Loyal, affectionate, smart and great with kids, what’s not to love?
Setters are a relatively uncommon breed across the world, especially in the UK, but everybody who has met a setter has fallen in love!
English Setters are much more common in Spain and are used as hunting dogs. Unfortunately, as with all the dogs we help, they very often end up in shelters after being discarded by their hunters.
The English Setter was named after the practice of ‘setting’, their distinctive stance which lets their hunter know they have found a bird before flushing it out. The breed was originally designed to hunt game such as quail, pheasant and grouse. They are well known for their endurance and athleticism as well as being very strong willed and rather mischievous for a gundog, adding to their charm!
The working setters are smaller than the show counterparts and very more in size, ranging from approximately 47cm-65cm to shoulder. They have shorter coats which are more practical for hunting and a wider range of markings.
The setter is a very energetic dog, well suited to active families who can give them the attention and exercise they crave. Like most active dogs, they benefit from being given a job to do and will thrive on enrichment games, as well as plenty of exercise. Inside, they tend to be more relaxed once settled into a home. They are famously good natured and great with children and visitors.
English setters are very intelligent and can be trained to do most tasks. They are however not an easy breed to train due to their natural prey drive and interest in birds which can prove very distracting out of the house, meaning that recall is often their downfall.