1. The designs of the main faults.
2. The capacity to evaluate.
3. the movement.

The picture (image map) shows the most important anatomical regions: 1) nasal bridge. 2) Jump-nose front. 3) Front. 4) occiput. 5) Neck. 6) Withers. 7) back. 8) Kidney. 9) Croup. 10) Bottom. 11) Leg. 12) Hock (Tarsus). 13) Hock. 14) Sternum. 15) Carpus. 16) Pastern. 17) Forearm. 18) Chest. 19) Homer. 20) Shoulder. 21) Chest.

Observe the head of a dog means to learn basic information such as character, anatomical construction, sex. The standard uses the cephalic index (CI) as a mathematical value to express the type, the head of the English setter must have an IC less than 50 and for this reason the breed is called dolichocephalic (large head less than half of its length) with a value around 45. For a head dolichocephalic there must be a mesomorphic structure of the body, with a body index (length of the body compared to the circumference of the chest) between 71 and 84. The expression is also defined by the axes of the skull, and they are denoted from the axis of the muzzle (tip of the nose from the tip of the muzzle Rear seat) and the axis of the skull (from the front of the center OCIPE). In this race the axes must be parallel. Another factor which contributes to definition of the typical head, is the eye in its overall shape (color, position and shape); in our setter, the position must be consistent semilateral in head "stretched" (angle of 20 ° - 30 ° to the horizon). The iris is to be well pigmented, slightly lighter accepted in setter with white orange coat othewise is to avoid Blank, blue or yellow eyes. Regarding chewing apparatus, the jaws should be of equal length and must close the dental arches perfectly (scissor bite);I personally think the acceptable level bite because it does not indicate other deficiencies in the overall structure of the head and is not comparable to prognathism and overshot determined by hereditary characters serious regading bones.

The body length is measured from the tip of the shoulder (shoulder joint) to the point of the buttock (ischium). The peculiarity of the English Setter is the rectangle "short" which bears the trunk should be about 1 / 20 - 1 / 18 longer than height at withers, so the great mistake of many operators is to consider only the relative concept (the rectangle) regardless of the absolute aspect (ie a length slightly higher than the height). The origin of the movement is to be found on the hindlegs, while the front is limited to receive it and works as dampers. To be profitable it needs a perfect balance between front and rear (size and inclination of the various bone segments). Laverack had already guessed that it was important for the functionality of the movement, a good inclination of the shoulder; the English Setter must have an oblique shoulder because the impulse is to find the back of the foreleg in a favorable position so that the oscillation is large and does not allow the dog to "beat up on the front" expressing smooth gait and a stopped line. Further analysis of the front (which is characteristic of the breed) we focus on the arm (humerus), and this must be longer than the forearm and combined with a closed-scapulo-humeral angle obtains a distance from ground to elbow less than between the elbow and shoulder that determines the classical sliding gait typical of that breed (of course, all combined with a well-balanced rear). The body ends with a kidney strong and short, essential for resistance to prolonged physical effort, and joins the limb back with the rump which is crucial to the mechanical action of the movement. This anatomic region is often the subject of "dog fanciers threads" due to the complex shape of itself and also to the general shape of the body that is not the ideal for a galloper. It takes a glance and experience to understand and evaluate it properly. Although the standard indicates the 10 ° tilt type, my experience suggests a higher value (about twice) to get in a correct conformation of the limb (proportions, lengths and angles), a fully functional unit style race. Cinognostica considers an horizontal rump when the angle is 25 ° with the horizon and it is considered ideal for pointer that is a natural galloper; considering taht English Setter has to show a gallop soft, smooth, not fast , excessive tilt in both value (too much or too less) can not allow to obtain the target indicated by the standard. To obtain solid rump, my experience suggests avoiding very large backs, too short, too flat; a combination of these anatomical situations can hide or facilitate (in case of bad physical growth) different forms of hip dysplasia, with the natural consequences that anyone can imagine. Finally, the standard prescribes the thigh bone (femur) of about 1 / 3 of the height at the withers and an inclination (to front) of about 113 °, the femoral-tibial angle, and this one affects the shoulder/humerus, and in addition, the angle of the rump. The correct proportions of the back components together with right angles allow adequate propulsion.

Movement

The English setter movement is distinguished from all other dogs for its special "grip" on the ground. The gait sliding is not due to the height at the withers, but to the conformation of limbs and their angles. Unfortunately, when we evalute the quality of movement there are two types of mistakes that frequently are found:1) to appreciate movements that seems sliding bud instead are "standing" and low near ground only due to minimum size of dog; 2) to appreciate movements that seems fast but instead are only quick due to high frequency of beats (to be penalized) . Gait and style are consequence of body construction, in particular: low length of the forearm and lower leg lead than Pointer and angles of the limbs give more flexibility, more fluidity to the movement (as the spine does not bend). The examples given above reveal a significant anomaly: the English setter, who must be inscribed in a rectangle, however short, is a galloper like the Pointer which is inscribed in a square. The Official standards say that the structure in the rectangle is ideal for trotter and the square for galloper; this is a consequence of the intention to transform "the complex dog" in a mathematical model to apply the laws of static and kinematics; but, this does not consider other components, such as: glandular system , the power/weight ratio. A galloper should have a powerful propulsion, a spine supple and flexible, a favorable power/ weight ratio and a glandular and nervous system appropriate. The English setter has these requirements; the selection has transformed this canid (body inscribed in a short rectangle , well angulated front and rear, forearm shorter than the arm) into a feline (which is almost all excellent gallopers).