A Complete Price Guide for the Irish Setter
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The Irish Setter is a kind of gundog called a setter. Such dogs are named thus because they will enter into a sort of crouch called a “set” when they pick up on the presence of gamebirds. Something that told their human masters that it was time to either net the gamebirds or shoot the gamebirds. Unsurprisingly, setters tend to be smart, friendly, and energetic animals. The Irish Setter is no exception to this rule. It isn’t 100 percent clear how the Irish Setter came into existence.
However, setters as a whole came into existence in the early modern era, though it is possible to trace their roots to earlier predecessors to some extent. The Irish were one of the peoples who were involved in the creation of setters, which would lead to the creation of Irish Setters in time. One of the things that distinguished their setters from other setters was a preference for red coats. Something that remained true over time, as shown by how Irish Setters are sometimes called Red Setters.
In any case, Irish Setters have both their upsides and their downsides. Still, the former should outweigh the latter for a lot of people. After all, Irish Setters are smart, friendly, and energetic, which are characteristics that appeal to a wide range of would-be dog owners. Having said that, there are some potential issues that interested individuals should keep in mind. For example, the energetic nature of Irish Setters means that they need a lot of exercise, which might be inconvenient for would-be dog owners who aren’t that active themselves.
Similarly, Irish Setters have strong hunting instincts because of their nature as hunting dogs, meaning that it can be a challenge to get them to get along with smaller animals. Of course, there are ways to deal with each of these problems, so if people are interested in these dogs, they should look further into them.
What Should You Expect to Pay for an Irish Setter?
Interested individuals have a number of options for getting their hands on an Irish Setter. Unfortunately, there is no option that is perfect for everyone out there because everything comes with a combination of upsides and downsides. Due to this, it is a good idea for interested individuals to look into the full range of options that are available to them to see which one is most suitable for their particular circumstances. They know themselves the best. As such, they are the ones in the best position to decide which option is the best for them.
The first option would be keeping a watchful eye on the classifieds as well as similar resources to see if there is anyone either giving away or effectively giving away Irish Setters. This kind of thing doesn’t happen all that often. However, there are times when an Irish Setter owner will be forced to make such a choice.
Sometimes, this is because they have experienced a change in their ability to take care of their dog. Other times, this is because their dog has had an unexpected pregnancy, meaning that they have some extra puppies on their hand. Whatever the case, the main benefit would be a nonexistent or near-nonexistent price, which tends to be a very appealing selling point for interested individuals.
Of course, there are plenty of issues with this option as well. In particular, there is no guarantee that interested individuals will be able to stumble upon such an opportunity at any given time. Instead, this is the kind of option that people take if they are willing to constantly scan the classifieds as well as similar resources while being prepared to wait for a long period of time.
Even then, there is no guarantee that such an opportunity will come along, particularly since Irish Setters aren’t the most common dog breed out there. On top of this, interested individuals won’t be spoiled for choice if they go with this option. They can take whatever dog is available to them. Failing that, they can pass on an opportunity to await a similar one that may or may not come anytime soon. As such, this option can be rather impractical to say the least.
Second Option
The second option would be looking to either adopt or rescue an Irish Setter. Once again, one of the major selling points would be the low cost of this option. At most, interested individuals will have to pay a figure in the low hundreds of dollars, which would still be much less than paying the average price of a purebred dog.
Furthermore, even if they have to pay such a price, chances are good that it is going to reflect the healthcare provided to the animal. Since interested individuals are going to have to pay for those things at some point anyways, there isn’t much of a difference between paying at this point and paying at some later point. Besides that, another major selling point would be the chance to do something good. There are a lot of animals out there that need assistance. Unfortunately, animal shelters and animal rescues don’t have anything close to the kind of resources needed to provide a humane level of care for every single one of them.
Still, every dog that gets adopted or rescued means freeing up resources that can be used to help other animals, meaning that it is no exaggeration to say that doing so can have a very positive impact on more than one living being. As for the downsides, they should be pretty familiar in nature. Availability is a serious issue, meaning that interested individuals will need to settle for the dogs that they can find. However, there are resources out there that exist for the purpose of helping people find adoptable or rescuable dogs of specific dog breeds, meaning that their chances of stumbling upon a good find should be somewhat better than those offered by the previous option.
