That's a great pic Phil! Love it! Thanks for sharing.
I am very much a fan of the Irish Setter! I'm part Irish for one. My best friends growing up had 3 of them and we shot a lot of birds, squirrels and rabbits over them. They swam in some very cold water to retrieve ducks and geese to our hands. One of their dogs in particular took it upon herself to school my first bird dog (a GSP) in the ways of the trade. They are very near and dear to my heart. They were our companions on many adventures.
The downsides are;
1. Dogs with their coat type have a horrible time with painful snowballs in our deep powder snow.
Wire haired breeds do quite well here.
2. Many are registered with the AKC, whom I am very much not a fan of! IMO-Vanity breeding on any level is disgusting and criminal!
I am very much in agreement with the breeding goals of the VDD-GNA.
3. There are no breeders close to me that I have found.
There are 9 VDD-GNA breeders within a days drive of me. Experiencing dogs (parents) and puppies first hand is important to me. I'm not new to dogs just out of practice in raising and training a bird dog.