Irish Setter - Red Setter - Pets Australia

Breed Type: Setter/ Water Dog
Country of Origin: Ireland
Size: Medium / Large
Also known as : Irish Red Setter, Red Setter
Males Height: 63-69cm Weight: 27-40
Females Height: 58-67cm Weight: 24kg to 30kg
Exercise Requirements: High
Care Requirements: Medium
Lifespan: 11-14 years
Best Suited as: Family Pet

The Irish setter is a beautiful a majestic dog in every respect. With their rich redcoats elegant and athletic body shape and soft intelligent faces there are exquisite to look at with their appearances equally matched by their soft and friendly temperaments.

Appearance
The Irish setter has a medium length coat of silky fur which is red or chestnut in colour. Their fur is fine and hairlike and as a result requires frequent brushing to prevent knotting and matting. Bred to be water gundogs in Chile Ireland in winter but I think undercoat. Their coat is feted around the ears chest, tail, legs and body. They have a sleek but not seen body shape and about halfway in depth between a retriever and a site hound. They have a narrow but deep chest with a a small waist and a highly mobile back which ensures they are very athletic with the moving apace in a bounding, springing action.

The ears a triangular and drop and delicately soft to touch. The face is expressive in their eyes are large and warm their head has a dramatically ending stock, their eyes are either chestnut Their legs are long and muscular though their body is slightly longer than they stand tall.

Their appearance is intelligent, expressive, cheerful and eager.

History
Whilst the exact breed history of the Irish setter is not definite what is known is that a great deal of time and effort was spent in Ireland creating a highly skilled water retrieving gundogs. Many different types of spaniels pointers and other senators were included in this breeding program including the English setter and the Gordon setter.

One of the original dog breeds to be created from this breeding program was the Irish red and white setter but then at the start of the 19th century some puppies or born with solid redcoats in these solid coated dogs quickly overtook the red and white setter in popularity. The defining moment for the breed with the birth of the champion dog Palmerston born around 1862. Palmerston was incredibly beautiful dog with a longer head and more slender deals than the Irish setters of the day. He went on to become a sensational show dog winning prize after prize and being highly sought as a sire. He took to this role with aplomb and sired a great many puppies with the result being it would be difficult to find an Irish setter in the modern era that was not in some way descended from him.

As the popularity of the breed is a gundogs was overtaken by popularity in the show ring or as a family pet more emphasis was placed on breeding dogs of even greater beauty and high glamour at no point was there hunting Heritage ignored and the breed retains both working and show dog capabilities.

By the 1970s they had become one of the world’s most popular breeds that though the breed remains a beautiful dog in nature and appearance canine fashion is fickle and their popularity has fallen in comparison to new smaller spaniel breeds such as the cavalier Charles spaniel.

Temperament
the Irish setter is described as eager to please, eager to play and eager to work. The approach everything they do with a sense of enthusiasm and joy. This endless well of energy and enthusiasm must be drawn upon lest they become bored and destructive. They lack any real aggression and as a result make poor guards all watchdogs. They are good with children however their high energy levels combined with their size they can someone a liability regarding small children who can be easily bowled over.

Exercise
they require daily vigourous exercise, on lead walks is probably not enough except for older individuals. They like to swim they love to run and they love to chase so if you have access to a lake or pond or beach certainly this is an ideal playground for them.

Many will happily retrieve a stick or a frisbee over and over with a thrown over land or water. And under exercise Irish setter will be miserable and destructive so don’t consider this breed unless you are highly active yourself.

Care and Grooming
Their soft silky coat requires daily brushing much like long hair does or it will know and matt. Their long feathering attracts burrs which should be removed by hand but also ticks and fleas so be sure to use some sort of a teak and flee prevention system on them.

Regular bathing is not required, your nose will tell you when it’s necessary. They will shed they think undercoat in spring during this time even daily brushing or not prevent them leaving hair wherever they lay.

Health
Irish setters are in the main an incredibly healthy breed as well is being a long lived breed with individuals living beyond 15 years of age not uncommon.

Overseas tour inherited diseases (PRA and CLAD) are known to affect them but these two diseases are not currently an issue for Australian breeders. Your breeder will though have tested their breed dogs for these two conditions and should be outward show proof that their breeding stock is free of the condition. It should also view x-rays and scores of their breed stock for hip dysplasia.

Regardless that they are not massive dogs they are deep chested which makes them candidates for suffering from bloat to ensure they are not fed when they are very excited or puffing and panting from exercising which can result in them swallowing air.

The pendulum ears can gather dirt and grass seeds causing irritation and infection so as part of their grooming routine always check there is nothing entangled in them and they are clean and thus prevent problems occurring.