clear sports on the chest, (looks like a bow-tie). However on a darker dog these spots may appear to be a darker brown, this is acceptable. 5. On the inside of the hind legs showing down the front of the stifle and broadening out to the outside of the hind legs from the hocks to the toes. It should not com- pletely eliminate the black on the back side of the hind legs. 6. On the forelegs from the corpus or a little above down- ward to the toes. 7. Around the vent. 8. A white spot on the chest is allowed, the smaller the better. This is the only disqualification for the Gordon; Pre- dominantly tan, red or buff dogs. A bold strong driving free-swinging gait is desired. The head is carried up and the tail is constantly flagging while the dog is in motion, as mentioned ear- lier, this is a barometer to temperament as well as his “rudder”. He should be straight coming and going with a pow- erful reach and drive on the side gait. The overall appearance of the moving dog is one smooth-flowing, well bal- anced rhythm, in which the action is pleasing to the eye, effortless, economi- cal, harmonious and powerful. The Gordon Setter is alert, gay, inter- ested and confident. He is fearless and willing, intelligent and capable. He is loyal and affectionate, yet is strong minded enough to stand the rigors of training. They are slow maturing, so sometimes this doesn’t show up early in life. The field trainer that we used always left Gordons in the puppy class until they were over two years of age. In 2002 the Gordon Setter Club of America put the 100 point scale back into our standard. It is as follows:
“THE GORDON SETTER IS ALERT, GAY, INTERESTED AND CONFIDENT. HE IS FEARLESS AND WILLING, INTELLIGENT AND CAPABLE. HE IS LOYAL AND AFFECTIONATE, YET IS STRONG MINDED ENOUGH TO STAND THE
Head and neck, eyes/ears
10 15 10 10
Body
RIGORS OF TRAINING.”
Shoulders, forelegs/feet
Hind legs/feet
Tail
5 8
Coat
Color/markings Temperament
10 10 15 12
• Smooth and powerful moving. • Style plus soundness equals TYPE. • It takes the sum of the whole dog or the complete standard to make the ideal Gordon Setter. BIO FOR GARY L. ANDERSEN Gary has been involved with Gordon Setters since 1972. I have owned and showed all four Setters, English Cock- ers and Smooth Fox Terriers. I have been judging Gordons since 1993. I now judge BIS, Sporting and Non- Sporting groups, Working Group, Toy Group and half the Hound Group. I am the Judge’s Education Chairman for the Gordon Setter Club of Ameri- ca and co-chair of the Irish Red and White Setter Club of America.
Size/general appearance
Gait
Some points to remember when judging the Gordon Setter: • Inch per pound the Gordon is the biggest Setter. • Should have a deep head with a squared off muzzle. • Muzzle perpendicular to back skull. • Topline is a smooth line from the back of the skull to the tail set. • No sharp angles. • Square dog. • The dog is to be shown in field weight and muscular. • Must be black and tan. • Large boned.
S how S ight M agazine , F ebruary 2019 • 295
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