Berg Brothers Intro

Berg Brothers Setters has been one of the top English Setters breeders in the US for over 30 years. Our highly selective breeding produces elite natural ability and great family companions. We offer English Setter puppies for sale as well as started dogs, training, and boarding. Click this link to see a photo of the east wing of our facility. The west wing is nearly identical. We also have a maternity ward with separate heat, cooling, and air-handling.

Selective Breeding

There is only one way to consistently produce superior dogs. Breeding candidates must be well above average across a number of traits. By definition, this means only one in many are ideal for breeding. Of course, the only way to identify the one in many is to evaluate numerous prospects. Only a select few English Setter breeders apply the degree of selectivity required to produce the best of the breed. Evaluating several individuals is demanding and costl. It also requires a willingness to cut average & above average prospects to find truly elite individuals to breed.

Our Practices

We evaluate 30+ dogs/yr to hopefully find 2-3 exceptional individuals for our program. The rest are sold as started dogs. This practice enables us to produce remarkably consistent English Setter puppies and we also produce 2-3 Red Setter litters/yr. We demand elite natural ability, intelligence, and biddability, However, there are a number of contributing traits that are also important. Read more about those traits on the next page.

Key English Setter Traits

English Setter breeders all have their own value system when considering traits.  The list below is not meant to be ranked in order of importance.  We believe none of these traits can be ignored in what we would consider elite breeding.  However, we do place the most weight on mental make-up and bird handling ability.  These are the traits we believe are essential to every English Setter litter.  The ideal where other traits are concerned vary somewhat depending on the terrain and game birds hunted. For example, size and gait ideals are slightly different for ruffed grouse hunting as compared to pheasant hunting or preserve hunting. We make it a point to ask questions that help us find an ideal fit. Our breeding criteria is a s follows.

1) Superior Bird Finding Ability.
2) Males 45-52 lbs / Females 38-42lbs.
3) Intelligence & strong desire to please.
4) Fluid gate that promotes endurance. (PDJ Article)
5) Ability to handle any upland species.
6) Naturally adapts range to the terrain.
7) Great composure & intensity on birds.
8) Natural backing & retrieving instincts.
9) Exceptional companion & family pet.
10) General health / certified hips.

Mental Make-up

Ben and I use the term “mental-make-up” to describe several key traits. For starters, dogs are companions 365 days out of the year.” English Setters should possess an “off-switch”. In other words, they should hunt hard and then calm down when off-task. Intelligence, Biddability, and composure in aggregate determine just how easy a dog adapts to and accepts training.  Experienced English Setter breeders also put considerable weight on application.  This term is used to describe how effectively a dog hunts to birdy objectives.  This is another trait/ability that is impacted by mental make-up. Smart / composed dogs are more effective at hunting to the objectives that hold birds. These objectives vary for different game birds. This is why dogs that hunt with focus and composure tend to have superior application. The end result is they find more birds and do it in a way that’s fun to watch.

Bird Handling

Bird handling is arguably the trait / ability that English Setter breeders must give heavy weight in selecting breeding stock. Just to be clear, bird handling and bird finding are two completely different sets of abilities. One of the fundamental benefits of hunting with a pointing dog is they can cover several times more ground than we can. However, that extended coverage is only advantageous if the dog holds the bird until we arrive. The best English Setters are able to hold birds for several minutes if necessary. Ideally, dogs will adapt their range to the cover. This is where the mental make-up discussed above intersects bird handling. Strength in both areas produces dogs that are effective with minimal training.

Read more about our breeding practices by clicking on this link.