Presidents Truman, Nixon, and Reagan all owned Irish Setters.

In Great Britain, hunting dogs were bred to sit quietly when they smelled game (as opposed to "pointers" that were popular elsewhere in Europe). Irish Setters were trained to sit and wait for their master(s), therefore they became known as "setters."

Irish Setters weren't always all red. In the beginning, their hunter masters thought they'd be easier to spot with white and red coloring, but as they began to be used more for show and less for hunting, their solid red coloring took precedent.