Irishdoodle

What is an Irish Doodle?

Irish Doodles (also written Irishdoodles) blend the Irish Setter's joyful, athletic spirit with the Poodle's intelligence and low-shedding coat. They are affectionate show-offs: happiest with a job, a walk or a kid to shadow. Both parents are slender dogs, so Irish Doodles are leaner and leggier than most doodles, with a graceful gait to match. Their deep red coats turn heads everywhere they go, and the Poodle influence keeps that coat soft and light-shedding.

The History of the Irish Doodle

The Irish Doodle is one of the newer designer crosses, developed in the United States in the early 2000s from an Irish Setter and a Poodle. The Setter side carries a long working history: an eighteenth-century Irish gundog bred to range wide, track game and retrieve on both land and water. The Poodle side began as a German water retriever whose intelligence and trainability carried it into circuses and traveling shows across France and England. Both halves of the Irish Doodle are athletes, and it shows.

Living with an Irish Doodle

Irish Doodles are outgoing, clever and devoted to their people, and they settle happily into all kinds of homes and routines. They are up for neighborhood walks, family outings and backyard games, and just as happy to relax at home once the fun is done.

What makes living with one special is their joyful, outgoing spirit. That deep red coat turns heads, so walks often come with a few extra stops for admirers, and an Irish Doodle is usually glad to oblige: they are affectionate show-offs who love meeting people. They are quick to learn and eager to please, and at home they want to be part of whatever the family is doing, whether that is a hike, a game of fetch or a quiet evening on the couch.

Irish Doodle vs Goldendoodle

Families often look at both, and in our experience they are much alike day to day, with similar energy and exercise needs. What sets the Irish Doodle apart is the look: the Setter's deep red coat, a leaner, longer-legged build with a graceful gait, and usually a silkier wave to the coat. A Goldendoodle, by comparison, is stockier, with coats from cream through red.

Irish Doodles are also rarer, with fewer breeders, so litters are limited and the waitlist is the reliable route to one.

Temperament

Irish Doodles are affectionate show-offs. They are active, clever and strongly attached to their people, with a real desire to please that makes them quick to train and well suited to obedience, agility and long days outdoors. Setters have been used as therapy dogs for years, and the Irish Doodle inherits that steadiness along with the red coat. They are sociable with people and other animals alike. They are not, however, a low-exercise dog: give one a proper run and it will curl up with the family afterwards perfectly happily.

Size

Irish Doodles at Lonestar come in the full size range, Micro Mini through Standard. Weights are estimates based on the parents' combined average.

Because so few breeders work with Irish Doodles, litters are limited. The waitlist is the surest way to bring one home.

Color Preference

Coats we see in our Irish Doodle litters. Tell us on your application if you have a color in mind, and we will keep it in view when we match you.

A Poodle coat often lightens as a puppy grows, and there is no reliable way to predict which way any individual puppy will go. We would rather tell you that now than have you feel surprised later.

Questions?

See our frequently asked questions page for everything from pricing and generation types to reserving and preparing for pick-up day.