~~~The Fetters Challenge~~~ UPDATE

It has been nearly a year (March 13th, 2010) since John first announced The Fetters Challenge ~ an open invitation to anyone out there who claims to own and/or breed "Ryman Type" or "Ryman Style" setters.

"... to bring their best setter and join me in The Fetters Challenge: a six-day hunt running in brace with any setter from my kennel, which will begin each day at sun-up and end at sundown. Point for point, wild bird for wild bird, retrieve to hand. At the end of this six day period, we will see whose setter is eager and rarin' to go hunting for the seventh day ..."

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Needless to say, he has been "thoroughly disappointed" that no one to-date has taken him up on this invitation.

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In early December 2010, John enhanced the challenge to include a $2,500 stake, with the loser of the challenge donating that amount to the winner's choice of charities. Still, no one has taken John up on his invitation. For more on The Fetters Challenge and The Fetters Challenge Update, see the "Fetters Setters ~ Testimonials" page, easily accessed by clicking here.

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Breeding the Lines, a Successful Long-term Strategy ~ Part Three

In "Breeding the Lines, a Successful Long-term Strategy ~ Part Three," easily accessed by clicking here, the newest article on the "Fetters Setters ~ History and Heritage" page, John delves further into the process of successfully breeding consistently excellent setter shooting dogs.

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Unfortunately, many breeders attempt to place a cover-all sort of blanket on their breedings with the use of Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) ratings, however hips and elbows are not the only concerns ~ in fact, far from the only concerns ~ when consistently breeding excellent setter shooting dogs.

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Such genetic traits as conformation, tail length and coupling as well as eye and lip pigmentation, tumors, thyroid problems, etc., also affect an English Setter, and unless a breeder possesses the correct knowledge and experience to begin with, most people who purchase a "new and improved" model using his or her "latest male/female breeding recipe" are just being used a a type of "guinea pig" to see if the breeder's breeding was successful.

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By the time problems crop up later in an English Setter's life, it is too late. And unlike such other inanimate objects, breeders do not issue "re-calls" on the products of the breedings such as a car manufacturer may issue on a car.

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Keeping in mind that purchasing a new puppy is a life-long commitment for the life of the dog, this article is a "must read" for anyone contemplating purchasing an English Setter shooting dog in the future.

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More Testimonials Published ...

Through the years ~ through past decades, in actuality ~ John has received many types of different letters crediting his knowledge and expertise in all things English Setter.

We have just added two more of these letters to our "Fetters Setters ~ Testimonials ~ Living the Dream, the Upland Shooting Life ...", easily accessed by clicking here.
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While we have literally boxes upon boxes of letters such as these ~ and we plan to publish many more of them in one format or another at some point in the future ~ we chose to publish these two at this time as we believe they will be quite the eye-openers for our loyal readers.

One letter, in fact, is a cautionary tale that OFA hip ratings do not necessarily guarantee an overall sound genetic dog, as many other factors play into the mystifying cauldron of canine genetics as well ~ and it is only the breeder with the extensive skill and knowledge, as well as experience, who are aware of the ways these genetic problems can be dealt with and ultimately circumvented for the good of the dog and owners, the latter whom "pays the piper" financially as well as emotionally in the end.

For easy access. we have also included "Fetters Setters ~ Testimonials ~ Index" at the top of the page. East links to the two newest letters entitled: "Client Credits John For His Work With Ryman-Type English Setters, Reveals Genetic Problems with Other Breeders" and "Client Reveals Warren Sheckells of Pine Coble Tells Him John is Out of Business" can be found at the bottom of the current index.

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Tribute to Paul Long, Friend and Mentor

Photo at left,
Paul Long with
training pigeons

Professional Dog Trainer, author and all-around character, Paul Long over-came physical handicaps in his life to go on and become one of the most distinguished men in his field.

Indeed, it is nothing short of a moral scandal that he has never yet been inducted into the Field Trial Hall of Fame. His 1974 book, "Training Pointing Dogs ~ All the Answers to All Your Questions" is still in print today and considered in many circles as The Bible of dog training.

A great friend to John's grandfather and great-grandfather, he became one of John's greatest friends and a mentor to John as well. Along with his book, he was a prolific correspondent and letters from him reveal a crafty old-timer with a singular sense of humor.

John has written a tribute to him, recently published on the "Fetters Setters ~ Tributes and Memories" page, easily accessed by cicking here.

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We have also included several photos of Paul, along with his wife Virginia, taken at his home in Lincolnton, North Carolina in 1990. It is a small but worthwhile glimpse of this legend of a man, indeed who had the luxury of becoming a legend on the Field Trial circuit and dog training world in his own time.

