 Barked: Thu Apr 29, '10 7:25am PST |
 | |  | | THE GORDON SETTER, continuing to paint setter variance.....oh gosh do I need to learn you guys a thing or two!!! .....is the hardest of the setters, never has been all that popular, so breeders have most frequently done right by him every step of the way. There was a black-and-tan setter of Scotland, but it was the devotions of a Duke of Gordon to perfect this into being a breed. He was extremely discerning and wanted a highly trainable, handler-loyal and on the mark working dog with a strong work ethic. This dog, unlike the other two, has rather jarring contrasts in that he is far more discerning and indeed can be one-personish....now of course this is done at "setter speed," but given that the English and Irish are rather head-in-the-clouds with those perspectives, it does set him apart. A tiny bit of a German result on a Scottish dog given the Duke's efforts....in the dog's character, in his reputation for being slow to mature and a bit of a handful until he does. Still, he is very settery - charming, social and gentle, and a bit more dignified than the other two setters as well. Let's just call the Irish the NONgentlemanly setter The Gordon is a GREAT "to function" study, as in the field he was meant to work closer to the handler than his setter cousins. This brings out in the Gordon his more discerning nature. It develops more of a handler specificity that leads him to be less socially naive, more naturally inclined towards handler focus, and makes for him being the one setter who does not have to deal with accusations as regards low intelligence. This of course is simply due to the Gordon being more readily trained, BUT he is also more sure of himself and a little more dominant in character, so on the up side you get more handler focus and basic OB aptitude, but on the other face a dog who is not a pushover. He will tolerate stern handling no better than his setter cousins, but he does need self assured direction....a gentle leader, buta a good one. He's still a setter. Full of vigor and zest, social reliability, lots of emotion, which in him, layered on his handler devotion/one personishness, and slight dominance, can lead to occasional jealous behavior. He's socially solid, but is the only one of the three setters who has it in him to check strangers out and indeed at times to even protect. He is a hard, ethusiastic and joyous worker who is endlessly game for the handler....loves praise, has an awesome work ethic, and his loyalty is immense. He is less everyone's new best friend....whereas the English will gently love anyone who breathes air and the Irish will appoint himself as the entertainment "why are you just standing there, silly person" committee, the Gordon is more distinctly his owner's dog. He can show discipline and focus, can take hard training without offense, but is still a soft, sweet and emotional dog of amazing devotion and endless style. VASTLY underrated in dogdom. |  |  | |  |
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