BREED REFLECTIONS

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Minding the traditional Irish Setter
The original purpose of the Irish setter breed was that of a bird dog. Almost since dog shows began in 1859, a split occurred in the development of the breed. It is easy to appreciate the split in physical characteristics between the active working and show versions of the Irish setter. Form follows function - and it is very easy to lose touch with the importance of having practical animals if they are never subjected to any more testing function than a daily gallop in the park! Conversely, when work performance is the selection criteria then any form which impairs that function cannot be tolerated.
At least as great as the deviation in physical form has been the deviation in the Irish setter psyche, the spirit and mind of the dog. This is less obvious and totally unappreciated by those owners who have never experienced the working breed. Sadly, they don't know what they have lost! The renowned breed historian Gilbert Leighton-Boyce summed it up in his recital of how, in the 1940's, his mother bred for sweet expression and a docile disposition. Rather than take the trouble to train them, she would let any who were inclined to be noisy or a bit wild go as pets, and keep the placid specimens. His mother and other UK breeders got their sweet expressions and lovely temperaments alright, but even to Leighton-Boyce "the results were not to my mind real Irish setters in character". It is a fact that the best assets in a working dog are handicaps in the comparatively dreary life of a show dog. Keenness, responsiveness and sheer guts spawn delinquency when given no useful outlet. It is small wonder that show breeders who found these traits a liability, selected against delinquent individuals. In doing so they selected unwittingly against the original purpose of the breed.
Generations of subconscious selection for docility in showdogs has done little to retain the essential responsiveness, the mental keenness and the dogged determination to get the job done which is so prized and desired in the traditional breed. A continuance and improvement of the necessary qualities for work is difficult to achieve even when breeding and selecting constantly for them. Don't be fooled into thinking that it can be achieved by chance! Bird dog work is much more complicated than it looks. The Irish setter must possess an instinctive knowledge of birds but he requires a good deal more inherent ability than simply setting. Pointing a butterfly in the backyard or a seagull on the beach is not evidence that the mind is still capable of the job. The mind must be able to accept training and retain knowledge. The level of control that can break through the excitement engendered by powerful and exciting game scent can be impossible to instil in a dog not bred to accept it. Memory is a fundamental inheritance totally overlooked in breeding for physical attributes; without it the Irish setter is a slow learner. It is a quality highly sought in working dogs and easily lost! With the ability to remember the Irish setter is easily trained…and will stay that way.
The Irish setter is the hardiest of dogs in his work, but he will not stand brutality, particularly in his youth. The working puppy is incredibly sensitive and training him takes patience, effort and wise handling. He is not an easy dog for the novice handler to start with and can be easily ruined. He has a desire to please and work for you rather than selfishly for himself and it is in this respect that the show and work bred dogs differ most markedly; in their biddability. At best, the Irish setter is full of courage and determination, he learns quickly and easily and has an uncanny ability to find and handle difficult birds. He has the guts to withstand real hardship in his work and asks only for a pat and kind word in return. The traditional Irish setter mind has much to offer the breed.
Breeding for work qualities
The first Irish setter we ever owned had Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and severe Hip Dysplasia (HD). We decided then that we never wanted to breed a dog that caused so much heartache (and vet bills!) for anyone else. That first Irish had no natural point in him! We decided then that we wanted to breed working Irish setters with natural ability we could be proud of. We now own robust Irish setters with great working skills, tough physical and stable mental characteristics. We expect them to work long and hard, and get on well with other dogs and people. In our breeding programme we adhere to the working breed standard developed by the Irish Red Setter Club in Ireland. We regard the following criteria as essential for our dogs to perform well in the hunting field.
Physical Attributes
  • Good feet: where we hunt (often on forest cutovers, volcanic terrain and heavy cover) punishes poor feet savagely. It is no use having dogs' feet knocked up after one day's work.
  • Good coat: long coat is very undesirable! Good texture (reasonably coarse and dense) is critical to avoid tangles, mats and seeds and to keep the dogs warm when hunting in cold, wet weather. Fine, thin coats are useless. We want hair length only in the places needing protection. We trim under-ears, throats and feet routinely. We prefer rich chestnut colour, not too light or dark, but a great working dog is always a good colour!
  • Tight, dark eyes: loose ones just fill up with seeds, and light eyes are unpleasant to live with.
  • Short stocky tails: long whippy ones get damaged in the cover we hunt, and besides, they look horrible!
  • Broad chests: stamina comes from sideways expansion, not downwards!
  • Size: our dogs are usually 62-66 cm tall and about 25 kg. Bitches are around 59-62 cm, about 20 kg. Setters which are too small don't have the leg to run our heavy cover. Nor do they easily retrieve heavy birds on steep country. Dogs that are too big knock themselves about too much and lack the necessary agility.
  • Good hips: Our dogs are x-rayed routinely. All breeding stock have been officially scored since 1997. As a rule, we breed only from good-excellent graded stock.
  • CLAD: all our lines are CLAD clear, either by direct test or by virtue of clear parents.
  • PRA: Our resident breeding stock was tested clear in 2002. All our lines are maintained clear, either by direct test or by virtue of clear parents.
  • Good appetites: We feed adult dogs once a day with a mix of dry dog food, processed meat and raw meat on the bone (roughly equal proportions of each). Dogs in hard work get increased rations of fatty sheep meat.
