# I put in for a rescue Irish Setter any comments?



## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

My 12 year old grandson has begged me for several years to get him a dog. He lives with me in the summer. Te oldest one had a dog and it went everywhere with him. I couldn't rear another puppy or one that needed a lot of grooming, but I found this Setter in a rescue in Memphis. He is 7 years old, healthy and all the training. He would be perfect to roam the 100 acres we have behind our home and I do have the fenced 1/4 acre and he is house-trained also. Do any of you have knowledge of the Irish Setter? I don't want to take on another grooming challenge or one that has too high an energy level. I would think that at 7 years old he would be fairly calm.


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## Sparkle (May 17, 2012)

I've had 2 Irish Setters in the past. If you have lots of room for them to roam, you'll be ok. The 100 acres will be good! And if the fence is pretty high, you'll be ok there too. Grooming - nothing like a Hav. But they do shed quite a bit. I had mine in the polyester pants era & I can remember from the knees down my pants were always red! I have 3 children that were young at that time, and both dogs were great with them. 1 of mine was strictly outside. The other one was indoors more than out. He was a big couch hog. A great breed, but they are hard to keep confined in my experience.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Does anyone have any other breed that they would recommend? My son and the oldest three boys all are hunting -- well the 12 year old is really just learning to shoot. So it needs to be some kind of hunting dog (ecept hound) older and not much upkeep. The fence area is large enough for any dog and the 100 acres would have to be on a leash until we were sure of recall.


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## luv3havs (Jul 27, 2007)

Lucile,
I do animal assisted therapy with Finnegan at NIH and one team member has a gorgeous Irish Setter. He is about 8 years old and gentle as can be. He is great with the patients and everyone loves him. She had two until one died a few years ago and they both did therapy. Both were gentle and sweet. 
She also has a large fenced area, altho not as big as yours.
I'd check on the temperament and if he is calm, go for it.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah Lucile , how come his parents aren't getting him a dog.? You've had enough dogs to know that they stiill are a lot of work. So you're keeping the dog year round?


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Dave his mother ran off with another man and even though he was a felon, she got custody of the 4 boys. Now she has 2 more boys. They won't let him have a dog. I gave him a kitten and the stepdaddy took it off.. So they stay the summers with me and yes I will have to take care of the dog all year. But every boy needs a dog. I just need one that won't be any trouble for me. I am beginning to think of a hound. They are really laid back unless they are hunting.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

My experience with Irish setters is that most of them are very sweet, but don't expect the sharpest tool in the shed. Also there seems to be some kind of problem with being overbred, even though there aren't a lot of them. Some seemed to be extremely timid, or maybe even a neurological condition, but definitely a blank look to the eyes and "no one's home" type of thing. You would have to visit with the dog and see how he is. I came across a red and white a few months ago. He was gorgeous, had an intelligent look to his eyes and was cool as cucumbers. Awesome dog. Very little shedding compared to a lab or golden. 

I would stay away from the american lab, some are great dogs but the breed overall has been ruined. If you can get your hands on an English lab, those are awesome dogs. Goldens are nice but sounds like more grooming than you'd prefer. You can also look at pointers and flat coated retrievers. The pointer is low maintenance and a good hunting dog and the flat coated is a sweet companion but without being a shedding machine like the golden. Good luck. Make sure it's YOU that really wants the dog!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Luciledodd said:


> Dave his mother ran off with another man and even though he was a felon, she got custody of the 4 boys. Now she has 2 more boys. They won't let him have a dog. I gave him a kitten and the stepdaddy took it off.. So they stay the summers with me and yes I will have to take care of the dog all year. But every boy needs a dog. I just need one that won't be any trouble for me. I am beginning to think of a hound. They are really laid back unless they are hunting.


Lucile, I'll be honest, I don't think it's a good idea unless your hubby is offering to do most of the work. Hounds need excercise and they won't always get mental stimulation on their own. Simply having lots of room to run and roam is nice but there's a lot more to it. I never agree with parents getting a dog for a child that is not there for the dog, totally. And a few months of the summer is not going to get the dog the attention it needs. You know your limitations, just keep them in mind. It would be nice to rescue a dog ,but I don't think this is a great situation. Only you know your limitations. Just my opinion.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I agree with Dave. That being said, I have a brother who grew up with the same dogs I did and my first was a springer spaniel then we had Maltese . My brother loved them all.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I think Dave has a good point. What kind of hunting does he like to do. I grew up with an English springer Spaniel. Her name was Missy and she was like my baby sitter. She also was a bird dog and brought me robins. She lived to age 14 and was all black I think her hair was fairly easy?
PS I thought my first post didn't post LOL


