English Setter E-Book

Juliette Cunliffe

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Comprehensive Owner's Guide
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 244

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

The "gentleman's gentleman," the English Setter is a regal and elegant sporting dog whose attractive flecked coat and natural field talents make him a highly desirable choice among purebred dogs. Polite, friendly, and good-natured, the English Setter possesses an even temperament and love of his people that make him shine as a companion dog. Although original bred for the specific task of assisting hunters in locating birds, the breed today is an all-rounder excelling in many fields beyond the hunting grounds. Beginning with the setter's development in England, this Comprehensive Owner's Guide presents a complete history of the breed including a detailed section about the important kennels and show dogs in America (from Adonis, the first dog to be registered with the AKC, to the breed's most famous show dog, Ch. Rock Falls Colonel, the winner of 100 Best in Show awards). The chapter on characteristics offers a description of the breed's physical attributes, personality, and health concerns, all vital information for owners deciding whether the English Setter is the ideal dog for him or her. New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a reputable breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with photographs of handsome adults and puppies. In all, there are over 135 full-color photographs in this useful and reliable volume. The author's advice on obedience training will help the reader better mold and train into the most well-mannered dog in the neighborhood. The extensive and lavishly illustrated chapter on healthcare provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, preventing and dealing with parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical dogs, breeders, or kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.

Leseprobe

Physical Characteristics of the English Setter

(from the American Kennel Club breed standard)

Head: When viewed from the side, head planes (top of muzzle, top of skull and bottom of lower jaw) are parallel.

Skull: Of medium width, without coarseness, and only slightly wider at the earset than at the brow.

Ears: Set well back and low, even with or below eye level.

Neck: Long and graceful, muscular and lean.

Eyes: Dark brown, the darker the better.

Muzzle: Long and square when viewed from the side.

Nose: Black or dark brown, fully pigmented.

Teeth: Close scissors bite preferred.

Shoulder: Shoulder blade well laid back.

Forechest: Well developed, point of sternum projecting slightly in front of point of shoulder/upper arm joint.

Chest: Deep, but not so wide or round as to interfere with the action of the forelegs.

Forelegs: From front or side, forelegs straight and parallel.

Pasterns: Short, strong and nearly round.

Feet: Face directly forward. Toes closely set, strong and well arched.

Back: Straight and strong at its junction with loin.

Loin: Strong, moderate in length, slightly arched.

Tail: Tapering to a fine point with only sufficient length to reach the hock joint or slightly less.

Hindquarters: Wide, muscular thighs and well developed lower thighs. In balance with forequarter assembly. Stifle well bent and strong. Hock joint well bent and strong. Rear pastern short, strong, nearly round and perpendicular to the ground.

Coat: Flat without curl or wooliness.

Markings: White ground color with intermingling of darker hairs resulting in belton markings varying in degree from clear distinct flecking to roan shading.

Color: Orange belton, blue belton (white with black markings), tricolor (blue belton with tan on muzzle, over the eyes and on the legs), lemon belton, liver belton.

Size: Dogs about 25 inches; bitches about 24 inches.

Contents

History of the English Setter

Follow the trail of the original setting spaniels of the 14th century from the hardworking partridge hunters of yesterday to the refined and multi-faceted setters promoted by the “father” of the breed, Edward Laverack, to the popular show dogs and companions found in the United States today.

Characteristics of the English Setter

Make the acquaintance of “the gentleman’s gentleman,” the English Setter, renowned the world over for his friendly personality, natural good looks and noteworthy intelligence. Is your home suitable for this talented gundog with a lovely, calm disposition and an endearing sensitive side? Also learn about the breed’s physical traits as well as its known hereditary health concerns.

Breed Standard for the English Setter

Learn the requirements of a well-bred English Setter by studying the description of the breed set forth in the American Kennel Club standard. Both show dogs and pets must possess key characteristics as outlined in the breed standard.

Your Puppy English Setter

Find out about how to locate a well-bred English Setter puppy. Discover which questions to ask the breeder and what to expect when visiting the litter. Prepare for your puppy-accessory shopping spree. Also discussed are home safety, the first trip to the vet, socialization and solving basic puppy problems.

Proper Care of Your English Setter

Cover the specifics of taking care of your English Setter every day: feeding for the puppy, adult and senior dog; grooming, including coat care, ears, eyes, nails and bathing; and exercise needs for your dog. Also discussed are dog ID and safe travel with your dog.

