Williams Irish Setter

1. Auflage 2004
ISBN: 978-1-59378-990-9
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 155 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

With his regal carriage and his hallmark chestnut red color, the Irish Setter is built like an elegant thoroughbred horse. A longtime favorite of pet owners, field enthusiasts, and dog-show aficionados, the Irish Setter is as talented as he is devoted. He owes his reputation as a winning show dog to his natural elegance and beauty, just as his prowess in the field position him as a top contender at hunting events. As a companion dog, the Irish Setter is bursting with Irish charm, possessing a jovial, friendly nature that owners find irresistible. This Comprehensive Owner's Guide begins with a concise history of the breed's development in Ireland, England, and the United States, followed by a chapter on the breed's characteristics. The author, Margaret Williams, extols the breed's attributes as an appealing family companion and recommends that owners undertake the training of the young puppy with great care, given the breed's high-energy approach to life. New owners will welcome the well-prepared chapter on finding a reputable breeder and selecting a healthy, sound puppy. Chapters on puppy-proofing the home and yard, purchasing the right supplies for the puppy as well as house-training, feeding, and grooming are illustrated with photographs of handsome adults and puppies. In all, there are over 135 full-color photographs in this useful and reliable volume. The author's advice on obedience training will help the reader better mold and train into the most well-mannered dog in the neighborhood. The extensive and lavishly illustrated chapter on healthcare provides up-to-date detailed information on selecting a qualified veterinarian, vaccinations, preventing and dealing with parasites, infectious diseases, and more. Sidebars throughout the text offer helpful hints, covering topics as diverse as historical dogs, breeders, or kennels, toxic plants, first aid, crate training, carsickness, fussy eaters, and parasite control. Fully indexed.

Margaret Williams and her late husband sailed extensively in local waters and some 50,000 blue water miles on their own boats. At all times, weather has been their greatest concern. Presently she lives in Seattle, Washington.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Williams, Margaret

Leseproben

The Irish Setter was named Supreme Champion of England’s biggest show, Crufts Dog Show, three times in the 1990s. Here’s the third victor, Eng. Sh. Ch. Caspians Intrepid, owned by Jackie Lorrimer and bred by Mr. M. and Mrs. S. Oakley. This prestigious win took place in 1999.

The Irish Setter has been termed an artist’s dream. In the world of dog art, the breed is considered to be among the most beautiful of all dogs. With his brilliant red coat, long velvety ears and regal carriage, the Irish Setter commands attention wherever he appears. Blessed with typical Irish charm and joviality, the breed captures the hearts and imaginations of everyone who sees or meets this dashing rogue.

Despite its regal bearing, the Irish Setter is affectionate, playful and full of mischief. Independent, highly intelligent and most anxious to please, this is a superb family companion who can prance around the show ring and still hunt admirably in the field.

Like many other hunting dogs, the Irish Setter is an ancient breed. Although Irish folklore offers many theories on its ancestry, history records that most setter breeds evolved from spaniel-type dogs that had their origins in Spain and were so named after that country. Breed historians find references to an Irish Spaniel in The Laws of Howell, an ancient tome written before the 11th century. The first mention of a “setter” in literature appears in the 1570 work De Canibus Britannicis, revised in 1576. Author Dr. Johannes Caius discusses different types of dogs and makes the first reference to a “setter” as a dog that remains “sure and silent” upon finding birds, then “layeth his belly to the grounde and so creepeth forward like a worme.” Dr. Caius’s description is validated in the 1616 publication The Country Farmer where writers Surflet and Markham describe “another sort of land spannyels which are called setters.”

All canines evolved from the wolf, regardless of their breed or usage. Compare the upper skeleton of an American wolf to the lower skeleton of a retriever—the similarities are self-evident.

Dogs of that long-ago era were used in tandem with hawks or nets to capture birds. The dog would first search for game and, upon finding the birds, flush them into the air. The hunter then released his hawk, which would capture the bird, kill it and return it to the hunter.

The netting dogs were trained with more control. Once the dog had scented game, he would poise with foreleg raised and “set,” pointing to indicate the location of the birds. On command, he would drop to his belly and crawl closer to the game, where the hunter would then throw his net over both dog and bird.

Breeding habits of that time were planned according to the talents of the individual dog rather than any particular breed or variety. It is believed that in the 17th century spaniels were crossed at times with Spanish Pointers, no doubt another part of Irish Setter ancestry and, by the 18th century, “setter” dogs were recognized. In the 1804 tome The Shooting Directory, written by R. B. Thornhill, the Irish are credited with a Red and White Setter that was espoused by European sportsmen: “There is no country in Europe that can boast of finer Setters than Ireland.”

Once the preferred setter of Ireland, the Irish Red and White Setter is a direct relation of the more common Irish Setter. The two breeds are similar in conformation except for coloration.

It is also thought that the Irish Red Setter and the Irish Red and White Setter coexisted throughout Ireland during the early 1700s. Another theory suggests that a cross with the Irish Red Spaniel (or its Gaelic name, the Mudder Rhu) made up the Irish Setter.