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

The woods is full of all kinds of game. The older boys and my son hunt deer, but I am about to discourage them. No one eats the meat and I wind up giving it to the dog and cat. But there are a lot of squirrels and a Walker treeing dog might be good for the 12 year old. I am an excellent shot and could walk with him. I don't want him shooting a deer rifle yet, he is not responsible enough yet to know how far that bullet goes. I reared a litter of Walkers way back years ago. Not as big as some hounds and smooth coated. ourse when I was a child I always had a **** hound of some kind because the men in the family were **** hunters. All of us cousins would get a runt to raise and then uncle would come get it to train so I know a lot about hounds. They just lay around all day until the horn blows and then they are off to the hunt. I don't know, probably won't get a rescue though. I won't lie and tell them that the dog will be a house dog so I will get turned down. Don't the rescue people know that some dogs are meant to be outside dogs and let to be dogs and not some kind of house pets? That is way little dogs are for. My DIL got a kitten from a shelter that had about 200 cats and just lied about keeping it in the house all the time. I won't lie about keeping a dog in the house all the tie--sepecialy a hound--the just naturally stink. lol.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I thought I wanted a hound dog once. My best bud in grade school had a basset hound ( I don't think that dog could hunt) His name was basal. Long soft ears and he did stink.But he knew his way around town. He would walk for miles and always find his way home.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Lucile, I know about Walkers. We've had them for hunting. Our group has a Walker that is in the house and part of the family. That's the way it should be,. Years ago hunting dogs were kept in a kennel. I never agreed with it. They are social animals just like toy dogs. Here's the hunt clubs Walker named Sport, he's a good buddy of Molly's ,


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

The thing is not all hounds are the same. It's a bigger variety category than toy dogs in terms of energy, size, maintenance requirements ect. 

Many hounds are very social animals. They also shouldn't be just left outside all the time. The only reason to do that is MAYBE if they truly are hunting/working dogs so they get their stimulation everyday and just sleep in a heated/air conditioned kennel (Ie, not just outside). That doesn't mean they go for a hunt once in a while, but that they practice most days. 

Just my opinion


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

This was my last baby. She was the most people loving dog ever. She would have been heart-broken to live outside. Her whole life revolved around her family. She was a real gentle giant.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah hounds vary quite a bit in their energy and excercise requirements, but I still think they should be in the home most of the time. Yeah Suzy, my daughter has a Bassett. He's never even seen a rabbit. lol. I could tell you stories about Sport finding his way back to the hunt camp that are truly amazing. What a dog.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Zarika said:


> This was my last baby. She was the most people loving dog ever. She would have been heart-broken to live outside. Her whole life revolved around her family. She was a real gentle giant.


What a beautiful girl . Was she a Borzoi?


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## wynne (Apr 30, 2011)

Setters are very sweet dogs. Labs are good for hunting and are also good natured.


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

davetgabby said:


> What a beautiful girl . Was she a Borzoi?


Yup. I got her when I was 12. My family obviously helped but she was my baby. I showed her and got her therapy dog certificate. She came to college with me as soon as I was allowed to move out of the dorms into an off campus house and she came out here to Milwaukee to medical school with me. She passed away earlier this year from complications of cancer when she was 13.5 and that's when I rescued Hobbes (the Hav).


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Zarika said:


> Yup. I got her when I was 12. My family obviously helped but she was my baby. I showed her and got her therapy dog certificate. She came to college with me as soon as I was allowed to move out of the dorms into an off campus house and she came out here to Milwaukee to medical school with me. She passed away earlier this year from complications of cancer when she was 13.5 and that's when I rescued Hobbes (the Hav).


 That's a nice story. I'm sorry for your loss she sounded very much loved by you.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Zarika said:


> Yup. I got her when I was 12. My family obviously helped but she was my baby. I showed her and got her therapy dog certificate. She came to college with me as soon as I was allowed to move out of the dorms into an off campus house and she came out here to Milwaukee to medical school with me. She passed away earlier this year from complications of cancer when she was 13.5 and that's when I rescued Hobbes (the Hav).


ahhh what a touching story. They truly can be gentle giants. That's pretty old for the breed isn't it.? Are they similar to the Greys as far as being quite happy in a small apartment for example. ?


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## windym300 (Nov 20, 2010)

Well I may be a little partial but I have an English Shepherd and he's the best bigger dog I've ever had. Smartest by far! Since they aren't AKC they aren't well known or overly bred but they do shed some since I live in Alabama and have bipolar weather..lol. His litter mate that lives in Michigan apparently doesn't shed as much as the Lab they also have. I first heard about the ES's from a breeder in Michigan that has Havanese and ES's I think she is on here some?? . My Boys are only 10 wks apart and the best buds!! Winston is so calm I just am amazed, but at the same time he is ready to go whenever you need him too. I guess that is why they are so famous for being such great family farm dogs. My husband insisted we always have a bigger dog to protect the smaller dog..lol..I'm much more of a small dog person but he has my heart as well.. I don't even mind cleaning up hair from him(don't tell my husband). If you ask my husband though, I cut or brush as much hair off Bogie as I vacuum hair off the floor from Winston. Probably not true since Winston is over 65lbs and Bogie over 16.. Lol. They are both on diets!!

