Irish Setter
The Setter of the Emerald Isle
What a joy to behold this flash, red fellow
with his big gait, driving smoothly from the rear with that vision of length and
strength from hip to hock. His is a glamorous silhouette and a good one
presented beautifully, is darned hard to go past in the show ring. The Irish
Setter takes a bit of understanding for his best grooming and a decided effort
to put in the hard yard between shows.
Your Irish is a bit of a busy dog and
because of his exuberance tends to end up messier than most, gathering up bits
of the yard like a moving compost heap. The secret is to keep the coat oiled and
shaded to prevent damage.
Between the shows I recommend oiling his
coat with the
Plush Puppy
Seabreeze Oil at a ratio of 1 tbspn to 1 gallon/4 litres water. Work
this well into the coat with a sponge or carefully pour over and squish well
through. Then use the oil straight from the spray or applied undiluted to the
areas around where they pee. This is a bad area for breakage. Keeping it oiled
will help to prevent the coat getting brittle or tangled and will dissuade the
accumulation of debris from the yard.
This is a super oil as it is water soluble
and wont build up or be nasty to live with. It is also all naturally derived
and there is nothing quite like it. I like the depth of colour it tends to add
to the coat and the wonderful healthy vigour that goes with continued use.
I also recommend using the
Plush Puppy
Sunshade every couple of days to keep the coat from burning. Reds are a
nightmare to keep from fading in the sun and despite best efforts, if you have
an outdoors woodsman as your canine friend, its going to be a tough call
otherwise. I like to spray enough onto the hand and spread between your hands
over the top of the head and topline.
Now for the show grooming and your standard
calls for the coat and feathering to be as straight and free as possible from
curl or wave. It also states that the texture be fine and silky, so, after
bathing with the
Plush Puppy
All Purpose Shampoo which is the shampoo for high shine and particularly
wonderful on reds, (at a ratio of 3:1 i.e. 3 parts water to one part shampoo)
you then condition with the
Plush Puppy
Silk Protein Conditioner diluted at the same ratio as the shampoo. You
can dilute both further but I like the intensity of the shine from the shampoo
at this dilution and the silkiness of the conditioner for the show occasion.
Okay heres where the harder stuff begins.
In order to get that soft draping fall to the lengths without wave, I use
Plush Puppy
Swishy Coat. There are those who like to apply it undiluted but I always
recommend dilution as you have a large dog and it is easier to get it evenly
applied and just right this way. Dilute at a ratio of 1 tbspn to 3 cups water
depending on the texture of the coat. You can dilute further or less. Sponge or
pour thoroughly through the coat ensuring even distribution. Squeeze out excess
and blow dry.
I always use my
Plush Puppy
Oval Pin Cushion Brush for this as you dont want to rip the coat or
overstretch at this point. When > dry, switch to an oval = bristle = plastic
brush such as the
Plush Puppy
Porcupine Brush . This will give you that smoother, straighter and
glossier finish to your drying that the pin brush wont do. I also like to get
in under the lengths with the brush and gently bend the ends around the curve of
the brush. I never entirely dry with a top brushing action only. I find this
just flicks the short pieces in the coat outwards and gives that fly away look
to the coat. We are after a polished professional look that once you have
mastered, is just breathtaking.
Should you have a coat that is too full
which is fairly rare in this breed, you can add a tbspn of
Plush Puppy Blow
Dry Cream to the
Swishy Coat
mix as this will further flatten the coat.
The trimming is relatively
easy but does need attention and time. There are those who are the purists and
dont like a trimmed neater look and those that do. Whatever is your preference
and whether as in the AKC standard which does stipulate trimming is required or
the ANKC standard where it doesnt mention it at all and does not therefore
penalise you for doing it, it is up to your conscience if and how much you do
it.
The standard
states an emphasis on the lean head and clean neck. I suggest a #10 blade on an
Oster clipper for the neck to a V at the top of the sternum in front of the neck
and around the sides. The nape of the neck ought to be hand stripped in concert
with a stripping knife. All whiskers should come right off to emphasise that
long and lean head. Some like to get in with the blade of the clipper and
emphasise this further along the whisker area, with long strokes stroking back
and upwards.
The topline ought to sit flat and should
need relatively little stripping. The ears some like to take almost right off
and others just the top 1/3 off depending on which standard is applicable.
The featherings seem to be the point of
contention. How about a compromise? Rather than going gung-ho with the scissors
and sculpting a sharp curve or doing nothing at all, why not use the thinning
shears and following the desired arc, gently shape that edge for a softer effect
giving a fairly natural look to the curve. The end result is still to shape the
dog to his best without looking totally contrived.
All excess feathering is to be removed from
the feet but I am advised by an expert that the rear hock looks just wonderful
if when trimmed, you angle the line slightly outwards as you go upwards and then
angle downwards from the top of the hock to meet the upward line already
created. This gives the illusion of a really long line from the hip to the hock.
enforcing the requirements of the standard.
Show day spray with
Plush Puppy Odour
Muncher and
Plush Puppy Shine
& Comb for that final glamour. I do like a dusting of
Plush Puppy Pixie
Dust just lightly applied on strategic areas with your brush. The secret
is just a dusting and not to turn it into the glitter fairy.
He may not be in Ireland and you
may not be Irish but the dog now will at least look the essence of an Irish
Setter. I do like this breed and I hope you all present them as they ought to
be, glamorous and magnificent.
CHERYL LECOURT
