Part trained Irish Setters for sale in the UK sit in the £2,000–£3,200 band and should already quarter at wide range, hold a classical set on cold game, respond to the stop whistle at distance, and show early steadiness through flush, without having completed a full shooting season. This guide covers the meaning, the realistic 2026 price, and the buyer checklist to separate a real part trained Irish Setter from an over-priced adolescent.

What Is a Part Trained Irish Setter?

A part trained Irish Setter, often called a Red Setter when bred from working lines, is a pointing dog that has completed foundation training including wide-range quartering, classical set on cold game, stop whistle at distance, and steadiness through flush on planted cold game, but has not yet finished a full shooting season on live coveys. Most are 18–24 months old when sold.

The phrase gets abused in plenty of adverts. There is no legal definition and no trading-standards body checking. The Irish Setter show-working split is one of the widest in British gundogs, so "part trained working Irish" is commonly used on show-line dogs that have been to a couple of training classes. A proper one has the Red Setter foundations on real ground. A badly advertised one is a show pup with a pretty coat.

Handler's Story: When "Part Trained" Isn't

Grouse handler in County Durham drove to Cheshire for a "part trained Irish Setter, working bred, points game" at £2,100. The dog had a glossy red coat and a charming temperament, but he'd never been on a heather moor, didn't know scent from a pigeon, and set on a cat in the garden during the viewing.

That animal wasn't part trained. He was a well-raised show-line puppy with a seller who oversold the pedigree. Knowing the Red Setter foundation timeline would have saved the trip.

How the UK Gundog World Defines Part Trained

In the British working-setter market the term carries specific weight. Irish Setter sellers in the working community pitch to grouse handlers and moorland shooters who want a faster, fierier dog than the English Setter. The expectation is a Red Setter that drops into real shoot-day work after two or three months of moorland proofing.

Professional setter trainers use a rough working-dog training timeline to benchmark the part-trained threshold. Between six and ten months the pup does basic obedience, lead work, and early quartering conditioning. Ten to fifteen months brings stop whistle at distance, recall under distraction, and early set work on planted scent. Fifteen to twenty months is when the classical set gets shaped on cold game, steadiness through flush gets drilled, and the dog works real moorland ground. Twenty to twenty-four months covers gun introduction and early live-covey exposure. Anything beyond two-and-a-half years is fully trained territory.

A part trained Irish Setter sits inside that eighteen-to-twenty-four-month window with the first three phases complete and the fourth in progress. The foundation work is done. Real-covey hours are what turn the dog into a finished animal.

Experienced working-Irish Setter trainers rarely use the label loosely. The community is small and the FTCh lines are tightly held. Genuine working Red Setters come from a handful of kennels. If a seller can't name the working lines behind the dog, or talks more about temperament than about range and set, the training probably never left the show-ring prep stage.

Pricing across every other working breed sits in part trained gundog meaning UK.

Part Trained vs Started vs Fully Trained Irish Setter

The critical comparison. Three common labels, three very different dogs, three very different prices.

Verdict: started is for the patient handler who will finish the dog themselves. Part trained is the sweet spot for the grouse handler with proofing time. Fully trained is for the keeper or guest who wants zero friction and has the budget.

Wide-Range Quartering and Pace

A working Red Setter quarters at 150–300 yards either side of the handler on open moorland. The breed runs a touch quicker and more exuberantly than the English Setter, which is part of its charm and part of its training challenge.

Watch the pattern on real moorland. Wide sweeps, into the wind, with frequent check-backs on the handler. A Red Setter that self-employs at range is under-trained, not over-keen. Make sure the seller has held the dog's pace within handler contact.

The Classical Set

The set is the signature setter skill. Scent detected, dog crouches on the covey, holds until the guns arrive. A part trained Irish Setter should hold a proper classical set on planted cold game and freeze until released.

Ask the seller to demonstrate the set on planted cold game, and watch the body position. Low, steady, flagged tail, and absolute stillness. Short holds that break within ten seconds mean the foundation isn't finished.

Stop Whistle at Distance

The stop whistle on a moorland Red Setter works at 200 yards or more. It's built in stages through the foundation phase, and Red Setters need the stop whistle drilled harder than English Setters because the higher pace means less margin for error.

Test it at the viewing. Cast the dog wide, pip the whistle. Instant sit. Any creeping or drift means the foundation isn't finished.

