What is an Irish Setter?

The Irish Setter is a truly beautiful dog.  With its flowing red coat, long ears, elegant bearing  and  soft expression, its often said to be the most striking of the Setters.   Originally from Ireland, they were  bred to be a hunting companion on  the  terrain in which they were expected to hunt. Thus the Irish Setter is longer legged and lighter bodied than its less elegant English and Scottish cousins.  The personality of the Irish Setter is said to be “rollicking” in the breed standard.  This is often exhibited in mischevious activities, especially when they are puppies.  They are fun loving, playful and affectionate  and  as such they make wonderful  family pets with some gentle training.  They can be quite exhuberant so young children and older adults do need to be aware of this.

In addition to  being wonderful family pets, the Irish Setter retains  its hunting instinct and is known to make a fine hunting companion that is reliable in the field.   They are more independant then the other two setter breeds and have a lot of energy to match that independance.  They love to run  and stretch out their long legs.  If you are thinking of bringing an Irish into your family, you will definately need a fenced area for them.  They need  daily exercise to keep them out of mischief.

The Irish Setter is a slow maturing dog both mentally and physically.  They remain puppy-like for a long time but keep their happy-go-lucky Irish temperment forever.  Some people think that the Irish Setter is not easily trained. This is untrue.  They are quite intelligant and  are enthusiastic learners when trained with kindness  and consistency with clear expectations of behavior.

One of the most important requirements for owning an Irish Setter is that you have the time and the energy to provide adequate daily exercise and mental stimulation.  They are a high energy breed and they need to be kept busy and exercised. The Irish Setter needs a fenced yard to run in and is not a breed that you can allow to run free. They will follow their nose, wherever it leads. They love their humans but do well with other dogs, often choosing to play with their canine friends rather than laying at your feet!