gordon setter owners

eastwash · Post by **eastwash** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:21 am

Why did you choose a gordon. What do you feel are their strengths and what do you find are their shortcomings?

Coach529 · Post by **Coach529** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:46 am

My wife has a close friend who has a Gordon Setter, and she fell in love with the breed. When we were looking at getting a dog, she insisted in getting a Gordon.

I did some research in the breed and found nothing but positive so we got one.

Both Gordons I have owned have been great in the house and with my two young children. This to me was a huge thing, I wanted a family dog as well as a gun dog.

Mine have been easy to train, pointed and learned everything at an early age.

I am very biased, but the only real negative traits I can think of is some are not strong retreivers. My first Gordon would not retreive at all, my second is turning out to be a pretty good one. Other negatives would be some are not swimmers. And with all setters, sometimes the long hair is a pain with burrs.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:56 am

Onlything when looking for a Gordon ..Besure your seeking a field bred gordon breeder those that hunt and trial...Steer clear of the show gordon breeders.

Coach529 · Post by **Coach529** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:05 pm

kninebirddog wrote:Onlything when looking for a Gordon ..Besure your seeking a field bred gordon breeder those that hunt and trial...Steer clear of the show gordon breeders.

Very good point........

h20fwlkillr · Post by **h20fwlkillr** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 2:59 pm

the only real negative traits I can think of is some are not strong retreivers

This is very true. Desire to retrieve seems to be a common problem, not just with certain lines, but kind of across the board.

Stoneface · Post by **Stoneface** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:44 am

If you want a refferal to a good Gordon breeder go to Modernsportsman.com then click on "forum". There is a member in there who goes by "Kady" (His Gordons name). You'll have to join to PM him because he has his email set as "private" or I'd post it. He is a retired Doctor and lives in N/W Oklahoma and hunts about every day of the season. He demands alot of his dog and he never has a negative thought of her. He has posted some pictures of her and she isn't exactly show quality, but she'll find them birds for you. I believe he can point you in the direction of a few great breeders.

Rowdy

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:07 am

Stoneface..when it comes to the setter breed when one says it isn't show quality...Sad to say but that is a GOOD THING
field setters and show setter for the most part anymore should be classified as two seperate breeds

midwestfisherman · Post by **midwestfisherman** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:35 pm

I've got a 6 month old Gordon pup and I am really liking him. The breeder has one pup left. The sire of the litter was an excellent grouse and woodcock dog.

You can click on the dog for sale link on his site to see the pup.

http://www.scottlandsetters.com/index.html

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:34 pm

One name sticks out above all the rest in Gordon Setters and that is Summerset. Contact them if you want a field dog. There are a lot of nice show type Gordons that hunt well also but you have to be selective to get something you want.

Ezzy

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:17 pm

ezzy333 wrote:One name sticks out above all the rest in Gordon Setters and that is Summerset. Contact them if you want a field dog. There are a lot of nice show type Gordons that hunt well also but you have to be selective to get something you want.

Ezzy

Ezzy,

I've been involved with the breed for 15 years, never heard of Summerset. Springset yes.

All:

Gordons can run the scale in terms of size, large to small...and in talent, from none to great.

Are they great retrievers? Some are loads better than others, generally speaking the more "field bred" the less natural retrieve you will see. The primary trait is pointing, not retrieving.

In addition the "field bred" dogs can be a bit soft in training. That isn't too bad if you know going in, but if it's paired with resistant you're gonna have trouble.

To answer the first question, why?

I had GSP's and the wife had Labs. I needed a pointer and she needed something with a tail. She was also intrigued by a Dual concept, and in researching the setters, we felt our chances of getting a DC was best in Gordons. We have had two DC/AFC dogs. And just finished the FC on a nice young female.

whitedogone · Post by **whitedogone** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:45 pm

Sringset is THE name in field gordons. Blacklake has Springset lines and is doing some good breeding. If you want to know more about gordons(good or bad) ask the guys who know them best.... Gordon breeders. WDO

http://www.blacklakekennel.net/6.html?sm=43311

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:32 pm

I have always had trouble keeping track of the seasons. Thanks guys for catching my rather embarassing error.

Ezzy

Ross IV · Post by **Ross IV** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:46 pm

i got my first gordon this year. 11 months old now.

summary judgment: great companion, couldnt ask for more. great in the field- he wants to hunt and he wants to please me.

we are just getting started, but he has been a lot of fun. he loves to be with me.

word of warning. they can be knuckleheads. my boy is wicked smart, so sometimes he thinks he knows better. that is part of the fun though, i have gotten a dog who can think for himself- as much as that is possible.

midwestfisherman · Post by **midwestfisherman** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 6:10 pm

Ross IV wrote:word of warning. they can be knuckleheads. my boy is wicked smart, so sometimes he thinks he knows better. that is part of the fun though, i have gotten a dog who can think for himself- as much as that is possible.

