Setter owners, some advice

[redtop65]

Get a field bred for sure, no question. Several good FB groups for Setters and Field Trialing and Hunting.

My current young Setter in ND

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[tyler94]

Get a field bred for sure, no question. Several good FB groups for Setters and Field Trialing and Hunting.

Awesome, thank you. Do you have any breeders you’d recommend?

 

[WRO]

Awesome, thank you. Do you have any breeders you’d recommend?

Alex Mauck, Talmadge Smedley, Brett gorash (sp), Robertson Kennels, Bruce Sooter, Phil Bowden, Long hollow bird dogs for white dogs. If you want a Gordon, tall grass kennels, Clear cut kennels for starters.

 

[redtop65]

Berg Brothers has very nice Setters also, a ways away in Minnesota


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[medvedyt]

We had a GSP growing up, he was very good with kids but his energy was out of this world. He never mellowed out, up until the day he passed. I do love them, but I like hearing the good experiences people have had with setters in the home

we had gsp (my uncle) and britannies (ours) all our life at the farm in france. the granda of my wife had setters (the english kind ) and they were never with the family (cant explain how come) and they had always one idea in mind is to escape the kennel and go after the chicken in the neighbourood which of course show a great prey drive ... now we are griffon but the most important is to find the breeder that will fit your hunting and lifestyle.

 

[UPThunderbolt]

Hey everyone. Im looking to get my first bird dog, and I’ve pretty much settled on an English Setter. From my research, they seem to be a good blend of hunting ability and having an off switch in the house. I have little kids at home, so the dog being well mannered around kids is very important for me.



I live in CA and 90 percent of the time I hunt chukar and quail. Right now I’m trying to navigate the process of selecting a breeder, and a lot of them seem to breed for grouse and woodcock in the Midwest, which is something I may not ever do. Does anyone have any experience hunting “western” birds with dogs from these breeders? Or can anyone provide any insight or experience on selecting between a Ryman type, Llewellin, or field bred setters? I appreciate all the advice

Here is an add from the most recent Pointing Dog Journal. I believe this is an Idaho breeder.

 

[joerotter]

We hunt a lot of Chukar, and I love the high white tail and their ability to chill or kill depending on the situation. Unfortunately lost mine, but would absolutely get another setter. If you live in PNW a couple of guys at work here are guides and breed. Just DM me if you have any interest in learning more.

 

[redtop65]

Alex Mauck, Talmadge Smedley, Brett gorash (sp), Robertson Kennels, Bruce Sooter, Phil Bowden, Long hollow bird dogs for white dogs. If you want a Gordon, tall grass kennels, Clear cut kennels for starters.

I know Mauck, and Long Hollow are top notch.


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[WRO]

I know Mauck, and Long Hollow are top notch.


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Phil Bowden probably has the nicest all age setter currently I’ve seen. Ryder is going to be a force on the ft circuit this year. His lines are what Long hollow has.

 

[EmperorMA]

Setters are great. Well-bred field setters are great on all kinds of birds, should hunt to the cover naturally without training as long as you take 'em for walks as a puppy, should have a built-in light switch for indoors and will undoubtedly be one of the best dogs you've ever owned.

A few breeders in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nor Cal and Utah are where I'd start. Field-bred all the way if you are looking for easy.

 

[Macintosh]

“Ryman-type” is a bit of a crap shoot that is supposed to be the older conformation. Many of them are not what I would call hunting dogs, but some are. Imo may take more vetting of the breeder to make sure you are getting what you want. Many are also very sensitive dogs that require a very light touch in training. In general they are bigger dogs, not as fast, not as high drive compared to any dog bred out of any of the trial circuits east or west. But there are definitely exceptions, just do your homework.

Many of the midwest/eastern breeders run in coverdog trials. Different format than aa field trials, but those are hot dogs with a lot of drive and are NOT “close range” dogs. Get those dogs in the open and they’ll run as big as you let them.

 

[WRO]

“Ryman-type” is a bit of a crap shoot that is supposed to be the older conformation. Many of them are not what I would call hunting dogs, but some are. Imo may take more vetting of the breeder to make sure you are getting what you want. Many are also very sensitive dogs that require a very light touch in training. In general they are bigger dogs, not as fast, not as high drive compared to any dog bred out of any of the trial circuits east or west. But there are definitely exceptions, just do your homework.

