Bird hunting season is finally here, and for the first time in 50 years, I have no setter in the bullpen. To be sure, I’ll hunt behind Ragan, my longtime male setter, but Ragan turned 14 last spring and field time will be limited. His ace reliever, a young shorthair belonging to my son, got seriously ill and didn’t recover.
So, it’s time to start over. At 79, though, it seems unwise (and probably unfair) to invest in a puppy. So, I’ve been shopping around.
Maybe you’ve been shopping too.
As much as I love retrievers, a flushing breed is not on the shortlist. Why? Because those days of running after bird dogs are long gone. In other words, I need a pointing breed, one that finds birds and holds them until I show up for the flush. Whenever I go through this exercise, I learn something, not the least of which is there are good pointing breeds besides setters.
Stay tuned for the rest of this story.
Recent DNA studies prove that all dogs descended from wolves, possibly as long ago as 100,000 years. Whether dogs domesticated themselves or left that job to Man is unknown. Archeological evidence suggests dogs may have been the original beast of burden as early as ten or more millennial ago. However, the fossil evidence is unmistakable: By 7,000 BC, dogs and people lived together. Early on, domesticated dogs probably helped human hunters by baying and bringing down deer, bears and other animals. As our nomadic ancestors turned from hunting to farming and community living, the role of dogs expanded to include herding and protecting.
Along with the development of the gun came the evolution of specialty sporting breeds. Many, if not all, of today’s popular pointing dog types evolved from the spaniel, the historical record for which is sketchy.
The Brittany
The Brittany spaniel is simply called the Brittany today. Originating in Bretagne in northern France, the original breed may have been a cross between native land spaniels and pointers or setters from southern England. The dog’s bob tail, short ears and loose coat allowed it to hunt in brushy habitat. Its staunchness (probably influenced by breeding with setters), good nose, sure-footedness and short gait were all seen as favorable to both French and English hunters, who appreciated its energy and enthusiasm.
Recognized as a distinct breed in France around 1900, the first Brittanys came to the U.S. in the early 1930s. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1934, and the Brittany Spaniel Club of North America formed two years later. The AKC dropped the “spaniel” from “Brittany” in 1982 when it accepted the fact the dog is a pointer type and not a flushing type.
The Setters
The roots of the English setter, used as a hunting dog since the 13th century, were the various spaniel types. No surprise there. The name comes from the breed’s natural desire to crouch or “set” when it struck game. In 1576, Dr. John Caius, personal physician to King Edward VI, wrote in his Treatise of Englishe Dogs, that this dog, also called a “setting spaniel,” when finding a bird, “keepeth sure and fast silence…stayeth his steps and will proceed no further and with a close, covert, watching eye, layeth his belly to the ground.”
Having marked the find—thanks to the dog—the European fowler (an unarmed poacher in many cases) simply spread his net to catch the bird. No gun was needed or used.
A long coat allowed the setter to hunt in cold, wet weather and protected him from thorns and brambles. This characteristic gave the setter an advantage over the pointer, especially as a pheasant and grouse dog, but the setter lacked the speed and stamina of the pointer. As with the other hunting breeds, bench shows determined the standards for size, conformation and color, whereas field trial competition produced practical dogs for sport.
In the early 1800s, English, Irish and Gordon setters were frequently interbred. Around 1825, Edward Laverack began to breed for the field a white setter, with orange or black spots and ticking, that was also an elegant, graceful, beautiful dog.
Today’s dog show setters trace their lineage to the Laverack Foundation. The field trial and hunting setters originated with R. L. Purcell Llewellin, who crossed Laverack dogs with Duke-Rhoebe strains from the north of England.
The Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB), which was recently absorbed by the United Kennel Club in Kalamazoo, registers the Llewellin as an English setter with 100 percent Duke/Rhoebe-Laverack blood. These are typically 50-pound dogs that stand about 24 inches high. Those bred for field trials tend to be smaller, faster, and more independent dogs than those bred strictly for hunting upland birds.
The Irish setter first appeared in the late 1700s in Ireland as a red and white setter and then as a red setter. Dog fanciers eventually established the breed as the all-red dog we know today.
The Duke of Gordon developed the black-and-tan colored Gordon setter as a bird dog. In 1878, the AKC recognized both the Irish and English setter and accepted the Gordon in 1892.
The Pointers
Although “English pointer” is still sometimes used, all registries refer to this breed as simply “pointer.” Dating at least to the mid-17th century, when pointers were used to find hares for greyhounds to run, the dog’s ancestors were probably greyhounds, bloodhounds, foxhounds, bull terriers and perhaps others. These influences contributed to the dog’s lean, muscular, square-jawed appearance, developed only about a century ago. Other traits include an exceptional nose, fast hunting style on open ground, excellent tracking skills, staunchness and a short white coat with lemon, liver or black spots.
Introduced to North America, the pointer flourished on game birds of the Great Plains and bobwhites in the deep South. The breed often wins over other pointing dogs at field trials and makes a good family pet.
Like the pointer, the German shorthaired pointer bears strong resemblance to the scent hounds from which it came. By the end of the 17th century, the breed began showing up on the estates of nobility, but it took another 200 years for sportsmen to refine the breeding that created a versatile hunting dog—one that could find, point, mark and return game both in and out of the water. From its beginnings, the shorthair was designed to be a family dog, and today, they are among the most biddable and social partners of all the pointing dog breeds. Imported to North America in the 1880s, shorthairs did not gain official AKC registration status until 1930.
Most Popular Pointing Breeds?
The AKC, which tests for conformation and not field performance, annually registers thousands of dogs from the 200 breeds it recognizes. For 31 years (through 2021), the Labrador retriever was the most popular breed, but was edged out two years ago by the French bulldog. In 2022, the last year for which records are available, German shorthaired pointers placed No. 10 and Brittanies were No. 28. Vizslas came in at No. 33, and Weimaraners were No. 44. Continental breeds like the wirehaired pointing Griffon (57) and German wirehaired pointer (59) were far ahead of the Irish setter (71), the English setter (93), Gordon setter (99) and pointer (107).
The United Kennel Club is the preferred registry for gun dogs because the UKC keeps track of field performance. It recently absorbed the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB), which dates to 1874 and registers about 5,000 litters of mostly hunting dogs each year. Typically, about 90 percent are pointers and setters, followed by Brittanys, GSPs, Irish setters and the several continental breeds.
Led by German shorthairs, the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) recognizes more than two dozen breeds, all of which have European origins because “no distinctive versatile hunting breed has been developed in North America.”
These three registries have lots of information about breed histories and characteristics and are a good source for helping you choose a pointing dog. There are national clubs dedicated to the various breeds, and the AKC website (www.akc.org) gives contact data for them as well as state and local affiliates in some cases. You can even find a breeder there.
Or, like me, you can find a good pointing dog practically in your own backyard.
Say Hello to Pepper
Just as the October issue of Woods-N-Water News was being assembled for publication, I bought a three-year-old female shorthair. “Pepper” was rescued by Second Chance Bird Dogs in Lakeview, Michigan, and is now rehomed with me. I’ll be telling Pepper’s story in future columns.
