Russian Toy Terrier vs English Setter - Breed Comparison

History

The English Setter seems to have been a hunting dog in England as far back as the 15th century. These dogs were known to be ‘setter types’ – hunting dogs that ‘set dogges’ – to set or point at game birds. It is believed that the English Setter is a cross of the Water Spaniel, Spanish Pointer and English Springer Spaniel. In the late 1500’s Sr. Johannes Caius, a sportsman, announced to his friends that there was a new dog our of France for hunting. He then describes an English Setter.

Then in the early 1800’s Rev. Harrison of Carlise sold a couple of setters to Mr. Laverack. This pair is the foundation for the breed of English Setters. Without really knowing, Laverack claimed that this line he was breeding from had been pure for 35 previous years. He inbred his male and female for many years and did well in confirmation and field trials.

Then in 1874 the first English Setters were imported to the US from this Laverack line. Mr. Llewellin then crossed the best dogs in the Laverack line with his dogs and eventually produced winning champions Armstrong Dash II and Dashing Bondhu. This led to the “Dashing Bondhu” or the Llewellin line of English Setters. This is why the English Setter is sometimes referred to as the Llewelllin or Laverack Setter.

The setter group to which the English setter belongs includes the Irish Setter, the Gordon Setters and the Irish Red and White Setter. The English Setter, as well as the others, were bred to hunt birds such as pheasant and quail. It was the job of the setter to find the prey and point it out to the hunter after it had been shot. They were also used to flush the birds from the brush so that the hunter could then release hawks to take down the prey. The English Setter is methodical and systemic in their approach.

By the 1600’s this working dog had become the breed of the landed gentry and shooting game was their pastime. These nobles did not use hawks to capture the prey but rather shot them after the English Setter flushed them out. The English Setter is very popular today both as a hunting dog and as a family pet. The English Setter is bred for athleticism and endurance. The have both AKC and UKC certification.

The Russian Toy Terrier is one of the dog breeds that hails from Russia in the 20th century. The Russian nobility fancied these little dogs as companions but also as they were useful for catching rats and being watchdog.They would set off an alarm with their barking.

It is believed that the Manchester Terrier and the English Toy Terrier were the foundation breeds for this dog.

They are available in smooth and long-haired varieties. The breed has recently been recognized by the UK Kennel Club but is not yet recognized by the American Kennel Club.

The English Setter is very much a setter in his looks. He is medium in size and was bred to hunt by following airborne prey over a large expanse of ground. He has to have both speed and stamina. He also has to run with his head up watching the prey in the air.

He has a slight dome shaped head and a long muzzle with dark, gentle eyes. The ears have their tips lined up with the eyes, the neck is long and muscular. He shows powerful hindquarters and a fairly long tail.

The coat length is medium and silk. The ears, chest, neck and legs are feathered, as is the tail. The hunting version has a shorter, finer coat than the show dog. The show dogs’ coats are flowing and long. Both types have a white coat with Belton or ticking. The Belton can be black, orange, lemon, liver and the tricolor. This is the liver or blue Belton but there are tan markings on the legs, chest, and face. It was Laverack who named the ticking Belton after a village in England.

The Russian Toy Terrier is a petite dog and is inclined to be a fragile dog breed. It belongs to the toy group. It is also known as the Russian Toy Terrier or the Russkiy Toy.

The dog’s small size means it is ideal for living in the city or the countryside.

He measures between just 20 and 28cm and weighs between just 1kg and 3kg.

The dog has a small head with big eyes and ears which are large ad erect. The tail was always traditionally docked to give it a cute, compact look, but these days it is left long.

You also get a long-coated dog and the smooth coated dog. The long coated variety has a lot of feathering around the tail, legs and ears. Colors of the coat can be solid red, brown and tan, black and tan or greyish and tan.

Temperament:

This little dog is full of character and is bold and cheerful. He is such a loyal, devoted little dog and small though he is he is territorial, protecting and guarding his owner. It is such a sociable little dog, devoted to his human family, while being wary of strangers.

