I got my first Irish Setter in 1971. Shortly after I lost Shannon, I married a man who didn't like dogs. A few years passed when we had only cats for companions. I eventually convinced my husband that I would be a much happier camper if I had a dog. The only breed that my husband would consider having was an Irish Setter. He still claims he doesn't like dogs - EXCEPT for Irish Setters.

Subtle Setters began before we ever bred a litter. I was doing "rescue work" and being a foster home for dogs and cats. A trip to a pet supply convention resulted in being told by a vendor that if we had a "kennel name", we could purchase pet food and get quite a good discount. Having a total of 12 animals at home for fostering, and not getting reimbursed for their care , meant the discount was attractive enough for me to come up with a "kennel name" on the spot. Since I love oxymorons, Subtle Setters was born.

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For many years I studied Irish Setters, pedigrees, health issues, the history of the breed and all things Irish Setter. In 1986 we joined the Irish Setter Club of America and began attending the National Events. It soon became obvious to me that many Irish Setters were not appreciated for what they really are - dogs that can "do it all". The Conformation Only breeders failed to see the beauty in the Field Only breeders stock and the two "camps" continue to bicker as they have done for hundreds of years. We attended field trials, conformation shows, obedience trials and decided we were not going to be fanatical about any one of those forms of competition. The Irish Setter Club of America offered a VC/VCX (Versatility Certificate/Versatility Excellent Certificate) for dogs that were successful to some degree in all three areas. This became our goal - to attempt the VC title with our dogs. To have well rounded dogs that could "do it all" and also be wonderful pets and companions has continued to be our goal. This takes a lot of time and training and not all of our dogs were able to succeed but we learn something new with each generation!

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