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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I have heard Labs make a great family pet, lots of work with any puppy though.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Oh! One more thing, next door has a Beagle, outside dog and he is a barker and very active. They howl, Dexter has learned to imitate the howling when they are nearby. Dexter worries about the Beagle when he howling and goes to see the beagle to make sure he is ok.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Any dog will belong to whomever feeds it and spends the most time with it. I think your intentions are good, but it will still be your dog. Maybe find a loaner from a hunter in summer.


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## Zarika (Dec 16, 2012)

davetgabby said:


> ahhh what a touching story. They truly can be gentle giants. That's pretty old for the breed isn't it.? Are they similar to the Greys as far as being quite happy in a small apartment for example. ?


THey are quite happy in a small apartment, as long as you have a fenced in yard for them to run in. (I was lucky, college was near a fenced-in dog park and my apartment complex now actually is very pet friendly and have a large fenced in dog-run specifically for dogs that live there.) But, it was really really difficult to find an apartment to take such a big dog. And since I plan on moving in about 1.5 years, probably to a large city, I thought I'd go small to make moving easier. I figured if I wasn't going to have huge, might as well go tiny so it can travel with me on the plane and live in a small apartment with ease.

13.5 is very old for the breed.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Yea! If your grandson is not home with you all the time, the knew dog will be attached to you and will not want to leave you when grandson comes over. My thoughts...


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I don't mean to be flippant, but have none of you seen the dogs greeting their soldiers who have been gone for a year. GS will stay all summer and be here most weekends. I have reared labs and trained them, beagles howl all the time, another German Shepherd is out of the question a good trained one is now around $15,000 and adopting one is not a good idea if you have little dogs or children around. I was reared in the country around a yard full of hound dog, mostly **** dogs. believe me they laid on the porch or under it most of the day. They only came awake when they were going hunting. Same with bloodhounds. AND i DO NOT BELIEVE THAT EVERY DOG SHOULD LIVE IN THE HOUSE WITH THE HUMANS. If that makes me a bad person then so be it. My protection dog lived outside all his life except when he got old and slept in the kitchen. I assure you that he was not mistreated and was content. He shed buckets of hair in the spring. No one could live with all that hair on the floor. All I want is a good adult dog for the grandson and one that I won't have to groom. Depending on the dog, it will live in the house or the garage. I trained a lab once, she was perfect when I got her trained, then my son came and got her--don't want another--they have to be at least 3 years old to be calm and not destroy everything in sight.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

If you want to do all the training of a dog that has possible issues, all the power to you Lucile, I don' t believe your grandson will be spending the summers with you when he's 16 . It's you that has to want the dog since you're the one taking care of him. Unless your family is into bird hunting Im not sure why you'd want a setter.?


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

My neighbour lady who recently divorced asked me about getting her 13 year old son a dog, three and a half years ago. Said he wanted a Beagle. I didn't recommend a Beagle. She got him a Beagle anyway. Never walked the dog more than three times. Put the dog down after three and a half years. This happens all too often. Just saying , you have to want the dog. Kids promise the world, at that age, quite often don't deliver. JMO


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Many of us have a dog for a variety of reasons. Dog ownership has evolved over the years. Lucile , you're obviously from a different mindset than I am. And that is perfectly fine. I have been around long enough (60 years) to have witnessed a huge change in not only how dogs live but how we humans live. Years ago it was common for dogs to be outdoors ,tied up, in the kennel or simply left loose. The family was outdoors more. Now ,few of us are outdoors , we're watching the tv or typing on computers. Dogs have evolved into more social animals than ever. And when social animals are isolated ,there are a multiple host of problems that can arise. Very few dogs thrive without a social contact with either the same species or in most cases human contact. Here is an article on this socialization aspect and explains exactly why some of us should have cats lol http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101127105348.htm

Lucile , I have seen hunting dogs shot because they didn't hunt. I've seen dogs tied outside or in a kennel 24/7 . I just think that if we're to call dogs man's best friend, we have to socialize with him. We're talking about a species like no other, when we talk about dogs.


