The Problem For Ryman-types One of the biggest threats to the Ryman-type today is the continued insistence from non-hunting or inexperienced breeders that crossing with show dogs imitates Ryman’s approach and will somehow improve the Ryman-type. Nothing could be further from the truth. Popularizing this idea risks condemning the Ryman-type to the fate…
Breeding Ryman-types
For several years a group of the breeder members from RymanSetters.com have been discussing the possibility of looking overseas for English setters that are hunted and would be a good compliment to Ryman-types. There are nice setters in a number of countries that might be a fit—some of the Italian setters, Turkey, maybe…
Ryman-Type Range Range is an important aspect of a dog’s performance for hunters to consider. Ryman-type setters’ range is often described as “close”, “close working”, or “foot hunting”. These are, at best, highly subjective terms that have VERY different meanings to different people. Most of us who are attracted to the Ryman-type want…
Ryman-Type Breeders Are Focused On Maintaining The Ryman-Type Setter That We Already Have The answer to the question of whether the Rymans could be re-created from today’s field trial and show dogs is that it will never happen. Could somebody do it if they devoted a lifetime to working on it? Maybe, but…
Continuing our exploration of whether the Rymans could be re-created from today’s field trial and show dogs, in this article we will cover changes in the show dogs. Changes in American Show Setters In 1913, the year Ryman’s first litter was registered, the English setter was closer to it’s origins. The show setters…
To begin our exploration of whether the Rymans could be re-created from today’s field trial and show dogs, first let’s discuss the field trial dogs. Evolution of the Field Trial Setters Before looking at the changes in field trial dogs since Ryman was breeding it’s important to remember that all modern English setter…
The Rymans Were Not Pedigrees, They Were a Distinct Type of Actual Setters Breeders who don’t understand George Ryman’s breeding practices often try to copy him by using pedigree-based schemes—i.e. 50/50 show/field trial crosses, breeding to a show dog to improve structure, or a field trial dog to improve “hunting” performance. The breeders…