English Setter Puppies

English setter puppies and started dogs for sale on Setters Unlimited are offered by experienced breeders with great track records.  Participating breeders have a complete website so you can learn about any breeder of interest without leaving Setters Unlimited.  Above all, participating S/U breeders want to find a great match for their pups.  Therefore, they will work with you a hunting companion that’s a great fit. Click this link to learn more about evaluating breeding practices.

Elite English Setter Breeding

Breeding practices have a significant affect on consistency and overall ability.  Consequently, top English Setter breeders employ highly selective breeding practices.  English Setters from elite breeding have strong pointing instinct and staunchness on game.  They also have great natural ability around game and athleticism.  Elite breeding also produces sound mental make-up (disposition / intelligence / trainable).  Therefore, the best practice in selecting a pup is actually to focus on great litters.  More detail

What specifically does “focusing on the litter” mean?  In general terms it means to focus on the parents and ancestry.  It also means asking why a breeder selected a given pairing.  However, before asking about the pairing, ask about the process used to select females used in a breeding program.  Did the breeder evaluate several females to find a truly exceptional individual or simply keep a female and bred it?  The relative degree of selection is process is a good measure of the quality of the breeding program.  Most importantly, it’s a good measure of the likelihood of producing great English Setter puppies.

Another key to finding your ideal pup is to ask how specific traits are evaluated and weighted.  Be prepared to ask about specific traits of not only the parents but the siblings and even-half siblings.  The breeder’s knowledge of the ancestors is an indication of the thought and effort put into a breeding program.  Also be sure to consider the relative degree of selectivity being practiced.  Selection is the most fundamental element of any breeding program.  This is fundamental because only a small percentage of individuals are above average across all important traits.  In other words, elite individuals are by definition one in many.  Very few breeders are willing to invest the time/effort into evaluating several prospects to find truly worthy breeding candidates.

Important Traits

• Companionship traits – Calm off-task
• Natural ability to handle game
• Application – Very influential in terms of bird finding ability.  This includes Pattern, Range and Pace.
• Athleticism –  Hunting dogs are athletes with considerable variance among breeds, lines, and individuals.
• Stamina / Heat Tolerance – The ability to maintain a strong pace for hours is a key element to performance.
• Preference – Size / Color / Sex

Be careful not to over emphasize non-performance related attributes if performance is important.  The percentage of litters produced using highly selective practices is low.  Over emphasis of non-performance traits makes it considerably harder to get a pup that represents the upper echelon of the breed in terms of performance.