Page 41 - ShowSight Presents - The Irish Setter
P. 41
The Dual IrIsh seTTer
The essence of The breeD
Wind gently blow- ing the mahog- any coat, he is a majestic statue standing on point. His head high his body ridged as he takes in the aroma cone of the game bird he has locat- ed. The Irish Setter on point is as stunning and beautiful as he is in the ring. Unfor- tunately he is often thought of as just a show dog that no longer has the ability to work as a true sporting dog. The fact is the Irish Setter is a versatile dog; he excels in the show ring but is equally comfortable working in Obedience, Rally, and Agility and also in the field. He is an outgoing friendly dog that loves people; however, he is devoted to his owner when it comes to working in the field he prefers his owner as his working partner.
Starting in the late 50s and 60s there was a movement within the Irish Setter fancy to identify and bring back strong pointing genetics to make the Irish Set- ter competitive with other pointing breeds. This movement was successful and the Irish Setter today is competitive in all breed field competition; however it did cause a split in the breed as to show and field type.
To be recognized by AKC as a Dual Champion, a dog must achieve the title of Champion of Record and Field Cham- pion. In the years between 1956 and 1981 Irish Setters were achieving Dual Cham- pionship titles on the average of one every couple of years, then larger gaps in time of 6 years, 8 years and 5 years between titles. Since 2008 we have had resurgence in Dual Champions. In 2008, four Irish Setter achieved the title of Dual Cham- pion and in April 2013 we crowned Dual Champion #23. Of note these talented dogs are not only Dual Champions but many have also achieved multiple titles.
DC/AFC Mythodical’s Runnymead Rip
By Jeannie Wagner
DC/AFC Pompei’s Look Who’s Here SH RN
