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Short answer first: Good with children. That is the Irish Setter's record with children, before the conditions every breed carries. Behind the verdict sits a temperament described as Elegant, gentle, energetic and sweet tempered, plus energy at 5/5 and a stranger record of Friendly with strangers.
Energy scores 5 out of 5, near the top of the scale: the Irish Setter needs 60 to 120 minutes a day and notices loudly when they go missing. Children read dogs badly by default and dogs read children generously up to a point; the Irish Setter's point sits where its Elegant, gentle, energetic and sweet tempered nature puts it.
The Irish Setter's growth stages run 8 weeks at about 8 to 10 lb, 9 months at about 44 to 52 lb, 12 months at about 53 to 62 lb, ending at the adult range of 60 to 70 lb and 25 to 27 inches tall. The standard accepts a range of colors and patterns, and individual markings vary a lot. The breed belongs to the Sporting group and its home ground is Ireland.
A Irish Setter that is included, exercised and allowed to retreat becomes the dog its Good with children rating describes, and the centre of family memory for years.
By the numbers: a medium dog standing 25 to 27 inches, weighing 60 to 70 lb, living 12 to 15 years, with insurance typically $35 to $63 a month. The detail on this page hangs off those figures.
The Irish Setter suits active, outdoorsy households with countryside access, secure space and a sense of humour about a dog that matures at the speed of fine wine. Elegant, gentle and sweet tempered, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly to everyone, it makes no guard dog at all and a wonderful family companion. Give children jobs and the relationship deepens: supervised feeding, treat pouch duty and story time reading all teach an Irish Setter and a child each other's value.
The dog's name belongs on the household rota like everyone else's in an Irish Setter family: walked, fed and rested on a schedule children can see.
The social picture around an Irish Setter is completed by its barking score of 3/5: the household hears arrivals announced at that level. Barking scores 3 out of 5: the Irish Setter announces visitors and unusual noises, then settles once the news has been delivered and checked.
Teaching the child is the faster half of the equation with an Irish Setter: calm approaches, no neck hugging, and stopping when the dog moves away.
Believe the dog and manage the gap: distance, gates and gradual, treat fed exposure at the Irish Setter's pace. A breed rated Good with children can still hold an individual with a hard start in life, and forcing contact makes nervous dogs worse, never better.
The rating here is Good with children, and it describes the Irish Setter with children generally. Babies and toddlers add unpredictability: sudden grabs, falls onto the dog and high pitched noise. Even the gentlest Irish Setter deserves supervision and a child free retreat at that age.
Prey drive varies by individual more than by the family rating. Teach children never to run squealing with small pets loose around any dog; in an Irish Setter rated Good with children, calm introductions on the floor, supervised, are the safe pattern.
How long an Irish Setter really lives, stage by stage, with the screening and habits that move the odds.
The honest Irish Setter budget: food, insurance, year one and the lifetime total, worked out from the breed's own record.
The Chilean Terrier comes to family life rated Better with older children; what follows is the temperament and routine behind the words.
Last updated: November 4, 2026