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Newest Addition to The Ryman English Setters Story: G.H. Ryman, Proprietor and Poet par Excellence

With the frequency and consistency with which it has occurred, the denigration of George Ryman for any number of reasons, i.e., that he killed many of his dogs because he didn't like them, because they had "body patches," etc. ~ never ceases to amaze.
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Still, it was a little surprising and disturbing that someone would take a cheap shot at Ryman for his literary skills, or lack thereof, as they would have you believe.
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Basing this publicized opinion on some pedigrees and sales brochures they claim to have had the opportunity to "study" or give a "perfunctory look" (whatever the case may be) ~ and while using the Ryman name to shamelessly market the dogs from their kennels, October Setters published the following on their web site:
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"It is obvious with a perfunctory comparison to anything Ryman wrote that he was not capable of writing something as eloquent or grammatically correct as the "Standard" ..."

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A real shame, because a "perfunctory look" at their own writing makes immediately evident a lack of style, eloquence, grammatically-correct sentences and even basic truth.
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While we had planned a piece of this nature at a later time, we felt we could not let this gross misconception stand alone. The 1948 Ryman sales brochure draft we feature as a part of this piece is only one among many documents about and by George H. Ryman contained in the Fetters Family English Setter Histories ~ which also includes many, many letters personally written in George Ryman's own hand as well as personally typed by him.

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And none of them showing any "literary lack" of eleoquence, grammar, etc., as October Setters would have their readers believe. Of course, October Setters is only one in a growing number of self-proclaimed "Ryman experts" and this fact in itself is never surprising.
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George Ryman had many talents which extended beyond the breeding, raising and training of his famed shooting dogs. And you can get a glimpse into this particular side of this multi-faceted individual by reading our latest piece on the "Fetters Setters ~ The Ryman English Setters Story", "G.H. Ryman, Proprietor ... and Poet par Excellence," easily accessed by clicking here.

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New Testimonials and More Vicious Rumors of "John's Death" Attributed to Breeder Jan Turner of Setter Hills in Willmar, MN

More testimonials received by John over the years have been published on our "Fetters Setters ~ Testimonials" page, easily accessed by clicking here.
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Along with the newly published testimonials is an actual accounting of one particular breeder, Jan Turner of Setter Hills in Willmar, Minnesota, who was helping to spread the rumor (along with other breeders) that John had died!
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As we recounted sometime ago on our "Fetters Setters ~ History and Heritage" page (accessed by clicking here) in John's piece entitled "Breeding the Lines, a Successful Long-Term Strategy," a number of breeders ~ including Jan Turner of Setter Hills in Willmar, Minnesota ~ had attempted to purchase English Setters from John to introduce the Fetters English Setter bloodlines into their own breeding programs ~ and all whom John repeatedly refused to sell to ~ as he did not care (and does not care) for the directions their breeding programs have taken.
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We also recounted earlier here on our home page in the piece entitled "The Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated ..." (accessed by clicking here) that a number of breeders who knew better had been spreading the "John is dead" rumor as well. They know who they are ~ and we know who they are, too (grin).
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Once more, in case it has not sunk in yet:

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John is VERY ALIVE and VERY WELL!!!

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And we are currently VERY BUSY with two new litters of Fetters Setters ~ all of which are spoken for.

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New Additions to the Fetters Setters ~ History and Heritage Page

We have finally been able to make available here a small portion of the Fetters English Setters History and Heritage, which can easily be accessed by clicking here.

In the on-going unpacking, sorting and re-organizing of the massive Fetters Family English Setters histories mentioned here earlier, we found several photos of early English Setters bred and owned by the Fetters Family which we are sharing with you now.

Included in this initial collection is a photo of John's Great-Grandmother, Mary B. Fetters, posing with a female Orange Belton. We will be sharing more of the Fetters Family English Setter histories with you on the Fetters Setters ~ History and Heritage page in the near future.

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New Blog Page ~ Our Dogs ~ Hunting Scenes and Other Photos

Long overdue, however better late than never, is the addition of the newest Fetters Setters page, Fetters Setters ~ Our Dogs ~ Hunting Scenes and Other Photos, which can be found by clicking here.

As stated elsewhere on our pages here in the past, many of our records and other items were placed in storage sometime ago due to extensive travels necessitated by both business and family affairs. One of the wonderful aspects of having a number of these items under-foot again is that it has been almost like re-connecting with family and old friends in a sense.

We have been in the process of retrieving these treasures and unpacking, re-sorting and re-organizing them for sometime. The initial photos on our newest page are only the beginning of a vast amount of material which we plan to share here.