Man, I can second that! Mine brings a smile to my face everyday.

Ross IV · Post by **Ross IV** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 6:19 pm

it sure is fun innit? he can be creative .

h20fwlkillr · Post by **h20fwlkillr** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:44 pm

Another very good line is Melrose. Russ started his lines out of Belmor, Shome and Springset. I've hunted behind his dogs. They are quite impressive.

CherrystoneWeims · Post by **CherrystoneWeims** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:55 am

There is a guy in Florida named Cliff who has some really NICE Gordons. I have seen them many times in FT's and they are quite good. He usually has a placement or two at every event where I have seen him.

There is also a girl named Jeannie (?) whose dogs I have seen numerous times. I think she is from around OH or Michigan. Very nice dogs.

Carol Black, in GA, also has some nice dogs. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw them run as she also shows them.

I saw all of these people and their dogs at the Gordon Setter Club of America FT in Cedartown, GA this past Feb. I would hunt behind any of these people's dogs!

Gordon Guy · Post by **Gordon Guy** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 9:23 am

Why did you choose a gordon. What do you feel are their strengths and what do you find are their shortcomings?

I've been in Gordon's for 19 years now and really like them, obviously. I 've owned 3 GSP's, 4 Labs, 1 Pointers, 1 Brits, 1 Cocker, 1 English Setters and I wanted a calm dog for the house and a good hunting dog that I liked to look at in the off season I've settled on Gordons. I've participated in Hunt tests and Field Trials, once in NAVHDA and once in NSTRA. I breed Gordon's too but I'm still a green horn when it comes to certain things

Their Strengths:

Calm: They certainly are the calmest of the hunting dogs I've owned. No more paw prints on the ceilings

Loyal: Gordons are very loyal, one person dogs.

Non-aggresive: My two older dogs can be laying in the front yard while I work in the garage and a neighbor will walk by walking their dog and my two don't even stand up to visit the neigbhors dog. Very non-aggressive. My 3rd is a 14 week old bundle of joy that hasn't learned her boundries yet.

Hard hunters: My dogs hunt just as hard or harder than any other dog around. They just need the opportunity to learn. You can find horizon seekers or you can find boot polishers, do your homework.

Don't need a lot of exercise: They are pretty content in the house. I've never seen a Gordon that needed to burn off energy to be a good citizen.

Soft personality: This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. The last Hunt test I was in my Samie dog received a 10 in trainability and I taught her without a E-collar. Electricity isn't needed to train these dogs. At least the dogs that I've owned.

Beauty: IMO there isn't a classier looking dog. There just isn't. You could hunt with an ugly dog, but why would you want too.

Short Comings:

Longer hair: Get a Field bred dog and their hair isn't any longer than an English setter, and or you can trim them up before you take them out.

Retrieving: Mine have retrieved but when they want to. I don't force fetch but may start to teach that

Dislike of water: This may be a training or introduction issue, depending on your training plan.

Health issues: no more or less than any other breed.

If your looking for a breeder make sure you go to a breeder that checks hips with OFA or Penn hip. A breeder that was previously mentioned in this thread doesn't OFA their dogs and has to figure in a 10 -14% return rate on their pups because of bad hips. That's shameful in my eyes.

If you're looking for a dog, there are several breeders out there. But do your home work. "Wyndancer" is a good source of info. Dan and Becky are breeding some nice dogs and know alot about the breed. They hunt, hunt test and trial their dogs around the country.

There are breeders out there that supply dogs to other serious Gordon people and there are breeders that supply dogs to classified ad readers. Unfortunately, you may have to wait for a pup from the first group, do your homework, be patient and you won't be disappointed.

Good luck

NWCORNER · Post by **NWCORNER** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:22 pm

You should get ahold of R.J. Marquart at Quick Silver kennels in Moses Lake. He has a lot of experience with the breed and he is probably located near you.

ckfowler · Post by **ckfowler** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 4:09 pm

Besides this

Hunt club I worked at as a youth had a stable of a dozen dogs that any member could take into the field and they would hunt. It was managed by a guy with two gordons and if you wanted to hunt with the Gordon, Mack had to come along as tehy were HIS dogs and would not hunt for you. Something about that really hit home with me. My first dog as an adult was a pound Britt and we rescued a Gordon that never did amount to much in the field. Chose an ES next after the Britt died and love her to death but still longed for a Gordon in the field. Just picked up an inexperienced 3 yr old out of good lines this fall so for now I have a B&W combo to hunt over. The difference in experience shows but Gus is driven to find birds and the rest will fall in place with time and birds. He has a great retrieve for which I am thankful as I have no interest in FF a dog and didn't have to with the ES either. He is loyal to a fault, I can't leave a room w/o him. He was an outside dog previously so this may settle with some time living indors with us. He is very vocal, talks when he wants things like out or in. He has growled a couple times at me or the wife and these are addressed immediately. Not aggressive, just a rumble of displeasure, but having a 6 yr old I have no tolerance for that and will not let it get a foothold. I have worked for years to reign in the trial bred ES and the Gordon shows his youth in his range (100-300 yards) but again that should adapt as we hunt together. Would have loved to have had him as a pup and already have put a couple seasons under his belt as he would be stunning at this point but still confident that he will grow into everything I could ever need. Not afraid of water, did a "dock dog" jump when I fired at some geese couple weeks ago, landed 6 feet out! Shame I didn't kill one for him to retrieve. He's about 40 lbs but thin as a rail so will hopefully setle in at a better 50.[/list]

