Setter (Irish)

The Irish Setter is a breed of gun dog and have originated from Ireland during the early 18th century. They are also known as the Red Setter. The Irish Setters were brought to America in the early 1800s itself and they commanded great respect in the field and became the most commonly used dogs among the professional meat hunter breeds. The national bus company in the Republic of Ireland uses the Irish Setter as its corporate logo. The Irish Setter is also called as Madra Rua or "red dog" in Gaelic. They were bred specifically for locating and pointing upland gamebirds. They are a tireless breed and well-suited to the fields and wet moorland terrain. Using their excellent sense of smell, they locate the bird and then hold a pointing position, guiding their master in the right direction.

They have a silky coat of deep red colour and often have patches of white on their face and chest. They require frequent grooming to maintain their long coat silky and mat free. Irish Setters weigh around 60 to 70 pounds. Irish Setters are very active and require daily walks for long durations. They love running in wide open fields, but have a tendency to play deaf sometimes. Training them to obey commands should be the first thing before letting them have a good time in open spaces. They stay alert to their surroundings, but that doesn’t make them good guard dogs as they are not an aggressive breed. Irish Setters prefer to be occupied in a job and being idle will just leave them all bored or even hyper active or destructive in some cases. They need constant human companionship; hence leaving them by themselves in the backyard or the fields is never a good idea.

Irish Setters are well known for their fun-loving and affectionate nature. The ignorant ownership over breeding practices during the mid 1900’s seems to have left an impression upon many that the Irish Setters were stupid. But in fact, the Irish Setter is highly intelligent and can be easily trained. They are one of the most beautiful of all dog breeds and are consistently recognised in the field show dogs. Irish Setters get along very well with children, and socialize well with other dogs and household pets. As a result, Irish Setters make for an excellent companion and a family pet. Irish Setters are used as therapy dogs in hospitals and this way the patients appreciate the opportunity to stroke and pat the dogs. The dogs are also taken to schools which qualify under the READ initiative. Under this program and the students get to sit next to the dogs and read and share stories to them. This activity helps student to read confidently without the pressure of someone correcting or judging them. Irish Setters are also comfortable with this as they love being around humans.

After many years of research, Irish Setters are one of the few lucky breeds for whom genetic tests can be carried upon to detect any case of Canine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency and Progressive retinal atrophy.