The English Setter is a medium-sized breed of dog. It is part of the setter group, which includes the red Irish Setters, Irish Red and White Setters, and black-and-tan Gordon Setters. The mainly white body coat is of medium length with long silky fringes on the back of the legs, under the belly and on the tail. The coat features flecks of colour, and the different colour varieties are referred to as Belton.

A gentle but at times strong-willed, mischievous gun dog, bred for a mix of endurance and athleticism, it is used to hunt for game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse. When working, the dog will hunt methodically seeking the airborne scent of its prey. It is sometimes referred to as the Laverack or Llewellin Setter as these were famous strains of the breed during the major development period in the 19th century. Those from hunting stock are generally of a finer build and with less coat than those bred for show exhibition.

Generally reasonably healthy, they have an average life span of 11 to 12 years. The Kennel Club advises UK breeders to screen for hip dysplasia.

Appearance

The English Setter is a medium-sized dog that should have an elegant overall appearance. Its size can range from 24 inches (61 cm) for females up to 27 inches (69 cm) for males. The field or hunting type can be finer in build and construction than those from bench or show lines. The breed was designed to hunt game such as quail, pheasant, and grouse so should be able to cover a lot of ground when seeking the airborne scent of the birds, carrying its head high. The head should be slightly domed with a muzzle of good depth and show chiseling under the eyes, which should be dark in color with a kind, gentle expression. The top of the ears (sometimes the ears are referred to as “leathers”) are positioned in line with the eyes and lie in an elegant fold. It has a long muscular neck, well-angled shoulders, and a brisket of good depth. The body is of a moderate length proportionate to its height and it has strong powerful hindquarters. It carries its tail in line with its back and the tail should be long enough to reach the hock.

The main body coat is short to medium length, lies flat, and has a silky texture. Long silky coat – usually called “feathering”, forms fringes on the outside of the ears, neck, chest, down the back of the front legs, under the belly and on the back legs. The tail is also feathered with a long coat. The body coat and feathering should be straight and flat but not profuse and never curly although a slight wave can be seen.

The bench or show type has a long, flowing coat that requires regular grooming. The field or hunting type has a shorter coat that requires less grooming.

The base color of the coat is white with differing colored ticking also called flecks or speckling. The various speckled coat colors when occurring in English Setters are referred to as belton; valid combinations are white with black flecks (blue belton), white with orange flecks (orange belton), white with orange flecks and lighter nose (lemon belton), white with liver flecks (liver belton), or “tricolor”, which is blue or liver belton with tan markings on the face, chest, and legs. The flecking should not form large patches on the body and the flecks should be distributed all over the body. The use of the word “belton” was first coined by Laverack, who developed the breed in the 19th century, to describe his ideal for flecking and is also the name of a village in the extreme north of England. Puppies’ coats may not have all the markings that they have as adults.

Temperament

This breed’s standard temperament is best described as a “Gentleman by Nature”. However, it can also be strong-willed and mischievous, especially if coming from working/field breeding lines. English Setters are energetic, people-oriented dogs, that are well suited to families who can give them attention and activity, or to working with a hunter, where they have a job to do. They are active dogs that need plenty of exercises and up to two hours a day of exercise is recommended. Inside they tend to be lower energy and love to be couch potatoes and lap dogs; the breed is described as “intensely friendly,” “good-natured,” and “adores visitors and is particularly happy with children.”

They rank 37th in Stanley Coren’s The Intelligence of Dogs, being of above-average working/obedience intelligence. English Setters are very intelligent and can be trained to perform about any task another breed can do, with the exception of herding. However, they are not always easy to train, as their natural bird instinct tends to distract them in outdoor environments. Their temperament is considered to be gentle and as English Setters can be very sensitive to criticism, positive reinforcement training methods using treats and praise work best when undertaking basic training.

History

“Setting dogges” is an old term used for setters and the original purpose of the English Setter was to set or point upland game birds. From the best available information, it appears that the English Setter was a trained bird dog in England more than 400 years ago and there are works of art created in the early 15th century showing dogs that are discernible as being of a “setter type”. There is evidence that the English Setter originated in crosses of the Spanish Pointer, large Water Spaniel, and English Springer Spaniel, which combined to produce an excellent bird dog with a high degree of proficiency in finding and pointing game in open country.

Writing in 1576, Dr Johannes Caius states: “There is also at this date among us a new kind of dog brought out of France, and they bee speckled all over with white and black, which mingled colors incline to a marble blue”. Argue speculates this may be a description of the blue Belton color found in English Setters.

Caius went on to describe the dog called a setter using the Latin name index:

Another sort of Dog is there, serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with the foot or with tongue, whiles they follow the game. They attend diligently upon their Master and frame their condition to such barks, motions, and gestures, as it shall please him to exhibit and make, either going forward, drawing backward, inclining to the right hand or yielding toward the left. When he hath founded the bird, he keepeth sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes and will proceed no further, and with a close, covert watching eye, layeth his belly to the ground and so creeps forward like a worm. When he approaches nearer to the place where the bird is, he lays him down, and with a marked of his paws, betrayeth the place of the bird last abode, whereby it is supposed that this kind of dog is called in Index, Setter, being in deede a name most consonant and agreeable to his quality.

By the 17th century setters, or “setting dogges”, had become established and were widespread on British estates, although the evolution into the more specific individual breeds of setters occurred at a later date. The interbreeding of the different colors was still taking place during this period but it gradually changed and sportsman/breeders began to segregate matings to dogs adapted to the terrain it was required to work on.