Home / Breeds / Irish Red and White Setter
Irish Red and White Setter
Elegant, gentle, energetic and sweet tempered. From Ireland.
Sportingmedium breedIrelandStandards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Irish Red and White Setter
The Irish Red and White Setter is a medium sized setter from Ireland, developed to range wide over open ground, scenting game birds and setting them for the guns. Energy outdoors, elegance indoors: that is the setter bargain, and it only works if the outdoor half is honoured daily.
History
The Irish Red and White Setter is a medium sized setter from Ireland. Silky coat of medium length, flat, with feathering on the ears, legs, chest and tail. American breeders follow the AKC standard for the breed, which the club recognizes today.
Personality
Elegant, gentle, energetic and sweet tempered is the record's Red and White, the original Irish setter: the particoloured bird dog from which the solid red show dog was later drawn, saved from near extinction by Irish breeders who valued the worker. Red and Whites are athletic, affectionate and thoughtful, a touch more reserved in their energy management than the flamboyant red Setter, though no less energetic in total. They bond deeply, work stylishly and live as elegant, gentle companions. Puppies are bright, red splashed charmers; adults are beautiful, devoted partners with a field dog's joy. Owners describe the connoisseur's setter: rarer, older in type and utterly charming.
Temperament and traits
Energy (5/5)
Trainability (4/5)
Grooming needs (3/5)
Shedding (3/5)
Barking (3/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: Not ideal
Coat and care
Coat: Silky coat of medium length, flat, with feathering on the ears, legs, chest and tail. It sheds moderately and needs brushing a few times a week to keep the pale coat clean.
Colors: Standard colors: red and White.
Measure meals rather than free feeding; this breed does best on a routine of consistent meals, training in short sessions and daily exercise matched to its type. Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine. The silky feathering picks up burrs and mud; a comb through after country walks keeps mats from forming behind the ears and legs.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
An hour is a floor and the record's range runs to two: the Red and White is a ranging bird dog built to quarter open ground all day, and it needs free running, retrieving and training woven through every day. Energy outdoors, elegance indoors: that is the setter bargain, per the overview, and it only works if the outdoor half is honoured daily. Field training, canicross and swimming suit the breed's athleticism. Puppies build up gradually with protected joints. A worked Red and White is a sweet, elegant house dog; an unworked one is a beautiful, red and white storm system ranging across your home and garden in search of birds.
Grooming
Brush weekly and check ears, teeth and nails as part of the routine, per the care notes, combing through the silky feathering so it stays clean and flowing. The silky feathering picks up burrs and mud; a comb through after country walks keeps mats from forming behind the ears and legs, exactly as the notes advise. The white in the coat shows mud honestly, so rinses follow wet work. Ears take checks after wet walks, nails need trims and teeth benefit from brushing. Puppies need kind grooming habituation. The total is moderate and buys one of the most beautiful coats in the setter family.
Training and daily life
Training
Red and Whites are capable, willing pupils that learn gundog handling, steadiness and retrieving well under reward based, structured training, with a train score near the top of this site. The setter method applies: teach clearly, proof patiently against birds and scent, and never drill a sensitive dog into dullness. Priorities are recall, the long proofing project of every ranging breed; a reliable delivery to hand; a settle; lead manners; and socialisation that keeps the gentleness confident. Many Red and Whites work in the field and test successfully. Owners describe a partnership of elegance and enthusiasm in equal measure.
Living with an Irish Red and White Setter
The Irish Red and White suits active rural or semi rural households that want the original Irish setter: elegant, athletic and sweet natured, with a genuine field engine. Elegant, gentle, energetic and sweet tempered in the record's words, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, it rates apartments as not ideal in the record because the running requirement is the real thing. Expect elegance indoors, energy outdoors and a dog that regards its people as the centre of both. The breed is rare and precious, rebuilt from near extinction; owners describe the thinking person's Irish setter, all the beauty with a working soul.
What an Irish Red and White Setter costs
Food cost
About $33 per month for a typical 51 lb adult eating roughly 3.1 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 60 to 120 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $35 to $63 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $399 for food and $420 to $756 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a medium breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 6 to 8 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 13 to 19 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 22 to 31 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 31 to 44 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 37 to 53 lb |
| Adult | 18 months | about 42 to 60 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 42 to 60 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 8 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation, coat handling, protected joints while growing and early retrieving games built carefully. Adolescents are at maximum ranging energy, and field work plus structure carries the household through. Adults enjoy a long, vigorous prime: keep the feathering combed through, weight lean and the work coming. Twelve to fifteen years puts senior status around ten: twice yearly checks with hip awareness, joint friendly exercise and continued gentle retrieving. Old Red and Whites stay elegant, gentle and devoted, quartering the garden at a kinder pace.
Health
Von Willebrand disease and an immune deficiency (CLAD) both have DNA tests in this small gene pool, and hip screening is standard. Ask to see health test results for both parents before you commit to a puppy; a good breeder will offer them before you ask.
Conditions to know about
- Von Willebrand disease (DNA test): Von Willebrand disease has a DNA test in this small gene pool, per the record. Ask for both parents' results as a headline item in the paperwork.
- CLAD immune deficiency (DNA test): An immune deficiency, canine leukocyte adhesion deficiency, also has a DNA test in the breed, per the record. This serious condition is preventable by testing, which is exactly why the DNA results matter.
- Hip dysplasia: Hip screening is standard in the breed, per the record. Ask for scores in writing, and keep this athlete lean through growth.
Facts follow the Irish Red and White Setter breed standard (AKC, The Kennel Club and FCI standards agree on the essentials for this breed). Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Irish Red and White Setter owners
Our team is hands on testing products for this guide right now. Recommendations will only appear here after real testing, and this module will always carry a plain affiliate disclosure at the top.
Irish Red and White Setter questions
How long do Irish Red and White Setters live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 15 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep an Irish Red and White Setter?
Food for a typical adult runs about $33 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $35 and $63 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Irish Red and White Setters good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does an Irish Red and White Setter need?
Plan on 60 to 120 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Is the Red and White older than the solid red Irish Setter?
Yes: the red and white is the original Irish setter colouring, and the solid red was bred from it for the show ring. The Red and White nearly vanished and was rebuilt by Irish breeders in the twentieth century.
Red and White Setter or English Setter, what is the difference?
The Irish dog is the racier, more athletic worker in red and white; the English is heavier built in its speckled colours. Both are elegant, energetic bird dogs needing serious daily running.
Are Red and Whites good family dogs?
Yes, for active families: elegant, gentle and sweet tempered, good with children and other dogs. The conditions are genuine daily running and training, not garden access.
Breeds similar to the Irish Red and White Setter Compare this breed with another