The English Setter is a beautiful, elegant, slim setter with a unique speckled coat. The long hair is flat, silky and a bit wavy. The coat comes in white with blue, lemon, orange, or brown speckling. Some dogs are tri-color (blue, white & brown). The head is long, with a pronounced frontal stop. The moderately long pendant ears have a velvety tip. The tail, ears, legs, and underside are all heavily fringed. The English Setter is a very gentle, placid, friendly dog.  It needs lots of companionship and enjoys playing with other dogs. English Setters are adequate watchdogs. There are two types of English Setter: field and show. The field types are generally a bit smaller and lighter, and very active so they need more exercise than the show types. The English Setter tends to be quite vocal and can become a nuisance barker if not discouraged early in life. Some English Setters may drool, although not obsessively like some of the Mastiff type dogs.
The first rudimentary setter was developed in France in 1500, obtained from the Spanish pointer and the French pointer. Laverack was so instrumental in establishing the breed that the English Setter is often called the Laverack Setter. Laverack's dogs were known for their great beauty, and are therefore foundation stock for many of today's top show dogs. Another English breeder, Llewellin, created a second famous hunting strain of English Setters. These are often called "Llewellin Setters." The English Setter is a vigorous, quick and very quiet worker with an excellent nose. His coat keeps the dog comfortable in both hot and cold weather. The sweet personality of the English Setter and his gentleness with children make him a fine family companion dog. The English Setter's talents include hunting, tracking, retrieving, pointing, watchdogging and agility.