EURODOG Ireland Statistics

[Laura Kolbach]

Just seen the Breed Statistics:
http://www.ourdogs.co.uk/newsextra/2009/Extra130309/images/EuroShow...

Quite (=very) low numbers???

[yvonne]

we where thinking to go with Pelle and Kimmo , but way to expensive for us !

[Silvia Lindner-Rae]

I jist read the entries and some of the comments. I do not think it is the cost or the pet passport that keeps dog owners from the UK from going to Ireland but thae fact that Ireland is an FCI-country and the judging will be following the FCI-standard.

[Carmel Murphy]

But the FCI standard is the Irish standard for Irish Red Setters!! The standard in the UK is almost the same anyway!! Perhaps its the fact that most dogs over the age of 2 will most likely be in the open class! This is a problem as there is a huge difference between a 2 year old and 4 or 5 year old setter, after all they are suppossed to be a slow maturing breed!! I would love to see an extra class for dogs between the intermediate and open class(for the youngsters not quite mature yet!!)

[Silvia Lindner-Rae]

Of course the standard is the same, but I noticed tha many Is in the UK are taller than on the continent. Some considerably taller and seem to be above the standard. What I do not know - isn't there a champion class like in other FCI-shows? And I absolutely agree - friends and I have said that there should be a class for the 'clownsetters' between 2 and 4 years....

[Carmel Murphy]

Yes there are taller dogs in the UK but as far as I can tell they are still within the breed standard(just at the higher level) and if standing beside a dog at the lower end of the scale will look too big!! And a lot of bitches in the UK are at the lower end of the scale too and make taller bitches look as if they are over the standard(but in fact are just at the higher level!!) I have tall girls but within the breed standard, but look huge beside their smaller competitors in the ring!!! I also think too much coat can make a dog look bigger!! I have seen dogs in the ring and thought they look big but when up close they are the correct height!! Although I can only guess their height!!! But the 3 or 4 inches(7 or 9cm) is a big difference when looking at the height of a dog!!

[Catherine Carter]

I don't think the height would be too much of a problem....there is a slight difference in the GB Kennel Club breed standard and the Irish Kennel Club breed standard when it comes to the point of describing the featherings. The Irish standard states :'all feathering to be straight and flat' this is very clear and does not allow any misunderstanding. Because of the way the GB Kennel Club breed Standard was written, a lot of UK exhibitors have been known to say that a bit of a curl or a wave is normal. I personnaly prefer all featherings straight and flat....what is your opinion?

[Carmel Murphy]

I prefer as straight as possible too! I have been shocked at times to hear people say that they love a bit of movement in the coat(wave) but its not about what you like it is about breed standard!! But it does actually say "as free as possible from wave"(so a little bit is acceptable) but not as much as we sometimes see!! Anyway a bit off subject! I dont really think that is any reason not to attend the Euro Show! I still think cost is the major factor!! ;o))

[Silvia Lindner-Rae]

In the KC standard I did not find any reference to the height. So how tall are the UK Irish Setters - which is the limit?

[Carmel Murphy]

The English Kennel Club does not have a height standard for the Irish Setter!

[Catherine Carter]

no limit in the UK! the dogs are never measured what is important to us are the proportions of the dog. But we have already had discussions last year on this site about size so out of interest I measured mine and they were within the measurements given by the Irish Kennel Club breed standard and also I started looking around at shows to see the size of dogs and I would think that on the whole (apart from the odd exception) they are not too tall!

[Silvia Lindner-Rae]

I myself have a very tall IS who is over the limit and when I visited shows in the UK I saw many as tall as he is.

[Carmel Murphy]

Just got the number of setters for the special CC Crufts qualifier for Irish Native Breeds(day before Euro Show) and it too is very low!! Only 44 Irish Setters entered!!