Coach529 · Post by **Coach529** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:50 pm

Gordon Guy wrote:
Why did you choose a gordon. What do you feel are their strengths and what do you find are their shortcomings?
I've been in Gordon's for 19 years now and really like them, obviously. I 've owned 3 GSP's, 4 Labs, 1 Pointers, 1 Brits, 1 Cocker, 1 English Setters and I wanted a calm dog for the house and a good hunting dog that I liked to look at in the off season I've settled on Gordons. I've participated in Hunt tests and Field Trials, once in NAVHDA and once in NSTRA. I breed Gordon's too but I'm still a green horn when it comes to certain things

Their Strengths:

Calm: They certainly are the calmest of the hunting dogs I've owned. No more paw prints on the ceilings

Loyal: Gordons are very loyal, one person dogs.

Non-aggresive: My two older dogs can be laying in the front yard while I work in the garage and a neighbor will walk by walking their dog and my two don't even stand up to visit the neigbhors dog. Very non-aggressive. My 3rd is a 14 week old bundle of joy that hasn't learned her boundries yet.

Hard hunters: My dogs hunt just as hard or harder than any other dog around. They just need the opportunity to learn. You can find horizon seekers or you can find boot polishers, do your homework.

Don't need a lot of exercise: They are pretty content in the house. I've never seen a Gordon that needed to burn off energy to be a good citizen.

Soft personality: This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. The last Hunt test I was in my Samie dog received a 10 in trainability and I taught her without a E-collar. Electricity isn't needed to train these dogs. At least the dogs that I've owned.

Beauty: IMO there isn't a classier looking dog. There just isn't. You could hunt with an ugly dog, but why would you want too.

Short Comings:

Longer hair: Get a Field bred dog and their hair isn't any longer than an English setter, and or you can trim them up before you take them out.

Retrieving: Mine have retrieved but when they want to. I don't force fetch but may start to teach that

Dislike of water: This may be a training or introduction issue, depending on your training plan.

Health issues: no more or less than any other breed.

If your looking for a breeder make sure you go to a breeder that checks hips with OFA or Penn hip. A breeder that was previously mentioned in this thread doesn't OFA their dogs and has to figure in a 10 -14% return rate on their pups because of bad hips. That's shameful in my eyes.

If you're looking for a dog, there are several breeders out there. But do your home work. "Wyndancer" is a good source of info. Dan and Becky are breeding some nice dogs and know alot about the breed. They hunt, hunt test and trial their dogs around the country.

There are breeders out there that supply dogs to other serious Gordon people and there are breeders that supply dogs to classified ad readers. Unfortunately, you may have to wait for a pup from the first group, do your homework, be patient and you won't be disappointed.

Good luck

Awesome post Tom!!

llewgor · Post by **llewgor** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:49 pm

http://www.springset.com/

I have a springset dog love him. natural retriever, lot of legs and he loves birds. Great dog in the house and loves to talk. kind of a grrrer with he's tail wagg'in. Also grrrer and curls up between my legs like a cat when he's happy which he's always happy.

another kennel
http://www.tomar-kennel.com/

lvrgsp · Post by **lvrgsp** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:07 am

I was raised around Gordon's, my uncle had them along with pointers coonhounds and english setters, what I remember of them was they were bird finding fools with good style, they were family loyal and some what overly protective from strangers. They were good retrievers did not care much about the water, but if told so would dive in, and absolutley did not want to be seperated from the family, alot of seperation anxiety. Not sure the lineage, at the time I was more into the pointers and coonhounds. There coats were short and thick, more like the fieldbred Gordons. And to this day my Brother still loves them from our days afield with them.
Sorry had to reminisce a little.

Chip

whitedogone · Post by **whitedogone** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:30 am

llewgor wrote: another kennel
http://www.tomar-kennel.com/

I've never seen a kennel breeding a 3 legged dog..... not that there's anything wrong with that

http://www.tomar-kennel.com/Gordons.htm

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:44 am

There are several backyard breeders in Iowa that are producing some really nice hunting dogs. I don't know whaat lines they have but many of the dogs I have seen in the field are the type you would enjoy hunting over.

