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A fall Ruff struttin his stuff (click on photo for a larger image). 

Beauty, Brains, and Birdsense.
We are dedicated to the improvement and preservation of the Gordon Setter breed as represented by the American Kennel Club and the Gordon Setter Club of America. We enjoy Gordons big and small but have a strong preference for those that fit right in the middle of the breed standard. We especially admire those Gordons that have demonstrated the correct conformation to become a bench Champion AND excel in the field by earning a Field Trial Championship. These are known as Dual Champion dogs. While we can not compete in the arena of field trials ourselves at this time due to family priorities, we are striving for the best balance of upland hunting dog, companion, and conformation possible. Someday, after children (a.c.), we may run competitively in field trials. Until then, we admire, support, and will draw genetics from proven hunting and field trial lines at every possibility.

Hunting drive, instinct, and trainability are very, very important to us. 

The first B - Bird sense
All game birds are not created equal, and neither are all bird dogs.  Ruffed Grouse are arguably the most difficult upland game bird to hunt. It takes a pointing dog with a boatload of bird sense to hunt them well. Ruffed Grouse tend to sneak off on the pointing dog and then if pressured just a little more, flush with a thunderous whir. Somewhere someone said it takes 500 grouse contacts to make a grouse dog. Some dogs never get out enough to get this experience, others get the experience but just never figure it out. Only a few dogs have the right combination of bird sense, training, and experience to reliably point Ruffed Grouse. Even with the best of dogs and gunners, Ruffed Grouse will get away more often than not. 

Once properly conditioned, a Gordon is capable of doing a full day of work. They are not the fastest dogs afield but neither should they plod along. Our Gordons can hunt several days back to back for much of the season. They improve in stamina and endurance as the season goes on. As expected, cooler weather helps since black dogs don't tolerate full sun and warm temps well.

In our judgment, a truly useful pointing dog simply must hunt beyond gun range, show a keen interest in seeking birds and express an efficient work-man-like attitude. In heavy cover, a pointing dog that hunts at the range we prefer will be out of sight much of the time. Most importantly though, when properly trained, they do not need to called to check in, they do it on their own. An electronic beeper collar is helpful for keeping track of the dog in heavy cover as the sound carries farther than a bell and signals point where a bell falls silent. This style of hunting (with the dog out of sight) can be uncomfortable to the uninitiated. If the dog is honest, holds point for great periods of time and doesn't creep, you will  cover large tracts of ground more efficiently than with a close working dog. To our ears, the faint sound of the beeper signaling point deep in a poplar stand is what it is all about.

Some people have said, and we've read it in major hunting dog rags; dogs that compete in the show ring do not perform as well as pure "field strain" dogs. This is complete bunk. Trotting a dog around a ring on a leash doesn't change  a dog's hunt - jeeeze!  The fact that "Dual Champion" Gordon's exist today simply disproves it. Dogs can only become Dual Champions by kicking some serious dog butt in the field. There are no gimmies in the field trial world. What is true is that it's difficult to breed and train a dog that excels in both the field trial world and on the bench, which is why just there are just a handful of Gordon Setter breeders in the U.S. up to this kind of challenge. There are about 50 Dual Champions in the breed's history. We admire these breeders and trainers for their success and will tap into their bloodlines at most every opportunity. 

That said, there are some bloodlines of Gordon Setters that haven't seen a bird in 3 generations. In other cases, the dogs do have AKC Junior Hunting titles but the owners don't hunt. Sometimes, non-hunting kennels will put JH's on dogs just to attempt to "prove" the dogs hunt. In our opinion, a JH title demonstrates a dog will point, if only for a second or two, but does not say much very about hunt. It says little about drive, range, stamina, boldness, independence, style, intensity, bidability, I've seen some really outstanding JH dogs and, from non-hunting kennels, a number of seriously mediocre dogs that I would not want to spend a day afield with. These are not proven hunting lines in our judgment. If you're looking for a companion on walks and maybe once or twice a year you'll carry a shotgun, then any old dogge' will probably be acceptable to you, and that's OK with us. Just be sure to get what you want.

Others have suggested that hunters looking for close working gun dogs should stay away from field trial line dogs. Again, this is simply wrong. Trialing is hard, tough, gritty work. It proves a dog's physical and mental soundness, it's ability to cover ground, seek objectives, find and handle birds while demonstrating boldness and an appropriate degree of independence. These are the exact traits that make for great personal gun dogs. The rest is training. 

