Dog Breed – SCOTTISH GORDON SETTER:- Pictures/ Facts/ Benefits (Advantages and Disadvantages)/ Price/ Origin/ Characteristics/ Puppies/ Best Reasons To get on as a pet -The Scottish Gordon Setter is a dog with a complex personality. He is very attached to the owners, he is very nice towards the household members, but he keeps a great distance towards strangers. This is definitely not the kind of friend of the entire human world. We do not have a chance that our gordon will accost passers-by during walks and lick their hands … As he does not bark much, it would be difficult to make a guard dog out of him.

The nature of the Scottish Gordon Setter breed

Gordon has a strong hunting instinct, so from an early age you have to work on summoning in distracted conditions – especially associated with the tempting smell of the game. A dog of this breed does not tolerate brutality or strong psychological pressure, and at the same time – spoiled – can become really tiring due to the high spontaneity and hunting urges inherent in it.

This dog is slowly maturing, which is important to keep in mind. He does not tolerate isolation and detachment from his family, especially from his beloved master or lady.

Skills

The Scottish Gordon Setter is a hunting dog that can work with both top and bottom winds (although it is rather the top wind that is innate to it). He is intelligent and non-aggressive, so he can be trained to be a tracking-search dog or a sports dog in olfactory work. Because it is harmoniously built and quite fast, sometimes the owners try to teach it to one of the many sports disciplines, for example agility, although due to its heavy weight and quite “stiff” structure, it is unlikely to become a world champion. foot. Shutterstock

Training and upbringing

A clever, though sometimes having his own view on the matter of following orders, the Scot badly tolerates the brutality and inconsistency of the guide. It then closes in on itself and tries to withdraw. Once abused, this dog’s trust is difficult to regain.

It is believed that the Scottish Gordon Setter is a “stubborn” dog. In fact, this is a misinterpretation of specific behavior when the dog does not quite understand what the human is about. The sensitive gordon then has a tendency to withdraw from the situation. He may also try to offer behaviors that he thinks the guide should like, although he did not expect them.

Who is this breed for?

It is probably not a dog for beginner dogs. In his upbringing, it is necessary to maintain an ideal balance between requirements and relaxation, which is easier for experienced people.

The Scottish Gordon Setter is suitable for a family, for a house with children, but you have to remember about satisfying his great running needs – this dog has to discharge the accumulated energy. Therefore, it cannot be recommended for elderly people with mobility difficulties. However, the high work ethic of this dog will certainly be appreciated by hunters. In general, the breed will appeal to active people who like contact with nature and long walks.

Gordon Setter – Top 10 Facts

Gordon Setter is the largest and most substantial of the setters. This is not a dog that adapts well to life in a kennel, but one that needs and demands attention for its proper development.

Pros and cons of the Scottish Gordon Setter breed

Scottish setter Gordon – what is he like? Find out about its advantages and disadvantages!

Benefits

intelligent
balanced
bold
loyal
sunny
understanding towards children

Disadvantages

distrustful of strangers
he does not feel well in big cities
very lively, it needs an enormous amount of exercise
Due to a strong hunting instinct, it is not easy to keep up with the Gordon
tends to catch excess weight quickly

Scottish Gordon Setter breed health

Gordons have dermatological problems – sometimes they suffer from juvenile deep dermatitis (it is a hereditary condition) and dermatosis.

The breed develops hip dysplasia and eye problems (entropion, or third eyelid, medial angle pouch syndrome, and later in life cataracts).

foot. Shutterstock

Nutrition

Working dogs should receive a high-quality food with a high protein content. During periods of inactivity, you have to pay attention to the dosage of food, because Gordon easily gains weight … If you want to feed your dog naturally, some authors recommend preparing meals consisting of half meat and half – filler.

Care

Half-long, thick hair often seems to fulfill the principle “when you dry it, it crumbles” and in a way … cleans itself. However, you will have to make friends with a comb to brush out small twigs, lumps of earth and other similar items from the hair, which are very eagerly clinging to the cordon’s hair. You should also check the condition of your dog’s ears from time to time. It is also good to trim the long hairs growing out on the Gordon’s feet from time to time, forming the so-called “Cat’s paw”.

foot. Shutterstock

Accessories

With a fairly large range that gordons achieve in a very short time, it is worth investing in a portable GPS attached to the collar and paired with a smartphone or tablet (locator). However, before we reach for technology, let’s try traditional methods and equip ourselves with a long (15-20 m) training rope for learning to recall. Without it – to the forest – no move!

History of the breed Scottish Gordon Setter

Setters are descended from medieval “bird dogs”, but the creation of the breed as such was a matter much later. Originally called simply “black and tan dogs”, they changed their name to “Gordon Setter”, adopting – as the official breed designation – the name of Alexander, the fourth Lord of Gordon, a person of great merit in the creation and development of this variety of Setter.

reproduction of Edwards Sydenham’s painting

In the early nineteenth century, the Lord established – in his castle Gordon – a well-known breeding of working dogs. At that time, these setters were valued more for their work in the field, not for their appearance, so no one really cared that three-color (black and white and tan) or black and white appeared next to black and tan dogs. It was only Lord Alexander, who liked the black and tan variety the most, who tried to systematize this issue, although in his kennel there was room for dogs of various colors. Apparently, the planned admixture of bloodhound’s blood contributed to the final appearance and behavior of the breed.

The utility qualities of Setters attracted their supporters and by the end of the nineteenth century the population of the breed was already quite large. In 1891, the final model of the Gordon was adopted. It was then that the Gordon Setter Club in America was founded.

Scottish Gordon Setter in Poland

When it comes to Poland, the first Scots came to us at the end of the 19th century. Their popularity gradually grew, so that in the interwar period the population of these setters was quite large – especially in the Borderlands. Their utility values undoubtedly determined that: hunting was an important part of the culture and tradition of the Second Polish Republic.

After the war, there were no favorable circumstances for the utilization of the sparse population of gordons that remained alive. Thanks to the work (and imports) of breed-loving enthusiasts, the Gordons did not become extinct in our country, but the scope and manner of their use changed – they most often remain exhibition and companion dogs.

Scottish Gordon Setter breed standard

Scottish Gordon Setter – group VII FCI, section 2, pattern number 6

Country of origin: Great Britain
Size: males – 66 cm, females – 62 cm
Libra: dogs – 29.5 kg, female dogs – 25.5 kg
Robe: on the head and outer edges of the paws, the hair is short and fine; on the other parts of the body, the cordons have longer, close-fitting hair, which forms a kind of fringe on the chest and limbs, especially on the hind legs – dense and quite long.
Ointment: black and tan
Length of life: 10-12 years
Weather resistance: tall
Maintenance costs: PLN 250 per month
Price of a pedigree dog: 2500-4000 PLN

Interesting facts about the Scottish Gordon Setter breed

As a working breed, the Scottish Gordon Setter is undergoing a working trial. Gordon is the most heavily built of all Setters. His close cousins are the Irish Setter and the English Setter.

The breed standard, usually very restrictive, allows a tiny white spot on the breast. There is a legend that this speck is a holdover from the days when the race was created. Lord Gordon was supposed to use … his favorite longhair scottish shepherd bitch.