Gordon Setter: temperament, price, health, and breeders

The Gordon Setter owes its name to Duke Alexander of Gordon, a great enthusiast of this breed in Scotland in the 18th century. Its selection was then refined to preserve an enduring, solid pointing dog capable of working on difficult terrain. In France, the breed is among the very oldest registrations in the LOF, with a first registration in March 1885, but it has remained rarer than the other setters.

The Gordon Setter is a large-sized dog, well built without heaviness, with a harmonious and athletic silhouette. Its head is long, its dark brown gaze expresses liveliness and intelligence, and its low-set ears carry beautiful silky fringes. Its coat is black, shiny, with distinct tan markings, and its medium-length hair remains flat over most of the body.

Calm, affectionate and close to his own, the Gordon Setter is a gentle companion who likes to give and receive attention. He is also courageous, sociable and quite protective with his family. Intelligent and sensitive, he appreciates a relationship of trust with his owner and copes poorly with long periods of solitude.

At home, the Gordon Setter is often calm and pleasant to live with when it has sufficiently spent its energy outside. Outdoors, it regains its temperament as an active hunting dog, with a good sense of smell, stamina and the need to run regularly. It thrives better in a setting offering space and varied outings than in a strictly city life.

His training must begin early, with gentleness, consistency and calm firmness. The Gordon Setter is intelligent and generally cooperative, but he can be a bit stubborn if the framework lacks clarity. Positive methods, play and rewards give very good results, while good socialization maintains his good relationships with humans and other animals.

The Gordon Setter remains a relatively rare breed, which can influence the acquisition budget. The price must always be assessed in relation to the quality of the breeding, the seriousness of health monitoring, the puppy’s socialization and the traceability of origins.

The Gordon Setter is overall a solid dog, often described as robust, but its large size requires appropriate monitoring. Like many hunting dogs and large dogs, it benefits from a regular lifestyle, a stable weight and attentive veterinary follow-up to preserve its joints and its digestion.

The diet of the Gordon Setter must cover the needs of a large active dog without promoting weight gain. The ideal ration depends on its age, its level of exercise, its body condition and its neutering. A stable and highly digestible diet is particularly important in this breed.

The Gordon Setter is also known under the names Gordon Setter, Scottish Setter and Black and Tan Setter. Its black and tan coat, very typical, makes it immediately recognizable among setters. If it is a little less fast than certain cousins in the field, it is appreciated for its tenacity, its diligence and its excellent companion dog temperament.