Training Your English Setter

Begin with the basics of training the puppy and adult dog. Learn the principles of house-training the English Setter, including the use of crates and basic scent instincts. Get started by introducing the pup to his collar and leash and progress to the basic commands. Find out about obedience classes and other activities.

Healthcare of Your English Setter

By Lowell Ackerman DVM, DACVD

Become your dog’s healthcare advocate and a well-educated canine keeper. Select a skilled and able veterinarian. Discuss pet insurance, vaccinations and infectious diseases, the neuter/spay decision and a sensible, effective plan for parasite control, including fleas, ticks and worms.

Showing Your English Setter

Step into the center ring and find out about the world of showing pure-bred dogs. Acquaint yourself with the basics of AKC conformation showing, including show organization and earning a championship. Take a leap into the realms of competitive obedience, agility, tracking, field and hunting events.

KENNEL CLUB BOOKS®ENGLISH SETTER

ISBN 13: 978-1-59378-282-5

eISBN 13: 978-1-59378-634-2

Copyright © 2005 • Kennel Club Books® • An Imprint of I-5 Press™ • A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™3 Burroughs, Irvine, CA 92618 USA Cover Design Patented: US 6,435,559 B2 • Printed in South Korea

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, scanner, microfilm, xerography or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Photography by Carol Ann Johnson and Michael Trafford

with additional photographs by:

Paulette Braun, T.J. Calhoun, Isabelle Français, Bill Jonas and Alice van Kempen.

Illustration by Rénee Low and Patricia Peters.

The publisher wishes to thank all of the owners whose dogs are illustrated in this book.

In terms of hunting skills, devotion to his owners, gentleness and beauty, there are simply few dogs that can compare with the English Setter.

For centuries, setters of one kind or another have been found with sportsmen, for the setter is one of the oldest types of gundog and has developed over hundreds of years, with a history dating back to the 14th century. Originally called a “setting spaniel,” this dog was usually worked on moorland where it quartered the ground in front of the hunter, looking for birds. The person credited with having been the first to train setting dogs was Robert Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, England, who lived in the middle of the 16th century.

The old name for the setter was “Index,” and we certainly know that from the 16th century setters were used for partridge and quail. From that time we read of this dog being “serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with foote or with tounge, whilse they follow the game…either going forward, drawing backe ward, inclining to the right hand, or yealding toward the left, when he hath founde the byrde, he keepeth sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes and wil proceede no further, and with a close couert watching eye, layeth his belly to the grounde and so creepeth forward like a worme.”

In 1655 Gervase Markham’s Hunger’s Prevention or the Art of Fowling provided a further source of information about what a setting dog was, describing a dog whose duties in the field seem to have altered little since then. However, then the difference between setters and spaniels was not at all clear, the name “setter” applying only to dogs broken to set game, and not referring to any structural difference in the dogs’ shape or build.

Even in the late 17th century, we learn that spaniels and even mongrels were used by British sportsmen as setting dogs. When the Sportsman’s Cabinet was published in 1803, a good deal of space was devoted to setters, so it is clear that by then the setter had taken its rank as a distinct type of dog.

The setter was described as corresponding in many ways with the Pointer, with equally splendid scenting powers, but while the Pointer used its legs, setters became prostrate on the ground, from which the name “setting dog” derived. The following quotation from the Sportsman’s Cabinet tells readers that, “Although the setting dog is in general used merely for the purpose of taking partridges with the draw-net, yet they are sometimes brought into occasional use with the gun, and are equally applicable to that appropriation, except in turnips, French wheat, standing clover, ling, furze, or other covert, where their sudden drop and point may not be so readily observed.”

Punch of Fermanar, owned by Miss K. Lewis in 1931, illustrates a long and lean head and a well-defined stop.

The foregoing statement indicates the change that came over the setter’s behavior in the field in the 19th century, for by the end of that century the setter usually pointed his game standing up, as did the Pointer. The reason for this change was undoubtedly because the use of netting was abandoned in the late 18th century. Before then, sportsmen were anxious to net as many birds as possible, and the presence of a dog would have scared them away. Hence the chances of a dog’s being seen by the game were lessened if the dog was lying down, and this was the reason that the setter was broken to do so.

In 1803 setters were described as being of timid and nervous temperament, dreading severe correction by their masters. Their treatment in the field was therefore a matter of judicious discrimination. Hasty, impetuous sportsmen who corrected their dogs too severely did so to their own disappointment. Their dogs were so completely overwhelmed with distress or humiliated with fear that they sank at the feet and were likely never to hunt again. Throughout the 19th century, it was considered unfortunate that many a setter that would have otherwise been invaluable in the field was ruined in his breaking and subsequent training merely because he was in the hands of those who meted out too severe a treatment.

