KENAI
Gordon Setter

The breeds · gun dog · pointing

AKC Sporting · UKC Gun Dog · FCI standard 6

Gordon Setter.

Pointing (setting) bird dog built for a full day: 'appearing capable of doing a full day's work in the field ... He suggests strength and stamina rather than extreme speed'.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

12.4YRMedian lifespan12.1 to 12.8, measured on real dogs.
26 / 25INHeightdogs 25.5, bitches 24.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
45–80LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 67.5 lb (55 to 80); breed bitches 57.5 lb (45 to 70).
2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 25.5 in (24 to 27) · bitches 24.5 in (23 to 26)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2002

Midpoint of the standard's range.

Weight

dogs 67.5 lb (55 to 80) · bitches 57.5 lb (45 to 70)

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2002

Midpoint of the standard's range.

Coat

Soft and shining, straight or slightly waved, not curly; long hair on ears, chest, belly, back of legs and tail; black with tan markings

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2002

Shedding

Sheds; AKC breed page shedding level 3 of 5 ('Moderate'), RKC 'Sheds: yes'

Breed clubAKC

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Medium double coat with long feathering: 'Soft and shining, straight or slightly waved, but not curly, with long hair on ears, under stomach and on chest, on back of the fore and hind legs, and on the tail'; AKC tags the coat double; black with tan markings

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2002

Derived by the coat rule (3 = medium double). The black coat absorbs sun; not a measurement.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

12.4 years (12.1 to 12.8)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

McMillan et al. 2024 method. Owner surveys: Lewis 2018 median age at death 142.5 months (11.9 yr, n = 54 deaths, IQR 119-158), one of eight breeds flagged as longer-lived than the all-breed median; the 2004 KC survey 11 yr 1 mo (n = 157). RKC band: over 10 years. Not in Teng 2022, so life_expectancy_yr is omitted.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC exercise band. AKC breed page energy level 5 of 5.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC breed page energy level 5 of 5; 'Athletic and outdoorsy, Gordons are bold, confident, and resolute in the field'

Breed clubAKC

RKC: more than 2 hours of exercise a day; 'town or country: country'.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC grooming band); coat length medium

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

AKC breed page grooming frequency 2 of 5 (one step lower than the RKC band); the RKC band is used.

Grooming

More than once a week

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Pointing (setting) bird dog built for a full day: 'appearing capable of doing a full day's work in the field ... He suggests strength and stamina rather than extreme speed'

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2002

GSCA: 'Beauty, Brains, and Birdsense'; 'heavy boned and square, suggests strength and stamina rather than speed over the craggy terrain of Scotland'.

Primary game

Upland game birds: the Duke of Gordon's setters located 'primarily upland game birds, such as partridge, grouse, pheasant, and quail' in heavy cover

EditorialFlaim D. Gordon Setter History: From Bird Dog to Devoted Companion. AKC expert advice, 2024

AKC editorial history (Flaim 2024); the RKC and GSCA histories place the breed on the Scottish moors but name no bird. The breed's North American staple is not stated by a club source; see open_gaps.

Range

Close to medium (inferred): the parent club's national field event is a National Walking Gun Dog Championship (foot handler), and the standard asks for 'strength and stamina rather than extreme speed'

Breed clubGordon Setter Club of America

Inferred from the stake the club runs and the standard's wording; no source gives a yardage or calls the dog close/medium in words. Fewer than three sources behind this value.

Field trial standard

AKC pointing-breed field trials (Gordon Setters are an eligible breed): a Gun Dog 'must hunt for its handler at all times at a suitable Gun Dog range', 'point staunchly, and must be steady to wing and shot', and honor; in walking stakes the range 'should be suitable for the walking handler'. AKC hunting tests: Junior must point, Senior/Master steady to wing and shot, retrieve and honor

Breed clubAKC

Hunting test standards from akc_ht_rules. GSCA events: National Walking Gun Dog Championship, regional hunt tests and field trials (gsca_home).

Water work

No water test and no retrieving stake requirement for the Gordon Setter in AKC pointing-breed field trials; AKC Senior and Master hunting tests require land retrieves of shot birds

Breed clubAKC

AKC rulebook plus the hunting test regulations (akc_ht_rules).

Cold water

2 of 5 · Medium feathered coat; no water work in the breed's trial life

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2002

Derived from coat plus the absence of any water requirement for the breed in AKC pointing-breed trials. Not a measurement.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

18.7% · 7,205 OFA hip evaluations on file (all evaluations on file, read Oct 2026; the service prints no start year): 79.9% normal (10.7% excellent, 52.0% good, 17.3% fair), 18.7% dysplastic (11.2% mild, 6.7% moderate, 0.8% severe); rank 59 of the breeds listed

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

The highest of the four pointing breeds in this batch. Voluntary registry: Hou et al. 2013 (4,071 Gordon Setter hip records 1974-2009) document that public OFA records under-report affected dogs. UK BVA/KC scheme (BHCP): 1,222 Gordon Setters scored in the 20 years to July 2020, 15-year median hip score 11 (range 0-101), 5-year median 10, with the 75th and 95th percentiles falling over 2000-2018.

Elbow dysplasia

14.2% · 1,601 OFA elbow evaluations on file: 85.4% normal, 14.2% abnormal (12.5% grade 1, 1.3% grade 2, 0.4% grade 3); rank 37 of the breeds listed

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Same voluntary-registry caveat. Hou et al. 2013 counted 495 Gordon Setter elbow records 1974-2009; the breed was below the 10-affected threshold for their elbow analysis.

Most common disorders

UK Kennel Club 2014 survey, 173 live Gordon Setters (40.5% with at least one condition): skin cyst 15.6%, lipoma 6.9%, otitis externa 6.4%, mammary lump 5.8%, hypothyroidism 4.1%. Deaths (n = 54, Lewis 2018): old age 20.4%, oral tumour 5.6%, unknown 5.6%, then aggression, bone tumour, GDV, kidney failure, old-age combinations, seizure and stroke at 3.7% each; no cause at a raised proportional mortality (a 'long-lived with no specific cause of death raised' breed). 2004 deaths (n = 157): cancer 29.3%, old age 16.6%, cardiac 14.6%. Inherited conditions the BHCP tracks: PRA (rcd4), cerebellar cortical degeneration (CCA), hip dysplasia

Breed clubThe Kennel Club

Owner-survey figures reported in a Kennel Club document; the 2014 sample (173 dogs) was below the 200-dog threshold for Wiles 2017's within-breed table, so the peer-reviewed paper carries only the count. Lewis 2018 Table 3 read directly. Agria Sweden (BHCP, 2011-2016): skin tumours, pain on locomotion, gastroenteritis, claw trauma, mammary tumours the top claim causes. The GSCA names PRA and CCA DNA tests. No VetCompass breed paper exists.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 4; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

No KENAI kennel lists the Gordon Setter yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 11 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Black and Tan Setter

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your gordon setter, on the record.

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