If you simply insist on having a upland bird dog that hunts inside gun range and you can't get over it, then look for a nice Spaniel or Labrador. No kidding, you and your dog will both be a lot happier. I've gunned over, and hunted with folks that have truly superb flushing and retrieving dogs. If you want one of those, be prepared to do some homework.

Some people will prattle on about how they never kill a bird that's not pointed - blah, blah, blah. If the dog is 100 yards to the right, and a grouse flushes 15 yards off the left I will (generally) try to kill it. I expect anybody with me to do the same if they wish. This is a training opportunity to teach hunt dead on a bird not marked down, to encourage the dog to check in regularly because the shotgun is where the action is, and to get yet another retrieve. Occasionally the dog comes in to hunt dead and finds a live bird still holding. Bingo! We have a superb opportunity which the dog thinks I created. What could be wrong with that situation? Dogs get pumped up and hunt harder after each bird contact, especially if they've been on the ground a couple of hours and have the edge wore off. 

There are other occasional exceptions. We generally let beginning wing shooters shoot all flown birds, even if the dog pressured it. Woodcock are the exception, they must be pointed 100% of the time. This is due to the fact that reflushes with woodcock are common, birds are usually plentiful, and many of the them go out (flush) low in heavy cover which compromises safe shooting. Plus, I have beginners generally load for grouse as we hunt and when walking into a pointing situation, switch to a spreader load for that first shot if the point looks like a woodcock. I can often tell what the dog is pointing by looking at the manner in which it points. The right choke and load combination, such as switching to spreaders for Woodock, and working a solid point will easily double the number of times a beginner connects on Mudbats.  

If a dog accidentally bumps a grouse, it won't be shot by me and 95% of the time, won't be shot at at all. But if my child, novice, or a beginning wing shooter is along and they can take a safe shot (a fairly rare confluence of events) I want them to go for it. I want beginners to have as much fun a possible and there is simply nothing better for a beginning wing shooter than connecting on a flown bird after an hour of hiking through the briars. I'm not going to limit their opportunity to shoot that rare (to them) bird flying straight away simply because the bird and dog didn't play by the "etiquette" standards some snob-nosed pointing dog men tout. Good dogs, with sound handling, can take the occasional shot at a bumped bird without degrading their bird work. I know my dogs can handle it. 

We use a copious number of quail each year training and testing our dogs. And we are not above a canned pheasant hunt from time to time. We are a hunting family and our dogs are proven on wild birds, not just farm raised poultry. As such, we concentrate on quality bird work on hard sought birds under real world conditions. This is where we judge our dogs and we aren't going to mislead anyone with a ton of pictures taken under artificial conditions. Wild hunting conditions are challenging situations to get pictures - but we're working on it. Check back from time to time as we add to our photo collection.

The second B - Brains
Hunting dogs are not generally noted for their intelligence, particularly in the obedience ring where Border Collies seem to rule. However, a bird dog with above average intelligence can get you farther, faster than working with a dolt. We look for a Gordon that is biddable, takes training well, is mentally stable, and tough enough to actually enjoy hard work. We look for lots of personality and a pleasant, sweet disposition. Or as a visitor to Castle Gordon in Scotland remarked 150 years ago, "A most pettable dogge".

A Gordon can earn difficult obedience titles with dedicated owner / handlers. A dose of patience, a sense of humor, some true dog training skill, and an understanding of their Scottishness will go a long way.

Some people will quickly explain that their dogs are absolute geniuses capable of reading minds and outsmarting human attempts to train them. Tamdhu Gordons are not geniuses, they only read at a third grade level and struggle with first grade math. SAT scores are available on request.

The third B - Beauty
We believe a Gordon that is conformationally correct and structurally sound to be the basis for a quality sporting dog. Correct angulation, limb movement and an overall solid structure make up the basis for efficient ground covering ability as well as long term soundness. A well bred Gordon Setter in full, fluid motion is a truly beautiful sight. 

Gordons come in a wide variety of sizes and they are almost always black and tan. A white spot in the middle of the chest, sized from just a few hairs to a large blaze, is common in just about every litter.  The original Gordons bred by the Duke were tri-colored which was the Duke's favored color. The AKC came along and with pressure from show fanciers, established the black and tan as the preferred coloration with an emphasis on minimizing white. With some regularity, red or liver colored Gordons appear. Some breeders suggest these are "rare". They are not, occurring in some lines with 5-10% regularity. 

The coat can vary from very short to long and flowing (in predominantly show type dogs). It can be straight (preferred in the standard) or be wavy. The eye should be intelligent, the darker the better. Our ideal Gordon has a medium length, straight, coat. This doesn't always please the bench judge but it is acceptable for field work where excessive coat is a hindrance.

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