  • Easy breeding: We breed our bitches twice at most and raise, on average, one litter every second year. The breed fertility is high (our average litter size = 11 ) with no whelping problems. We routinely spay bitches by 8 years of age.
Temperaments and Ability
Our setters must want to work for us, not for themselves. We expect them to be keen and quick to learn. They do not sulk or hold grudges. They will withstand justified punishment but they are sensitive dogs whose spirits will be crushed if they are abused. We describe them as soft-natured, but they are not nervous, and are hard and bold in their work. We have never used an electric collar on any of our setters, can't imagine why we would have to.
Our pups are raised on the farm, on 60 ha of grassland, swamp, hills, bush, ponds and streams. They encounter wild pheasant, quail and turkeys, rabbits and hares, sheep and cattle regularly in their pack exercise. We do not teach them to quarter strictly; most of our hunting requires initiative from the dog. They must learn from experience how to sensibly use wind from all directions. They must willingly maintain contact with us, both in heavy cover and wide-open spaces without any commands, because our gamebirds will not tolerate any voice or whistle noise. In hunting, we run the dogs with bells on, which does not disturb the birds. We formally take the youngsters to game after 12 months of age. We do all our training on wild birds (pheasant and quail) and do not physically handle them around game on the ground. We expect them to come to point naturally and be pointing birds staunchly in their first shooting season. They must be able to maintain contact with running birds and produce them for the gun. They must actively flush birds on command and be steady to wing and shot. We do not usually kill birds over them until their second hunting year, by which time they are steady to flushed game and shot, so there is no problem getting them to stand falling game. We teach retrieving in the yard at about 12-18 months. The breed retrieves naturally, but we teach a formal retrieve before introducing freshly killed game. The breed is naturally soft-mouthed. We do not tolerate dogs who deliberately damage game in our breeding programme.
Our dogs live in individual kennels and runs, and live out all year round. Our winter day temperatures are about 12 degrees C, summer days are around 20-25 C. We have no snow, just hard frosts. It rains all year round, about 1200 mm in total. The dogs (6 months-16 years) are socialised and exercised in a pack and we expect them all to get on well together, and with visiting dogs. They are given one-two hours galloping exercise daily in the pack, and plenty of swimming. The dogs in work are conditioned on the steep hill country surrounding us. We keep them in work until they are about 12 years old, but usually retire them from competition by 10 years. It's a rather pleasant life, for them and for us!
WORKING STYLE OF THE IRISH RED SETTER
As developed by the Irish Red Setter Club and approved by the Irish kennel Club and F.C.I. (Standard No. 120) SIZE (Height) Height at withers Males 23ins (58 cm) to 26.5 ins (67 cm) Female 21.5(55 cm) to 24.5 ins (62 cm)
As Irish Setters were originally bred as partridge and grouse dogs, their style of hunting these birds may be taken as the norm.
In their quest there must be an intensity that gives purpose to the hunt for game. The concentration on the job at hand should be evident in every stride and movement. The co-operation with the handler is part of that concentration and should not interfere with the quest for game. In the gallop the head is carried above the line of the back, the line of the muzzle always parallel to the ground. The gallop is fast, flowing, free of obvious effort. The line of the back remains as close to horizontal as possible, due to the harmonious interaction of front and back legs. As the body of the Irish Setter is close to being square, the galloping dog appears relatively high over the ground. The tail is carried in the line of the back, tending downwards and should not be above the back line. Some tail action is acceptable, but the more serious hunters use their tails little, except for balance on their turns.
On finding game Irish Setters shorten, taking a few tight casts in the cone of the scent before drawing forward to set. From once they wind game to the set, some tail action is seen. The body lowers at the back and stays high at the shoulder and head as they sift the wind for the exact location of their birds. The ears are expressive, being well up and forward on the head as they approach game.
Standing or crouched settings are normal attitudes. The set is intense and rigid, full of energy and concentration, crouched in bare ground or on a surprise point and as a fixed extension of its form in drawing game where the vegetation is relatively high, the placement of the feet controlling and balancing the tense and immobile body. The head is held well up, eyes fierce, ears high, forward and expressive, the tail rigid, bristling with the passion of the find, arched under the line of the back or in its line.
The attitude in roading must be very intense and concentrated. The head remains well up in the air to control the film of scent, muzzle parallel to the ground, the shoulder blades exposed over the line of the back and the tail carried rigidly, arched towards the earth. Any tendency towards stickiness is a grave fault.
Irish Setters are fast, wide rangers. They use the ground with intelligence and precision, breaking their casts as they check the wind for the faintest taint of game. Should it be unfounded they resume their cast with urgency. The depth between the casts should be moderately open depending on the conditions on the day.
Kilsheelan Irish Setters
As of 2024, Kilsheelan Irish setters are the most winning dogs in NZ pointer and setter gundog trials in the last 30 years, with the kennel breeding and/or owning over 50% of the titled Field Champions, made up in trials on wild pheasant and quail. Kilsheelan-bred or -owned dogs have won 90% of P&S Championship pheasant trials in the last ten years.
Email Address : robyn.gaskin@ppcnz.co.nzPhone Number : 021 765 378
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