any one else have an irish setter?

oatsareclass

Hi, just wondering who else has had the fortune (or misfortune!!) of bringing an irish setter into your life!
We have a 2 year old male, hes calm and quiet indoors, but once outside, its a diff story!!!

missloulou

We used to have one, fantastic dogs!!

Ours lived to 16 years and he was fantastic, bit of a escape artist sometimes but he was great. He would play in the garden for hours and would sometimes bring home pheasants from his breaks for freedom.

tk123

oatsareclass wrote: »

but once outside, its a diff story!!!

LOL this would be true of my retrievers best friend lol! He's a lovely dog thou and the same age, size and temprement as my guy so they're well suited for mischief! He once pick-pocketed my bag of treats and dropped them on the ground for all the dogs to share!! :pac:

RitaW

We have 3 red setters and 1 red and white. Other setter owners say we are mad but we love the breed. If they get their exercise they are really content. If they don't they cause havoc lol

This is what we do to drain the energy

tk123

How skinny are your setters guys and what do you feed them? Our friend is skin and bones!! His owners have been trying to get weight on him but nothing works and he always seems to have a sensitive tummy.

RitaW

tk123 wrote: »

How skinny are your setters guys and what do you feed them? Our friend is skin and bones!! His owners have been trying to get weight on him but nothing works and he always seems to have a sensitive tummy.

Our setters wouldn't be as skinny as some I've saw. Our dogs weigh around the 27kg-30kg mark at the moment. The average weight for males is around the 29kg. A setters stomach can be really sensitive and the best diet that seems to work and maintains a good weight is the RAW. It's very popular with setter owners on the Exclusively Setters site.

Setter owners on there say they really see a difference in their dogs weight with Acana or Orijen. Also this one www.csjk9.com
One of our setters bloated twice around Christmas and still has some wind problems. He got his stomach stapled the 2nd time. The vet has suggested to put him on a sensitive food. We are going to try the Royal Canin medium Sensitive, it is 90% digestable and should be easier on his stomach.

Setters been under weight is a really comman problem but once you find the right food they really do thrive.

tk123

Thanks I'll let them know. I think they've tried nearly every brand there is lol!

bunny&spoon

our guy Bailey is a cross of a gordon and an english so double the trouble in one!

Its true what the above posters said, no exercise no peace! Bailey is going to be the big 1 year old next month so proper teenager now! :rolleyes:

we're still trying to get weight onto him as well, he's about 25-27kg but still fairly boney, people think we dont feed him but he eats like a horse!

griff110

"our guy Bailey is a cross of a gordon and an english so double the trouble in one! "

Oh sweet devine:eek:. You don't happen to be an olympic long distance runner by any chance, that would be the only way to keep that combination quiet.

micheleabc

Here is mine: two setter breeds in one (mummy was a Gordon and daddy was an Irish Red). She is a head turner, just turned 2 years. Frankly I don't think we knew what we were getting into when deciding on the breed luckily we live by the beach and she gets her daily loooong gallops.