medium-to-large breed
Irish Red and White Setter
The older and much rarer of the two Irish setters, still bred mostly by working hunters rather than for the ring, and stockier and more athletic than the red dog for it. Red and Whites are cheerful, affectionate and superb with children. They are also among the highest-energy dogs you can take on - ninety minutes to two hours of real running daily - and they are not mentally grown up until around three.
Pup Height
22.5-26 in
Males 24.5-26 in, females 22.5-24 in. Always a clearly parti-colored coat - a solid white base with distinct solid red patches, never roan or flecked through. Stockier and more athletic in build than the Irish Setter, which descends from it. Nearly extinct by the early 1900s as fashion swung to the solid red dog, and rebuilt from a handful of Irish lines in the 1920s. Source: AKC breed standard.
Pup Weight
35-60 lb
Pup Lifespan
11-15 years
Your pup, at a glance
What’s Life With This Pup Really Like?
Very high. They are demonstrative and physically close, lean on people, and will attempt a lap at fifty pounds.
Excellent. Cheerful, gentle and patient, with the caveat that a bouncy adolescent knocks small children over without meaning to.
Very good. Sociable with dogs and generally fine with cats, with a prey drive aimed mostly at birds.
Low. They alert occasionally and are not noisy dogs around the house.
Very high. Two hours with running and scent work, and it holds up well into middle age.
Moderate. The feathering sheds steadily and shows on furniture; regular trimming keeps it manageable.
Joyful and tireless. They run for the pleasure of it and keep a puppyish streak for years.
Very low.
Good, and better than the Irish Setter's reputation. Willing and quick, with a softness that makes gentle methods essential.
Low. A Red and White Setter may announce a visitor and will then greet them enthusiastically. No guarding instinct at all.
Moderate. Twice-weekly brushing, a trim every couple of months, and weekly ear care.
Low to moderate. They suit houses with ground and handle cold and wet well; apartments and idle households suit them badly.
Lifestyle fit
Could This Be Your Best Breed?
An Irish Red and White Setter suits an active house with a securely fenced yard and ground to run on, and an owner who wants company outdoors rather than a guard at the door. Expect $1,600 to $2,700 a year, feathering that needs a brush twice a week, and eleven to fifteen years. Anyone in an apartment, anyone whose evenings are spent sitting down, and anyone hoping for a calm two-year-old should look elsewhere.
Living Space
A house with a securely fenced yard and real ground to run. They are working bird dogs with genuine stamina, and an apartment with two short walks produces a restless, destructive dog.
Pup Experience
Good for an active first-time owner. They are affectionate, biddable and forgiving, and the mistakes people make are underestimating the exercise and expecting a settled adult before three.
Daily Pup Time
Ninety minutes to two hours daily with real running and scent work. Grooming is a thorough brush twice a week plus a trim every couple of months.
Allergies & Coat
The Irish Red and White Setter scores 5/10 for shedding and 2/10 for drooling. No dog is truly hypoallergenic. The allergens come from dander and saliva, and a dog that sheds this much will leave plenty of hair behind - especially on your furniture, floors, and clothes.
Quirks & challenges
The Not-So-Easy Stuff
Serious Exercise Needs
Two hours with running and scent work. Under-exercised they are destructive and impossible to settle.
Slow to Mature
Bouncy and adolescent until around three, in a large frame that grew up long before.
No Guarding Instinct
They greet everyone as a friend. Get one for company, never for security.
Genuinely Rare
Far scarcer than the Irish Setter. Expect a waiting list, travel, and a small gene pool.
The Feathering Mats
Long furnishings on ears, chest, legs and tail. Brushing twice a week, not occasionally.
Sensitive
Harsh handling shuts them down rather than correcting them. Reward-based work only.
The good, the bad & the hairy
Health, Care & Costs
Understanding the health risks and ongoing costs of a Irish Red and White Setter helps you plan for a happy, healthy life together.
11-15 years
$60-$95
per groom (bath, feathering trim, ears, feet, nails), every 8-10 weeks ($350-$650/year)
$1,600-$2,700/year
all-in (food, routine vet, grooming, insurance, incidentals)
Health Risks
Conditions this breed is prone to.
An inherited immune disorder specific to the Irish setters, in which white blood cells cannot reach infection sites. Affected puppies die young of overwhelming infection. It is DNA testable and a responsible breeder tests both parents, which removes the risk entirely - ask for the certificates rather than a reassurance.
The retina degenerates gradually until the dog is blind, usually starting with night vision. There is no treatment and a DNA test exists for the form found in Irish setters, so tested parents remove the risk.
The hip joint develops loosely so the ball wears in the socket instead of gliding, leading to arthritis and sometimes surgery. Present at moderate rates and screened by scoring both parents.
An inherited clotting disorder causing excessive bleeding after injury or surgery. It is DNA testable, and it is worth telling your vet before any procedure.
The stomach fills with gas and twists, cutting off its own circulation, and it kills within hours without emergency surgery. Deep-chested and at real risk - split meals and keep hard exercise well clear of them.
Long feathered drop ears trap warmth and moisture against the canal, and a dog working wet cover makes it worse. Weekly checking, cleaning and drying is the whole prevention.
Insurance & Health Coverage
Insure young. Hip dysplasia is the main orthopedic risk and shows up early enough that a limp noted at eighteen months turns joints into a permanent exclusion, and bloat is the emergency to plan for rather than insure against alone.
If you intend to work them, check whether the policy excludes injuries sustained while hunting - several do, and a setter in cover is exactly where the accident claims come from.
The three serious inherited conditions - leukocyte adhesion deficiency, progressive retinal atrophy and von Willebrand disease - are all congenital, so no policy pays for any of them, and all three are DNA testable. On those, the breeder's paperwork is worth more than any insurance, and CLAD in particular is fatal in affected puppies.
Get a Pet Insurance Quote
Care needs
The Daily Routine
Grooming
A flat coat with feathering on the ears, chest, belly, legs and tail that needs a thorough brush twice a week - mats form fastest behind the ears and in the trousers. A trim every couple of months keeps the feet and furnishings tidy. Ears want checking and drying weekly, and after any outing in cover pick grass seeds out of the feathering and between the toes.
Exercise
Ninety minutes to two hours daily with genuine running and scent work. Field work, hiking and tracking all suit them, and they have the stamina to keep going long after you would rather stop.
Food & Weight
Two measured meals with hard exercise kept clear of them given the bloat risk. They are lean by build and burn a great deal when worked, so feed the dog in front of you rather than the breed average.
Similar breeds
If This Isn’t Quite the One
Irish Setter
The direct comparison - the solid red dog descends from this one. The Irish Setter is taller, racier and rather more scatty; the Red and White is stockier, steadier and considerably harder to find.
English Setter
A comparable pointing setter with the same gentle temperament and similar coat care. The English is calmer and easier to source; the Red and White is more energetic and more of a working dog.