medium-to-large breed
Gordon Setter
The black-and-tan setter, and the heaviest of the three - built to quarter Scottish moor all day rather than gallop across it. Gordons are handsome, physically demonstrative and often comic at home, and a great deal more dog than the elegant outline suggests. The dealbreakers are hours and patience: ninety minutes to two hours of real running daily, feathering that mats the week you skip it, and an adolescence running to three.
Pup Height
23-27 in
Pup Weight
45-80 lb
Males 24-27 in and 55-80 lb, females 23-26 in and 45-70 lb - the heaviest and slowest of the three setters, built for stamina over rough Scottish moor rather than speed. Black with chestnut or mahogany markings only, in a fixed pattern over the eyes, muzzle, chest and legs. Named for the Duke of Gordon, whose kennels standardized the type in the early 1800s. Source: AKC breed standard.
Pup Lifespan
11-13 years
Your pup, at a glance
What’s Life With This Pup Really Like?
Very high with their own person. They lean, follow from room to room, and are considerably more demonstrative at home than their dignified appearance suggests.
Very good with their own family's children, though the one-person bonding means a Gordon may be noticeably more attached to one adult than to anyone else.
Good. Sociable with dogs and generally fine with cats raised alongside a Gordon, with a prey drive aimed mostly at birds.
Moderate. They alert seriously and are not persistently noisy dogs around the house.
High. Two hours with running and scent work, and it holds up well into middle age.
Moderate. The feathering sheds steadily and shows on furniture; regular trimming keeps it manageable.
Enthusiastic and often silly with their own family, with a puppyish streak that lasts until around three.
Low.
Good. Capable and willing, with enough stubbornness that consistency matters more than technique.
Strong for a setter, and unusual in the group. They are watchful, reserved with arrivals and take the property seriously.
High. Brushing several times a week plus a trim every couple of months and weekly ear care.
Moderate. They suit houses with ground and handle cold and wet well; apartments and idle households suit them badly.
Lifestyle fit
Could This Be Your Best Breed?
A Gordon Setter suits a house with a securely fenced yard, ground to run on, and one person prepared to be the center of a dog's world for eleven to thirteen years. Budget $1,700 to $2,900 a year, and learn the signs of bloat before you need them. Skip this one if you live in an apartment, spend long days away from home, or want a sociable dog who belongs equally to everyone.
Living Space
A house with a securely fenced yard and ground to run. Gordons are working bird dogs with real stamina, and an apartment with two short walks produces a restless, destructive dog.
Pup Experience
Better for an owner with some experience. They are more reserved, more protective and considerably more strong-willed than the English Setter, and they bond so hard to one person that the rest of the household can feel like an afterthought.
Daily Pup Time
Ninety minutes to two hours daily with real running and scent work. Grooming is a thorough brush two or three times a week plus a trim every couple of months.
Allergies & Coat
The Gordon Setter scores 6/10 for shedding and 3/10 for drooling. No dog is truly hypoallergenic. The allergens come from dander and saliva, and a dog that sheds this much will leave plenty of hair behind - especially on your furniture, floors, and clothes.
Quirks & challenges
The Not-So-Easy Stuff
One-Person Bonding
They pick a person and the rest come second. Worth knowing before choosing one as a family dog.
Serious Exercise Needs
Two hours with running and scent work. Under-exercised they are restless and destructive.
Reserved and Protective
Unusual for a setter. Wide early socialization decides whether that is judgment or suspicion.
Slow to Mature
Adolescent until around three, in a large, powerful, well-coated frame.
The Feathering Mats
Long furnishings on ears, chest, legs and tail. Brushing several times a week, not weekly.
Strong-Willed
They test whether a rule is real. Consistency matters more than method with this one.
The good, the bad & the hairy
Health, Care & Costs
Understanding the health risks and ongoing costs of a Gordon Setter helps you plan for a happy, healthy life together.
11-13 years
$70-$110
per groom (bath, feathering trim, ears, feet, nails), every 8-10 weeks ($400-$750/year)
$1,700-$2,900/year
all-in (food, routine vet, grooming, insurance, incidentals)
Health Risks
Conditions this breed is prone to.
The joints develop loosely or unevenly and wear into arthritis, sometimes needing surgery. Present at moderate to high rates for a sporting breed - both parents should have scored hips and elbows, and ask for the numbers.
A breed-specific late-onset form, rcd4, degenerates the retina until the dog is blind, usually beginning in middle age or later. There is a DNA test developed for this breed, so tested parents remove the risk entirely.
The stomach fills with gas and twists, cutting off its own circulation, and it kills within hours without emergency surgery. Deep-chested and genuinely at risk - split meals, keep hard exercise well clear of them, and discuss a preventive gastropexy.
An inherited neurological disease specific to the breed, causing progressive loss of coordination in young dogs. It is uncommon, DNA testable, and worth asking a breeder about directly.
The thyroid under-produces, causing weight gain, lethargy and coat and skin problems. Common in the breed, diagnosed by blood test, and controlled with an inexpensive daily tablet.
Long feathered drop ears trap warmth and moisture against the canal, and a dog working wet moorland makes it worse. Weekly checking, cleaning and drying is the whole prevention.
Insurance & Health Coverage
Insure young. Hip and elbow dysplasia is the main orthopedic risk and shows up early enough that a limp noted at eighteen months turns joints into a permanent exclusion.
Bloat is the emergency to plan for rather than insure against alone - several thousand dollars, fatal within hours, and worth a gastropexy conversation given the build.
If you intend to work them, check whether the policy excludes injuries sustained while hunting; several do, and a setter in heather is exactly where the accident claims come from.
The two inherited conditions worth the breeder conversation - rcd4 PRA and cerebellar degeneration - are congenital, so no policy pays for either, and both have DNA tests developed specifically for this breed. Ask for the certificates.
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Care needs
The Daily Routine
Grooming
A soft, slightly wavy coat with long feathering on the ears, chest, belly, legs and tail that needs a thorough brush two or three times a week - mats form fastest behind the ears, under the elbows and in the trousers. A trim every couple of months keeps the feet and furnishings tidy. Ears want checking and drying weekly, and after any outing in cover pick grass seeds out of the feathering and between the toes.
Exercise
Ninety minutes to two hours daily with genuine running and scent work. Field work, hiking and tracking suit them; they have moorland stamina and will keep going long after you would rather stop.
Food & Weight
Two measured meals with hard exercise kept clear of them given the bloat risk. They are food-keen and the feathering hides weight gain, so go by feel through the ribs.
Similar breeds
If This Isn’t Quite the One
English Setter
The direct comparison among setters. The English is gentler, more sociable with strangers and easier for a family; the Gordon is heavier, more protective and bonds far harder to one person.
Flat-Coated Retriever
A similar-sized black working gundog with comparable exercise needs and a long adolescence. The Flatcoat is far more outgoing and has no guarding instinct; the Gordon is the more serious of the two.