A Gordon's coat is straight or slightly waved (but not curly), long and silky, with chest, stomach, ear, leg, and tail feathering.

Because of their hunting instincts, Gordons should not be allowed to roam freely if unsupervised, as they are apt to wander into a potentially dangerous traffic situation while following a scent.

Other health issues can include hypothyroidism, gastric torsion (bloat) and eye diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), and cataracts.

[4] At the beginning of 2009, a report was issued to all of the Breed Clubs in the UK concerning cases of late onset PRA in Gordon Setters.

William Taplin in The Sportsman's Cabinet (1803–04) maintained that it was "originally produced by a commixture between the Spanish pointer and the larger breed of the English spaniel".

It is good for a man that has a noble goshawk, or a tierecel, or a sparrowhawk for the partridges to have such dogs; and also, when they are taught to be couchers (chiens couchants in the original French—ed.

A little bigger and heavier than either the Irish or English, he is nevertheless descended from the same genetic mixing pot, which undoubtedly has its origins among those setting spaniels we met earlier.

Indeed, as we shall see, there is plenty of evidence that the majority of the setters at Gordon Castle during the Duke's time were tri-coloured rather than pure black and tan.

The breed was brought to the United States by George Blunt and Daniel Webster in 1842, with the purchase of two dogs named Rake and Rachel from the Duke's kennels.

Besides the modernisation of the style of shooting and the work required of gundogs, the situation was altered by the new developments that also took place in farming, which helped to bring about a marked reduction in the partridge population.

Factors include the introduction of modernisation such as early cutting of silage, the use of fast-moving mechanical equipment, the burning or ploughing of stubble-fields soon after harvest, the destruction of hedgerows, and the use of chemical sprays for weed-killing.

It is their business to range and hunt independently for game, at a distance from the sportsman, using their own initiative and intelligence to find it, and having done so, to remain staunchly “on point” awaiting his approach.

For the purpose a dog should have independence of character, speed, endurance, and a sensitive nose, combined with natural ability for hunting the terrain, in the best method of finding game.

He makes no mention of any kennel of Setters at that time, although he does note that "The Duke of Gordon still keeps up a diversion of falconry….I saw, also, here a true Highland greyhound, which is now become very scarce….

"[12] The Duke was indeed devoted to country pursuits and was among the last of his day in Scotland to keep hawks and practise falconry; he was celebrated for his Scottish Deerhounds as well as his Setters.

Mine are descended from the original breed of Mr Coke, the Gordon ‘’Regent’’ and ‘’Fan’’, and within the last five years from a black-white-and–tan bitch which I got direct from the Beaudesart kennel (i.e. the Marquees of Anglesey's – Ed.).

[14]These facts were well known to J. H. Walsh (‘Stonehenge’), Editor of The Field and a leading authority on sporting dogs, for it is he who mentions in the first chapter of his book The Dogs of the British Islands (1867) that a Setter "from Mr Coke of Norfolk and doubtless related to the late Duke of Gordon’s kennel, as Mr Coke and the duke bred together and interchanged setters frequently."