We are active members of the Gordon Setter Club of America. We donate our time and resources to support Field Trials, Hunt Tests, Specialty Shows, Supported Entries, and field training days in support of Gordon Setters and the running of regional club business. The primary purpose of this website is to educate and share our knowledge from over 15 years experience with the breed. Yes, occasionally we offer puppies and this site helps get the word out. We breed infrequently with quality our primary goal, not quantity. We have never had multiple litters going at one time as some do. We've never had more than 1 litter in the same 12 month period. We plan our litters carefully with several objectives in mind. These objectives are to preserve and improve hunting drive, stamina, style, trainability, conformation, temperament, and health. Because of our broad established network, we are able to reach out and select from the best available dogs in the breed and not be limited to use just what is sitting in our kennel, unsold from the a previous litter. For more on what we believe makes a well bred Gordon Setter - 

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 Gordon Setters big and small but have a strong preference for those that fit right in the middle of the breed standard. We especially admire those Gordon Setters 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 do not compete in the arena of field trials ourselves, we strive for a balance of upland hunting, companionship, and conformation. Someday, after children (a.c.), we may attempt to run competitively in field trials. Until then, we admire, support, and will draw genetics from proven hunting and field trial lines at every possibility.

The first B - Bird sense
All game birds are not created equal, and neither are all bird dogs.  In regions with high hunting pressure, Ruffed Grouse are difficult game birds to hunt. It takes a pointing dog with a boatload of experience and 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 enough experience, others do 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, or modern GPS tracking system can be very helpful for keeping track of the dog in heavy cover. 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 larger tracts of ground more efficiently than with close working dogs. 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 in a ring on a leash doesn't change the qualities as a hunting dog. The fact that "Dual Champion" Gordons exist today simply disproves it. Dogs become Dual Champions by kicking some serious dog butt in the field. They must display high levels of drive and bird sense.  There are no gimmies in the field trial world. What is true is that it's very difficult to breed and train a dog that can be competitive in both the field trial world and on the bench. This is why there are just a handful of Gordon Setter breeders in the U.S. up for this challenge. There are about 60 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 demonstrate 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 about drive, range, stamina, boldness, independence, style, intensity, bidability, I've seen some really outstanding JH dogs and, from mostly non-hunting kennels, a number of mediocre dogs that I personally would not want to spend a day afield with. 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 very OK with us. Just be sure to you know what you are getting.

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, and expensive 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 great hunting dogs. The rest is training.

If you simply insist on having a upland bird dog that hunts inside gun range we suggest you look for a nice flushing or retrieving dog. No kidding, you and your dog will both be a lot happier. I've gunned over and hunted with folks that have truly great flushing and retrieving dogs. If you think they are more your style 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. 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. 

We generally let beginning wing shooters shoot all flown birds while hunting, 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 flush low in heavy cover which compromises safe shooting. Plus, I may have beginners load for grouse when walking but then switch to a spreader load for that first shot when coming up to a point. The right choke and load combination, such as switching to spreaders for birds pointed in heavy cover, and working a solid point will easily double the number of times a novice connects on birds.

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, guest, or a beginning wing shooter is along and they can take a safe shot (a 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 people 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. 

The second B - Brains
Hunting dogs are not generally noted for extreme 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 Setter 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 160 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 their attempts to train them. Tamdhu Gordon Setters are not geniuses, they only read at a third grade level and struggle with second grade math. SAT scores are available on request.

The third B - Beauty
We believe a Gordon Setter 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 remarkable 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 Gordon Setter bred by the Duke of Gordon were tri-colored,   the Duke's favored color. The AKC came along and with pressure from show fanciers, established black and tan as the preferred coloration with an emphasis on minimizing white. Occasionally red or liver colored Gordon Setters appear. Some breeders suggest and market these as "rare", which they most certainly are not.  

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. Some have wooly coats, others are sleek. The eye should be intelligent, tight and the darker the better. Our ideal Gordon has a medium length, straight coat. This doesn't always please the bench judge but it is tolerable for field work where excessive coat is a hindrance.