# Irish Setter help.. :)



## reddd123 (Mar 30, 2013)

Hi, first post ever :L

Ok, basically we got an Irish Setter who is now 7 months old. He's lovely. But here's the problem as I am his owner I am in charge of him (obviously) but he seems to think I am his playmate or something. Most of the time when I walk in the room he'll bound over and jump up to me, I try to ignore him by keep turning my back to him and keeping my hands to my side so I am not inviting him to play, but its hard work and hes got quite a set of teeth on him :L He also does this to my youngest sister who is only 6 and he is taller then her which is worrying. So how do I regain control? He used to sit, paw, lie down, etc when I told him but now he will only do it if I offer him food and even then it is a battle, is this just a phase? on the other hand I have got him to walk along benches and stuff in the park and tree's by saying 'up' so sometimes hes good and other times he just wont listen. also when should he be neutured 

in case you didnt know by the post first time ever dog owner


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## Beth17 (Jun 5, 2012)

It sounds as if he's just coming into the teenage phase and they can get a bit daft and unruly. I'd up his basic obedience training and give him structured play times as well as continuing with bite inhibition and he should start to settle down again. I'd also supervise him when he's around your sister so that he doesn't accidentally hurt her; baby gates or a crate might be useful for when you can't supervise them.

If you do a search there are lots of similar threads about this with good ideas and also reassurances that it will get better.


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## Buzzard (Aug 10, 2012)

Yes he will calm a bit, but Irish Setters are playful dogs and renowned for bouncing around. I grew up with two of them and they are lovely affectionate dogs, but they weren't easy to train my dad claims they were about 6 before he could let them off the lead and trust their recall. Hang in there and be consistent. Our springador is hard work too, very lively and extremely playful. He is nearly a year old now. Good luck.


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## AlfonzPig (Mar 30, 2013)

With your younger sister being a concern I would suggest maybe that when he jumps up on you or anyone, gently push him down and give him a command word "down" or "off" or something simple and easy to understand. Don't give him anymore attention than his command word and walk away from him. It will take a little time for him to learn but with someone smaller than him in the house it is important he doesn't jump on her as he could accidentally hurt her and both he and you will feel bad about it. Reinforce his other commands without treats when he does it without a treat cheer him on, praise him and pet him. He will start doing them for attention rather than treats if the attention is worth it for him.


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## reddd123 (Mar 30, 2013)

Thanks for the advice guys  with his training.. he is to old for puppy classes so I'm going to take him to a begginers class. Plus I also want him to get in to some agility training or something. Has anybody got any experiance of that?


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## Pezant (Jul 6, 2012)

I've got a nine month old English Setter and there are a couple of other Irish Setter owners on the forum like BessieDog, so you're in good hands! Setters can be SO wilful when they want to and just plain stubborn (especially when they're teenagers like now), so you're going to have to do a LOT of reinforcing. Obeying for food is fine - he's obeying, right?  Praise plenty when he does it without a treat too and he'll get the general idea of wanting to do it because it pleases you and not because it gets him food.

On the neutering part, is there any particular reason for neutering? It's not a necessary thing to do, and it probably won't result in a magically calmer dog, especially not since you own an Irish.


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## Howl (Apr 10, 2012)

I wouldn't start agility until he is at least 18 months but learning lots of commands makes agility much easier when you do start. Youtube has some great advice for positive training.


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## reddd123 (Mar 30, 2013)

For the neutering I just assumed it was the norm especially if you don't intend to breed..? and for the health and stuff

thanks for the advice howl I'll have a loook 

Oh and he's an IS cross  Dont want anyone thinking I'm trying to claim I have a purebred when i dont


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## Pezant (Jul 6, 2012)

Neutering has its pros and cons like everything else. Henry is a show dog and they have to be intact (unless medically exempted) but others feel more comfortable with the idea of giving their dogs the snip. There's a few threads on the forums about it, so have a read before deciding either way.

