Page 13 - ShowSight Presents - The English Setter

Dog B
Dog C
“HOCKS NEED TO BE STABLE
WITHOUT WOBBLING.
IF THEY WOBBLE, THE DOG WILL BREAK DOWN AFTER HUNTING FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.”
not heavy or pounding. With no hack- ing, sickle-hocks, over reaching or rolling as all of these things will break down the body rapidly and cause inju- ries, aches and pains.
The toes tight, arched and not flat. If their toes are flat, they are at risk of sores and injuries.
Type is pertinent for this breed. Eng- lish Setters are a moderate gun dog, smaller than the Irish and Gordon Set- ters. They are of good bone and size without being slight, weedy or massive.
Head planes should be level, the muzzle and skull should have a brick like appearance. Flews should be square, not pendulous. A must in this breed is the soft sweet expression in the eyes and face with no harshness.
Dog A—Represents the greatest bal- ance of the three dogs. Not only are the length of the bones important but where they are seated on the vertebrae.
As a straight scapula or upper arm will cause the dog to be off balance and make extra effort and motion that is not only unnecessary but will cause the body to break down quickly.
This dog is not only the most balanced in bone length, but also in length of body to height. Average measurements: 261⁄4" x 261⁄2".
Length of back is extremely impor- tant as well, as a setter can not reach and drive properly with a back that is
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too short or with a back that is too long and dipping or reaching.
Dog B—Uses himself beautifully moving unless he moved too fast. If he moved too fast, the length of his stifle would over reach his front foot. In addi- tion he was less angulated in the front assembly than Dog A. Because dog B is more angulated in the rear than the front, the slightly extra length in body help to prevent him from over reach- ing the majority of the time. With his back being slightly shorter it gave him strength to carry the overall extra 1⁄2 inch of length in his body.
Dog C—Is balanced in length to height but he has a shorter scapula which restricted him to having as free and easy of a side gait.
When judging the English Setter, you can measure the length of bone but it wouldn’t be necessary as you should be able to tell what their balance is like when you watch them go around the ring.
Although coming and going move- ment is important it doesn’t override correct side gait balance. You can have a dog that is perfect coming and going slowly, but isn’t balanced at all on the side or doesn’t exhibit good reach and drive.
An interesting observation that I have made is a Setter that is set extremely close in the shoulder often
has trouble setting (pointing, crouch- ing) low to the ground. I by no mat- ters am advocating wide shoulders. However, I do believe the two finger width might be too close together. Of course much of that depends on the layer of the scapula onto the spine and the muscles.
Muscles carry a big factor in this cre- ation. They hold the bones in and help carry the dog across the ground. Mus- cles take all tension off the bones and help the dog move with ease.
Hocks need to be stable without wobbling. If they wobble, the dog will break down after hunting for a long period of time. Shorter hocks give bal- ance and drive than long hocks do.
Tails should come off the back with a slightly sloping croup to almost level. Often if the crop gets too level then the tail is carried higher. The tail should be carried straight off of the back, not elevated above the topline.
As a whole, an English Setter should be slightly smaller than the Irish and Gordon Setters. Balanced both front to rear and height to length as well as scapula to upper arm and upper thigh to lower thigh. Hocks should be short and solid without wobbling when mov- ing. When moving, the dog should look so smooth that you could imagine put- ting a glass of wine on their back and not fall.