Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Gordon Setter Breed Overview
- History of the Gordon Setter Breed. Where Gordon Setters came from
- What the Gordon Setter Looks Like
- How Much is the Gordon Setter Puppy?
- Best Gordon Setter Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Gordon Setter
- What Colors do Gordon Setters Have?
- The Temperament of the Gordon Setter
- How Long Gordon Setters Live
- Gordon Setter Litter Size
- How Fast Gordon Setters Can Run
- Good Names for Gordon Setters
- How Intelligent are Gordon Setters?
- How Popular are Gordon Setters with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Gordon Setters and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Gordon Setters
- Other Things to Know About Gordon Setters
Gordon Setter Breed Overview
The Gordon Setter is a medium-sized dog.
The adult Gordon Setter stands 1 foot, 11 inches to 2 feet, 3 inches tall at the .
The Gordon Setter belongs to the Sporting Dogs group.
Dogs in the Sporting Dogs group, like the Gordon Setter, were bred to help hunters catch and retrieve feathered game. Some sporting dog breeds such as Retrievers, which were built for swimming, were bred to hunt waterfowl in water.
Whereas sporting dog breeds like setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds were bred to hunt quail, pheasant, and other game birds nest on grasslands.
Many Sporting Group breeds have thick, water-repellent coats that protect them from harsh hunting conditions.
The fact that the Gordon Setter belongs to the Sporting Dogs group is one of the reasons why Gordon Setters have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Gordon Setter is generally described as:
- Alert
- Confident
- Eager
- Fearless
- Gay
- Loyal
History of the Gordon Setter Breed. Where Gordon Setters came from
Gordon Setters have been around since 1620 and were originally known as the Black-and-Tan Setter.
They gained popularity after being discovered in the kennels of Alexander, the fourth Duke of Gordon, some 200 years later.
They were known as Castle Gordon Setters and were extremely successful hunters.
They were excellent bird hunters, easily detecting and retrieving the fallen bird.
Their incredible stamina also allowed them to hunt effectively on land, in water, and in all weather conditions.
The first of the breed could be white, black, red, tan, or tricolor, but the Duke preferred the black and tan combination.
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What the Gordon Setter Looks Like
This magnificent canine will have a soft and shiny coat that is longer around the ears, back of the legs, chest, tail, and belly.
This fur can be straight or have a slight wave to it.
They will have short tails and triangularly shaped feathering, as well as hair that shortens as it approaches the tail`s end, giving it a flag-like appearance.
The tails are carried low unless the dog becomes excited, in which case it is carried higher.
The only Gordon Setters known today are black and tan with mahogany markings around the bottom and sides of their muzzle, over their eyes, and some large spots on the chest, throat, inside of the back legs, around the vent, and on the tail.
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How Much is the Gordon Setter Puppy?
The average price of a Gordon Setter puppy is $1230. The price of a Gordon Setter puppy ranges from $950 to $1500.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Gordon Setter. These factors include what health records the Gordon Setter puppy has, the lineage of the Gordon Setter puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Gordon Setter based on the many factors that determine the price of the Gordon Setter puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Gordon Setter puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Gordon Setter breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Gordon Setter Breeders
We have researched reputable Gordon Setter breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Gordon Setter breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
Jody Holdbrooks
Puppy Price: $call or text
Patrick Coffee
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
CPS Kennels
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Emily Johnson-Marshall
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Saltire Gordon Setters
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Gordon Setter
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Gordon Setters included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Gordon Setter named Spike that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Gordon Setters like Spike on pefinder.com.
Webster is the name of another Gordon Setter (Male) on petfinder.com that is looking for a new forever home.
You can find more Gordon Setters that are available for adoption on petfinder.
What Colors do Gordon Setters Have?
Gordon Setters come in the following beautiful primary colors:
- Bicolor
- Black
The Temperament of the Gordon Setter
The temperament of the Gordon Setter based can be summarized as in the table below.
The table shows the scores of the Gordon Setter for 13 important dog behavioral factors.
We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.
The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.
