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                                 Irish Setters

Author

   Holly Kruse, 2 January 1995 [[e-mail]]
   Copyright 1995-1997 by Holly Kruse.

   Revisions
     * Jul 11 96
     * Jun 6 97

     _________________________________________________________________

Table of Contents

     * Table of Contents
     * Characteristics and Temperament
     * Frequently Asked Questions
     * Breed History
     * Standard
     * Special Medical Problems
     * Resources
          + Rescue (National)
          + Breed Clubs
          + Online Resources

     _________________________________________________________________

Characteristics and Temperament

   Many observers find Irish Setters to be among the most beautiful of
   all dog breeds. Their dark red color, profuse feathering, and
   happy-go-lucky nature make them quite attractive to many dog lovers.
   However, Irish Setters are not the breed for everyone! They are very
   energetic dogs who require plenty of exercise, attention and
   affection.

   Irish Setters were originally bred to hunt upland game, and they are
   still proficient hunters. The breed today is essentially split into
   two varieties: the larger, darker, more heavily-coated dogs who come
   from conformation bloodlines, and the much smaller, lighter dogs
   descended from field trial lines, often called "Red Setters." With the
   institution of AKC Hunting Tests and the Irish Setter Club of
   America's Versatility Certificate program, many owners of
   non-field-bred Irish Setters in the United States have been delighted
   to learn that their dogs still possess a strong hunting instinct.

   Irish Setters are among the largest of the sporting breeds, with males
   ideally measuring 27 inches at the withers and weighing about 70
   pounds, and females measuring 25 inches at the withers and weighing
   about 60 pounds. The Irish Setter is characterized by its
   "brick-on-brick" head and its silky coat, which is short on the body
   and longer on the chest, ears, backs of legs, tail, and undercarriage,
   and which ranges in color from chestnut to mahogany.

   Although its potential is often not fully developed, the Irish Setter
   is a very versatile breed. Not only are Irish Setters beautiful
   companions and able hunters, they also possess the ability to excel at
   competitive obedience, tracking, and agility. There are several Irish
   Setters with advanced obedience degrees, and many Irish Setters are
   now pursuing agility titles.
     _________________________________________________________________

Frequently Asked Questions

   _"Are Irish Setters high-strung and hyperactive?"_

     Irish Setters are extremely active, energetic dogs, as are most
     sporting breeds. If they do not get adequate exercise and training,
     they can be difficult to live with. Their reputation as "hyper"
     dogs seems to have emerged when Irish Setters became extremely
     popular in the 1970s. The combination of irresponsible breeding
     without selection for sound temperaments and placement in homes
     which were not up to the demands of an active, sporting breed
     undoubtedly contributed to the perception that Irish Setters are
     "hyper." With the decreased popularity of the breed in the 1980s
     and 1990s, the quality of the Irish Setter temperaments being
     produced is uniformly much higher.

   _"Are Irish Setters stupider than most other breeds?"_

     Anyone who has lived with them knows that these dogs are experts at
     getting their way! Irish Setters present a training challenge
     because they are stubborn, easily distracted, and quick to bore,
     but most of them are quite intelligent. It takes a great deal of
     patience and commitment to train an Irish Setter; however, such
     training is an absolute necessity, and it usually proves to be fun
     and rewarding for both dog and owner. Training must start early,
     and the trainer should keep in mind that most Irish Setters aren't
     mentally mature until they are at least 2 years old.

   _"How much grooming does an Irish Setter need?"_

     Their long feathering requires quite a bit of attention, otherwise
     it will quickly become matted. Daily brushing is the MINIMUM Irish
     Setter grooming requirement.

   _"Would an Irish Setter make a good guard dog?"_

     No. Many Irish Setters will alert you to the presence of strangers
     on your property, but for the most part they are more likely to
     happily greet intruders (or to hide behind the sofa) than wrestle
     the family silver from burglars.

   _"Are Irish Setters good with children?"_

     Yes, though since both Irish Setters and children often have a
     tendency to play rough, interactions between them should be
     supervised.

   _"Since Irish Setters are no longer near the top of the AKC popularity
   list, are they hard to find?"_

     Quality Irish Setters from reputable breeders can be hard to find,
     so there is usually a wait for a puppy. Also, in some places the
     demand for older rescue dogs is far greater than the supply.
     Whether you are dealing with a breeder or a rescue representative,
     expect to be questioned thoroughly about your expectations and your
     ability to cope with the breed's maintenance demands.

