St Patrick's Day parade

Who gets poop duty? I nominate the dog in black.

Are you allowed to participate if you don't have that particular breed of doggy?

It's my day.

lotta irish setters there!

enjoy yr green beer folks!

Irish Setters. Now there's a dumb dog for you.

why?

"Irish Setters. Now there's a dumb dog for you."

Explain!

I'm sure Cleo will any minute

Irish setters are not dumb, they are just hyperactive in the extreme. As a setter (the same as English and Gordon setters), there job is to run in front of a gun line (the hunters) and beat up ground-dwelling birds (quaills, etc.). A secondary skill is retrieving, however, they are not as good at this as a labrador, or a golden retriever (the ultimate retrieving dog).

Irish setters are best used in pairs where they will criss-cross on a width of about 80 metres back in and forth in front of the hunters. I went hunting many years ago with a friend who had a very good pair of dogs. Working up hillsides, I reckon over 10 hours the dogs would have sprinted about 100km without. They seriously don't know what the word fatigue means.

Finally, although 95% of irish setters are red (thus the "red setter" name), there are a very small number of red & white setters. About 100 years ago, however, the white coloring was felt to be a breed standard flaw and thus red & white setters were not breed. These days, however, there numbers are increasing, namely as a result of volunteer breeding programs conducted by the Catholic Church in Ireland (apparently many local priests got involved).

The dogs look daft in their outfits. Owners must have been soooo proud!

We honour this occidental Saint for giving us an socially acceptable excuse to get pissed.

Middle Setter: I can't believe we're doing this. I look like Minnie Driver in an Oscars dress. Left Setter: I like it! Right Setter: Suck it up. We'll get lots of good grub around the back door of the Irish pubs. MS: We'd better. I feel like I'm at a Snuffalufagus dance party.

Ok, I love St. Patrick's Day even though as far as I know I'm not Irish... but HONESTLY how many Irish people were in that parade??? 2?? maybe?

Being able to run like crazy does not equal smart. I stand by my earlier statement: Irish Setters are dumb dogs.

what is your definition of a 'smart' dog? can do a rubiks cube? open it's own tin of food? post on JT?

Not barking 24/7 is a start on the path to "smart" ...

LOL...nice one PaulieWalnuts!

Irish Setters are usually pretty intelligent; just have a lot more energy and enthusiasm than other breeds. They train well, interact well, are good family dogs and good hunters.

Most tiny little accessory dogs (you know, the ones people love to carry in their bags) aren't aware when people make them look ridiculous. The Setters in the pic above have the intelligence to look embarrassed in those 'costumes'! lol

Dog intelligence is measured in terms of learning and problem-solving ability - what most of us would call smart in a human - and working intelligence, which is breed-related and is what makes sheepdogs sheepdogs, hunting dogs hunting dogs, etc.

The Irish Setter ranks above average in terms of understanding new commands and obedience - ahead of the Dalmation, the Husky, the Boxer, the Chihuahua and the Great Dane, but way behind the Poodle (second only to the Border Collie), the Papillon, the Corgi and the Pomeranian.

http://petrix.com/dogint/27-39.html

I was in the Tokyo Pipe Band as one of the drummers. Was nice to play in a parade with sunshine.

And I`m Scots-Irish-Canadian

So I guess there were 3 Irish people in the parade

Cleo you missed out the smartest dog, the Australian kelpie! In Australia there is a saying among sheep farmers, your average border collie has the intelligence of a brain-damaged kelpie.

Moderator: All readers, back on topic please.

shiuu - You haven't explained why you think Irish setters are dumb. Dumb compared to what?

Irish setters are the most handsome dogs ever. But dressing a setter is dog abuse. I thought only the Japanese abused their dogs with ridiculous outfits but now I see the Irish too... Are the girls behind the dogs Irish?

Sarge at 10:50 PM JST - 16th March shiuu - You haven't explained why you think Irish setters are dumb. Dumb compared to what?

Just about any other breed except cocker spaniel, which also had the brains bred out of them.

shiuu - You haven't explained why you think Irish setters are dumb. Dumb compared to what?

As compared to dogs I've dealt with that don't bark at nothing 24/7 ...

I've had contact with three Irish Setters from three different owners. They were as all about as smart as a bag of rocks ...

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