Hunting Birds using Setters
Setters have long, silky coats and wonderful dispositions. They also make fantastic upland field pointing hunters. Bred for endurance, a strong nose and a solid desire to please, these dogs run in the field with a fluid style backed by pure strength. The setter is a pointing breed usually used for upland game bird hunting. Originally these types of dogs were bred to find game and set, or freeze until the hunters could arrive with nets to throw. Today, setters use their strong noses to detect hidden game birds, then they set or point in a beautiful display until the hunter can enter shooting range. Afterwards they track and retrieve the downed bird to hand. Hunters who use setters as their hunting companions usually become setter fanatics and claim they are the best type of bird dog anyone could ever hunter over.
Setters have nice dispositions and fit perfectly into family environments. A fine setter should have great endurance for hunting over large areas for long periods of time, a strong desire to please (which makes them easy to train) and a natural proclivity towards birds that is referred to as ‘birdiness’. Setters usually have a medium to wide range of field while searching for birds and will remain on a steady point at a found bird until the hunter releases them. A setter on point is quite beautiful. They stand completely steady, their tail straight, muscles quivering and nose pointed for as long as necessary. When hunting with more than one dog, a setter will hold a steady point behind another dog already on point without interrupting the first dog. This is called backing. The dog should remain staunch when the bird is flushed until released by the hunter to retrieve the bird. Setters can be used to find birds in almost any type of cover including dense brush, open prairie and wetlands.
Their long silky coats protect them from brush but require maintenance to keep them tangle free. The setter is considered to be hard working gun dog that also possesses the grace and beauty of the classic English pointer dog.