     _________________________________________________________________

Breed History

   As with most of the sporting breeds that developed in the British
   Isles and Ireland, there is much speculation about the origins of the
   Irish Setter. The breed's formative years were in the eighteenth
   century, and the breed was clearly established by 1800. Its ancestry
   can be traced to a dog known as the setting spaniel, and crosses were
   undoubtedly made with Pointers, English Setters, Gordon Setters, and
   other spaniels. Some breed historians have suggested that early
   crosses were made with Bloodhounds, Irish Water Spaniels, and Irish
   Terriers, though there is no documentation to support such conjecture.

   Among setters in Ireland, red and white coloring was dominant well
   into the nineteenth century; even today many Irish Setters are marked
   with small areas of white on the chest, neck, or between the toes
   despite the long-standing official division of Irish Setters and Irish
   Red and White Setters (not AKC-recognized) into separate breeds.
   Nineteenth century descriptions of Irish Setters with black or, more
   rarely, orange coloring or markings point to the probability of
   cross-breeding with English and Gordon Setters.

   Modern Irish Setter type can be traced to a British dog of the 1870s
   named Ch. Palmerston. Palmerston has been described as large for his
   time -- he weighed 64 pounds and measured 23.5 inches at the shoulder
   -- with an unusually long and narrow head, heavy bone, and dark red
   coloring. Because of the impact of the few of Palmerston's daughters
   who were imported to the United States, there is little doubt that all
   American Irish Setters can trace their ancestry to Palmerston.

   During the first half of the twentieth century, there was very little
   difference in "type" between Irish Setters who competed in field
   trials and Irish Setters who competed in conformation competition. In
   recent decades, however, as field trial competitors sought to breed
   dogs that were competitive against other pointing breeds in field
   trials, and as conformation-minded breeders produced larger,
   heavily-coated dogs that were more competitive in the show ring, the
   breed has split into two distinct types.
     _________________________________________________________________

Standard

   The Standard is the physical "blueprint" of the breed. It describes
   the physical appearance and other desired qualities of the breed
   otherwise known as type. Some characteristics, such as size, coat
   quality, and movement, are based on the original (or current) function
   for the dog. Other characteristics are more cosmetic such as eye
   color; but taken together they set this breed apart from all others.
   The Standard describes an ideal representive of the breed. No
   individual dog is perfect, but the Standard provides an ideal for the
   breeder to strive towards. To find a copy of the standard, check with
   the AKC, the national breed club, or a good book on the breed.
     _________________________________________________________________

Special Medical Problems

   Irish Setters are generally a hearty breed, often reaching 13 or 14
   years of age; still, they are prone to health problems of varying
   degrees of severity:

  Epilepsy

   Epilepsy is present in Irish Setters. The Irish Setter Club of America
   has recently launched a closed database, managed through the Genetic
   Disease Control Institute, which will be used to attempt to determine
   if there is a hereditary component to idiopathic epilepsy in Irish
   Setters. With seizure disorders, and with all the conditions mentioned
   here, it is important that Irish Setter puppy buyers ask breeders
   about the frequency of occurrence of such disorders in the pedigree.

  Gastric Dilation-Volvulus (GDV)

   Often also called gastric torsion (or bloat, a misnomer, because in
   bloat without torsion the stomach does not rotate), GDV afflicts Irish
   Setters more often than most other breeds. In this condition, the
   stomach twists and distends, acutely affecting key veins in the
   abdominal cavity and causing the failure of body systems. It should be
   noted that while GDV in Irish setters is sometimes accompanied by the
   classic symptoms of bloat, such as a distended abdomen and
   unproductive attempts to vomit, these symptoms often are not present,
   at least not in the earlier stages of GDV. Extreme restlessness is
   often the only observable symptom. Any Irish setter suspected of being
   in torsion should receive immediate veterinary attention, and Irish
   setter owners should not be shy about insisting on x-rays to ascertain
   a dog's condition. Furthermore, since traditional home methods of
   relieving bloat (such as passing a stomach tube or releasing trapped
   gas with a hypodermic needle) are not effective in cases of torsion,
   Irish setter owners are advised not to waste time trying such remedies
   when they suspect torsion; getting veterinary attention for dogs in
   torsion should be the top priority.

   Precautions should be taken by Irish Setter owners to lessen the
   likelihood that their dogs develop this acute and life-threatening
   condition. These precautions include 1) feeding two or more smaller
   meals per day rather than one large meal, 2) wetting dry food and
   allowing it to soak before feeding, 3) not allowing vigorous exercise
   for one hour before and two hours after feeding, 4) elevating food
   dishes, and 5) using a high quality food that doesn't contain soy.

   GDV can be quickly fatal, but if caught in time a prodedure called
   gastropexy, in which the stomach is surgically tacked to the abdominal
   wall, can be performed. This surgery radically decreases the
   possibilty of GDV recurrence. Extensive information about GDV can be
   found on the homepage of Purdue University's College of Veterinary
   Medicine at http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/vad/cae/cgdvweb.htm.

  Hip dysplasia

   Also somewhat common in Irish Setters. All breeding stock should be
   radiographically cleared of hip dysplasia by the Orthopedic Foundation
   of Animals (or the equivalent national orthopedic registry) at two
   years of age before being bred.

  Hypothyroidism

   Hypothyroidism is fairly common in Irish Setters. Proper diagnosis of
   low thyroid activity requires a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)
   response test in addition to the standard T4 test.

  Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

   PRA, a form of hereditary blindness, was once a serious problem in
   Irish Setters. Recently, however, a DNA test was made available to
   determine which Irish Setters are PRA carriers and which are not. In
   Irish Setters, PRA is a simple recessive and can therefore be
   eliminated from breeding programs by breeding known non-carriers to
   known non-carriers. Unlike some other forms of PRA, in Irish Setters
   the condition has an early onset; combined with the simple recessive
   nature of its inheritance, the early onset of the disease enabled some
   Irish Setter breeders to implement an effective, if controversial and
   not widely adopted, program of test-breeding to eliminate PRA from
   their breeding programs in the decades before the DNA test became
   available. Information on the DNA test for PRA (rod-cone dysplasia 1)
   in Irish Setters is available at
   http://mendel.berkeley.edu/dogs/diseases/pra/blood.html.

  Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD)

   HOD afflicts some Irish Setter puppies (primarily between four and
   eight months of age) and is sometimes fatal. Symptoms can include
   fever, lethargy, swelling of joints, and lameness. Many veterinarians
   are not experienced in diagnosing and treating this condition, so it
   is important that puppy owners be aware of HOD's existence.
   Oversupplementation of puppies and high levels of protein in puppies'
   diets have been linked to the development of this condition.

  Spondylosis

   Elderly Irish Setters often develop spondylosis, an arthritic
   condition of the vertebrae which decreases mobility. This condition
   often responds well to treatment with Adequan or its oral forms (such
   as Cosequin and Glycoflex), and/or acupuncture.
     _________________________________________________________________

Resources

  Books, Periodicals, and Articles

   E. Irving Eldredge and Connie Vanacore, The New Complete Irish Setter,
   Howell Book House, 1983. (In print)

   Luz Holvenstot, Irish Setters, T.F.H. Publications, 1979. (In print)

   William C. Thompson, The New Irish Setter, Howell Book House, 1968.
   (Out of print)

   Patricia Gallagher, Irish Setters Today, 1977. (Out of print)

   Joan McDonald Brearley, This is the Irish Setter, T.F.H. Publications,
   1975. (Out of print)

   Walter Hutchinson, Hutchinson on Setters, Donald R. Hoflin Publishing,
   1980 (Out of print)

   Rowland Johns, Our Friend the Irish Setter, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1933.
   (Out of print)

   Irish Setter Club of America Memo to Members. Bi-monthly magazine
   available to ISCA members. For membership application, contact:

     Karen Holmes
     969 Randy Way
     Brentwood, CA 94513
     510/634-4541

  Breeders

   For the Irish Setter Club of America Breeders Directory and other ISCA
   pamphlets:

     Sam MacDonald
     10901 Ives
     Fort Worth, TX 76108
     817/246-4342

  Rescue (National)

     Marilee Larson 27371 Whitmor Pioneer, CA 209/295-1666 Fax:
     209/295-1656

  Breed Clubs

   Irish Setter Club of America
          Mrs. Marion Pahy, Corresponding Secretary, 16717 Ledge Falls,
          San Antonio, TX 78232, 210/494-0389 (Founded 1891)

   Irish Setter Association of England
          Mr. W. Bryden, Hill Farmhouse, Church End, Renhold, Bedford,
          MK41 OLU

   Belfast and District Irish Setter Club
          Mr. P. Nolan, 16 Clifton Crescent, Belfast 14

   Irish Setter Club of Wales
          Mr. P. Rowlands, 11 Ffordd Lerry, Wrexham, Clwyd, LL12 8JB

  Online Resources

     * Mailing list for Setter owners and fanciers. To join, send

     SUBSCRIBE SETTERS-L yourfirstname yourlastname
       to [e-mail]. This list is open to all setter
       breeds.
     * Garland Kimmer's Irish Setter Homepage, at
       http://help.unc.edu/~kimmer/setter.htm
     * More information on Irish Setters, particularly Irish Setters in
       the United Kingdom, is available at
       http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/square/tac61/isetter.htm
     * The American breed standard is available on the AKC's homepage,
       http://www.akc.org/irishset.htm

     _________________________________________________________________


    Irish Setter FAQ
    Holly Kruse, [e-mail]