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Irish Doodle breeders

The Irish Doodle is a crossbreed produced by mating an Irish Setter with a Standard Poodle, also advertised as an Irish Setterdoodle, Setterdoodle or Irish Setter x Poodle.

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Advertise your Irish Doodle puppies, litters and stud dogs

Do you breed Irish Doodles, or own an Irish Setter or Standard Poodle used for Irish Doodle litters? List your kennel on Canine Breeder to advertise Irish Doodle puppies for sale and promote your Irish Doodle stud dog to buyers across the UK. Add both parents' health test results, your council licence number if you hold one, and photos of the mother with her litter, so buyers can see the care behind your puppies before they get in touch.

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Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Irish Doodle

The Irish Doodle is a crossbreed produced by mating an Irish Setter with a Standard Poodle, also advertised as an Irish Setterdoodle, Setterdoodle or Irish Setter x Poodle. It is not a breed recognised by The Royal Kennel Club (RKC), so there is no breed standard and size, coat and colour are not fixed. The RKC notes that crossbreeds show a mixture of their parents' traits, combined in many different ways, so the parent breeds are the place to start.

The Irish Setter is a gundog from Ireland. The RKC explains that the name Red Setter set it apart from Ireland's other setters, and that it was doing well in the show ring by the mid-19th century. The RKC classes it as a large breed, and its standard describes a racy, very active dog with a flat, feathered coat of rich chestnut and an openly affectionate nature. The RKC lists more than two hours of exercise a day, grooming more than once a week and a large home and garden, and notes that it sheds.

The Standard Poodle is the biggest of the three Poodle varieties, over 38 cm at the shoulder under the breed standard. The RKC says the Poodle began in Germany as a water retriever for duck hunters, and classes the Standard as a medium-sized breed needing up to an hour of exercise a day. Its dense, harsh, curly coat does not moult but needs grooming every day, and the standard describes a cheerful, good-tempered dog.

What that means for an Irish Doodle. Expect a medium to large, athletic dog. The setter side was bred to range widely when hunting, so plan for long daily walks, off-lead running and training that keeps its mind busy. Coats can range from the setter's flat, feathered type to the Poodle's tight curl or anything in between, so no breeder can promise a non-shedding coat. Any coat will need regular brushing, and a curly one will also need clipping. The RKC gives a lifespan of over 10 years for the Irish Setter and over 12 for the Standard Poodle.

An Irish Doodle is likely to suit an active household with space, time for daily exercise and a grooming budget. A crossbreed cannot join the RKC Breed Register, but it can be registered on the RKC Activity Register, which opens up agility, obedience, rally, flyball, heelwork to music and working trials.

Irish Doodle health tests

The Irish Doodle has no RKC health scheme of its own. The RKC advises anyone breeding a crossbreed to carry out the tests recommended for both parent breeds, so ask to see results for each parent and check them on the RKC Health Test Results Finder.

One test stands out. The DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy rcd4, a late-onset form that leads to blindness, is on the RKC lists for both breeds. It is inherited as an autosomal recessive condition, so a puppy is affected only if it inherits a faulty copy from each parent; two untested parents could both be carriers. The other DNA tests are listed for one breed only, but testing that parent still matters because carriers can pass the gene on to puppies that may later be bred from.

Hip scoring and eye testing appear on both lists. BVA hip scores run from 0 to 106, lower being better, and each parent's score should be compared with the published figures for its own breed. The RKC advises an eye examination within 12 months before mating. The Standard Poodle Club, whose health scheme the RKC links to, keeps an open register for sebaceous adenitis, a skin disease diagnosed by biopsy, and requires members to test for it before breeding.

  • Irish Setter, Good Practice: prioritising genetic diversity
  • Irish Setter, Good Practice: DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy PRA (rcd4)
  • Irish Setter, Best Practice: DNA tests for canine leucocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) and progressive retinal atrophy PRA (rcd1)
  • Irish Setter, Best Practice: BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme, BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme and BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme
  • Standard Poodle, Best Practice: DNA tests for progressive retinal atrophy PRA (rcd4), progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA) and von Willebrand disease (vWD1)
  • Standard Poodle, Best Practice: BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme and BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme
  • Standard Poodle: breed club health scheme for sebaceous adenitis (Standard Poodle Club)
  • Breed Watch: Irish Setter Category 1; Standard Poodle Category 1. The Irish Doodle, as a crossbreed, has no Breed Watch category.

Choosing an Irish Doodle breeder

A good Irish Doodle breeder starts with two sound, health-tested parents and is open about both of them. The RKC advises anyone buying a crossbreed puppy to see the mother with her litter and to ask what breed-related health tests both parents have had, so expect to be shown certificates rather than simply told the parents are healthy. Ideally both parents are registered with the RKC, which means their DNA results, hip scores and eye certificates can be checked on the Health Test Results Finder instead of being taken on trust.

A careful breeder will be honest that size and coat type vary within a litter, will not promise a particular coat, and will talk you through the exercise and grooming this cross needs. Puppies must be microchipped and registered on a database by eight weeks old. In England, anyone who breeds three or more litters in 12 months and sells any of the puppies, or who runs a business breeding and advertising dogs, needs a licence from the local council and must show the licence number in adverts.

  • Can I see both parents' DNA certificates, including the PRA rcd4 result for each?
  • What are the parents' hip scores, and how do they compare with each breed's published figures?
  • When were both parents last eye tested under the BVA/KC/ISDS scheme?
  • Can I meet the mother, and what is the father's registered name and temperament?
  • Do you hold a council breeding licence, and what support do you offer once the puppy is home?

Irish Doodle questions

Is the Irish Doodle recognised by The Royal Kennel Club?

No. The Irish Doodle is a crossbreed between the Irish Setter and the Standard Poodle, so it has no RKC breed standard and cannot be registered on the RKC Breed Register. It can be registered on the RKC Activity Register, which is open to crossbreeds and covers agility, flyball, heelwork to music, obedience, rally and working trials. Dogs on the Activity Register cannot enter breed shows, field trials or gundog working tests.

Does an Irish Doodle shed?

It cannot be predicted with certainty. The RKC lists the Standard Poodle's coat as one that does not moult, but the Irish Setter does shed, and crossbreeds inherit a mix of their parents' traits that can combine in many ways. Puppies in the same litter may end up with different coats, so be wary of any promise of a non-shedding dog.

How much exercise does an Irish Doodle need?

The RKC lists the Irish Setter as needing more than two hours of exercise a day and the Standard Poodle up to an hour. An Irish Doodle may fall anywhere in that range, so it is sensible to plan for a lot of daily exercise, especially if the puppy takes after its setter parent, and to ask the breeder about both parents' energy levels.

What health tests should the parents of an Irish Doodle have?

Both parents should have the DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy rcd4, a hip score under the BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme and a current eye examination under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme. The Irish Setter parent should also have DNA results for CLAD and PRA rcd1 and an elbow grade. The Standard Poodle parent should also have DNA results for prcd-PRA and von Willebrand disease type 1, and the Standard Poodle Club requires its members to test for sebaceous adenitis before breeding.

More for Irish Doodle owners and breeders

Official sources