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/293528-poll-neutering-spaying-behaviour-changes.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-chat/291172-pros-cons-neutering.html

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-trai...euter-6-month-old-newfypoo-advice-please.html


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## FEJA JUODAS (May 19, 2010)

reddd123 said:


> For the neutering I just assumed it was the norm especially if you don't intend to breed..? and for the health and stuff
> 
> thanks for the advice howl I'll have a loook
> 
> Oh and he's an IS cross  Dont want anyone thinking I'm trying to claim I have a purebred when i dont


NOTHING WRONG WITH MONGRELS ! and if he is part setter nothing wrong with just using setter to be brief ! doesnt matter what he is ! this behaviour is common with loadsa dogs ! and adolescence was a nightmare for me and my dogs sometimes yes too !


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## harrybear (Jun 7, 2010)

I have an Irish setter and first came to this forum for help when he was about the same age. He was boisterous, stubborn and very dominant and rough with my (then) 7 year old daughter. 
Many of the answers were to walk him more, but we soon learned he needed more than that. Firstly, we had him castrated. This helped a little. Then we dealt with the dominance issue. He was great with my husband, me, 10 year old and even my 4 year old son. But he would snap and nip (never bite!) my 7 year old daughter. We read up, took advice, them decided that under our supervision, she needed to be able to command this dog. Again I stress, this was done under our watchful eye; she pretended to eat his food, took his toys away and we taught her to look him in the eye and growl at him if he wasn't doing what she commanded. 
We got there and he is now 3 and a half. I'm forever meeting setter owners who can't let them off the lead because they won't recall, ( he does run for miles, but comes straight back if I whistle) and I'm sick of hearing setters being called "scatty"! He is clever, and willing to learn, but is also prone to stubbornness. Setters seem to LOVE routine. If it gets to 5.01pm, he is relentless and won't settle until dinner. The same with his walks. Once he has had them, he settles and is fine. 
Personally,I think they are perfect family dogs. Affectionate and kind. Worth the hard work in the beggining. They do need lots of training ns mental stimulation!


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## reddd123 (Mar 30, 2013)

Pezant, cheers for the links I'll have a read through them.
Feja, hopefully he doesn't make it to hard for me 
Harrybear thank you for your post, my sister has no problem dealing with him if she can get a grip on him and drags him over to his cage whilst telling him of. It is quite a funny sight. I might get her to try and do some of those things though especially the food one! 
Haa mine is very stubborn, for instance every pavment I stop and get him to sit and he is getting better at it and is a bit quicker. But there was one we were standing at for about 5 minutes so I decided that I would have to persuade him with a biscuit so I put my hand in my pocket and he heard the rustle of the bag it was in and he sat down straight away! :L
I let him of the lead all the time, but if I'm not feeling he is listning to me or whatever I put him on a 50ft lead. His recall is pretty good, but I want him to come instantly so I'm working on that with him.

For the walking bit, I let him walk in front of me until he lead extends all the way and he starts pulling. Is that a bad habit I dont reward him for doing it, but this is what happens..he walks alongside me and then starts walking in front when I feel tension in the lead I pull him back and say 'back' so he is somewhere behind me and it starts again. I keep talking to him to try and make him learn to keep his attention on me.. it must look a bit wierd


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## Beth17 (Jun 5, 2012)

Reddd eating from your dogs bowl, eating before him etc. won't do anything but make you look a bit strange. Dogs don't care when you eat mine eat before me all the time and haven't taken over the house yet.
Also I wouldn't get your sister to take toys from him randomly as I'd be worried about making him possessive; also directly staring a dog in the eyes is intimidating to a dog and could also cause far more problems. 

You don't have to be dominant to have a well behaved pet


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## speug (Nov 1, 2011)

harrybear said:


> she pretended to eat his food, took his toys away and we taught her to look him in the eye and growl at him if he wasn't doing what she commanded.


you and your daughter are extremely lucky that your dog seems to be very nice natured. For a lot of dogs that sort of behaviour is a really good way to make them feel threatened so that they need to escalate their warnings and start biting to protect their food/toys. I am also confused as to why you would want your daughter to challenge him to a fight? Why did you not teach her to act in a confident human way?


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

@Charlie H you'd be better off starting your own thread rather than tagging your completely different question onto a thread that's 6yrs old. I've reported this to the mods who can hopefully split your post


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