See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Gordon Setter here.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Owner Directed Aggression | 8.6 percent |
| Energy Level | 76.0 percent |
| Attachment Attention Seeking | 74.7 percent |
| Prey Drive | 59.6 percent |
| Dog Rivalry | 52.9 percent |
| Excitability | 52.8 percent |
| Dog Directed Aggression | 40.2 percent |
| Stubbornness | 29.5 percent |
| Stranger Directed Aggression | 28.8 percent |
| Separation Related Behavior | 23.1 percent |
| Dog Directed Fear | 16.6 percent |
| Stranger Directed Fear | 15.7 percent |
| Nonsocial Fear | 15.0 percent |
| Touch Sensitivity | 11.6 percent |
How Long Gordon Setters Live
The lifespan of the Gordon Setter is typically from 10 to 12 years.
Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Gordon Setter. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 157 pet Gordon Setters lived.
From the study, it was found that Gordon Setters have an average lifespan of 11.0 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Gordon Setters to live as long as 16.2 years.
Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Gordon Setter to live long.
Gordon Setters live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
There are also dog supplements that you can give your Gordon Setter to improve your Gordon Setter`s quality of their life.
Click here to learn more about how to make your Gordon Setter live long.
Gordon Setter Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 219 different Gordon Setter birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Gordon Setters can have is 7 puppies. Also, the Gordon Setter can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 16 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Gordon Setter will have depends on factors such as the age of the Gordon Setter, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Gordon Setter will have and how the litter size of the Gordon Setter compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Gordon Setters Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 33 different Gordon Setters, the average speed of the Gordon Setter is 22.4 mph (36.0 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Gordon Setter ran in a race is 27.51 mph (44.3 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Gordon Setter is 11.62 mph (18.7 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Gordon Setter compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Gordon Setters
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Gordon Setter ranked by popularity:
- Luca
- Bocce
- Toby
- Spike
- Roman
- Webster
How Intelligent are Gordon Setters?
| Gordon Setter | |
|---|---|
| Intelligence Rank | 34 out of 130 dog breeds |
| Trainability | Tend To Learn New Commands After 15 To 25 Repetitions |
According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:
- Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.
- Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.
- Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.
Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.
Prof. Coren found that the Gordon Setter has an obedience intelligence rank of 34 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Gordon Setters in the `Above Average Working Dogs` category.
This means that Gordon Setters tend to learn new commands after 15 to 25 repetitions.
However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.
See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:
| Breed | Intelligence Rank |
|---|---|
| Border Collie | 1 |
| German Shepherd Dog | 3 |
| Papillon | 8 |
| Australian Cattle Dog | 10 |
| English Springer Spaniel | 13 |
| Belgian Tervuren | 14 |
| Weimaraner | 21 |
| Belgian Malinois | 22 |
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi | 26 |
| Finnish Spitz | 43 |
| Dachshund | 49 |
| Akita | 54 |
| Skye Terrier | 55 |
| Norfolk Terrier | 56 |
| French Bulldog | 58 |
| Chinese Crested | 61 |
| Old English Sheepdog | 63 |
| Chihuahua | 67 |
| Lhasa Apso | 68 |
| Afghan Hound | 79 |
How Popular are Gordon Setters with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Gordon Setter.
The popularity of the Gordon Setter averaged over the years is Number 107 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Gordon Setters and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Gordon Setter is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Gordon Setter puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Gordon Setter breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Gordon Setters for:
- approved laboratory
- DNA Repository (new requirement effective 7/1/13)
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Eye Examination
- Hip Dysplasia
- rcd4 PRA (new requirement effective 7/1/13)
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Gordon Setters here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Gordon Setters
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Gordon Setter.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Gordon Setter:
- Alaskan Klee Kai (75 percent match with Gordon Setter). Learn more about the Alaskan Klee Kai here.
- Belgian Tervuren (78 percent match with Gordon Setter). Learn more about the Belgian Tervuren here.
- Giant Schnauzer (79 percent match with Gordon Setter). Learn more about the Giant Schnauzer here.
- Mudi (75 percent match with Gordon Setter). Learn more about the Mudi here.
Other Things to Know About Gordon Setters
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Gordon Setter that you need to know about the Gordon Setter breed: