Irish Red Setter: graceful and friendlyThis friendly and trusting breed is quite suitable as a family dog, because thanks to its intelligence and calm character, the Irish Red Setter is easy to train.
The Irish Red Setter Was actually bred as a hunting dog, but thanks to its extraordinary beauty and friendly character, it left the woods and found a new home as a family dog.
In our article you will learn more about the characteristics of this breed.
The Irish Red Setter and its origins
The predecessor of the red Irish setter was another setter breed, which is not so popular today. their coat was white-red spotted. There are historical writings through which it is believed that the breed has existed since the 18. In the twentieth century the breed has not undergone any major changes.
At that time the setter was considered an excellent hunting and tracking dog. It was his job to accompany the hunter in his work and to show him where the prey animals hid.
Also Pointers and other breeds like the Weimeraner or the German Shorthair are used for these purposes.
From the 19. In the 19th century, however, the breed participated in dog shows, where it quickly gained popularity because of its beauty. Since then, the bred animals have been dedicated to beauty rather than hunting. There are only a few Irish Red Setters left that are exclusively hunting dogs.
As you will learn later, hunting instinct of the breed remains nevertheless. Its external appearance has also hardly changed despite the beauty contests.
Characteristics of the Irish Red Setter
This dog breed stands out for its slender, elegant and agile presence. They are big dogs with a height of up to 65 cm, but they weigh only about 30 kg. This is due to the fact that they have a narrow body and long paws.
The shape of the head is also long and narrow, but very harmonious. Its look is friendly and gentle. The nose is either light or black. His ears are triangular. Rounded shaped. They start on the lower half of the head. Fall backwards. The coat is fine. Long all over the body. It is silky to the touch and shimmering. It has longer strands on ears, belly, chest and tail. It should be as smooth as possible, but in reality it is often wavy. The tail is long. Grows deep on the body. Even when alert, it does not rise higher than its spine.
As its name suggests, the Irish Red Setter is always reddish chestnut in color. Sometimes it has white spots on the forehead and face, the paws or the chest. However, there are other setter varieties that are black or spotted.
Behavior of the Irish Red Setter
This dog still has the setter hunting genes in him, even though he has been in our home for so many generations. In other words, it is an energetic and intelligent dog with a friendly character that likes to work hard.
Generally speaking, they are dogs of good character. However, they need their daily amount of exercise so that they do not develop undesirable behaviors.
Three long walks a day should be enough, but we must not forget the mental stimulation as well.
They need to search, solve problems and need interactive toys on which they can sharpen their intelligence.
They are very social and friendly dogs, which makes them easy to live with children and other pets.
They are not suspicious of strangers. That is why they do not make good guard dogs. On the contrary, they quickly make friends wherever they appear.
Thanks to their intelligence and friendly character it is not very difficult to train them. However, one should be careful with work with positive reinforcement and consider education as a game.
It is easy to gain the cooperation of an Irish Red Setter. Relationships based on dominance, however, do not work with this breed.
Care of the Irish Red Setter
Actually the breed is quite healthy. However, because of their size, they may have hip dysplasia and gastric torsion.
Other diseases that are more common in this breed are hemophilia, epilepsy and eye problems. Veterinarian diagnosed. Being treated.
Of course, you also need to vaccinate and worm them regularly.
The Irish Red Setter's fine, velvety coat needs to be brushed properly every few days to prevent knots from forming.
This is because they not only look ugly, but can also cause skin problems.
Because these dogs love to run in the fields and woods, they must be Protect against external parasites such as fleas and ticks. You should also check their paws, paws and ears regularly for thorns or spines that sometimes get stuck.