Gordon Setter

Black-and-tan setters were working in Scotland well before anyone thought to write a standard for them. They appear in Scottish records from the seventeenth century onward as a heavier, darker sort of setting dog used on grouse and partridge across moorland where a lighter dog would have struggled with the terrain and the weather.

The breed takes its name from Alexander Gordon, the 4th Duke of Gordon (1743-1827), whose kennel at Gordon Castle in Morayshire became the most influential source of these dogs. The Duke's dogs were prized for stamina and nose rather than speed, and for a good many years the type was known simply as the Gordon Castle Setter. The Kennel Club settled on the name Gordon Setter in 1924.

The first Gordons reached the United States in 1842, when George Blunt and Daniel Webster imported a pair from the Gordon Castle kennels. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1892, among its earliest registrations. The Gordon Setter Club of America, founded in 1924, still runs field trials and hunting tests alongside the show ring, and the breed remains one of the few sporting breeds where a dual-purpose dog is a realistic goal rather than a nostalgic one.

This is a big, well-boned setter with substance to match his job. Dogs stand roughly 24 to 27 inches at the shoulder and weigh 55 to 80 pounds; bitches are around 23 to 26 inches and 45 to 70 pounds. The outline should read as sturdy rather than racy, with a deep chest, a level topline and enough bone to carry the dog over heather and rock without breaking down.

The coat is the breed's signature: soft, shining and either straight or slightly waved, but never curly, with long feathering on the ears, chest, belly, backs of the legs and tail. The colour is a deep coal black with clearly defined chestnut or mahogany markings, placed over the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle, on the throat and chest, and on the legs and feet. White is undesirable beyond a small chest spot, and the tan should be rich rather than washed out or sooty.

The head is deep rather than broad, with long, low-set ears that hang close, and dark brown eyes that give the breed its characteristic thoughtful expression. The tail is carried horizontally or nearly so, and in motion a good Gordon covers ground with a smooth, driving stride that looks effortless.

Gordons are described in the breed standard as alert, interested and confident, and that is a fair summary of a well-bred one. They are not indiscriminately friendly in the way a Labrador is; they tend to size up a stranger first, then decide. With their own family they are affectionate to the point of clinginess, and they are famous for shadowing one particular person from room to room.

This is also one of the slowest-maturing sporting breeds. A Gordon often does not feel like a finished adult until close to three years old, and the adolescent stretch in between can involve a lot of noise, a lot of opinions and a genuine test of your patience. Owners who understand that the goofy phase is temporary usually come out the other side with a superb dog.

They have a stubborn streak and a strong sense of their own judgement, which is exactly what the job asked for: a dog working at distance has to make decisions without you. That independence shows up at home as selective hearing when something more interesting is happening. Gordons are generally sound with children who treat them decently and get on well with other dogs, though a big, bouncy adolescent can knock a toddler flat without meaning any harm.

They are alert enough to announce visitors and will bark at things that need barking at, but they are not guard dogs and should not be asked to be. Left alone for long stretches with nothing to do, a Gordon will find a project of his own, and you will not like it.

The Gordon's original job was to find gamebirds on open moorland, range out under his own initiative and freeze on point until the gun caught up. He was bred to work methodically and to keep going in bad weather rather than to blaze across a field, which is why he was favoured on grouse moors where ground is broken and scenting conditions are difficult. That style still shows: a Gordon typically hunts closer than an English Pointer and works harder for less obvious reward.

Modern Gordons compete in field trials, hunting tests, agility, obedience, rally, tracking and scent work, and a fair number still do real days on birds. The nose is excellent and the drive to use it is constant, which makes tracking and scent work an easy and satisfying outlet for a pet Gordon who never sees a shotgun. They also make good long-distance walking and hiking companions once fully grown, though puppies need their joint growth respected before serious mileage.