From a thorough mixture of spaniels, pointers, and other setter breeds, the Irish setter made its rise to popular gun dog status in the 18th century in its native homeland, Ireland. Though originally of the red and white color pattern (now called the Irish red and white setter), by the time the Irish setter made its way to North America, the solid red color most commonly associated with the breed had been established through selective breeding practices. Originally bred for their versatility in hunting game birds, by the mid 1900’s the Irish setter’s role in the field had greatly diminished despite their popularity in the show ring. Controversial, yet successful, efforts were taken to outcross the breed to red and white champion English setters in order to preserve and improve field varieties. The resultant field variety, often referred to as the Red setter, is unique in its hunting abilities and appearance when compared to American show varieties of the Irish setter. However, the field variety still falls under the Irish setter name in the US.
Unfortunately, at some point during the breed’s development, a spontaneous mutation in the ITGB2 gene occurred in a single Irish setter. A portion of ...