About The Irish Setter
Caring for an Irish Setter
An Irish Setter requires the standard veterinarian care including yearly checkups, booster vaccinations to maintain immunity against diseases and also monthly heartworm prevention.
Diet: For the first year while the puppy is growing, we feed a low-protien diet to prevent HOD. Thereafter, the fully grown adult should have a high grade food. Because the Irish Setter is a deep chested dog, they should be fed twice a day to prevent bloat.
A Fenced Yard: Given the good veterinarian care and a healthy diet, the Irish setter requires a fenced yard and plenty of exercise. This is the fun part of having an Irish Setter--because the energy and exercise will be good for you.
Because Irish Setters are fastidious about themselves, they are easy to house train. Commitment to a consistent routine is key. Until the puppy is house trained, it should not have free, unsupervised run of the house. A crate is also helpful. When the puppy wakes up, expect that she will need to "go potty." Take her out of the crate for a walk until she has finished her business. She can then come back into the house for supervised play. Estimate 20 minutes between the time the puppy drinks water and has to "go potty."
Training and Attention: The Irish Setter is a bright, energetic, highly sociable breed that requires exercise, human interaction, and training. Obedience training is strongly recommended. They need to know the rules, boundaries and expectations. Otherwise they will make up their own. The Irish Setter is fun loving and has an agenda to enjoy life. This is not to be mistaken for a lack of intelligence. Quite contrary, the Irish Setter is easily bored with too much regimine that does not result in fun and motion. Therefore, plan to have fun and go for walks; vary the activities and always make your training time up beat and enjoyable for both of you.
When you come home at the end of the day, expect an enthusiastic welcome greeting, be ready to go for a nice walk and get exercise. Be prepared for people to admire your beautiful, happy dog and engage in conversations you might not otherwise have as you go. You will be surprised to find out how many people owned and loved an Irish Setter.