We have foregone any captions on the initial batch of these as most are relatively self-explanatory. We may or may not add written information in short doses at some point in the future, depending on when we feel the need and as time allows.

While styles and fashions come in and go out with time, the beauty of a well-conformed English Setter in the field and at home near the hearth are indeed timeless.
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Beauty as well as stunning ability are attributes the Fetters Family English Setters have been known for through five generations: a setter must possess brain and stamina to hunt everyday under adverse weather conditions and in any type of cover encountered. These outstanding qualities are continued in the bloodlines we breed and maintain to this day.

We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we have enjoyed going through them and sharing them with you here.


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Latest Additions to Fetters Setters ~ Antiques and Collectibles Page

Safely packed away and stored for sometime due to our extensive travels, many of the pieces in our personal collection of English Setter and Gun Dog pieces require the same time and care in the unpacking as they required when initially packed.

We recently had an opportunity to unpack even more of these pieces ~ again with a number of them being Fetters Family heirlooms, handed down to John by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

We have shared more of these pieces with our interested readers on the Fetters Setters ~ Antiques and Collectibles page, which can be easily accessed by clicking here.

Recent pieces which were just posted there today span a time period from the Early 1900s to the 1950s and include relatively rare pieces which were lovingly cared for and preserved by John's family. We hope you enjoy the latest additions.

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George Ryman's "Other Dogs" and His "Creative" Breeding Program

The latest fascinating addition to "Fetters Setters ~ The Ryman English Setter Story" is entitled: "George Ryman's Little Known Behind-the-Scenes 'Creative" Breeding Program" (found by clicking here) and serves to divulge even more generally unknown facts about this remarkable man and the "creative process" he employed in his gun dog breeding program.
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This is the fifth chapter we have so far published in this compelling story. The other four chapters ~ referred to in the posting immediately below this one ~ can also be found on the "Fetters Setters ~ The Ryman English Setter Story" page. And many more chapters ~ all personally written by John ~ will certainly follow, as time and our busy schedules allow.

When recalling all the widely "known" stories about George H. Ryman and his Ryman Setters, most people think only of English Setters ~ and do not think of Gordon Setters or Irish Setters (or even Pointers) ~ which in fact George H. Ryman also owned and greatly appreciated.

Ryman in fact won many blue ribbons in the Novice Category on the bench with at least two of his own personal Gordon Setters, Yesdihc Challenge's Boy and Jack Mac Nab ~ amongst many other laurels which will be written about further in future chapters.

Compiled from the meticulously preserved Fetters Family English Setter History, this latest chapter authored by John is sure to prove intriguing and informative to anyone with even a passing interest in George H. Ryman and and the gun dogs he bred, raised, trained and hunted.

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The Ryman English Setter Story

“All good things come to he who waits.” ~~~ Old Proverb

Illustration from an early 1900s European postcard print

Compiled from memory and records based on actual documentation from the Fetters Family English Setter histories, John has begun his series of articles on the facts and fictions surrounding the renowned breeder, George H. Ryman.

This rare and original story of George H. Ryman and the Ryman dogs can be found on the "Fetters Setters ~ The Ryman English Setter Story" page which can be easily accessed by clicking here.

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There are four intial articles or chapters in the George Ryman saga: George H. Ryman: Separating Some of the Facts from the Myths; Add a Dash of "Salemanship"; An Inside Look at the Real Story of Sir Roger DeCoverly; George Ryman's Personal Dogs.

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Anyone who has read most other existing accounts of George H. Ryman and the Ryman Setters is sure to have at least one or two (if not many) fallacies finally laid to rest.

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There are many other chapters to be added to this saga which will be appearing here on the Fetters Setters web site in due time. Particularly intriguing are the myths about George Ryman and his setters which have come to be believed as fact over the years.

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The Fetters Family English Setter histories include both the legacy and personal knowledge of this great man and we hope, through John's accounting, to clear up many of the fictions which continue to surround George Ryman and the Ryman Setters to the present day.

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Santa Claus
North Pole

December 14th, 2008

Dear Richard,

After checking my Naughty or Nice List, I see you have indeed been a good boy for a long time now. And since you've been such a good boy, the elves and I have decided you deserve only the very best. I am not only going to bring you an English Setter puppy, I am going to bring you a Fetters Setter, one of the absolute best blood lines around anywhere. I usually don't announce children's Christmas presents beforehand, but am letting you know so you can lay in the proper supplies. To see what you will need, I want you to contact John Fetters who will never steer you wrong anytime an English Setter is concerned. So don't be too surprised when you wake up Christmas morning with a squiggly, squirmy, fluffy English Setter puppy in your bed!

Merry Christmas!
Santa