Dr. Caius, however, would have us believe otherwise. He notes that, “The most part of their skynnes are white, and if they are marked with any spottes, they are commonly red, and somewhat great therewithal,” which seems to indicate that selective breeding from white-and-red to predominantly red-and-white was already afoot in the 16th century.

The setter breeds all derived from similar hunting dog stock. Today’s Irish Setter, along with the English and Gordon Setters, share similarities in conformation, hunting style and appearances. Illustration of English Setter by Lilian Cheviot.

Red Setter lines can be found in Irish history as far back as 1770. Maurice Nugent O’Connor was a devotee of the solid-red setter, although he also continued to breed the Red and White Setter as well. During the 1830s, Sir George Gore established a large kennel of self-reds. Crossbreedings with the Gordon Setter, known then as the Black and Tan Setter, occasionally produced black markings or solid blacks, which were not tolerated, although slight white markings were acceptable. Even today, a few black hairs on an Irish Red Setter are unacceptable in the show ring.

The prominent dog authority and author J. W. Walsh (who wrote under the pseudonym Stonehenge) wrote, “The blood red or rich chestnut or mahogany colour is the colour of the Irish Setter of high mark. This colour must be unmixed with black; studied in a strong light, there must not be black shadows or waves, much less black fringes to the ears, or to the profile of the form.” Walsh’s comments lend credence to the occasionally disputed theory about crossbreedings to the Gordon Setter in Irish Setter origins.

These two English Setters show off their distinctive blue belton coloration, a color pattern unique to the English Setter breed.

A young Irish Setter exhibiting a quality head around 1900. This dog is Eng. Ch. Carrig Maid, owned by influential breeder Mrs. M. Ingle Bepler.

The modern Gordon Setter, once simply called the Black and Tan Setter for its distinctive coat color, is an elegant, substantially built hunting dog.

During the 1800s, several prominent Irish families developed their own strains of setters, and many kept detailed breeding records. The Marquis of Waterford, Lords Dillon and Clancarty, Sir George Gore, the Earls of Lismore and others took great pride in their own lines of Irish Setters. By the late 1800s, self-red setters dominated the dog scene over the red-and-whites, and it became apparent that such selective breeding was for pure color. Although the Irish Setter was still used primarily as a working gundog, the beauty of this handsome and imposing red dog gave breeders and owners an excuse to show their gundogs on the bench.

RED POPULARITY

Although the Irish Red Setter was popular during the 1890s, England’s Kennel Club registered a scant 289 in 1891, and by World War I, registrations had dropped to 25. Post-war registrations climbed to over 300 by 1921, and Irish Red Setter ranks swelled to over 2000 by the 1930s.

In 1859, the first dog show in England was held at Newcastle-upon-Tyne with entries limited to setters and pointers only. Breeders quickly became enamored with these canine beauty pageants and the opportunity to display their lovely dogs. As yet there was no accepted standard for any breed, and thus there were major differences in breed type and appearance. It would be a quarter of a century before a standard for the breed was conceived for breeders and exhibitors.

A handsome dog owned by Mrs. F. C. Hignett is Eng. Ch. Bryan O’Lynn, photographed in the early 1900s.

Eng. Ch. Clancarty Rhu was a Red Setter from the early 1900s, also owned by Mrs. M. Ingle Bepler. Note the differences in the head type between Rhu and Maid, on the opposite page.

The first Irish Red Setter to distinguish the breed as a show star was a dog named Bob, owned by Major Hutchinson, who claimed a first prize at an all-breed event held in Birmingham, England in 1860. There was much disagreement at the time about what made up the ideal Irish Red Setter. As the first Irish Setter show dog of importance, Bob was the undisputed stud dog of the day, and his impact was felt for many generations after his time in the ring. He was the grandsire of the very famous field dog Plunket, bred by the Reverend Robert O’Callaghan and owned by the Reverend J. Cumming Macdona, who was one of the founders of England’s Kennel Club in 1873. Plunket was also a brother to a dog called Rover, used by Stonehenge in his book Dogs in the British Islands to illustrate the ideal Irish Setter. Rover’s dam was Macdona’s Grouse, a daughter of Bob, evidence that Bob left an important dual imprint on breed quality at that time.

Plunket was also successful in the show ring and was later purchased by Mr. R. L. Purcel Llewellin for 100 guineas. Llewellin is best known for having created the famous strain of Llewellin field-trial English Setters, and some wonder if Plunket was partially responsible for the quality of those dogs. Llewellin later sold Plunket for export to America.

Another very important show dog, Ch. Palmerston, was owned by Mr. Cecil Moore of Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland, who was an advocate of the working gundog. Although Palmerston lacked the stamina and physical properties required for substantial field work, his physical attributes made him a natural for a show career. Legend has it that Mr. Moore was about to drown Palmerston because of his lack of field potential when his friend T. M. Hilliard begged to take the dog and show him on the bench. Mr. Moore agreed and Palmerston’s new career was launched.

CRUFTS WINNERS

The first Irish Setter to...