English setter

[colorfan]

I am researching English setters. I am considering getting another dog and since I have always admired the beauty of an English setter I thought I would check them out.

I live on an acreage and am home most of the time. I have had several breeds in the past, get along well with Border Collies but don’t have the time for them atm. I have horses, a garden and grandchildren, no time for a border collie. lol.
\My favorite breed is Rough Collie, have had 3, they have had their own personality but they were breed similar, easy to train, quiet, calm as an adult, gentle, good with the kids, enough energy to keep up with what ever I was doing but content to hang out and lay down if I was cleaning the barn pulling weeds.
Why not just get another R Collie? DH would like to see something different, he thought GS, I get along well with them, but it seems one has to be very careful with them and GR, a lot of health issues and some temperament issues.
BC not so much, take off and go exploring…
So, anyone out there with experience with an English Setter?

[DownYonder]

I have always loved the look of the English Setter and liked the personalities of the ones I have known - mellow and easy going and more trainable than a hound or terrier. That said, I have never owned one myself - seriously considered it a few years ago but our house has a lot of stairs and I wanted something small enough that I could pick it up and carry it up and down stairs if necessary. If we ever move to a place with fewer stairs and a big enough yard, I will have a hard time resisting one!

[hillary_again]

My father’s favorite breed. Growing up, I remember their great temperaments - wonderful! And yes, way more trainable than hounds. The feathers on their legs and tails do require a commitment to grooming, or they get matted and ratty looking.

[Scarlet_Gilia]

I have known two. First one, decades ago - a beautiful show quality female owned by a family friend, with a very sweet personality. More recently, a friend adopted a female from a puppy mill/rescue situation which has slowly blossomed into a lovely dog. I’d consider one if I had the patience to deal with the hair!

[endlessclimb]

Lots and lots of them in the sport my SO and I compete in.

What type are you looking to get - pet or working? Do you hunt?

[S1969]

Not a Setter owner, but a Brittany owner. I love sporting dogs and I also have horses…but not sure the two go as easily together as other breeds/types. My dogs will hunt whether I want them to or not - which includes in the barn, in the garden, in the fields, etc. So they are fenced out of all of those and fenced into the yard so they don’t wander away to hunt. I have had a Brittany who was entirely dependable off leash and unfenced, but that has not been my experience in general (have owned 6 of them now).

I will also say that a Setter coat is work. Show bred will be more heavily coated; hunting bred more likely to wander. …pick your poison haha.

[Saskatoonian]

I knew someone years ago who had setters - her husband hunted them. While dog walking in the early morning at a horse show she told me she had to pay careful attention to them because if they set (set on? - sorry - not my sport so the lingo escapes me) a bird, she’ll have to go looking for them because they won’t leave it. Beautiful and sweet dogs though.

[colorfan]

I don’t hunt birds. I might do a few local shows as my daughter shows her dogs. Since they are a bird dog…do they care about song birds at the feeder or robins on the lawn? Just curious, I do feed birds at several feeders but I wouldn’t let that stop me from getting a dog.

[colorfan]

A few years ago I researched Brittany’s, decided against for the reasons you stated. Beautiful dogs!! Soft spot for spaniels as I grew up with one.

I doubt the coat would be as much work as a rough collie, could be mistaken. I’m ok with the coat. Beauty takes work.

[colorfan]

How would you describe their temperament? Would they be willing to hang out in the barn and chill?
(as an adult - I expect puppies to need more of everything)
Would they be happy as an in and out dog? In the house when I’m in, out when I’m out? Happy in a fenced yard when I have long days in the office?
How do they handle the cold? Thank you

[S1969]

My dogs do not typically care about “tweety birds” versus game birds, but they also get out of the yard to run off lead every day, so they don’t carry around too much pent up hunting energy. So, if they do not have an outlet, it could be the birdfeeders.

But, you do need to be prepared for hunting and carnage with dogs who were bred to hunt. One of my dogs specializes in finding bird nests (e.g. red-winged blackbirds, which tend to put nests lower to the ground in cattails around our pond) and eats the babies whole. They will find and eat baby rabbits, dig up moles and eat them, etc. One of mine actually hunted tomato hornworms after I showed him a couple of them. Snakes…also get killed from time to time. Something to be careful of if you live in rattlesnake country.

