Old HemlockOld Hemlock Setters
Old Hemlock Setters are a line of English Setters developed by George and Kay Evans using a dog obtained from George Ryman, Old Hemlock Blue, and then breeding for the type. The Evanses were looking for a companion gun dog for primarily grouse and woodcock hunting. Old Hemlock Setters are often referred to as belton setters, but belton is a color: blue belton, orange belton or tri-belton. On page 224 of the Upland Shooting Life George describes the line of dogs: “In our Old Hemlock line we have developed a handsome belton type averaging fifty-five pounds for the males, under fifty for the females, with a deep muzzle, a typical long, fine-boned head. They hunt almost daily through our long grouse seasons in roughest cover, and they are natural gun dogs with nose and style. They are companion gun dogs that hunt to the extent of bell range and have the fire and drive necessary to find birds but hunt for and check in with the gunner.”
In 1998 by George’s request the line was passed to Roger Brown who knew the line of dogs well and had Old Hemlock Setters since 1973. Roger Brown and Jeff Kauffman continued the line until it was passed to Hall Carter in 2018. Typically they produce one or two litters a year. Like George and Kay Evans they do not keep a kennel of brood bitches. Rather the dogs are co-owned; something George and Kay did to have control of all breeding of their line of dogs. The setters live with their families as companion gun dogs and see a lot of hunting. The sires and dams are OFA certified for hips and elbows and proven in the field as hunting dogs.
All of our Old Hemlock Puppies are placed with Joint Ownership/Registration! This practice George and Kay Evans instituted to ensure that the puppy contract was followed. Prior to joint ownership, people violated the contract. We have continued this practice of joint registration (with the Field Dog Stud Book) to ensure the agreements are followed. This practice makes sure that Old Hemlock Setters bred have passed the proper health tests, and represent the type and style of dogs which we want to produce.
If you are interested in joining the Old Hemlock Family and obtaining one of these setters, you can contact Hall Carter at 804-347-4019 or email at hall.carter@gmail.com.
Hi Roger,
George Evans described his dogs as ” averaging fifty-five pounds for the males” but weren’t they actually quite a bit larger than that at the time? Also, out of curiosity, how much do your current OH males weigh?
Cliff
Currently our males average 65 lb. and females around 50 lb, but as many other breeders we strive for a goal. That ideal George had is what I like. Most Ryman’s weigh more, as you know, and some quite a bit more. This is one of the reasons many have crossed to Llewellen setters, and cover dogs. We have crossed to Alpenglow which had Llewellen setters a few generations back.
It’s interesting how many of us who are primarily focused on hunting gravitate towards the smaller size. George Ryman did as well. We’ve been shooting for males in the 60-65 lb. range for a long time trying to avoid heat tolerance/endurance problems that are more common in larger dogs. However when we first started breeding we thought, as most people did and many still do, Rymans were big dogs with males in the 75-85 lb range and some over 100 lbs. so it came as a shock to discover that George Ryman’s dogs were actually much smaller, more athletic dogs. I’ve come to believe this “ideal” smaller size many of us strive for is a direct result of molding them to meet the needs of hunting under a variety of field conditions.
Regarding our Llewellin outcross we weren’t looking for smaller size. What we needed was genetic diversity and we hoped to obtain it with minimal change in our dogs’ hunting abilities and conformation. We had previously used a field trial cross with good results but a few of those dogs had remnants of the race/range required for field trials (running wide and fast but skipping good cover, and birds, close by) so we didn’t want to go there again unless we had to. We did get some nice benefits from the Llewellin cross – they’re really smart, more athletic, and early developing.
Cliff
My Old Hemlock pup , MacLeod, at just over 4 months is a 40lb pup! Truly quite a magnificent specimen! His power and drive are a revelation! I have had gun dogs for 25 years, shot thousands of pheasant, partridge and woodcock (England, Ireland, France and USA). My English Cocker was a Lion in a little body, my Lab a real Lion (lion in African Shahele language ) , but my Old Hemlock setter is like owning your first Ferrari! Maybe a better analogy is an Aston Martin! Fire, drive, breeding, instinct and sheer class!
Old Hemlock MacLeod is testing me in a good way! His incorrigible mischief, affectionate nature and absolute beauty!
A real wow! dog…
James,
I am so pleased to hear that Macleod is doing so well. His littermate were fun to watch at our recent reunion. Karen is appreciative that you keep in touch. I too look forward to hearing all about him. This was a very nice litter and very precocious with stunning looks.
Best to all,
Roger Brown
I have heard that a lot of English setter pups are born deaf or 1/2 deaf. Is that true and why?
Hi Kathy,
I’m not from Old Hemlock, but I can answer your question.
English setter is one of the breeds that has congenital/hereditary deafness related to the piebald/white spotting series of color genes. It is caused by lack of pigment producing cells in the blood vessels that feed the inner ear. If there are no pigment cells in those blood vessels they atrophy after birth, and the ear will be deaf by 4 weeks of age.
White spotting genes are a series that shows very little effect on one end of the spectrum (white on the toes or a chest blaze), to all white or maybe a few head patches on the extreme end. English setters are near extreme white. One way to think of it is that setters are not white dogs with little spots, they are colored dogs that have the color hidden by white. For instance, a blue belton is a black dog that has white spotting over the entire body. A separate gene allows the underlying black pigment to express as ticking. What we refer to as “patches” are actually areas where the white spotting genes didn’t block the pigment from expressing.
The more extreme the white spotting is, the more likely it is that pigment will be missing in the inner ear’s blood vessels, so deafness is more common in beltons (no patches). The incidence of deafness is much lower in dogs that have significant patching, especially body patches.
Lisa