THE BREED’S EARLY DEVELOPMENT

Throughout Britain, different strains of setter developed from different lines of breeding, the reason being that breeders needed to produce the most suitable dog for the country where they worked. Several displayed marked spaniel characteristics, and indeed there is no doubt that the spaniel has played a large part in the English Setter’s historical make-up. Old illustrations and paintings of English Setters at work bear some resemblance to the old liver-and-white spaniel, although they were of different colors.

SETTER VARIETIES

Today there are three distinct varieties of setter: the Gordon, recognized as the Scottish national setter, its ancestry traced back to Gordon Castle in Aberdeenshire; the Irish (now classified separately as the Irish Setter and Irish Red and White Setter) and the English.

Another breed credited as an English Setter ancestor is the Old Spanish Pointer, from which the setter is said to have inherited its wonderful scenting power, the style in which it draws up to its game and statuesque attitude when on point. Indeed, a highly significant connection with the Pointer is the setter’s staunchness and patience, holding the game spellbound until the shooter has time to walk up. However, over the years there have been many breed enthusiasts who have denied that there is any evidence of the Pointer’s being behind the English Setter.

The actual source from which the modern English Setter has sprung is surely questionable, but by the close of the 19th century several distinct families had emerged. Each of these was an offshoot from older types, originating from the setting dog, either by breeding selectively or by careful introduction of foreign blood.

OTHER EARLY SETTERS

The Welsh or Llandidloes Setter was already virtually extinct by the late 1800s and was as unlike a modern setter as it is possible to imagine. Pure-bred ones had hard-textured coats as curly as the jacket of a Cotswold sheep. Usually the color was white, but sometimes there was a lemon-colored patch on the head and ears. Frequently several whelps in a litter had one or two pearl eyes. Their heads were longer in proportion to their size and not so refined as those of the English Setter.

The English Setter called Ranger III from a painting dated 1881.

Baildon Barra, a winner of five first prizes in England between 1929 and 1932, showing a lovely tail.

Withinlee Growse won Best in Show in Britain on 36 occasions in the early 1930s.

A light, active and very narrow breed of dog, which was also rather leggy, was the Angle-sea Setter, coming from Beaudesert, the residence of the Marquis of Anglesea. Although they showed good pace in the field, they were of delicate constitution. Most were black, white and tan, but their coats were not as smooth and flat as that of modern setters.

The jet-black Welsh Setter was already extinct, for although the breed had been jealously guarded by its owners, interest in the breed continued to lessen. This breed was formerly found in many parts of Wales.

Irish Setters were originally red and white, but the red Irish Setter evolved as a separate breed. Today we have two distinct breeds, the Irish Setter and the Irish Red and White Setter.

In Scotland were the forerunners of today’s Gordon Setter: the Lovat, a black, white and tan setter bred by Lord Lovat in Inverness; and the Southesk, of similar color, but larger and more powerful. There was also the Seafield Setter, reputed for its particularly good coat and feathering.

From Northumberland was the all-black Ossulton Setter, and from the Midlands area the Lort Setter, found in black and white or in lemon and white and praised by Edward Laverack, of whom we shall read more in a moment. In the south and southwest of England, the setters were great upstanding dogs with fine shoulders and hindquarters and exuberant feathering, mainly lemon and white in color. From Carlisle in the very north of the country came a rather coarse, lumbering, liver-and-white strain, sometimes believed to have connections with the Laveracks, a strain which was to become very important.

THE LAVERACKS

Edward Laverack did more to bring the English Setter to public notice than anyone before him, and by the end of the 19th century he was recognized as the “father” of the modern English Setter. Born in Westmorland, England in 1798, Laverack was originally a shoemaker’s apprentice, but from a distant relative he inherited money sufficient to provide him with a very comfortable living. He became an ardent sportsman and was involved in breeding setters for over half a century, the cornerstone of his breeding program being a pair obtained from a clergyman in Carlisle in about 1825. These were a dog, Ponto, and a bitch, Old Moll. He claimed to have conscientiously followed the principles of strict inbreeding, and although this method of breeding is disputed by some breeders today, the success of his method was soon to become clear.

