The English Setter is considered the breed born for hunting, due to its innate predisposition in the hunting field. Some believe that the English Setter is the prettiest and most charming of all pointing dogs. Duarnte el hunts always know how to stand out.
The English setter belongs, together with its more famous Irish and Scottish setter cousins, to group 7 of pointing dogs, which brings together all those hunting dogs capable of identifying the prey and indicating its position to the hunter, pointing it with the muzzle or with particular postures.
The English setter differs from the Irish setter and the gordon setter for its characteristic long, white and silky hair, although there are three varieties of this breed (lemon, blue and liver belton), further distinguished by the different colors of the speckles ( brown-orange).
The English Setter is a specialist in his field, as he is employed to silently search, find and target feathered game such as partridge or pheasant.
The English setter was originally selected by Edward Laverack, an English shoemaker of the first half of the nineteenth century who, following a sudden fortune in money, decided to devote himself completely to his true passion, namely hunting dogs. After a long series of crossings and selections made in his Westmoorland kennel, Laverack was able in 1825 to establish the distinctive characteristics of this breed.
His dogs soon became famous not only at home, but also throughout Europe and the United States. Another great breeder of English setters was Purcell Liewellin who, by crossing gordon blood with Irish blood and with the Laverack breed, managed to obtain his own stock of setters, the latter selected expressly for hunting in the plains.
The British called this breed Setter (from to seat, to sit) because when it is stationary, the dog assumes an almost sitting position, skimming the ground and slightly tilting the back of the body. In our country, the first setters were imported towards the end of the nineteenth century and immediately had an enormous success, which is still found today, since Italy is considered one of the major countries where this splendid dog with an elegant bearing is bred.
Of medium-large size, the English setter has an average height at the withers of 60 cm in males and 56 cm in females, while the weight can reach 30 kg in males and 28 kg in females. The skull is proportionate to the muzzle, the nose is black or dark brown and the dark hazel eyes are large, sweet, and express intense vivacity.
The ears have a low set and are of balanced length, hanging and close to the cheeks. The trunk is medium-long with a short and straight back, the tail inserted high, large and robust at the root, of medium length, curved like an inverted sickle and with beautiful fringe. The forelegs are robust and muscular, while the rear ones are completely upright; the knee joints are well angulated and the feet are oval with toes close together. The hair, as already mentioned, is quite long, wavy and silky from the back of the head up to the height of the ears, while it is shaved on the head (ears excluded), on the anterior margin and on the lateral faces of the forelegs, this one. last well fringed like the tail.
The English setter, considered as the essence of the hunting dog due to its innate hunting predisposition, however, also lends itself to being an excellent companion dog. Very affectionate and by nature very quiet, the setter manages to create a very strong bond with the people who take care of him. Very agile, fast and tireless, the English setter is of a calm and sensitive nature, easily lending itself to a companion dog to be kept even at home.
In hunting activities, the English setter shows the best of himself: an extraordinary sense of smell through which he can smell the smell of game even after a long time from its passage, and to get on the right track without ever losing it. During the hunt he always keeps his nose turned into the wind current to hear the smell of the wild and it is a real spectacle to admire him as he runs quickly and suddenly stops when he identifies the prey, assuming the typical pose of the great felines before an ambush.
The English Setter is able to adapt to any type of terrain, demonstrating great skill both on simple flat terrain and on hilly or marshy grounds. If trained according to the German rules to use them both before and after the shot, the English setters are also excellent water dogs, although it must be considered that during the cold season it would be better not to let them immerse, as they lack the undercoat that can protect them.
The main rules to keep in mind for his education and management can be summarized in a single concept: one must never use compulsion to impose work and make him feel an obligation. Training, according to some experts, must, on the contrary, be spontaneous.
What the setter must never forget is the absolute stop (the so-called down), at any distance, through auditory and visual signals. He should never be distracted when he hears the emanations of footprints or the ground, but he must be educated in such a way as to always follow the air in the direction of the wind.
The setter always maintains eye contact with the master, constantly turning to him when he is looking. The English Setter also has the characteristic common to all our four-legged friends: he is eager to be treated with affection, intelligence and a lot of calm.