Ezzy

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 10:06 am

whitedogone wrote:
llewgor wrote: another kennel
http://www.tomar-kennel.com/
I've never seen a kennel breeding a 3 legged dog..... not that there's anything wrong with that

http://www.tomar-kennel.com/Gordons.htm

Tink lost her leg due to a four wheeler accident.

The last time she was bred, the only had one tie, hopefully to keep the litter size down. Didn't appear to work, she had 11.

The dog in my avatar, Buck, is out of her.

llewgor · Post by **llewgor** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:57 am

eastwash
Wyndancer has a good breeding on they're website. Not to promote them because I don't know them but that's the kind of Gordon I like. I'm sure they'll be field Gordons. Tell me those dogs aren't smiling in those pictures.

How could you not love a Gordon

bucktales · Post by **bucktales** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:31 pm

Maybe I'm out of the loop or something.
I hear the term "field Gordon" a lot and I have seen "field Gordons " that , to me at least, don't resemble Gordons at all.
Maybe I'm missing something.

Ross IV · Post by **Ross IV** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:22 pm

what do you mean bucktales? is it the coloring? are they not big enough?

bucktales · Post by **bucktales** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:34 pm

Pretty much Ross.
I've seen these dogs both in person as well as breeder's sites . I'm sorry, but to me a Gordon's color shouldn't be mainly white. And a male shouldn't be the size of a Brit.
Maybe I'm a Gordon snob. Mine are both from Germany, as my wife's family has been breeding them for 40 years. We are hooked up with a lot of Setter friends there as well. Apples and oranges as far as the differences go.
Looks-wise ; Mine resemble the type you would see in a print from the late 1800's Old-School look, you can say.

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 2:58 pm

Ross IV wrote:what do you mean bucktales? is it the coloring? are they not big enough?

That right there is funny...hahaha

KYBobwhite · Post by **KYBobwhite** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:17 pm

if I were going to buy another pup. I have one female out of Intraset and a male with strong Intraset breeding. Roger is a great guy and has been totally commited to field bred Gordons for years. The intraset dog is in my avatar.

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:56 pm

bucktales wrote:Pretty much Ross.
I've seen these dogs both in person as well as breeder's sites . I'm sorry, but to me a Gordon's color shouldn't be mainly white. And a male shouldn't be the size of a Brit.
Maybe I'm a Gordon snob. Mine are both from Germany, as my wife's family has been breeding them for 40 years. We are hooked up with a lot of Setter friends there as well. Apples and oranges as far as the differences go.
Looks-wise ; Mine resemble the type you would see in a print from the late 1800's Old-School look, you can say.

Here's picture of Robert Truman, with his purebred English Field Champion Freebirch Vincent. Bob finished the dogs F.T. Ch. in 1980.

midwestfisherman · Post by **midwestfisherman** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:25 pm

Wyndancer, you have some very nice looking Gordons on your photos page. I especially like the dogs in the middle pictures in row 1 and 3 and the dog in the left picture in row 5.

I personally like a Gordon with the blockier type head. Yours have that nice look to them. Some of the field bred dogs that I see have too narrow of a face and too small of a head. But, that's just my opinion.

Gordon Guy · Post by **Gordon Guy** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:00 pm

Yes they are nice looking dogs. There's something to be said for breedings with dual blood in them.

dan v · Post by **dan v** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:36 pm

midwest,

Thanks!

We like the blocker type head as well, defined stop and "brick on brick" planes.

Some of the dogs on the photo page aren't ours though.

Dan

bucktales · Post by **bucktales** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 6:46 pm

Wyndancer wrote:
bucktales wrote:Pretty much Ross.
I've seen these dogs both in person as well as breeder's sites . I'm sorry, but to me a Gordon's color shouldn't be mainly white. And a male shouldn't be the size of a Brit.
Maybe I'm a Gordon snob. Mine are both from Germany, as my wife's family has been breeding them for 40 years. We are hooked up with a lot of Setter friends there as well. Apples and oranges as far as the differences go.
Looks-wise ; Mine resemble the type you would see in a print from the late 1800's Old-School look, you can say.
Here's picture of Robert Truman, with his purebred English Field Champion Freebirch Vincent. Bob finished the dogs F.T. Ch. in 1980.

Well, Sir, I'm humbled.
I still like them Black and Tan.

bucktales · Post by **bucktales** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:10 pm

Here's my 3 y.o.

And his half brother at 1.5 yrs

and both

Coach529 · Post by **Coach529** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 7:39 pm

Beautiful............here is one of my Bella, who is 1-1/2 yers old.

highcotton · Post by **highcotton** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:02 pm

Beautiful Gordons people.....I really like looking at setter pictures.

Gun Dog Forum

gordon setter owners

gordon setter owners

Gordon setters

Intraset is the way I would go....