack Setter and the Llewellin Setter, they are essentially the same breed, with one for hunting and the other for show.

English setter pixiebay

The first showing of the setter breed was at the ever first modern selected breed dog show in 1859 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in north east England. There were 36 setters and 23 pointers entered and Mr Jobling's Black and Tan Setter, Dandy, won the first prize for setters. The prize awarded to each winner was a double barreled gun worth around £15 to £20.

In 1862 setters began to be divided into three categories at shows: English, Black and Tan and Irish. These became official breed classifications when The Kennel Club was founded in 1873.

In the UK, the English setter breed has been successful at Crufts and secured the award of best in show in 1964, 1977 and 1988.




During Franklin D. Roosevelt's 12 years and one month as American president, 11 dogs lived in the White House. They included a Llewellyn Setter called Winks.

Irish Setters have proven to be very popular with American politicians over the decades. Maine Governor Percival Proctor Baxter owned an Irish named Gary Owen. Richard Nixon’s beloved King Timahoe was a gift from his White House staff on his 56th birthday. President Harry Truman had an Irish Setter named Mike.

Harry Truman's dog Mike

The English Setter maybe white with black, tan, or liver markings and the Irish Setter is usually a rich red.

Sources Compton's Encyclopedia, Kids Britannica


No comments:

Post a Comment