Setter (dog)

“ Setters are difficult to break; but when well broken are invaluable as sporting dogs, for they will work all day if they can occasionally find water. John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, is said to have been the first that broke a setter dog to the net, about the year 1555.
Page 409Col. Hutchinson says that a French lady, who is fond of animals, at his request committed the following anecdote to paper:—
"My dear Médor, a beautiful red-and-white setter, was remarkable, I am told, for many rare qualities as a sporting dog ”

“ Youatt says that the setter is evidently the large spaniel improved in size and beauty, and taught to mark his game by setting or crouching. He is more active than the pointer, but has not so much patient steadiness. It is extremely difficult to decide between the merits of the setter and pointer as dogs for shooting over. Some authors prefer one, some the other. "Craven" says, that in his opinion Russian setters are better than English, in nose, sagacity, and every other qualification that a dog ought to possess. ”

“ There is a curious and interesting anecdote related of a setter who had formed a great friendship with a cat. They were, in fact, inseparable companions, and evidently had a great love for each other. As a sporting dog the setter had few equals, but he constantly showed his disgust when obliged to accompany a bad shot into the fields. After one of the shooting seasons was over, his master took a house in London, and carried his setter with him, who was seated with the footman on the box of the carriage. ”

“ The Irish setter is another interesting one of the setter family. He is not as popular in America as the others, though a handsome and capable performer. His color is red, with white on chest, throat or toes, or a small star on the forehead.
The manner of judging pedigreed field dogs has been reduced to an almost exact science. After all, however, all this is not for the casual hunter and many an embryo sportsman tramps the fields after capable, though not so high-toned dogs, and enjoys it all more than the nervous owner watching his dog in the field trial. ”

“ Contrary to the popular dogma, we prefer a setter to a pointer. The former is a more intelligent and docile animal than the latter, and, if you take proper pains with him, will always understand you better, and accommodate himself accordingly. The only disadvantage of setters is that they require water, and are liable to be much distressed when the moor is particularly dry. Still we give them the preference over the other; and, if you have your dog fully under command, you will kill as many birds over him, with infinitely less fatigue to yourself, as if you were to let out three. ”

“ The
setter is used for the same purpose as the pointer, and there is great difference of opinion with regard to their relative value as sporting-dogs. Setters are not so numerous; and they are dearer, and with great difficulty obtained pure. It was long the fashion to cross and mix them with the pointer, by which no benefit was obtained, but the beauty of the dog materially impaired; many Irish sportsmen, however, were exceedingly careful to preserve the breed pure. ”

“ It is noticeable that we have in America far more well-bred setters than pointers, and greater attention seems to have been paid in the last few years in procuring the former blood than the latter. This arises from the fact that the setter is the greater favorite of the two, and justly the choice of the sportsman when he desires a dog that will unflinchingly stand the rough-and-tumble nature of our shooting. ”

“ If you have not your eye on a steady brown setter at the moment he drops on grouse, you may spend half an hour most vexatiously in searching for him. When you expect to find the birds wild, should your kennel allow you the choice, you ought to take out those of a sombre hue. Light coloured dogs have not generally such well-shaped feet as their darker brethren. It is curious that white feet in dogs as well as in horses should often be objectionable. As a rule, setters have harder, tougher feet than pointers. ”

“ The English Setter (Canis Index, variety β) , is a breed produced between the Spanish pointer, the English water spaniel and springer, which, by careful cultivation, has attained a high degree of perfection as a sporting dog. He has an elegant figure, and a very pleasing diversity of colour; added to this, his skin is covered with beautifully curled hair, very villous on the lower margin of the tail; being altogether an extremely handsome dog, and quite unrivalled by any of the canine species. ”

“ All keepers will acknowledge that, excepting a systematic beat, there is nothing more difficult to teach a Pointer or Setter than to refrain from “pursuing Hare.” They will concede that there is a natural tendency in the breed to stand at game; and, as a necessary consequence, they must admit that they would have far more trouble in weaning a young fox-hound from the habit, whose every instinct urges him to chase. ”

“ In general appearance the Swiss Setter is a well built, intelligent and rustic looking dog. The head is rather light and short skull round and broad, occipital bone well developed, and with a well defined stop. The eyes should not be too small and should be brown or yellow brown in color. Back straight, strong and muscular, chest well developed, but not too broad, and well rounded in rib. ”

“ It has been said that grouse lie better to a black-and-tan and to a red setter than to parti-coloured dogs in which white prevails. There is no truth in this in a general way. After white dogs have been used until grouse will no longer lie, they will often lie to either a black-and-tan or a red dog, but only for a day, and only a few of them for that short addition to the length of the dogging season.
Possibly they take the black-and-tan for a collie, and the red dog for a fox. ”

“ The setter ranges with great speed, and is a very hardy dog. Many prefer him to the pointer, and if water is plentiful, he is certainly more useful, for his feet are much better defended against the sharp cutting of the heath than those of the pointer, as he has a great deal of hair growing between the toes and round the ball of the foot, of which the latter is almost destitute. Besides, he unquestionably ranges much faster, and can endure much more fatigue. He can also serve in thick coverts, where a pointer will not enter ”

“ Weight: 56 lbs.
The French Setter is a strong, shapely dog of an imposing appearance. The head is strong and well developed. Skull round, broad and long with the occipital bone well defined and the stop nicely chiselled. The eyes should be rather small, dark amber in color, and of open expression. His chest should be very deep and broad with long and rather flat ribs. The stern set on high, rather long and be carried in two curves ”