Many of the midwest/eastern breeders run in coverdog trials. Different format than aa field trials, but those are hot dogs with a lot of drive and are NOT “close range” dogs. Get those dogs in the open and they’ll run as big as you let them.

I wouldn’t buy a Ryman or any show lined dog.

Dogs with FT wins and that compete are about the only true test unless you have hunted over the parents. Everyone has the best dog ever, just ask them lol..

 

[Macintosh]

@WRO I’ve hunted over a handful of nice dogs that were billed as rymans. Mostly what I’ve seen is not my speed, but imo they’re out there IF you do a LOT of research, and depending on exactly what your biases are. Of course, setter people being the single most opinionated group of dog people Ive been around, any given setter guy may or may not agree with that, but thats my opinion having hunted with several dogs each ranging from all age pointers and setters, to good coverdog bred ones, to what seemed like the worst slugs out there from show lines. But in general I dont disagree with you, your post is simply a much more blunt way of saying more or less what I meant.

 

[160andup]

Reiterating what has already been said, but currently have a young female Llewellin as part of the pack and can’t see not having one or two of them from here on out. The goofiest personalities and super soft with kids/strangers and in the house. She’s a house dog with a great off switch, but can be a bit vocal at times. Other than that she’s an 11/10. Have hunted grouse/woodcock but lineage hunts all over the country on all birds. I’ll have another within a few years as she matures. Here’s her first brace of woodcock last fall at 6 months. Gorgeous little dogs.

 

[sndmn11]

@tyler94
My outside the box perspective is that the most valuable thing you can learn from examining pedigrees is the health testing. I believe that the product of whatever a pointing dog ends up becoming is much more the result of training and bird contact, than what sire/dam hunted/scored. Having a documented history through multiple generations of no health issues will leave you with a durable dog that you can get 10 years of hunting with versus 6, at whatever quality you put into the training and contact.

Any breeder who can show you a solid health lineage of their litters, is going to be delivering all the moldable hunt qualities one could ever need. Beyond that, size of the lineage is something to pay attention to, and coat variations (of those exist in setters).

I agree with others here, it doesn't matter what the lineage hunts or has hunted, or where, just that they hunt wild birds. With the training and contact to reinforce drive and teamwork, it's an easy thing for a dog to adjust to new terrain or birds or hunt parameters, when they have been encouraged to learn.

 

[WRO]

@tyler94
My outside the box perspective is that the most valuable thing you can learn from examining pedigrees is the health testing. I believe that the product of whatever a pointing dog ends up becoming is much more the result of training and bird contact, than what sire/dam hunted/scored. Having a documented history through multiple generations of no health issues will leave you with a durable dog that you can get 10 years of hunting with versus 6, at whatever quality you put into the training and contact.

Any breeder who can show you a solid health lineage of their litters, is going to be delivering all the moldable hunt qualities one could ever need. Beyond that, size of the lineage is something to pay attention to, and coat variations (of those exist in setters).

I agree with others here, it doesn't matter what the lineage hunts or has hunted, or where, just that they hunt wild birds. With the training and contact to reinforce drive and teamwork, it's an easy thing for a dog to adjust to new terrain or birds or hunt parameters, when they have been encouraged to learn.

I’d agree that 90% of it is reps, but I’ve seen some pups that never got the pieces to put together because of poor breeding.

Health testing is huge, although the majority of the health issues seem to be from show lines and not field lines.

 

[sndmn11]

I’d agree that 90% of it is reps, but I’ve seen some pups that never got the pieces to put together because of poor breeding.

Health testing is huge, although the majority of the health issues seem to be from show lines and not field lines.

Were those from breeders who fall into the category of caring about health testing?

In the breeds I am exploring, every breeder who cares enough about the breed's future to health test, also has a solid track record of good hunt scoring progeny.

 

[WRO]

Were those from breeders who fall into the category of caring about health testing?

In the breeds I am exploring, every breeder who cares enough about the breed's future to health test, also has a solid track record of good hunt scoring progeny.

Show breeders care about health testing too, honestly I handled a bunch of dogs but didn’t read their papers just made observations. Some of the worst were color variant dogs (black GSP’s etc) and Weims. But there were a few that just had no prey drive from “reputable” breeders.