[endlessclimb]

I only have experience with the field bred dogs, who have an entirely different look (12 o clock tail on the field dogs, which while stunning is NOT breed standard) and temperament than a show dog.

I’d say they’re easier than the English pointers but harder than the GSPs and vizslas. Brittanys are all over the map. Met some easy ones and some crazy ones.

They are unlikely to chill. They’re bred to work.

They instinctually will point a bird, but without further training to whoa and hold will quickly just creep up on a bird and try to take it out. Holding point is training, not genetics.

They would do great as an in and out dog, with lots of exercise. Fenced yard is fine but again exercise is key. They’re ok in the cold but not like a husky. Their coat is silky and not thickly double that I can tell. The field guys tend to clip everything but ears and tail.

[endlessclimb]

Yep, once they’ve been on quail/pheasant/chukar/etc, they typically quit pointing tweety birds.

In the off-season when you can’t even get quail to train with they will point anything. Desperation lol

[colorfan]

The fenced yard is about an acre plus. Maybe the occasional garter snake but thats all, laggon is dog fenced, protecting the ducks that nest there. The cats leave mouse carcasses all over, bird feathers frequent the barn floor, meh life goes on.
I will contact some breeders but starting to think this may not be the right breed for me. Might have to go back to my rough collies.

[Bluey]

@colorfan

The fenced yard is about an acre plus. Maybe the occasional garter snake but thats all, laggon is dog fenced, protecting the ducks that nest there. The cats leave mouse carcasses all over, bird feathers frequent the barn floor, meh life goes on.
I will contact some breeders but starting to think this may not be the right breed for me. Might have to go back to my rough collies.

For your situation, collies seem the best all around fit and you have experience with them.
Our vet and his wife used to raise collies, both rough and smooth and they were way nicer family dogs than most other breeds, in so many ways.
The rough ones were best in temperament, smooth ones more reserved and maybe a bit more work driven.

I am allergic to dogs, some more than others.
I was not hardly allergic to his rough ones, but way more to the smooth ones, almost as much as I was to heelers or spaniels or corgis or GSDs.
Others with dog allergies also noticed that shelties and rough collies were some of the breeds they reacted to least.

Of course, breeds are just an indication what a dog characteristics may be.
Each dog is an individual and you may find in any breed or mix your perfect match.

[Cassi1125]

I used to dog-sit for a couple of English Setters. They were the sweetest dogs! They did love to romp in the acreage that their owner had, and would 99% of the time come when called (lol!). They were well trained, though, and never went too far. Alas, one had a seizure condition - I don’t know if that is something inherent in the breed.

[2tempe]

Back in my very early teens, my father adopted one, who failed hunting 101. Terrified of gun shots.
Sweet, loveable dog, he did like his outdoor time, and usually stayed around. This was way back in the day when people didn’t worry much about fences. This dog would take his bowl over to the neighbors, who occasionally fed him snacks, lol. He would also bring home gloves, hats, a shoe or two from other houses. He followed me to school one day, found my classroom, wandered out and disappeared. When I got home later, no dog; it turned out he either couldn’t figure out how to get out, or perhaps was in cafeteria; in any event we had to go get him. I have a friend who has 3, two of them are certified therapy dogs.

[Ben_and_Me]

I have one that I adopted last December. They had him listed as a Spaniel Mix but I thought he was maybe a tricolor Llewelyn, which was confirmed by DNA testing.

He is the most mischievous, joyful dog I’ve ever met. He also gets my butt out of bed and off the couch for long walks, which has been good for me. I wouldn’t trust him off leash (way too interested in rabbits and cats) and he’s not particularly food motivated. But he’s incredibly smart and wants to please and loves people more than any dog I’ve ever met.

Here he is in Shenandoah National Park in July.

[hillary_again]

@Ben_and_Me, that’s a gorgeous animal!

[colorfan]

Beautiful! Sounds like a wonderful temperament. You can just see his love of life.