Why the breed exists
The Irish Setter was bred to cover ground. On the big open country it comes from, a bird dog had to range far beyond the gun, find game, and then hold it until the hunter caught up — so the breed is built long-legged, light and tireless, with a high head carriage for catching scent on the wind. The mahogany coat is what everyone remembers, but the coat is a by-product; the stride is the point. The breed's reputation for being scatty is mostly a reputation for maturing slowly, which is a different thing and ends.
Irish Setter people have a quiet claim to make about health. The breed was one of the earliest to adopt DNA testing for an inherited disease and to use it systematically, which is exactly the argument this campaign makes about purpose-bred dogs: when you know the pedigree, you can test it, publish it and breed away from a problem. Bloat is a real risk in a deep-chested breed and worth understanding. Look for a breeder who health-tests to the Irish Setter Club of America's published recommendations, publishes results whatever they say, and takes dogs back at any age.
The official written standard belongs to the breed's parent club.Read the official Irish Setter standard →
Choosing a Irish Setter on purpose
Every breed has its own list of required health screenings, kept by its parent club and published through OFA. A preservation breeder working in this breed tests to that list and shows you the results — including the ones that didn't go their way.
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