The Range Dog

Former Hon Sec Tony O’Connell gives his thoughts on the English Setter

Recently there has been some good articles written about the pointing breeds. One very accomplished breed of shooting dog is the English Setter and in his own right, he is as good as the rest.

English setters are highly popular shooting dogs and probably one of the most widely used of the pointing breeds for rough shooting in this country.

Though English setters are popular in Ireland, some confusion still exists in the minds of many shooting people with regard to the idea of the Llewellin setter being a different dog to the English setter. I even know of one person who claims he has Laverack setters. The simple explanation to all of this is they are all English setters, just different strains. Edward Laverack was the man who brought this breed to early fame and it is certain that he mixed different strains of English setter to develop his strain.

Then Purcell Llewellin came on the scene with his strain of English setter which was developed from the Laveracks. Today here in Ireland all these different strains are registered as English setters. Some of the most successful lines have been bred in this country since the last world war.

My first experience of rough shooting over pointing dogs goes back to 1969 when I was just 10 years old. My job in those days was to carry the bag for my father. He was an expert rough shooter and a man who demanded a lot from his dogs by way of stamina and ability to find game. Big bags of birds were the order of the day. His team would consist of a springer spaniel and two or three English Setters.

The bulk of the birds would be shot over the setters as they were definitely his favourites. In those days he would shoot as often as he could which was a minimum of two days a week, and some weeks every day. His setters were tough and keen for the job, and they gave him endless enjoyment. The excitement of seeing these dogs galloping the bogs and beet fields, heads in the air and taking the scent in the wind, then suddenly, setting as if put under a spell, is still with me.

This was my introduction to shooting, and as soon as I was old enough to hold a game licence I got a gun and an English setter pup. I used that dog to hunt pheasant, snipe, woodcock and duck. He retrieved, hunted heavy cover and was as good as most dogs in water.

I shot my first snipe over him when he was only ten months old. He pointed his first pheasant at nine months, and in one month of regular outings to the bog and beet fields prior to the opening of the shooting season he developed into an outstanding rough shooting setter. You might be tempted to say this was an exceptional dog, but he bred pups of equal quality to himself, confirming the soundness of his line. Any honest breeder will tell you that all your pups will not be of top quality and if you get one or two such dogs in a litter you are doing well. This is true enough, but I have found that the good lines of English Setters produce a high percentage of dogs that will hunt game and almost all of them will point naturally. This makes the breed a very attractive proposition for the shooting man who, for one reason or another, does not have the time to put into a lot of formal training.

Over the past few years I have had the good fortune of being asked to work my dogs on the grouse moors of Scotland, so that people can shoot over them. This has been the source of great enjoyment for me. The dogs’ ability to run the rough mountain with speed and style, while all the time hunting with every stride, has to be seen to be really appreciated. The distance they can wind a covey of birds and with pinpoint accuracy set them, and produce them on command is excellent.

It is on the grouse moor that the setter can really show what he can do. I have seen some outstanding work from setters and pointers in Scotland, and would highly recommend the experience to anyone.

It does something for me which I cannot explain. It makes me wonder why every able bodied person does not have a setter and experience this feeling for themselves. Remember you don’t even have to shoot the birds to enjoy these dogs at work.

From: Shooting News