THEIR flowing auburn hair and delicate features make this breed one of the most aesthetically pleasing to dog lovers like Louise Sanney who has been an Irish Setter breeder for decades.
Anyone at Rosewood Show checking out the dog section would’ve noticed her show-stopping hound Lycan.
This dog’s stance, his long dark auburn hair and loving temperament makes him a standout.
Louise is from Collingwood Park.
She breeds and shows Irish Setters and said the hours of prep work grooming pre-showtime was an activity her dogs ‘loved’.
Lycan has been winning awards on the agricultural show circuit.
“He is named after a video game my sons play, I don’t know what it is,” she said.
“My two older sons live together and the dogs stay with them, the other dog’s name is Ben, also from a video game.”
She’s ‘been in the breed’ for many years since beginning with her first Irish Setter in 1980.
“[Irish Setters] were a very popular breed in the ‘70s and ‘80s, everyone seemed to have one,” she said.
“My cousin bred a litter and they tend to have very large litters, they had puppies they couldn’t find homes for and I said ‘I’ll have one’.
“I’ve had one ever since and sometimes more than one.”
Her show life with the dogs started with obedience training.
“Showing leads to breeding because if you want to show a better dog, you then look at breeding your own,” she said.
“I have had a few litters over the past years and mainly had males, so I didn’t have to worry about the breeding side of it for many years because I was just doing the obedience and showing of them.
“The last few years I decided breeding and having puppies was fun.”
A lot of planning goes into breeding, the size of the litters measn as many as 17 puppies will need attending to.
“I have an older boy Kip, he’s a Supreme Champion, retired,” she said.
“And I have Rose living with me and the other two dogs live with my sons because I live in suburbia and can’t keep 20 with me unfortunately,” she laughed.
“Rose is the sister of a dog I owned named Poppy who also retired from the show ring.
“Poppy has been rehomed and now lives down at Port Macquarie.”
Lycan has been a constant on the agricultural show circuit, and he’s brought his owner many accolades.
There is a lot of prep work that goes on pre-show and she said the dogs love being groomed.
“I really enjoy the grooming part of it and having them look beautiful, so to me it’s not a chore or anything,” she said.
“It’s a labour of love.”
