THE GORDON SETTER. 



2-] 



bench show. Mr. Joseph Lipari, of Tex- 

 arkana, Texas, owns about 20 Gordons, 

 which he keeps for his own pleasure. 



The Gordon should resemble the 

 Llewellin setter, except as to color. 

 The nose of the Gordon should be a 

 shade heavier and wider, with no full- 

 ness under the eyes ; nose should be 

 wide and large in the openings ; the 

 end of the nose should be a good 

 black ; ears be a little longer than those 

 of the English setter. They should be 

 set low and lie close to the cheeks. 

 The eyes must be full of animation, 

 and of a rich brown color, medium in 

 size, mild and intellectual in expression ; 

 the neck should be of good length, 

 clean and racey, with gradual rise from 

 shoulders to head and slightly inclined 

 to arch ; the shoulders should be deep 

 with moderate sloping blades, a narrow 

 deep chest, with racey front ; should be 

 strong and positively free from lumber, 

 showing great liberty of action. The 

 back should be straight, with short 

 loins, strong and slightly arched ; thighs 

 must be strong with muscle extending 

 well down toward the hocks ; the stifles 

 should be moderately well bent and set 

 somewhat apart ; they should be long 

 from point of hip to hock-joint. The fore- 

 legs must be straight, strong in bone, with 

 elbows standing close to chest. The 

 hind legs must conform in bone with 

 the fore-legs and should be moderately 

 bent ; hock must be straight ; the feet 

 round and hard, well padded with hair 

 between the toes. The stern should be 

 set slightly below the line of the back 

 and carried in nearly a straight line 

 from the body. A cork-screw tail is a 

 blemish ; when carried down with the 

 hand it should not reach below the 

 hock-joint ; it should taper gradually to 

 the end, with a fine straight flag. A 

 curly tail is always objectionable. 



The color of the dog should be a 

 rich, glossy plumb black, with beautiful 

 tan markings of a rich, dark mahogany 

 shade. A Gordon setter should not be 

 cast aside as being impure if it should 

 have white on breast or on frill ; yet white 

 on the frill, tail or feet is a blemish. 

 The coat should be soft and fine, feel- 

 ing to the hand like down, and should 

 be perfectly straight. A tendency to 

 curl is a blemish. The feather must 

 run down to the feet on fore legs, and 

 to the hock on hind legs. 



The Gordon should display strong 

 character. The general outline must 

 bespeak the thorough workman all 

 over ; must be free from lumber, ap- 

 pearing like a fine structure with archi- 

 tectural design. The average breeder 

 of Gordons is hard to please. No dog 

 suits him, except those he has bred 

 himself. He is cautious in the selection 

 of a sire. He does not want one with 

 a snipy nose, pig jaw, a sway back, or 

 with legs standing under his chest. 

 The color must be perfect. White on 

 chest, tail or feet bar him for breed- 

 ing purposes. He believes that like 

 produces like, other things being equal. 

 He prefers a dog with a good character 

 — not only good himself, but one that 

 comes from stock that was invariably 

 good. He values family excellence 

 even above that of the individual. 

 Experience has taught him that fine 

 qualities must exist for many genera- 

 tions, in order to render their perpetua- 

 tion reasonably certain. If a dog has 

 a good head, and if his sire and grand- 

 sire were deficient in this point, the 

 chances would be against his offspring 

 if the female be weak in the head, and 

 vice versa. Other points must be well 

 looked after ; good form, speed, range, 

 natural bird sense, as well as staying 

 qualities. No breeder in America 

 understands the science of breeding 

 better than Dr. Jas. N. Maclin, of 

 Tenn. 



The disposition should be carefully 

 watched. Never breed to a dog with 

 the same disposition as the dam, unless 

 both are perfect animals otherwise, and 

 unless their good points date back, in 

 both families, through at least three 

 generations. To breed for luck, just 

 because the sire and dam have good 

 pedigrees, is all nonsense. Like pro- 

 duces like only when you breed back 

 with a double cross of the same blood, 

 and then the same strain must be 

 known to be strong in those qualities 

 that are most valuable both in the field 

 and on the bench. 



It is far easier to lose the good points 

 of any breed than to breed out bad 

 qualities. All the education that can 

 be given to a dog will not remove 

 an ugly disposition, or make him loving, 

 kind and obedient to his master. We 

 must admit that good housing has a 

 great deal to do with the disposition, as 