Laverack was already in his 60s by the time dog shows came about, so he understandably made up only two champions. Upon his death in Whitchurch in Shropshire in 1877, three years after his book on the breed was published, he left only five dogs. However, their blood was diffused through a number of the breed’s great winners. He had exported several English Setters to the US, where some fine examples of the breed had been produced from his stock. It was claimed that the Laverack stock showed all-around excellence in the field. With unusual stamina, they could work almost from sunrise to sunset for days at a stretch. Having said that, it has also been said that the Laverack setters did better on the show bench than at field trials. This difference of opinion may have been because in America the English Setter was beginning to diverge into two styles, one for the show ring and the other for the field. The former was more cobby, with a certain profusion of feathering and, in the opinion of some, taking the breed away from its domain as a working dog.

EARLY SHOW SETTERS

From the earliest official dog show in England in 1859, and by that I mean those other than the ones held in the back rooms of drinking houses, there were classes for pointers and setter breeds, even though many other breeds were not represented. By 1861 there were specific classes for English Setters and from then until 1892, out of 25 champions gaining their title, there were no fewer than 11 champions of pure Laverack breeding. Several important kennels were founded on Laverack stock, providing a firm foundation for the breed to continue its winning ways right up to the present day.

Joel McCrea, the famous film star of the 1930s, passed many of his days hunting as a hobby. His English Setter always accompanied him on these excursions.

Mr. Purcell-Llewellin, born in 1840, was a friend of Edward Laverack and was to become equally as important in the history of the breed. He carried on the work of Laverack, achieving even greater success, until his own strain came to be known as the Llewellin Setter. This breeder carried out much experimental breeding, originally keeping black-and-tan setters (now known as Gordons) and then Irish, until he purchased some choice stock from Laverack. However, even among this new stock, he found “many unsatisfactory and inconvenient peculiarities of mind, habit and instinct to fit them for attaining his ideal.”

In consequence, Llewellin set about more experimental work, blending pure Laveracks with blood from Sir Vincent Corbet’s and Mr. Satter’s kennels. The result was an English Setter that had quality and beauty for the show bench, while its field-trial record had never been approached. By the 1880s Mr. Purcell-Llewellin had achieved very great things in the breed and was known to have refused offers of £1200 for a dog and £1000 for a couple of his bitches. His stock was especially sought after in the United States, and many dogs of this breeding eventually were exported from the US back to Britain. Like Laverack, Llewellin died in Shropshire, but by now the year was 1925 and the 20th century was well under way.

THE ENGLISH SETTER IN THE UNITED STATES

Since the inception of the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1876, the English Setter has been a registered breed with the organization. In fact, Adonis, the first dog registered by the AKC, was an English Setter owned by George Delano of Massachusetts.

FIELD TRIAL FACTS

Although the first recorded field trial in England was held in 1865 and was open to setter and pointer breeds, none of the setters entered was English, all being black and tans, known as Gordons. But the very next year, both dog and bitch winners were English Setters.

Beginning on the West Coast, English Setters from the Mallwyd and Crombie lines were the first to be shown in the US; these dogs came to California from British Columbia. The McConnells of the Selkirk kennels in Vancouver are credited with exporting Mallwyd English Setters to the US in the early 1900s. Ch. McConnell’s Nori, born in the mid 1920s, would prove to have a great influence on the early years of the breed in the US, especially as the sire of Selkirk’s Snooksie and Selkirk’s Juliet. (Nori, through Snooksie, is the grandsire of the great Rummey Stagboro.) Scottish transplant J. J. Sinclair of the Orkney kennels in San Francisco acquired his dogs from Willgress kennels, also in Vancouver, using stock from Mallwyd and Maesydd. Ch. Sir Orkney of Willgress Jr. was one of the early Best in Show (BIS) English Setters, and Ch. Manzanita, whelped in 1909, was the foundation sire of the kennel. Another famous early kennel began in Oregon, the Mallhawk kennel of A. J. Kruger, which was later moved to California by Earl Kruger, the second generation of the kennel. Most breed historians agree that Ch. Mallhawks Racket Boy, whelped in 1926, had a profound effect on the breed.

FIRST DUAL CHAMPION

A dual champion has to have won in both show and field, and it was an English Setter that was the first of all gundog breeds to achieve this claim to fame in England. This was Laverack’s Countess, sired by Dash 2nd, and out of Moll 3rd.

This is the famous movie personality of the 1930s, Jackie Cooper, as a boy, posing with his English Setter companion.