Steady to Flush and Gun Introduction

Steadiness through flush gets drilled in three stages: steady to thrown dummies, steady to planted cold game, steady to warm or live coveys. Gun introduction comes last, with blank rounds progressing to live cartridges.

A Red Setter that chases flushed game is trouble on a grouse day. Ask whether the dog has been shot over, on what ground, and for how many days.

Working vs Show Lines

The Irish Setter has the most extreme working-show split of any British setter. Show-bred Irish are glamorous, heavily coated, and bred for the ring. Working Red Setters are a distinct type, smaller, tighter-coated, leaner, with proper moorland drive. The bloodlines barely overlap.

A genuine working-Red Setter advert should name FTCh bloodlines or proven working-trial kennels within three generations. Full breed context in our English and Irish Setters breed guide.

Questions to Ask Before You Travel

• Is the pedigree working Red Setter or show Irish? FTCh names in the last three generations?
• Has he been on real moorland? What estates, how many days?
• Will he hold a classical set on planted cold game?
• What's his range on open ground? In yards, not adjectives.
• Has the gun been introduced?
• Is he steady through flush on cold game?
• BVA hip score and current eye certificate on both parents?
• DNA Clear on CLAD? Non-negotiable for any Irish Setter litter.
• DNA Clear on rcd-PRA-1? Breed-specific.
• Who trained him before you? Vague history is a warning.

Part Trained Irish Setter Price UK (2026)

A well-bred, properly part trained working Red Setter sits at £2,000–£3,200 in the 2026 UK market. Field Trial bloodlines with moorland experience push toward the top of that range. Below £1,800 you're looking at a started dog misrepresented, a show-line rebadged as "working," or a dog the current owner is quietly moving on.

Compare to a working puppy at £900–£1,400, plus two years of your own moorland work. Pricing across every other working breed sits in part trained gundog meaning UK, and the sister-breed equivalent is covered in part trained English Setters.

Health Testing for Irish Setters

Paperwork verification across every breed sits in our gundog health testing guide.

Red Flags in the Advert

• "Working" with no FTCh in the pedigree. Irish Setter adverts abuse the word more than most.
• No CLAD DNA clearance on both parents. Walk away. Full stop. Affected pups die.
• Heavy show-ring coat. Wrong line for moorland.
• Demo available "in the paddock only." No moorland experience, no sale.
• Seller can't name the working bloodlines. The working-Irish community is small. Good breeders can reel off the names.

Where to Buy a Part Trained Irish Setter in the UK

Browse current part trained Irish Setters for sale on Gun Dogs Hub. Every listing under the Part Trained filter is from sellers who understand what the phrase should mean, and you can message them directly to run through the checklist above.

If the advert won't confirm CLAD clearance on both parents, won't demonstrate a classical set on planted game, and won't show the dog quartering at real moorland range, that's not a part trained Red Setter. That's a marketing problem you're about to pay £2,000 to solve for somebody else.

FAQs

What age is a part trained Irish Setter?

Typically 18–24 months. Setters mature later than HPRs and retrievers. A properly developed working Red Setter should have completed wide-range quartering, classical set on cold game, stop whistle at distance, steadiness through flush, and gun introduction, without having finished a full grouse season.

What is the difference between started and part trained Irish Setter?

A started Irish Setter is 10–16 months old with basic obedience and quartering starting but no reliable classical set and no steadiness through flush. Part trained is 18–24 months with all four foundation phases complete or in progress. Price gap is usually £1,000–£1,500.

Is a part trained Red Setter worth it?

For a grouse handler or moorland keeper with limited time to raise a puppy, a part trained Red Setter at £2,000–£3,200 is usually cheaper over the long run. You skip two years of setter-specific foundation work on moorland, which is the hardest training window to fit around a job.

How much training should an Irish Setter have before buying?

At a minimum: wide-range quartering on open ground, classical set on planted cold game, stop whistle at distance, steady through flush, and gun introduction at range. Missing any of these means the dog is started, not part trained.

Can a part trained Irish Setter still be improved?

Yes. The new handler finishes the dog over 2–3 months of proofing on live coveys and real moorland. Foundations are in. Grouse-season polish comes with the buyer.

What stages does part trained Irish Setter training cover?

The setter timeline runs 6–10 months basic obedience and early quartering, 10–15 months stop whistle at distance and early set work, 15–20 months classical set on cold game and steadiness through flush, 20–24 months gun introduction and early live-covey exposure. A part trained Irish Setter has completed the first three phases.