Dogs of the British Islands - The Setters, Gordon and Irish

By Stonehenge

This vintage book contains J. H. Walsh's 1882 guide to keeping and managing British dogs, "Dogs of the British Islands". This volume concentrates on the Setters, namely the Gordon and Irish. This comprehensive and timeless text includes a wealth of invaluable information for dog breeders, and is highly recommended for those with a practical interest in the management and care of Setters. The chapters of this book include: "Kennel Management of Large Dogs", "House Management of Pet Dogs", "The Action of Medicines, and the Forms in which they are generally Prescribed", "Administration of Remedies", "Inflammations", et cetera. John Henry Walsh (1810 - 1888) was a prolific English writer of sports who often wrote under the pseudonym "Stonehenge". Other notable works by this author include: "The Modern Sportsman's Gun and Rifle" (1882) and "The Horse in the Stable and in the Field" (1861). Many texts such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Aug 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473358133

Book preview

The Dogs of the British Islands.

DOGS USED WITH THE GUN.

CHAPTER I.—SETTERS.

ORIGIN OF THE SETTER.

THERE is no doubt that the sport of hawking was known and practised by the ancient Britons, and that the Roman was totally ignorant of the science; but the invader at once came to the conclusion that the system might be improved, and introduced the land spaniel, if not the water dog also, into-this country. These dogs roused the game, and this was all that the hawker required of them in those early days; but in after years, as we shall see, dogs were required to point, or, in the language of the quaint old writer, sodainely stop and fall down upon their bellies, and having so done, when within two or three yards: "then shall your setter stick, and by no persuasion go further till yourself come in and use your pleasure."

At first, then, without doubt, the spaniel was merely used as a springer for the hawk, which was subsequently neglected for the net; and the propensity of the dog to pause before making his dash at game was cultivated and cherished by breeding and selection, until at last, gratified by observing the action of the net, he yielded his natural impulse of springing at all, and set, or lay down, to permit the net to be drawn over him. After this the hawker trained his spaniel to set; then he cast off his hawk, which ascended in circles, and waited on until his master roused the quarry from its concealment, when she pounced upon it like a pistol-shot.

When used either with hawks or for the net (especially in the latter case) a far heavier dog answered the purpose than what we agree to call a high-ranging setter. The net enveloped a whole covey in its meshes, and few manors would allow of many coveys being taken in a day; whilst the disentangling the birds and securing them allowed time for the heavy dog to rest and regain his wind.

Richard Surflet, who wrote in 1600, writing of the field or land spannel, of which sith before no auther hath fully intreated, describes him as gentle, loving, and courteous to man, more than any other sort of dog whatsoever, and "as loving to hunt the wing of any bird, especially partridge, pheasant, quaile, raile, poots, and such like. He tells us we are to choose him by his shape, beauty, mettall, and cunning hunting; his shape being discerned in the good composition of his body, as when he hath a round thick head, a short nose, a long, well compast, and hairie eare, broad and syde lips, a cleere red eie, a thick neck, broad breast, short and well-knit joints, round feete, strong cleys (high dew-cley’d), good round ribs, a gaunt bellie, a short broad backe, a thicke bushie and long-haired taile, and all his bodie generally long and well haired. His beautie is discerned in his colour, of which the motleys or piede are the best; whether they be black-and-white, red-and-white, or liver-hued-and-white; for, to be all of one colour, as all white, or all blacke, or all red, or all liver-hued without any other spot, is not so comely in the field, although the dogs, notwithstanding, may be of excellent cunning. His mettall is discerned in his free and untired laboursome ranging, beating a field over and over, and not leaving a furrow untrodden or unsearched, where any haunt is likely to be hidden; and when he doth it, most coragiously and swiftly, with a wanton playing taile, and a busie labouring nose, neither desisting or showing less delight in his labour at night than he did in the morning. And his cunning hunting is discerned by his casting about heedfully, and running into the wind of the prey he seeketh; by his stillnesse and quietnesse in hunting, without babbling or barking; but when he is upon an assured and certain haunte, by the manner of his ranging, and when he compasseth a whole field about at the first, and after lesneth and lesneth that circumference, till he have trodden every path, and brought the whole circuit to one point; and by his more temperate and leisurely hunting when he come to the first scent of the game, sticking upon it and pricking it out by degrees; not opening or questing by any means, but whimpering and whining, to give his master a warning of what he scenteth, and to prepare himself and his hawke for the pleasure he seeketh, and when he is assured of his game, then to quest out loudly and freely. After describing spaniels which delight in plains and the open fields, and others more adapted for covert, he goes on to say: There is another sort of land spannyels which are called setters, and they differ nothing from the former, but in instruction and obedience, for these must neither hunte, range, nor retaine, more or less, than as the master appointeth, taking the whole limit of whatsoever they do from the eie or hand of their instructor. They must never quest at any time, what occasion soever shall happen, but as being dogs without voices so they must hunt close and mute. And when they come upon the haunt of that they hunt, they shall sodainely stop and fall down upon their bellies, and so leasurely creep by degrees to the game till they come within two or three yards thereof, or so neare that they cannot press nearer without danger of retrieving. Then shall youre setter stick, and by no persuasion go further till yourself come in and use your pleasure. Now the dogs which are to be made for this pleasure should be the most principall, best, and lustiest spannyel you can get, both of good scent and good courage, yet young, and as little as may be made acquainted with much hunting."

There is no doubt that the setter is a spaniel, brought by a variety of crosses—or rather, let us say, of careful selections—to the size and form in which we now find him. He is the most national of all our shooting dogs, and certainly has existed for four centuries. His form probably has improved. The net used in different counties required the same character of dog. He might be slow, heavy, or slack and soon fatigued, but he would answer the purpose. But when shooting flying superseded the use of the net, the moors, the Grampians, the Norfolk turnips (before they were sown in drills), the Irish potato fields, the low Scottish wolds, or the fens of Lincoln, all required dogs of different types accommodated to their several hunting grounds.

Thus, if we collected together twenty of the best setters in England, we should observe a marked difference in their structure, and coat, and texture. All might be true setters, but totally different in certain respects, and representing in their conformation the idiosyncrasies of their respective breeders.

We have carefully criticised the portraits of every celebrated setter whose memory has been perpetuated by the painter, and have gone back as far as the year 1822. A careful comparison of these portraits with our recollection of the best models exhibited of late years, leads us to the conclusion that if these engravings are faithful representations of the departed setters, we possess dogs far superior to the dogs of our forefathers. But it must be remembered the dog is an exceedingly difficult animal to draw.