Now let’s look to the East: H. F. Steigerwald established his Stagboro kennels in Auburn, New York, basing his breeding on Selkirk dogs and Swedish Laverack setters. The big dog here was none other than the aforementioned Rummey Stagboro, one of the alltime top sires in the modern show breed.

The Happy Valley kennels of Dr. A. A. Mitten in Philadelphia was the home of a number of champions in the 1920s. Ch. Blue Dan of Happy Valley won one BIS for each of his handsome 24 inches! He was a magnificent blue belton dog who won those two dozen BIS awards between 1930 and 1933. Blue Dan was always a crowd favorite, and his legendary loss at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is still talked about this day. Walter Fletcher of The New York Times noted in his review of the show that “there was prolonged booing” when the judge gave the ribbon to the Wire Fox Terrier! Following in Blue Dan’s pawprints was another of Dr. Mitten’s dogs, Ch. The Country Gentleman, who won 14 BIS awards from 1932 to 1936. Later, Ch. Pilot of Crombie of Happy Valley followed in the winning tradition by acquiring seven all-breed BIS awards and two national specialties, the first dog ever to win two specialties! In the Midwest, Eric Bergishaden established his Jagersbo kennels in Michigan with excellent imports from England, Germany and his native Scandinavia. Jagersbo dogs began to make a splash in the show ring in the early 1930s. Two of the most influential early dogs from this kennel were Ch. Spiron and Ch. Rackets Rummey.

Baildon Bracken, an early example of the English Setter, showing the desired flecking (or roaning) and the properly carried tail.

THE ENGLISH SETTER IN ART

The French artist Alexander Francois Desportes (1661–1743) was a great animal painter. For many years he was historiographer of the hunt, a court position created for him by Louis XIV. His pictures could hardly be surpassed for their likeness to subject matter, and his pencil sketch entitled “Dogs and Partridges” shows dogs very like the modern English Setter.

There have been many magnificent paintings of English Setters over the years, Philip Reingale being one of the artists who was meticulous in his portrayal of dogs, and who painted the English Setter so well at the turn of the 19th century. George Earle and Richard Ansdell are other artists who painted the breed and are well known for their canine works of art during that century.

The English Setter Association of America (ESAA) was founded in 1931, and the parent club’s national specialties became sought-after wins for all breeders. The famous Ch. Blue Dan of Happy Valley won the club’s first specialty in 1932; many other greats followed over the decades.

Clinton N. Myers established his legendary Blue Bar line in the 1930s based on the Mallhawk dogs originated by the Krugers, and by the 1940s his dogs were winning big in America. Ch. Mallhawk’s Jeff, purchased from the Krugers, became the foundation sire of the Blue Bar kennels. Ch. Modern Maid of Orkney (later Stucile) was one of his foundation bitches, this female acquired from Sinclair.

In 1930, Benito Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, had a kennel in which he raised English Setters. This photo shows a team of English Setters that Mussolini exhibited at a show held by the Kennel Club of Rome.

A lovely, well-balanced blue belton, Ch. Gilroy’s Chief Topic, owned by W. F. Gilroy, won 13 BIS awards during the 1930s. An orange belton sired by Rummey Stagboro, Ch. Sturdy Max was owned by Maridor kennels and also won 13 BIS awards during this same period. Owned by Charles Diamon, Ch. Daro of Maridor, sired by Max, became the first (and to date only) English Setter to win BIS at Westminster (1938); this elegant orange belton also would go on to become the first dog ever to win two consecutive national specialties (1940 and 1941). The 1930s ended with another historical first, this time for the bitches, when Ch. Deli of Blue Bar, one of Clinton Myer’s setters, became the first bitch to win the national specialty (1939).

Daro’s historical win wasn’t the end of his litter’s claim to fame, as his brother Ch. Maro of Maridor became the (then) number-one show dog of all time, with a record 55 BIS wins (from 1938 to 1943). He was owned by Mrs. Wilfred Kennedy of Detroit.

The Maro and Daro twins weren’t the only Michigan littermates making it big—enter the Delwed boys. Ch. Sir Guy of Delwed and Ch. Cedric Delwed, bred by G. F. Wedel, would sweep BIS awards in the Midwest. Sir Guy, owned by F. J. Feldschmidt, won 25 BIS awards, and Cedric, breeder-owned and shown, won 7. Remarkably, the Maridor and Delwed brothers were all sired by the amazing Sturdy Max!

As a top sire, the handsome Rummey Stagboro figures prominently in many English Setter pedigrees, and his influence is still present in the dogs of today.

