English Setter
🧠 Temperament & character
The English Setter is gentle, friendly and thoroughly sociable, a dog with a finely balanced, amiable character. In the field he is hardy, passionate and ranges wide and elegantly in his search, while indoors he is calm, cuddly and easy-going. He is sensitive and people-oriented and responds best to friendly, patient training. With children and other dogs he usually gets on splendidly.
📜 Origin & history
The English Setter goes back to old 'setting spaniels', which located feathered game and crouched down in front of it. In the 19th century Edward Laverack and Richard Purcell Llewellin in particular shaped the breed through selective breeding and formed today's elegant type. In the process the characteristic belton colour varieties with their fine speckling also arose. To this day a distinction is made between working lines for hunting and heavier show lines.
✂️ Grooming, care & training
The English Setter's silky, medium-length coat with its rich feathering needs regular brushing to prevent matting, especially on the ears, legs and belly. As a pointing dog he has a high need for exercise and needs long, active outings and mental stimulation every day. He is eager to learn but sensitive, which is why friendly, motivating methods work best. The drop ears should be checked regularly for infections.
🩺 Health
The English Setter is considered a fundamentally robust breed with a life expectancy of around eleven to thirteen years. Breed-typical topics include hip and elbow dysplasia, an underactive thyroid and, rarely, congenital deafness; certain cancers also occur. Responsible breeders examine hips, elbows, eyes, thyroid and hearing (BAER test). Anyone looking for a puppy should specifically ask about these examinations.
🏡 Who is this breed right for?
The English Setter is suited to active families and hunters looking for a gentle, sociable and hardy companion. Thanks to his friendly nature he also suits sensitive first-time owners, provided they bring plenty of time for exercise and closeness. Ideal is a home with a garden and lots of room to run in nature; for pure apartment keeping without exercise he is not made. In Switzerland he is a popular, temperamentally stable companion and hunting dog for active people.