English Setter Breeder

[WIllsdad]

Does anyone have any good suggestions for a English Setter Puppy? I hunt Grouse and woodcock aroung Grand Rapids and I currently have a Weimeraner who isnt very good in the woods. He is better in the fields. My wife and I are expecting our second child in June and I want to get another dog before hand or a year or so after and I want to start researching for a breeder and a trainer. If you have had good luck with either, please advise!

[2thepointsetters]

Scott Berg (Berg Bros gundogs)is a great guy to talk too. His kennel is down near Rogers. He is very knowledgeable about english setters, he has been breeding them for over 23 years. His pups are priced reasonable and all have great blood lines. (No unauthorized links)

[Try Too Fish]

If you have access to a "Western Peach" there is a litter for sale in there. I dont know the people or the dogs so do your research. Just passing along the info.

[setterguy]

Scott Berg is a great person to talk to. He is one of the most knowledgeable Setter guys in the area. I bred my female to one of his dogs and the puppies turned out great, a couple guys from this site bought them and have been very happy. Feel free to shoot me an email, I can get you Scotts information, and try to answer any other questions you may have.

[email protected]

2thepoint - Did you get your dogs from Scott? Which breeding did it come from?

[jbdragon17]

I will second the suggestion to talk to Scott Berg of Berg Bros Gun Dogs (Google them). I talked to Scott recently and did find out that he has a very nice litter of Red Setters available. I really like his English Setters. I REALLY REALLY like his Red Setters (I am biased being that I have three of them).

[WIllsdad]

Thanks everyone for the input on Scott. I shot him an e-mail today and I hope to talk with him soon!!

JBDragon, How do you like the Red setters? How do they compare to an English Setter. I heard they are harder to train and more hyper!!

[setterguy]

I'm sure that JB will strongly disagree and so will I. The red setters that are out there now are actually a cross with English Setters as the Red setter association granted permission to select breeders to breed back to English setters to get some of the qualities back into the breed. Even now some red dogs will end up with white chests, noses or paws. They are very nice dogs, and have many of the same qualities that the white dogs have.

[WIllsdad]

What are the major ways that the Red setters differ from the White? I always wanted a Red but was turned off from the "rumors" that I ahd heard.

[jbdragon17]

I think you would be VERY happy with either an English or a Red Setter. Like Setterguy said...they are very close to the same dog. I think if you want to run any field trials you might be better off going with an English Setter.

After being in several trials with my dogs I believe the English Setters standardly run bigger(not to say there are not any big running Reds). I feel both dogs are great companions and probably the absolute best dogs you could ever want for hunting Grouse. One obvioius difference is the color. Like Setterguy said the Red Setters will tend to have white on them. My two females have a lot where my male has only one very small spot. I think it is very unique,and like to be out in the field with a dog no one else has . I also think the Red dogs might be bit more sweet. They think they are little kids with fur...Seriously. A lot of English Setters are VERY sweet too. Scott and Ben Berg often keep Red Setters for house dogs, and run the English Setters in Trials. I know Scott has had one Red Female for 15 years or so. She is still running and is still his house dog.

As to past Irish Setter rumors...You probably heard they are hyper, and not very smart, and maybe not any good for hunting. I would tend to agree if you are talking about a true Irish Setter. Those dogs have been bred for "show" for a long time. That is why the Red Setter came into existence. Some time ago a bunch of guys wanted to make those dogs hunters again. So as Setterguy said the crossed them back with English Setters and put hunt, intelligence, and great disposition back into the Irish Setter. They are now FDSB registered Irish Setters. I dont ever refer to my dogs as Irish Setters because they are not even close to the same dog. The only thing really close is the color.

Either way, if you get a Red or White dog from these guys you are getting something special. They only breed the best. All three of my dogs are out of Scott and Bens Dogs. I am very happy with them. They are wonderful members of the family, and they are great with my two kids (4 and 6).

Let me know if you would like to see the dogs work sometime. I train and run the dogs quite a bit. Too bad I didnt get in touch with you a couple weeks ago. I was up hunting grouse around Grand Rapids last weekend with my dogs!!

[WIllsdad]

I would love to meet up with you sometime! I wouldnt mind heading out in the woods for an afternoon and just watching the dogs.

I am going to start looking into the Red Setters more seriously. I prefer to hunt behind closer working dogs than big runners. I have hunted behind both, but I just like to watch the dogs work.

[jbdragon17]

I feel that you can bring just about any breed in to work close, but some have a pretty hard time getting out further for field trials. I know there are MANY very nice close working English Setters.

I am not sure when I will be up in your neck of the woods with the dogs again. Maybe sometime late winter early spring. I do get up around Milaca often to train in the winter. You would be more than welcome to tag along.

Here is my hotmail address:

jbdragon17 @ hotmail (Contact Us Please)

[2thepointsetters]

Quote:

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I would love to meet up with you sometime! I wouldnt mind heading out in the woods for an afternoon and just watching the dogs.

I am going to start looking into the Red Setters more seriously. I prefer to hunt behind closer working dogs than big runners. I have hunted behind both, but I just like to watch the dogs work.

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I have one of Scotts english setters and I live about 55 miles from you if your interested in seeing one of his english setters. He is the best gun dog I have had and he is only a year old. He is very good on both grouse and pheasant.

[2thepointsetters]

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2thepoint - Did you get your dogs from Scott? Which breeding did it come from?

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I have one setter from Scott. CH. BERG BROTHER'S JACK x BERG BROTHER'S EQUINOX

[setterguy]

Jack is the dog I bred my female to a few years ago...man is he a hell of a dog. You should see that dog in the house, he is like a 12 year old basset hound. Just laying around chasing sunshine.

[jbdragon17]

Yeah and Jack is EVERYONES buddy when Scott and Ben bring him to a trial. I hope he is still doing his thing (breeding) in several years when I am ready for a white dog!

I have seen a bunch of the pups he has sired. Pups locked solid on point at 8 weeks!!

[WIllsdad]

I would love to come and see him work sometime. It looks like I ahve to wait a year to get another dog. Too much for the wife at this time!.. Maybe next fall we can get out in the woods and do some hunting.