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## Sandi Kerger (Mar 18, 2009)

When we were very young (early 20's) and very uninformed about having a dog and not being terribly responsible, we got a male Irish Setter - absolutely beautiful animal - but very hyper. After about a year, we got a female Irish Setter (from a pet store of all places - this was back in the days when no one knew about puppy mills). Anyway, we both worked all day and lived in the city. We loved both of the dogs very much, but they were both very hyper - we used to take them out to the country to run every day - they never seemed to get tired - have never seen a dog with so much energy - and they were definitely not the brightest bulbs around,but they were lovely dogs. They were very much people dogs, slept with us all the time. However, I did find them to be a lot of work, and they did shed,I thought, a fair bit. We had got our Male Setter from a reputable breeder, but he did have cherry eye, had to have surgery, and his eyes never did recover properly If you can believe it, we also had one litter of puppies - I am embarrassed to be telling everyone this, as I would never do something like this now. One of the stupid things we did when we were young. Anyway, not sure why I am writing this, but just maybe to tell you, that my experience with Setters has been that they are loving dogs, but a lot of work - and they do love being around their people - I can't imagine leaving them outside in a kennel all the time, I think they would get very lonely. I thought they were much more work to keep than our Havs. - maybe because of their size.


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## My2Havs (Jun 5, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> I don't mean to be flippant, but have none of you seen the dogs greeting their soldiers who have been gone for a year. GS will stay all summer and be here most weekends. I have reared labs and trained them, beagles howl all the time, another German Shepherd is out of the question a good trained one is now around $15,000 and adopting one is not a good idea if you have little dogs or children around. I was reared in the country around a yard full of hound dog, mostly **** dogs. believe me they laid on the porch or under it most of the day. They only came awake when they were going hunting. Same with bloodhounds. AND i DO NOT BELIEVE THAT EVERY DOG SHOULD LIVE IN THE HOUSE WITH THE HUMANS. If that makes me a bad person then so be it. My protection dog lived outside all his life except when he got old and slept in the kitchen. I assure you that he was not mistreated and was content. He shed buckets of hair in the spring. No one could live with all that hair on the floor. All I want is a good adult dog for the grandson and one that I won't have to groom. Depending on the dog, it will live in the house or the garage. I trained a lab once, she was perfect when I got her trained, then my son came and got her--don't want another--they have to be at least 3 years old to be calm and not destroy everything in sight.


I think you're asking the wrong people in the wrong forum for a breed of dog that you may never let in the house. I'm older too, 66, but can't imagine ever owning any breed of dog that wasn't allowed to live in the house. Of course, I've never lived in the country like you, Lucille, but the relationship between you and your dog doesn't really change no matter where you live, only how you decide what that relationship is. And most people here seem to want social interaction with their dogs as much as possible. JMO...
Monica, Dooley & Roxie
P.S. I don't think the closeness between those dogs and returning soldiers got that way because they were left outside to live.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Luciledodd said:


> I don't mean to be flippant, but have none of you seen the dogs greeting their soldiers who have been gone for a year. GS will stay all summer and be here most weekends. I have reared labs and trained them, beagles howl all the time, another German Shepherd is out of the question a good trained one is now around $15,000 and adopting one is not a good idea if you have little dogs or children around. I was reared in the country around a yard full of hound dog, mostly **** dogs. believe me they laid on the porch or under it most of the day. They only came awake when they were going hunting. Same with bloodhounds. AND i DO NOT BELIEVE THAT EVERY DOG SHOULD LIVE IN THE HOUSE WITH THE HUMANS. If that makes me a bad person then so be it. My protection dog lived outside all his life except when he got old and slept in the kitchen. I assure you that he was not mistreated and was content. He shed buckets of hair in the spring. No one could live with all that hair on the floor. All I want is a good adult dog for the grandson and one that I won't have to groom. Depending on the dog, it will live in the house or the garage. I trained a lab once, she was perfect when I got her trained, then my son came and got her--don't want another--they have to be at least 3 years old to be calm and not destroy everything in sight.


 Just had to high light a statement so everyone will see that you dont mean totaly out side:dance:


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## windym300 (Nov 20, 2010)

Lucille, if I'm not mistaken everything you mentioned an English Shepherd would be great for. They are very calm, loyal,great with kids(I have an 8 mth and 4 yr old grandsons and he's perfect with them),love outdoors and very smart. Usually they do live outside and take care of farms. You also don't have to groom them. I don't usually give my boy a bath but every few months or so and he lives in the house. There may be breeders that have older ones that they kept for some reason or other that didn't work out. And there is ES rescue. But you probably aren't going to find the perfect dog for your situation because no dog is perfect.. I know mine is perfect for me though. Also, when you ask for help on forums you are usually going to get lots of it..lol..Good luck and I hope you will find what you are looking for!

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## Dory (Jan 4, 2012)

If you want a hound, I think the Plott's are gorgeous. http://www.akc.org/breeds/plott/index.cfm

I've had my share of golden retrievers and they are wonderful as well. Not a hound, but a great all around dog. Our last golden was actually more red than golden.


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