GENERAL APPEARANCE
Shoulder height: 61-68 cm
Colour: Belton (mingling of white and coloured hairs) in blue, orange, lemon and liver.
Coat: Slightly wavy, long and silky with feathering.
Gait: Free with a good drive and a high head carriage.
Elegant in both appearance and movement, English Setters are the quiet natured members of the Gundog group. The oval eyes are set midway in the smoothly chiselled skull - the head has a prominent occiput and a square lipped muzzle. The low set ears hang in folds close to the cheek. The slightly arched long neck runs into a level topline, slightly sloping croup and a feathered tail. The chest is deep and fore and hindquarters are well angulated.
CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE
'Once a setter person, always a setter person’ is a maxim that has stood the test of time. More distinctive in colouring than the red Irish Setter and the black/tan Gordon Setter cousins, the English Setter is renowned for being calm, friendly and amenable with people. While not being a guard dog, they are prepared to give a warning bark at intruders. Periodic grooming is required to keep the Setter in good condition - if being shown, a small amount of scissoring might be needed to keep a neat and tidy appearance.
HISTORY
It is believed this breed is the result of a number of Spaniel Pointer crosses - namely the original English Springing Spaniel, the Water Spaniel and the Spanish Pointer. For over 400 years the English Setter has been used as a bird dog in Britain, but breed conformity was only achieved in the early to mid 1800s. The first breeder Edward Laverack spent about 30 years developing pure lines and breeding for both conformation and beauty. A second breeder, a Welshman called Llewellyn was interested in breeding for working qualities, and by crossing some of Laverack’s setters with his own, he scored with progeny which displayed both hunting abilities and beauty.