Breed Information

English Pointers

Appearance

The Pointer should be athletic and graceful. The immediate impression should be of a compact, hard-driving hunting dog, alert and "ready to let go." The primary distinguishing features of this breed are the head, feet, and tail. Hound or terrier characteristics are undesirable for show purposes.

Grooming English Pointers is not time-consuming. Their coat is very short and needs only a quick rub with a soft brush to minimize shedding.

Coat, color and Size

The standard colorings of the Pointer are liver, lemon, orange or black. A good Pointer cannot be a bad color. In the darker colors, the nose should be black or brown; in the lighter shades it may be lighter or flesh-colored." Most country's breed standards prefer symmetry and balance to perfect size, and most will allow an amount of variation if a dog's size does not encumber it in the field.

Temperament

Pointers are even-tempered, congenial dog’s happiest living indoors as part of the family. Pointers are affectionate and loyal. Their aggression level is very low to non-existent and they can happily co-exist with other dogs and often cats. Pointers are typically not territorial, although their size and bark will intimidate most people that come to your door. Pointers are very good with children, although young children and a clumsy young Pointer are often not the best combination.

While Pointers were bred to be a hunting dog, they are perfectly content given adequate exercise in a non-hunting home. Since they are a galloping breed, regular exercise is important for them, as it is for all sporting breeds. A securely fenced yard is a must to keep a Pointer safe since they are bred to hunt a good distance from their person. They typically do best indoors when they are left for the day. Pointers are habitual "couch potatoes" who enjoy relaxing on the family's chairs or sofas. This is a natural part of their desire to feel part of the pack.

History

Pointers were bred to work with hunters. In the past they were sometimes used in combination with a retriever, to point out the game for the hunter. Pointers were also used as falconer's dogs. As early as the 17th century, sportsmen used Pointers to locate hares and then Greyhounds to chase them.

The history of the Pointer, like many breeds, is a reasonably debatable topic. (Cavanaugh, 1997). There are records of Pointers in England as far back as 1650 (Cavanaugh, 1997.) According to one source, the pointer came to be in the sixteenth and seventeenth century when pointing breeds including the Spanish pointer were brought from the European mainland to England. (Fergus, 2002).

Through both history and anatomical evaluation we see that at least four breeds were instrumental in Pointer crosses: Greyhounds, Foxhounds, Bloodhounds, and Bull Terriers. (Cavanaugh, 1997.) Each of these were established breeds with unique qualities that the Pointer could use to do its job; our forefathers were trying to build a very special hunting dog. (Cavanaugh, 1997.)

Pointers were brought to the United States where the breed flourished in the abundant open hunting land. At that time (late 1800s), the Setter was considered to be the bird hunting dog and pointers were not even permitted to compete in field trials with setters. Around 1910, however, the pointer began to beat the setter at its own game. The pointer has dominated the pointing breed field trials since that time. (Fergus, 2002).

One of the earliest dogs to exert influence on the breed in the US was a dog who was imported from England in 1876 - "Sensation." He is well known as the dog on the emblem of the Westminster Kennel Club.

One modern American kennel, established in 1936, and known for breeding large quantities of Pointers, Elhew Kennels produced a popular and successful line of gundogs. Elhew pointers were well-known competitors at field trials for several decades.

In the southern United States, where the dog is so dominant it is often simply referred to as the "bird dog", Pointers are found in abundance. The bobwhite quail is the primary game bird there and is considered classic English Pointer game as the bobwhite will hold well for a pointing dog. Pointers also work game birds such as the pheasant, grouse, and woodcock with success as well.

{SOURCE} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Pointer

English Setters

Appearance

The coat is flat with light feathering of long length or short length depending on the type. The bench or show type has a long, flowing coat that requires regular grooming. The field or hunting type has a shorter coat that requires less grooming.

The various speckled coat colors when occurring in English Setters are referred to as belton; valid combinations are white with black (blue belton), white with orange flecks (orange belton)), White with orange flecks and lighter nose is lemon belton, white with liver flecks (Liver Belton) or "Tricolor" which is blue or liver belton with Tan markings on the face, chest and legs.

Temperament

This breed's standard temperament is best described as a "Gentleman by Nature". However, it can also be strong-willed and mischievous. English Setters are energetic, people-oriented dogs, that are well suited to families who can give them attention and activity, or to working with a hunter, where they have a job to do. They are active dogs outside that need plenty of exercise in a good-sized fenced-in yard. Inside they tend to be lower energy and love to be couch potatoes and lap dogs that love to cuddle. Many are good around children. They rank 37th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of above average working/obedience intelligence. English Setters are very intelligent and can be trained to perform about any task another breed can do, with the exception of herding. However, they are not always easy to train, as their natural bird instinct tends to distract them in outdoor environments. Their temperament is considered a soft one. Therefore they are very sensitive to criticism, and could be unwilling to repeat a behavior out of fear to disappoint the trainer. Positive reinforcement training methods therefore work best for English Setters.

History

The English Setter was originally bred to set or point upland game birds. From the best available information, it appears that the English Setter was a trained bird dog in England more than 400 years ago. There is evidence that the English Setter originated in crosses of the Spanish Pointer, large Water Spaniel, and Springer Spaniel, which combined to produce an excellent bird dog with a high degree of proficiency in finding and pointing game in open country. The modern English Setter owes its appearance to Mr. Edward Laverack (1800-1877), who developed his own strain of the breed by careful breeding during the 19th century in England and to another Englishman, Mr. R. Purcell Llewellin (1840-1925), based his strain using Laverack's best dogs and outcrossed them with the Duke, Rhoebe and later Duke's littermate Kate bloodlines with the best results. Today, you still hear the term Llewellin Setter, in 1902 the Llewellin Setter was given separate strain status in FDSB to put a stop to misuse of the Llewellin name. Only dogs whose pedigrees showed the Duke-Rhoebe-Laverack and Kate bloodlines were allowed to be named a LLewellin Setter and in 1996 the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance and registry gave them FULL New Breed recognition for the first time. Field-bred English Setters are often mistakably referred to as "Llewellin", but that is wrong. Only purebred Llewellin Setters may be registered as Llewellin Setters.

With time, Laverack bred successfully to produce beautiful representatives of the breed. The first show for English Setters was held in 1859 at Newcastle upon Tyne. The breed's popularity soared across England, as shows became more and more widespread. Not long after, the first English Setters were brought to North America, including those that began the now-famous Llewellin strain recorded in the writing of Dr. William A Burette. From this group of dogs came the foundation of the field-trial setter in America, "Count Noble", who is currently mounted in the Carnegie Museum at Pittsburgh. At present, the English is one of the most popular and elegant sporting breeds, often grouped with its cousins, the Irish and Gordon Setters.

The field type & show type English Setter look very different, even though they are the same breeds. Field type setters are often smaller and are seen with less feathering and usually more distinctive spotting than show type setters. Both traits are beneficial in the field: less feathering makes getting burrs out of their coat easier and the spotting makes them easier to see in the field. For this reason, in the English Setter breed, compared to other breeds, there are very few Dual Champions (dogs that have completed their show & field championship titles).

English Setters have been among the premier breeds since the formation of the American Kennel Club. Along with eight other Sporting breeds, they were among the first pure breeds accepted by the Club in 1878. In fact, the very first dog registered with the AKC was an English Setter named Adonis.

{SOURCE} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Setter