Gordon Setter

The Gordon Setter, also called Black and Tan Setter, is the largest and heaviest breed of setters. It was originally developed in Scotland for bird hunting, using its scent to find game birds but without killing them, instead standing on point while waiting for their owners, or retrieving game as necessary. Categorized as a sporting dog or gundog depending on the kennel club or council, it was first mentioned in print in the 19th century, and is believed to be descended from the English Spaniel, Land Spaniel, and Spanish Pointer. The breed has an excellent sense of smell and endurance, though it’s not as fast as other setters or pointers. It is described as patient, loyal, independent, affectionate, curious, confident, sensitive, athletic, and energetic, whether as a hunting companion, companion animal, or family pet.

3 Pros and Cons of Owning Gordon Setters

Size and Weight

The Gordon Setter is a medium to large dog with a silky, straight to wavy coat in black and tan color, with short hair on its head. Adult male height is 24 to 27 inches, and adult female height is 23 to 26 inches. Adult male weight is 55 to 80 pounds, with an average weight of 66 pounds, and adult female weight is 45 to 70 pounds, with an average of 55 pounds. Gordon Setter puppies weigh an average of 9 pounds at 8 weeks and are considered fully grown at 36 months.

Common Health Issues

The Gordon Setter is an athletic, high-energy breed with an average lifespan. As a result, many health issues have to do with joint wear, like hip dysplasia. It’s also a large breed, so it needs space to be able to move freely in daily life, other than for exercise. Large breeds also tend towards gastric torsion (bloat). The Gordon Setter’s lifespan is 10 to 12 years.

Temperament

The Gordon Setter’s temperament is described as dignified and calm. Its traits are patience, loyalty, independence, affection, curiosity, confidence, and sensitivity, with a silly, energetic, and demanding personality. A family-oriented dog, it is vulnerable to having separation anxiety. It will become attached mainly to one person and stay on alert for strangers, but it also does not tend to get along with other pets and enjoys chasing smaller animals.

How To Take Care of Gordon Setters

Like other dog breeds, the Gordon Setter has its own needs for health and care. Every potential Gordon Setter owner should be aware of their unique traits. If you want to know upfront how your dog will behave, it’s best to either purchase as a puppy from a breeder or as an adult from a rescue. The price of your Gordon Setter is not only the initial purchase or adoption price, but the cost of food, toys, and veterinary care over time.

The Best Dog Food

Whether you have a Gordon Setter puppy or adult dog, the food you choose to provide your pet is one of the most important factors for satisfying their nutritional needs and keeping them healthy. Regardless of their age, their food should be approved by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).

Puppy food: Never feed your puppy adult dog food. The food must say it’s formulated for puppies, growth, or all life stages. It should have high-quality meat as the first and predominant ingredient, which will provide all the amino acids they need for their development. Also, large breeds grow quickly, and excessive growth is a concern, so their puppy food should have less fat, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D than other puppy foods. Hence, it should specify that it is for large breeds.

Adult dog food: Like puppy food, Gordon Setter adult dog food should be AAFCO-compliant, with premium ingredients, and animal protein should be the predominant and one of the first ingredients on the list. Make sure the food states it’s formulated for large breeds, which will help to minimize the risk of developing orthopedic disease, obesity, and bloat.

Maintenance And Grooming

The Gordon Setter does not have short hair, but a type of mixed-length coat. Instead, its coat has straight to wavy hair, with long hair on its legs, tail, under the stomach, chest, and ears, and short hair everywhere else. It is not hypoallergenic, either, and is a moderate shedder. For this reason, it needs regular brushing of one to three days a week and bathing every 1 to 6 weeks (2 weeks on average), depending on how dirty or messy it gets. Besides toenail clipping, you’ll also want to trim the hair on its feet and between its toes. To resemble the breed standard, you’ll want a variety of shears and brushes. Straight shears, thinning shears, and a medium/coarse comb, a slicker brush, and a wire pin brush are all useful to best handle tangles and groom your Gordon Setter.

Training

Crate training is a great way of training your Gordon Setter, especially when you and your family can’t be at home to keep it company. Since it’s a large breed, the crate size should be 42 inches. This crate size makes sure it easily has enough room to sit, stand, and turn around. In the wild, dogs seek refuge in dens for sleep and safe haven, so a crate acts similar when you get your pet comfortable with it. Crate size is just as important in training your dog as to minimize separation anxiety-related destruction. It’s also great for potty training.

Exercise

Gordon Setters need one to two hours of activity and exercise every day. They should at least have a long, brisk walk in addition to a stimulating activity.

Puppies

Gordon Setter puppies are very energetic and will engage in exuberant jumping as soon as possible. However, you should limit their playtime to 5 minutes per month of age. Their growth plates stay soft and don’t close until 18 to 14 months of age, so avoid strenuous activity.

Gordon Setter And Children

This breed is excellent with children. It is playful, energetic, and affectionate enough for children of all ages, although it should be supervised around small children due to its large size. The earlier you include children in your dog’s socialization, the better.

Dogs similar to Gordon Setters

• Black and Tan Virginia Foxhound: Boasting a similar color, this breed is a scenthound from the United States that also makes a great tracker, watchdog, or guard dog.
• English Pointer: This breed is another gundog. Like other pointers, it has short hair. The biggest difference in hunting behavior is only pointing, whereas setters are also retrievers.
• English Springer Spaniel: Another long, wavy-haired breed as well as a high-stamina hunting dog, this spaniel was originally used for flushing or “springing” game birds.

Famous Gordon Setters

Gio and Nati were award-winning Gordon Setters. Gio was a Hillock Kennel dog that won Best in Specialty Show at the 2016 Gordon Setter National Specialty as well as a spot in the AKC’s Top 20 Sporting Dogs. Nati was another Hillock Kennel dog who won the title of Number One Gordon Setter Female in the United States in 2007 and 2009. She also won number six Gordon Setter overall, Best Bred by Exhibitor, and Best of Opposite Sex in 2009, and several Sporting groups and Best in Specialty Show contests.