Irish Setters

I love this breed, along with the German Shorthaired Pointer they are probably my favourite, I think they are one of the most charming, charismatic and fun-loving breeds around today. Some people may prefer other dogs with the same personality but Irish Setters just work for me.
Ok, so I have researched them, and might look into one, maybe in 1,2 or 6 years.

So, I know

• they are high energy
• they require a lot of grooming
• they just become big puppies not older dogs

now, some questions

• are they hard to train?
• what is some things to look out for that a BYB might say to get you to buy a -for want of a better word- defect dog?
• are they difficult to toilet train
• how attached do they get to their family? and just their family?
• are they protective?
• Anything else I should know about?

Beautiful , bone headed, loving, stubborn , breed. Check into a kennel club.

They're not protective (at least mine never were). They love EVERYONE and just about every animal too LOL. But they adore their family even more.
I don't think they're that difficult to train as long as you're patient.
Both of mine were adults when my family got them so I don't know about toilet training (they were both already great when we got them).

To avoid a BYB you should look for the signs of a reputable one.
A reputable breeder is...
- Someone who shows their dogs (although there are reputable people who have pure working gun dogs and don't show)
- Someone who tests for genetic problems (!!This is extremely important!!)
- Someone who is more than happy for you to ask them endless questions
- Someone who will grill you with questions
- Someone who has no problem showing you their dogs facilities/home and who is more than happy to either show you the sire of any pups they have or will give you all his info (pedigree, breeder, gen. test results etc...)
- Someone who is happy to recommend other breeders
- Someone who is knowledgable about their breed
- Someone who will tell you exactly why you 'shouldn't' have an Irish Setter (backyard breeders don't really care who gets their dogs, they generally won't want to put you off).

Umm...that's all I can think of right now. Those are the kind of things I'd look for in a breeder. Oh and it goes without saying I suppose that the dogs will be happy and healthy and well groomed.

It might be a good idea to talk to several breeders and see who they recommend too. Maybe go to a show and talk to the breeders there and ask each one.

Good luck! Irish Setter's are amazing dogs.

Cass.

thanks for that guys. I love them, I think they are amazing dogs. and ive always been partial to pointers, setters and spaniels.

Beautiful dogs...I think grammy, said it pretty well.

I used to work part-time with a woman who bred and showed Irish Setters and they are a very beautiful, silly, friendly breed. They lean (heavily) on you when they stop moving, they drool like crazy (big jowls) and for a beautifully graceful breed (often compared to a racehorse in motion) they can be galumphing hippos too. Running flat out, they're lovely to see. But when they dance around you to get a treat or something, they've got all the grace of a smallish red pig. Nail down your valuables. They are very strong-willed and strongly built dogs, and holding them when they go after something that interests them is a struggle. They have a tendency to range rapidly from place to place on leash, and the suddenness of their starts and stops can be unsettling, both mentally and physically.

They have a terrible reputation for stupidity, even now, thirty years after the brief 1970's popularity that sent them through the mill of bad breeders and hasty owners. They're not stupid, they're just unusually light-hearted for a sporting breed. I think much of the disgust about them comes from the fact that the Irish Setter has the light, bright temperament of a smaller breed, and I think it rubs some people who might be interested in a big hunting dog the wrong way. The dogs I knew were all perfectly trainable, and well-behaved. They were friendly with me, because I was around a lot, but they weren't really affectionate with me since I wasn't family and they were more one-family dogs. In fact, that was part of my job - I hung out with the breeder's show dogs before they went into the ring, and she'd retrieve them at the last minute. They were so happy to see her that there'd be an extra sparkle in their step that the judges would see.

Have you ever read Gladys Taber? She was a popular minor writer in the 1950's-1960's who wrote some very appealing books about life on a CT farm, Stillmeadow. She raised Cocker Spaniels and Irish Setters, and one book, "Especially Dogs...Especially at Stillmeadow" is all about her experiences with them. They're a bit dated and no doubt out of print, but you might find them at your library in the humor or biography sections. I'd recommend them, they're very nice.

i don't know much about them... but one of my friends as a child was an irish setter. she was beautiful and very gentle with me. she'd come visit me at my house every afternoon...

i love them, there almost as cute as welsh springers, lol

LOL!!! I forgot how much Tony drooled !!!

lol Yes they do drool a lot. I remember getting 'dripped on' by our female when she was in the back of our van, head hung over the seat (and our shoulders) so she could be close to my sister and I.

Cass.

Cass... I remember our 8 hour car trips to our summer cottage . My brother got the front seat and I shared the back with Tony. He and I were both prone to be car sick... he'd drool ready to urp , which made me urp !!! T'wasn't fun !!!!

LMAO!! Oh my goodnes...wow, what fun car trips you had. Eeek!

Cass.