Blue Bar kennels produced many notable dogs in this era, including Ch. Blue Bar Limited, Ch. Rip of Blue Bar and Ch. Lem of Blue Bar. So near perfect was Lem that he was used to illustrate the breed standard for the ESAA; no other dog can lay claim to this honor. This kennel’s wins stretched into the 1950s with multiple national specialty and BIS winners.

The English Setter’s following in the US has been considerable for many years. These dogs, raised at a kennel in Georgia in the 1930s, represent some handsome working dogs of the period.

ROBIN HOOD

Marional Farms kennels, owned by A. L. Jones, produced a popular show winner in Ch. Robin Hood of Marional, who happily stole nine BIS awards in the mid-1930s.

Col. and Mrs. W. T. Holt acquired Grayland’s Racket’s Boy (son of Rummey Stagboro) and produced Ch. Rock Falls Cavalier, which led to one of the show-dog superstars of all time. The first dog ever to amass 100 BIS awards was an English Setter by the name of Ch. Rock Falls Colonel, owner-handled to all his victories by Col. Holt. Colonel was the first dog (and only English Setter) to win the Quaker Oats Sporting Dog Award for three consecutive years (1952 to 1954). Remarkably, Colonel was stacking up BIS awards during the same period that the famous Boxer Ch. Bang Away of Sirrah Crest was also dominating the show scene in America. There’s a saying in dog shows when a new superstar arises: “Not since Bang Away!” We English Setter aficionados proudly proclaim, “Not since the Colonel!” In fact, the ESAA began to offer an annual award named after Colonel in 1961 for the dog that wins the most BIS awards each year.

Virginia Tuck handled a dream of a setter in Ch. Silver-mine Wagabond, twice the winner of the national specialty. Her third win at the specialty (a record for Virginia!) was with Wagabond’s grandson, Ch. Silvermine Whipcord, owned by Virginia and her husband Davis.

Thus concludes the Golden Age of English Setters in America. With the 1960s, many new names started to appear on the roster. Andrew and Margaret Hawn, Jeanne Millet, Bill and Lovey Trotter (Flecka), Pete and Gus Polley, Dutch and Rachael Van Buren (Valley Run) and Warren Brew-baker all produced BIS-winning English Setters. Ch. Margand Lord Baltimore, grandson of Colonel, and Ch. Chandelle’s Anchor Man, “Balty’s” son, are hailed as two of the most influential dogs of this period, continuing the winning strains of the past. Anchor Man holds the record for most specialty wins, with 23, during his career from 1963 to 1970. Another fabulous winner was Ch. Merry Rover of Valley Run, who won ten BIS awards as well as eight specialties. By the end of the 1960s, new kennel names began to appear, including Guys ‘n Dolls, Hidden-lanes, Manlove and Clairho.

EARLY EXPORTS

It is documented that English Setters were already in Australia in 1897, and in Canada they were around from the beginning of the Canadian Kennel Club in 1888. In earlier years, most English Setters exported from England were mainly either pets or were used in field trials, rather than seen in the show ring.

The name Ch. Rock Falls Colonel means “champion” in the English Setter breed and the dog-show world as a whole.

Ch. Set’r Ridge’s Wyndswept in Gold, a multi-BIS winner, bred by Paul and Melissa Newman.

Coming along in 1968, Ch. Guys ‘n Dolls Shalimar Duke, a top winner for breeder Neal Weinstein of California, was just the first in this impressive line of champions. Duke and his offspring dominated the show scene in the 1970s. Ch. Guys ‘n Dolls Annie O’Brien began her career in 1973 and would go on to win 3 national specialties and 13 BIS awards; the ESAA named an award in her honor (for the bitch winning Best of Breed or Best of Opposite Sex at the national).

Dual Ch. Set’r Ridge’s Solid Gold CDX, MH, HDX, CGC, the breed’s top sire.

TOP TRICOLOR

Ch. Briarpatch of Bryn Mawr, bred by R. and M. Wendels, won five BIS awards in the mid-1970s. “Patch” was a tricolor of breathtaking quality, a dog many considered the most beautiful tri ever shown.

Ch. Hiddenlane’s Benchmark, owned by R. and J. Anderson, was bred by Marge O’Connell, whose Ben-Dar line included Blue Bar, Jagersbo, Delwed and Silvermine dogs. O’Connell produced another spectacular setter in Ch. Hiddenlane’s Merry Max, a top dog from 1970 to 1973. It is through these Hidden-lane dogs that these foundation strains continued to resonate in the breed’s pedigrees.