How much for quality Irish Setter?

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and have always loved Irish Setters.

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Did you read the Big Red books when you were a kid? They're the reason I've always wanted one.

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Thinking about getting a companion for my boxer and have always loved Irish Setters. What kind of price range am I looking at?

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Don't forget the price of a good vacuum cleaner since they shed like crazy, and that is some long hair to clean up.

I also had one as a kid. Do some research so that you know what you’re getting into. They are very high strung.

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The thing was absolutely retarded. Dumb as a box of rocks.

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my cousin always had Irish setters and we grew up together so I spent a ton of time with his dogs. This statement is accurate and if anything, understates it.

beautiful dogs though

Bout 350

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$1200.00 - $2500.00 for a quality pedigree.

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Dang, I was thinking around $700-$900. These days you rarely see anyone with Irish Setter, but a couple of months ago a young couple had two and they gorgeous. I was thinking since you never see them, they are not in as much demand as they once were, so I assumed they would be lower, but clearly that is not the case.

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I am a little worried about the low intelligence, because I was thinking the absolute opposite.

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”retarded” is the best way to describe every Irish setter I’ve ever know. It’s a feature not a bug.

if you want a dog to teach/train setters aren’t it. They aren’t ill behaved just stupid

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if you want a dog to teach/train setters aren’t it. They aren’t ill behaved just stupid

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Pretty inaccurate generalization. Field bred Irish setters are highly intelligent and very good working dogs. That said, they have an obscene amount of energy. A good friend of mine strictly uses Irish Setters for upland hunting and I've spent a good bit of time around two of them. Very sweet dogs but super high strung. I'd call them a cross between a golden's affection/personality and a pointer's energy. Beautiful dogs. Their hair is "softer" than my field goldens' hair. In other words, it feels like it would be more prone to hangups or cockleburs in the field. Both of my goldens' coats are more wiry, which is standard of field bred goldens in my experience.

OP, consider how big your back yard is before committing to the breed. In my mind, any space that is called a "yard" is too small. If you want a quality one as posted, chances are you will get a field bred dog. It will be expensive and will need lots of exercise and wide open spaces. If you're only looking for the dog to function as a companion to your existing dog and a house pet, I'd look into another breed.

Hunted pheasant up north with some as a teenager and after the military and restarting college, got a female puppy who went everywhere with me, college, marriage and our first kids. You can tell from the fancy flooring in the rental house I was not a rich college kid lol. Below, about 8 months old.



In my experience not stupid dogs, but she did stay puppy like until about three years old, and if seeing something interesting in a field a mile away, gone at top speed to investigate. Then, it's like a switch was thrown and she calmed way down.

She was easy to obedience train and the few times I took her along on quail (back when we had quail) or dove hunts, her nose and instinct to point and flush, or find downed dove in tall grass, was uncanny.

The first time she saw the Gulf in Grand Isle it was a high speed run into cold December waters. Didn't faze her one bit, she loved water.

Not a guard dog but will alert for strangers outside, and their deep chest bark gives an impressive warning. Other than that, friends with everyone and will retrieve a tennis ball or snatch a frisbee out of the air as long as you want to throw. Loves kids and by the time ours arrived, gentle with all.

Was she as good a hunting dog as this hard headed guy when he was a youngster?



Of course not, but just as smart and able to learn any trick you wished to teach.

A perfect family dog that requires a lot of patience and training when young. Boundless energy, needs plenty of exercise and a place to run.

The day I had to put her down over 35 years ago remains one of the saddest of my life. She was a great dog and my favorite of them all.

I wouldn't hesitate to own another Irish Setter.

Seems like if you’re not going to use it for its intended purpose, you probably shouldn’t get one.

The issue with Irish Setters is that they are beautiful. So beautiful, they’ve been over purchased and under trained. The result is a poorly bred breed that when bred right is too much for most people to handle.

There’s a guy on Facebook called Second Chance Bird Dogs. He actually just rescued and is training an Irish Setter that somebody bought as a pet that was too much dog.
He describes why Irish Setters have taken such a down turn in a recent post.