i am about to purchase an irish setter from an individual and want to know what if the dog is not red it is a sandy colour is this ok? i can be reached ay whitetornado2001@yahoo.com. please help.

Hi Guest, I have kept Irish Setters since 1973. According to the Kennel Club breed standard, an Irish Setter should be 'Rich chestnut with no trace of black. White on chest, throat, chin or toes, or a small star on forehead or narrow streak or blaze on nose or face not to disqualify'. So in my opinion a sandy coloured Irish Setter is not correct. Surely the unique colour is part of what makes an Irish Setter an Irish Setter.
Sandy colour to me means a Yellow Lab or a Golden Retriever colour. Any way you look at it, that's not Rich Chestnut. I'd wonder if this litter was pure bred.
I wouldn't want one that colour, and I certainly wouldn't pay much money for one.
Dawn R.

My parents breed and show irish setters. Is it a puppy, as their coat is paler than adults it darkens as they get older. A puppy irish setter often has pale rings around the eyes which can be quite sandy, but then deepen up to the lovely red colour. When the pup's colour starts to mature they usually get a darker stripe down their back, which is their adult coat colour. Do double check that this is a pure bred irish setter, have you seen the pedigree and KC registration?

Erin

Edited to add: Have you seen other setter pups of the same age to compare colour?