Irish Red and White Setter

As with most of the gun or sporting dogs the Irish Red and White Setter has an amazingly friendly and open personality and temperament. They are a gentle, kind, and affectionate dog that is truly an excellent family pet. They are not always a good watchdog and tend to welcome all pets, animals, people, and other dogs into the home or yard with a friendly wag of the tail. Some of the breeds will naturally bark when strangers arrive but generally, you can easily train them to bark and give notice.

The Irish Red and White Setter is a high-energy dog that loves to run and play as well as get out and work scent tracks and hunts. They are not good apartment dogs, as they do need a lot of exercise on a continuous, daily basis. They can be somewhat rambunctious at times and as teen-age dogs often go through a challenging period of independence and over-zealous behavior. For this reason, it is a good idea to train your dog to use a dog crate. Dog crates can keep them out of trouble when you’re off to work or running an errand.

Prone to jumping up for attention, but with firm and consistent training will be wonderfully behaved pets. Clicker training with various types of gundogs is often used, but they can also be trained using praise and immediate rewards. It is always best when rewarding your for a successful dog obedience lesson you praise first and then offer a treat; better for your dog to be rewarded by affection should ever bore of the treats he will still follow your commands.

There are two different lines of Irish Red and White Setters, the field line and the show line. Both are much different for the Irish Setter and not just in color pattern. Show line Irish Red and White Setters tend to be slightly larger with longer coats and typically a calmer disposition. Field lines that are actively used for hunting will need more exercise and challenges and will also have slightly shorter coats. Recognized by the various organizations, both lines and many purebred dogs are both show and field champions.

The Irish Red and White Setter is highly intelligent and has been bred to work closely with humans. Considered very easy to train and often almost housetrain themselves, given proper opportunities to get outdoors when needed. They can also develop bad habits relatively quickly and should never be allowed to start jumping, chewing, or ignoring their owner’s commands.

They are natural trackers and love to play games of hide and seek where the owner hides and the dog will then track them. This game is easy to teach the dog and provides lots of mental and physical stimulation for the dog. Since the dogs have a very well developed sense of smell they can sometimes be difficult to walk off their dog leash or training lead, as they will pick up a scent and track, often running across roads or away from owners in the excitement of the hunt.

The Irish Red and White Setter is good as a housedog and will quickly learn to find a quiet spot to stay while indoors. They prefer to be with people rather then left alone, but do very well with companion dogs or other pets for daytime company. Since they do need exercise, it is not a good idea to confine them to a kennel or small space for long periods.