The Irish Red and White Setter

Appearance

The IRWS is a striking animal with pearly white being the dominant colour with patches of rich mahogany red. Ideally the coat should be 60% white and 40% red. They are nowhere near as 'racy' as the Irish Setter and should give an impression of power without lumbar.
They still maintain their working abilities and do not have the extreme coat of the Irish Setter.

History

The Irish Red and White Setter is the oldest of the setter breeds and is believed to date back to the 15th Century. When the all red Irish setter began to appear in litters of IRWS it became very popular and the IRWS numbers began to decline. After the Second World War there were only about a dozen Registered IRWS in the world and a group of Irishmen, led by a Catholic Bishop, got together to re-establish the breed using Irish Setters that were known to produce offspring with a white on them. Today the breed is still thriving in England and Ireland but is still numerically small in most other countries including Australia.

Temperament

Friendly, intelligent and with a real sense of humour. A great family pet once training is complete. They love people and want to be a part of the family. However, they do need training from a very early age otherwise they will rule you. They are super intelligent and very easy to train but training must be continuous and consistent.

Care / Grooming

Not a great deal of time needs to be spent on care or grooming. Brushing at least three times a week is essential to keep knots out of the coat but they can play in mud, grass and hay and all will fall out with a quick brushing. For showing trimming needs to be done on neck, ears and feet but they should be shown as a natural looking dog.

Health

Unfortunately, this breed does have health problems and in buying a puppy care should be taken to ensure that the parents have been tested for CLAD,(Canine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency) hip dysplasia and PPC (Post Polar Cataract) as all of these are a problem in the breed. If clear of all of the above they are a hardy breed with a good life expectancy.

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