If nothing else, just being able to look through animal shelters and animal rescues operating in a much wider region can be very beneficial for their prospects of success. Other than this, interested individuals should remember that some of the dogs who get sent to animal shelters and animal rescues are sent because they have some kind of issue that their previous dog owners were incapable of handling. Such issues can require increased expenditure of time, effort, and money, meaning that they can make dog ownership even more of a commitment.
Still, there is a positive in that animal shelters and animal rescues tend to be very upfront about such things because they have zero incentive to encourage interested individuals to return said animals. If anything, they have the incentive to do the exact opposite of that, which is why they tend to be very upfront about such things. This is particularly true for the animal shelters and animal rescues that let interested individuals spend some time familiarizing themselves with the dog ahead of time. If that is an option, people should definitely take advantage of it in order to get a better idea of what to expect from dog ownership.
Third Option
The third option would be buying an Irish Setter from a dog breeder. The price for one of these dogs is going to start in the high hundreds of dollars but can run into the low thousands of dollars depending on a wide range of factors. Apparently, the average price is something like $700 to $1,200, though it is possible for it to be either quite a bit higher or quite a bit lower.
As always, the price of a product reflects the costs incurred in the process of producing that product. In other words, the more time, effort, and money that went into an Irish Setter, the higher its price will be. Of course, interested individuals shouldn’t just automatically believe everything that is said by a dog breeder.
There are plenty of businesses out there that will set prices based on what they believe people can be convinced to pay. Dog breeders are by no means immune to such temptations. Fortunately, claims of training and healthcare are easily verified. If an Irish Setter puppy has been provided with such things, there should be documentation supporting such claims. Documentation that should be available for the scrutiny of interested individuals. In any case, interested individuals should put extra thought into puppies that have either very low prices or very high prices.
The first case tends to be suggest that the dog breeder has been cutting corners, which can have a very negative effect on the resulting dogs. As a result, even if people save in the short term, they could very well wind up paying more in the long run because of health issues and behavioral issues. Meanwhile, a very high price tends to mean that the puppy comes from a prestigious bloodline as well as a well-regarded dog breeder.
Interested individuals should give serious thought to whether they are actually willing to pay such prices or not, seeing as how they should be able to get a happy, healthy Irish Setter puppy for the aforementioned range of prices rather than $2,500 or more.
What Are Some Factors that Can Influence the Price of an Irish Setter?
A prestigious bloodline is far from being the only thing that can influence an Irish Setter’s price. Since interested individuals can get a more affordable dog by choosing one with a normal background rather than some kind of champion background, it stands to reason that they might be able to reduce the price by looking at the rest of these factors.
For example, it might be worthwhile to look into mixed-breed dogs that don’t quite meet the criteria for being considered purebred dogs. Something that might be worthwhile because there remains a fair amount of interest in working versions of Irish Setters, which may or may not be exactly the same as their non-working counterparts.
Similarly, it can be worthwhile to look into dogs that are off-standard in a way that would get them penalized by the judges but doesn’t actually detract from their ability to be happy and healthy. For instance, these dogs are supposed to be either mahogany or chestnut red. They can have a bit of white on certain parts of their body but any amount of black is considered to be undesirable.
As such, it can be a good idea to look into Irish Setters that don’t meet every single one of these criteria to see whether that will result in a lower price or not. On top of this, it should be remembered that most people want puppies rather than older dogs. Thanks to that, going for an older dog is a sure way of getting a lower price.
What Are Some Other Costs of Owning an Irish Setter?
After getting an Irish Setter, interested individuals will still need to get it ready. There is an estimate of $400 to $550 in start-up costs, which cover things such as a collar, a food bowl, dog toys, dog accessories, and so on and so forth. After that, an Irish Setter can cost somewhere between $200 and $700 on a monthly basis.
Something that can change over time as the circumstances of the dog change as well. Both food and grooming will cost something like half a hundred dollars on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, it is the healthcare costs that can really send the numbers shooting upwards. It is possible for these to be less than a hundred dollars if the dog is in good condition.
Unfortunately, it is also possible for these to hit multiple hundreds of dollars if the dog has some kind of serious medical problem. This is the reason that people are often recommended pet insurance to cover the costs of medical treatment. Be warned that this is something that can see enormous variation as well, though $40 to $50 on a monthly basis are common numbers in this context.