“ One very remarkable attribute of the Retriever is that notwithstanding the known fact that the parent stock was mongrel, and that in the early dogs the Setter type largely predominated, the ultimate result has favoured the Labrador cross distinctly and prominently, proving how potent, even when grafted upon a stock admittedly various, is the blood of a pure race, and how powerful its influence for fixing type and character over the other less vital elements with which it is blended.
From the first, sportsmen recognised the extreme value of the new retrieving dog. ”

“ The Pointers, Setters, and Spaniels of our forefathers were carefully broken not only to find and stand their game, but also to fetch the fallen birds. This use of the setting and pointing dog is still common on the Continent and in the United States, and there is no inaccuracy in a French artist depicting a Pointer with a partridge in its mouth, or showing a Setter retrieving waterfowl. ”

“ The Setter, which is illustrated in this article, is an excellent type of a certain class of the Spaniels. The animal is an excellent hunting dog and gains its name from its habit of crouching close to the ground when pointing game. ”

“ But this occasional fault on the part of the setter, may be counterbalanced by the larger quantity of game that he usually finds in a day's hunt, owing to his enthusiasm and swiftness of foot. Setters require much more water while hunting than the pointer, owing to their thick covering of fur, encouraging a greater amount of insensible perspiration to fly off than the thin and short dress of the pointer. Consequently they are better calculated to hunt in the coldest seasons than early in our falls, which are frequently quite dry and warm. ”

“ There is a natural predisposition for the office he has to discharge, which it requires little trouble or skill to develop and perfect.
It is no unpleasing employment to study the degree in which the several breeds of dogs are not only highly intelligent, but fitted by nature for the particular duty they have to perform. The pointer, the setter, the hound, the greyhound, the terrier, the spaniel, and even the bull-dog, were made, and almost perfected, by nature chiefly for one office alone, although they maybe useful in many other ways. This is well illustrated in the sheep-dog. ”

“ A well built and muscular dog. Head of moderate length, broad in skull, slightly arched from eyes to point of nose, with long round muzzle. The eyes are large, bright and intelligent, varying in color from bright yellow to a deep brown. Ears large, pendulous, falling below the neck and set on low. Chest deep but not broad. Back strong, moderate in length and muscular. The stern is long and evenly furnished with hair, thick at the root and carried curved upwards. The coat is hard, close and smooth.
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IRISH SETTER In the leading essentials, this dog is similar to its English brother. ”

“ Since the general adoption of shooting in place of netting or bagging game, setters have been trained to act as pointers. They are pre-eminently dogs for sporting purposes, and special strains or breeds adapted to the peculiarities of different kinds of sporting have been produced. Great Britain is probably the country where setters were first produced, and as early as the 17th century spaniels were used in England as setting dogs. It is probable that pointer blood was introduced in the course of shaping the various breeds of setter. ”

“ As a part and parcel of the farm, the ranch, the station and estancia the gun dog and the coursing dogs are invaluable. Pointers, setters, spaniels and retrievers are useful under all circumstances, and they perform the same work in all climates and under the various and dissimilar conditions. In some countries pointers are preferred to setters; but, on inquiry, it will generally be found that the alleged fitness of one variety of dog over the other, is merely a matter of taste or “fancy.” A man who owns setters prefers setters ”

“ Dogs had been trained from the 16th century to scent game, but it was not until the beginning of the 19th century that a record of a distinct breed of setter was begun. The English setter generally is white with red markings or with black spots. ”

“ In many cases, indeed, where grouse and partridge are driven or walked-up a well-broken, soft-mouthed Retriever is unquestionably superior to Pointer, Setter, or Spaniel, and for general work in the field he is the best companion that a shooting man can possess. ”

“ The present type of show fox-terrier is too big and too long in the leg for ratting in hedges. Little dogs are called for, full of sense and pluck, with wide heads, strong jaws, bully chests and short bodies on short legs, which carry them as quick as lightning almost anywhere among the thorn hedges. The keeper does not care for his ratting terriers to hunt anything but rats—and the difference in the work of a rat specialist and a general-purpose dog must be seen to be believed. ”

“ The setter is a wise and affectionate animal. He is full of spirit and needs careful training, but train him well as a puppy and you will be able to take him everywhere with you, for he is a very gallant and courteous gentleman. In color the English setter varies with the different breeds. The Gordon setter is black and tan, and the Irish is red. ”

“ And now the reinforced party reach the meet below the grey ivy-tangled rocks, and Solomon pulls up at the accustomed spot to give his hounds a roll, and let the Major receive the encomiums of the encircling field. Then there is a repetition of the kennel scene: “Lovely! Lovely! Lovely!—beautiful bitch that—Chaunter. Chaunter! Chaunter!—there’s a handsome hound—Bustler, good dog!” Only each man has his particular favourite or hound that he has either bred or walked, or knows the name of, and so most of the pack come in for more or less praise. ”

“ The legs should be strong, well feathered and short; the feet round; and each toe should be protected with hair, a plentiful supply of which on, and between the toes, is important. The chest should be rather broad. The elbows, not so oblique as in the Setter. The body, should be long, and somewhat round, and barrel-like, with less depth of the fore rib than in the Setter. The tail, should come out on a line with the backbone. The colours may be almost anything, black, black and white, liver, liver and white, lemon, lemon and white, roan, blue, or grey mottled. ”

“ When shooting, the sportsman prefers spaniels, particularly certain “strains” of black and brown cockers—untiring little workers with a keen, true power of scent—which for many years have been common in the neighbourhood; and the farmer's sheep-dog is unfitted for any sport except rabbiting. Here and there, among the poaching fraternity, may be found a mongrel fondly imagined by its owner to be a terrier—a good rabbit “marker,” and wonderfully quick in killing rats, but no more suited than the sportman's spaniel for “lying up” with a badger. ”