Owners Get Puppy, Think It's a 'Giant' Breed—a Year Later Realize Mistake

Newsweek

14 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Annalise, 24 and from Minnesota, is the proud owner of 1-year-old Irish setter, Rinka, a breed she has always loved.
"We originally wanted an Irish setter because they were big dogs," Annalise told Newsweek. "We also loved the breed because we heard they were similar to golden retrievers in personality, with just more energy—which worked great for us because we are very active!"
Irish Setters, originally bred as a gun dog, are known for their active and outgoing personality, and getting along well with adults, children and other dogs, according to the American Kennel Club. They are a large breed, growing up to 27 inches at the shoulder, and weighing up to 70 pounds.
But when Annalise brought Rinka home, as time went on they began to get worried—as Rinka didn't seem to be growing properly.
"We were stressed," Annalise, who gave her first name only, admitted.
But it turned out there was a very good reason Rinka wasn't growing into the large dog they had expected.
In a video to Annalise's TikTok account, @333tape on August 3,which has racked up more than 1.3 million views, she shared a video of Rinka as a tiny puppy, and wrote: "When we brought you home and didn't know you were a field Irish setter for the first year and thought we had somehow forever stunted your growth."
Rinka as a puppy.
Rinka as a puppy.
TikTok @333tape
She added in the caption: "I genuinely believed I had done something wrong because she wasn't like all of the giant Irish setters I saw everywhere."
Because, there are two types of Irish setters: the show Irish setter, and the field Irish setter, which are smaller and leaner, bred for hunting and stamina, according to a vet-reviewed report from Pooch and Mutt.
Annalise told Newsweek it took them "a long time to realize she was so small because she was a field setter," as in their year and a half with her, "we have never met another 100 percent Irish setter, just some mixes."
"I never expected this video to go viral but it has been amazing to hear about all the other Irish Setters out there and to know we weren't the only ones to have this mix up!"
Annalise's video has racked up more than 150,000 likes, as animal lovers shared their own stories, one writing: "My cousin bought a field English setter, and wondered the same thing when it never really filled out. Great dogs though."
"That's how I found out my Aussie was a mini Aussie," another said. "I was so confused like why aren't you growing, nope you're just the tiny version."
Another agreed: "Yes! We've always owned field English setters and people often comment that they thought they were supposed to be bigger."
And yet another wrote: "I got an Irish setter at five months old but the breeder didn't tell me he was a field Irish setter, so was wondering for a while why he'd stopped growing. Went to research and found out about the field ones."
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Despite not being exactly what Annalise expected, Rinka has proven to be the perfect pet, she told Newsweek.
"She is the sweetest dog I have ever met and she is incredibly emotionally intelligent, which worked out because we also originally got her to be an ESA [emotional support animal]," she said.
"I would definitely recommend field Irish setters to people who have a lot of energy, time, and patience. They can be very energetic and stubborn dogs, but if you put in the time for them to be trained and played with a lot they will 100 percent be amazing dogs!"
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [e-mail] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.