Gordon Setter (detailed introduction)

　　The ideal male Gordon Setter’s shoulder height should be about 24~27 inches; the ideal female’s shoulder height should be about 23~26 inches. The ideal male weight should be about 55~80 pounds; the female weight should be about 45~70 pounds. The standards for judging its weight and shoulder height are based on this. Because it is a working dog, being too fat or too thin will affect work efficiency.
　　The ratio of weight to height makes it heavier than other Setter breeds. Proportion: the distance from the front chest to the back of the thigh is roughly equal to the shoulder height. The Gordon Setter has very substantial bone volume. Symmetry and quality are very important. A dog maintaining harmony in all aspects is preferable to one excelling in some parts but poor in others. A smooth, flowing gait, with the head held high, is a typical characteristic of this breed.
　　Head
　　The head is deep but not very broad, with sufficient brain space. Eyes: appropriately sized, neither too deep-set nor protruding, dark brown, bright and intelligent. Oval-shaped rather than round. Eyelids are tight. Ears: positioned low on the head, roughly on the same horizontal line as the eyes. Fairly large and thin, folded, and hanging down on both sides of the head. Skull: refined and rounded with appropriate size, broad between the ears, sloping above and below the eyes, and cheeks as narrow as possible where the head allows. The head has a neat and distinct stop. Muzzle: relatively long whether viewed from above or the side, and not pointed. Upper lips do not droop. The muzzle length is consistent with the skull length (measured from the stop to the occiput), and the muzzle outline runs parallel to the skull outline. Nose leather: broad with open nostrils, black in color. The lip line extends from the nose leather up the upper lip, forming a distinct, very clear square outline. Teeth: strong and white, with scissors bite preferred; pincer bite is also acceptable. Tooth notches caused by distemper or other diseases are not faults.
　　Neck, topline, body
　　Neck: long, arched, without throatiness. Topline: slightly sloping. Body: the distance from shoulder blade to croup is short. Chest deep, front chest not very broad; ribs well sprung; ample lung space. Chest depth extends to the elbow. The sternum is prominent. Loin is short and wide, not arched. Croup is almost flat, very slightly sloping toward the tail. Tail: short, not extending below the hock, carried level or nearly level. Tail docking is not allowed, tail root is thick, tip fine. The position of the tail is very important to the overall stance. When the first tail bone bends too sharply, the tail is carried either too high or too low. Tail position relates to the judgment of the rump structure.
　　Forequarters
　　The scapula tip is fine and slopes backward. The upper ends of the scapulae lie close together. Viewed from behind, the neck merges very smoothly with the scapula, starting from the neck extending down in a very flat line, gradually widening toward the scapula. When standing, the forelegs are vertical to the ground, the angle between the scapula and humerus is close to 90 degrees. Foreleg bones are strong, straight, not bent; elbows free, neither turning inward nor outward. Metacarpus sturdy, short, almost vertical with only slight incline. Dewclaws may be removed. Paws are cat-like in shape, toes compact, arched, with hair between toes. Paw pads are full, heel pads deep. Paws neither turn inward nor outward.
　Hindquarters
　The hind leg from hip to hock is long, flat, and muscular; from hock to paw is short and strong. The stifle and hock joints are moderately bent, neither turning inward nor outward. When standing, the hind metatarsus is vertical to the ground. The thigh hangs straight down, parallel to an imaginary line drawn upward from the hock. Paws are the same as the forelegs.
　Coat
　Soft and glossy, straight or slightly wavy but not curly. Hair is longer on the ears, underside of the abdomen, chest, back, back of forelegs and hindlegs, and tail. Feathering begins near the tail root, is slightly wavy or straight, forming a triangular appearance, and all relatively short during development.
　Color and Markings
　Black with tan markings; can also be liver or mahogany color. Black pencil markings on toes are permitted. Boundaries between black and tan are clean and distinct. No tan hairs intermingled with black. Tan markings are located in the following areas: (1) two clear spots above the eyes, no greater than 3/4 inch in diameter; (2) sides of the muzzle. Tan does not extend to the top of the muzzle; near the muzzle tip there are stripe-like tan markings wrapping from side to side; (3) at the throat; (4) two large neat patches on the chest; (5) inner hind legs extending down to in front of the knees, continuing to widen from hock to paw, extending to outside of hind legs. However, black is not completely excluded from the back of the hind legs; (6) forelegs from the carpus or slightly higher down to the paws; (7) around the anus; (8) white spots on the chest are allowed but smaller is better.
　Dogs that are mainly brown, red, or pale yellow and do not show the typical Gordon Setter markings are disqualified in shows.
　Gait
　Gait is rough, powerful, strongly driven, and joyful. While in motion, the head is held high and the tail retains a “flag” shape. From the front, the forelegs move in the same straight line on lift and descent, meaning scapula, elbow, and metacarpus move almost in one straight line. From behind, hock, stifle, and hip joints move in the same straight line. Thus, the movement is straight forward without paw flicking inward or outward. Viewed from the side, forelimbs lift and extend to coordinate perfectly with hindlimbs’ drive. The hindquarters stretch forward fully, with strong, long thrusts, producing a large stride and powerful drive. His overall motion gives an impression of smooth flow, steady rhythm, pleasant, effortless, efficient, and harmonious movement.