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H I S T O R Y
If there was a pentathlon for dogs, the Irish Red Setter, as he once was called, might well be the winner. A great household companion, gentle and intelligent.
Agile and very spirited, the graceful Irish Setter was at the beginning a red and white dog, thought to have evolved from setting spaniels of that coloration in or about the eighteenth century. Through succeeding generations, breeders consistently favoured in their selections the solid colour, until today, this dog is an all-red fellow. What a red it is! Ranging from the deep rich tint of chestnut in autumn to an even darker and richer mahogany shade, it appears that here Nature has permitted man to develop one animal as eye-catching as some of her most brilliant autumn foliage. Clothed by this mantle of beauty is a temperament and disposition to match, with just a neat little touch of Irish wit and mischief for flavour.
It is perhaps in the specific area of disposition that the gay, red Irish dog excels. Disposition and adaptability. Watch him fly across the fields searching out the birds he so enjoys finding for you, and you can scarcely imagine that this is the same animal which, an hour earlier, was playing some gentl game with your children - HIS children - or maybe receiving visitors for you indoors with the relaxed courtesy of a good host, before lying down quietly to enjoy their presence. He likes to make decisions of his own; but if his upbringing has been good, his reaction to your decision is immediate. This delightful responsiveness shines clearly in his soft fine eyes, projected by the inborn sweetness of the dog's nature. The sweetness, in particular, cannot be missed, for it is written unmistakably in each warm, chisled line of the Irish Setter's face.
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in NOVA SCOTIA
