Since the introduction of Irish Red and White Setters into the UK in 1979 (after the revival of the breed from very few founders in Ireland) the Breed Health and Genetic Sub-Committee has closely monitored breed health from 1980.
A database is kept with the breeding and health details of every UK registered IRWS from 1980 and also some overseas IRWS. This information is already in the public domain on other sites.
However, there is an important facility for individual owners and breeders which is to report health matters affecting their own dogs and these reports are strictly confidential. So, should research into a particular condition be required then the dogs concerned would only be referred to by case number, not by name. We depend on and are grateful for the support of owners in monitoring the breed’s health. By reporting any medical problems to be recorded in the database, the Club is able to have a general picture of health in the Irish Red and White setter and, should any issue arise, be able to deal with it.
General Information on a dog’s health can be obtained from the Kennel Club’s website. https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/search/health-test-results-finder/
The Kennel Club Breed Records Supplement that records all dogs registered states that ‘Where asterisks are shown after the registered name, this identifies a dog of either impure or unverified origins.’
As an example, DAN OF DERBY *** indicates that Dan is a first generation crossbreed.
F1 IRWS*** The first generation of crossbreds has three asterisks
From a mating of a purebred Irish Setter and a purebred IRWS
F2 IRWS** The second generation of crossbreds has two asterisks
From mating an F1 IRWS*** to a purebred IRWS
F3 IRWS* The third generation of crossbreds has one asterisk
From mating a correctly marked F2 IRWS** to a purebred IRWS
F3* animals will be correctly marked
F4 IRWS The fourth generation from mating an F3 IRWS* to a pure bred IRWS is considered ‘pure’ and is accepted into the KC Breed Register with no asterisks
