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So I discovered the other day that my rather small English is actually below standard... standing at just under 64cm when the standard is 65cm...my other English male stands dead on 65cm.
I have been told by a couple of people i know that the UK English Setters are quite small... is this true? Are they below standard and if they are, is there a reason behind why no one seems to be breeding them to standard? I know that size is a small aspect when breeding but i am curious...
So... what is your ES height? I am curious to find out a bit of an average across the board...
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I've just measured my 19 month old UK bred boy and he is 65cm tall, I've found him to be average height in the classes we've been in, but he is only just out of junior, although I did show him in Post grad a few weeks back and he held his own, he was the same size as the other boys and bigger than the girls.
I would say he is roughly the same size as all the others I have owned over the years, which were Valsett and Bournehouse lines, I can't say that I have noticed a particular line over here producing smaller dogs.
Hope this helps.
I have 2 male English Setters at the moment & they are like chalk & cheese in many ways including height/size. Both are from working strain.
Legolas (8) is 65cm at the shoulder and weighs about 35-36 kg...he's a big lad with a huge chest/lung area.
Theoden (6) is 62cm at the shoulder and weighs under 30 kg and is much slighter over all. When I bring them out for a walk together people always assume Theoden is a bitch due to the size difference but it could be to due with being possibly closer to the Llewellin strain which I think are supposed to be smaller for hunting purposes.
You can see the size difference quite clearly in the picture.
~Michelle
That's a real eye opener to me Michelle, all the working strain ES I have seen in the flesh have been tiny, only slightly bigger than a springer spaniel. I feel a bit daft now that I assumed they were all built along those lines.
From what you say, your beautiful lads are around the same size as Henry who is from show stock...he is 65cm tall and was weighed at the vets on Thursday and is 30.5 kg. He is well covered but not fat, I am happy with the size he is now, I wouldn't want him any heavier....especially as he is always on my lap ;-)
Can't wait for your measurements Claire...I thought Jamie was a bit taller and Deacon the more average one...but I am getting on and my eyesight isn't what is was lol xx
I've seen some small working strains too Sheree, even smaller than Theoden and quite slight, little whippets :)
I think Theo is about average, as for Lego it's hard to know why he's as big as he is for a 'working' dog. He's not registered so I've no family history, it's possible that there's some bench blood in there some where along the line & maybe that's why he's bigger then Theo. Like Henry, it's a whole lot of dog when he jumps up on you ! even while lying on me on the couch, he can cut off the blood supply to my legs ! :)
Thanks for your feedback so far everyone! it seems that it is mostly rumour then, the height thing...
although, in saying that most of your boys are at the bottom end of the standard for height at 65cm... does anyone have a taller ES male than 65cm? if not, then perhaps the trend of smaller setters is happening in the UK/Europe... jsut that they are still within standard.
Michelle interesting about your two boys! i wonder if it is possible that one of Lego's parents was a full bench bred?
Hi Andrea,
It's possible ! I never met his father (lived on another farm a few miles away), he could have been a bench dog trained to work from puppyhood :). His mum was definitely working strain she was a small delicate blue-belton but had a beautiful feathered coat. I had thought he would take after his mum...nope didn't happen :) i got a big brute with hair that looks like it's consantly charged with electricity. When ever I groom him (which he dislikes) he does this mad shake straight away & instanlty looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards...but I still love him to bits !
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