Even a small dog like this will need training and socialization as he can become yappy and clingy if he is constantly piked up and petted.

The AKC standard for the English Setter breed describes him as a “Gentleman by Nature” and that might be all you need to know about this delightful dog. They are people-oriented and settle right down with their families if they get enough exercise. With proper stimulation they become couch potatoes when you bring them in at night.

They are very friendly with everyone but are especially happy when playing with children. You can trust them with your other pets, children of all ages and anyone coming to your front door. They are not guard dogs. However, they can have a stubborn streak, they can be strong-willed. This is especially true the more working than show stock they are. In addition, they are intelligent, calm and quiet in the house.

The Russian Toy is a small, feisty dog with long legs and huge upright ears. He is intelligent too. Don't let his fine structure deceive you as he is far more robust and tough than he looks.

He is a great playmate for disciplined, respectful children who know how to be kind to animals. Wild, unruly kids could so easily accidentally break one of his tiny little legs during rough play.

He loves his human family though and is guaranteed to make you an excellent little pet and companion.

English Setters, like many other breeds that have a base white coat, can be affected by congenital deafness. A test done by LSU in 2010 showed the 12.4% of the dogs they tested were affected by this. They are also prone to:

1. Allergies
2. Both Airborne and food allergies can plaque the English Setter
3. Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism

Most of this is caused by autoimmune thyroiditis or a condition where the immune system attacks its own thyroid gland.

Cancer

The primary cause of death after ten years old

There isn’t too much information about inherited health problems with this dog and he can live to be 11, 12 or 13 years of age, maybe even longer.There are one or two health problems to be aware of -

Patellar Luxation:

This condition occurs with the knee caps of the dog and either one or both back legs can be affected. Sometimes surgery will be required to help the dog.

Teeth Problems:

Little dogs always battle with their teeth, and the Russian Toy Terrier can experience problems when the puppy or ‘milk’ teeth don’t fall out. It affects the development of adult teeth. Sometimes the vet even has to have the teeth removed.

Feeding

The English Setter is a hard working dog and should be fed accordingly. Puppies should be fed three times a day and adults twice to avoid bloat. Watch your English Spaniel though as they love to counter surf.

Health issues

In addition to the conditions listed above the English Setter is prone to:

Bloat

Caused by excessive exercise before or after having eaten a large meal. It is suggested that you feed your English Setter twice a day, smaller meals and not right before or after strenuous exercise.

Ear

Keep her ears clean and check regularly for infections.

Exercise and games

The English Spaniel needs exercise on a routine basis – every day walks are best along with some time to just run either in a fenced yard or dog park. Take her jogging, running alongside your bike, hiking or just long walks. They do well with lure coursing, agility, confirmation, obedience and rally.

Exercise:

The Russian Toy Terrier is a small breed and isn’t going to need too much exercise. However it will do him good to get out to sniff around, and a walk every day will be recommended.

Grooming:

Your Russian Toy Terrier is a fairly low maintenance dog and isn’t going to require specialist grooming. The little dog will simply require some occasional brushing to remove loose hair.

When you brush him, check inside his mouth for bad teeth as small dogs like this can suffer from pain with overcrowding of teeth.

Diet:

Tiny though he is, the Russian Toy Terrier will need good food. It will be tempting to pop sugary treats into such a tiny little dog’s mouth. This can in fact be seriously dangerous for him, not to mention that he can become obese. This opens up anew set of health problems.

You can feed this little dog commercially manufactured food but it should be the best quality one for small breeds.

Give him some tasty homemade food too. Simply add into one big pot chicken, brown rice or pasta and spinach, sweet potatoes and carrots. This food can all be chopped up, refrigerated and added warmed up and in small portions to your tiny pets dry kibble once or twice a week.

A tiny bit of raw meat can also go a long way to ensuring his skin stays healthy and free of skin infections.

Ensure that there is always a bowl of fresh, cool water within his reach.