Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Any English/Llewellin setter owners here?

Just wondering. I have a few questions.

Yep.

'nother one here.

Got a pair of litter mates, male & female.

Not directly, but my uncle has about 20 and a cousin about 50 of them. If the others can't help you I can get you in touch with them...

Thanks for the responses, gentlemen.

What I'm going to be looking for (after my current aging Lab passes on) is a very easy-going, fairly close-hunting dog. I do NOT want a high-strung one, even when hunting. I like 'em to trot and sniff and work out ahead of me, not boomerang back and forth from one side of the field to the other. Will be used mostly on southern quail.
What I want is a family pet and everyday companion that likes to hunt now and then.
So, would an English Setter be a good dog for me, and, are there any particular breeders/kennels that are known for the kind of dog that I'm looking for.

You have a variety of options available given that you want a close working dog. These range from pups to fully trained dogs and from the ridiculously expensive to free to a good home. I can tell you that the free to a good home are often very serviceable trained dogs that just couldn't cut the range requirements of their owners. Most of the time, these dogs won't be sold, they'll be sterilized and given away. I'll PM you with a couple of options that I know of if you have any interest in that.

As far as English Setters go, you will not find a more easy going family companion. They are loving, gentle creatures. I highly recommend them.

I have first-hand experience with 1 (one) Llewellin. I have been happy with her in the field. I paid to have her trained as I didn't have the time / experience to do it myself, and didn't want her screwed up beyond repair. I will buy another when she's gone. That said, my wife refers to her as the 'psycho setter.' She's been good with family members but more than a little skittish around strangers and seems to have a hard time learning to chill out at home (she's now 4). She periodically becomes un-house-trained for 2 to 3 days at a time at random times. According to my trainer, this is not unusual (or usual) with this breed. With respect to a previous post...I periodically (say, once a year) see English Setters listed as 'free to good hunting home' from folks who wanted a field trial dog but got one that's not quite good enough after 3 or 4 years. A couple of people I know who have gotten dogs like this were very happy with them - they're generally well trained and good hunters but aren't stylish enough or don't have the right range for field trialers (the dogs - not the people).

Yep...

I now have 5 Llewellins...one very old and grand Ms. Scarlet, her son and daughter, and her grandson and grandaughter, now 6 1/2 months old.







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Hmmmm, I don't like the sounds of that at all. I certainly don't want a skittish dog....and becoming un-house-trained on occasion would get us both thrown out.
Is the "skittishness" a typical breed characteristic?

Nice crew you've got there, safari.

Huntaria, PM sent.

I don't claim to have all the answers, but the unhouse training thing is a new one on me. I've owned/bred well over 100 setters and I've never heard of one becoming unhouse trained unless there is 1) a dog is going well over 8 hours without getting out, 2) there is a health issue or 3) another, strange dog, has marked its territory. Doesn't mean there aren't other issues, but that's been my experience.

Most house dogs are a bit skittish of strangers. The same dogs I've seen bark and back up upon entry of my childrens' NEW friends are bold in the field. (And, this barking is not the aggressive baring teeth kind either.) Having said that, once these kids come over a few times, the dogs are very friendly.

But, dogs aren't robots either. They all have their own personalities and quirks. Some dogs are more bold than others. Some are more intelligent than others too. That's why its important to examine the blood lines of any dog you would buy. But even then, if the parents were the Einsteins of dogdom, you could wind up with Albert's slower brother. And, that is why that occasionally you get a close working dog from a grouse or horseback line.

If I was not a waterfowling nut job that would be the dog I would have.. Great looking mutts....

In 50+ years of bird dogs and training them I find the Llewellins about the most tractable and easy to train. The males have been easier than the females, however. I have no answer for that.

These dogs are the most loving I have ever encountered, and they are usually very social and sociable. They are sometimes shy of strangers, but none have ever been aggressive. They make good pets who hunt, but carry scissors. They pick up burs and weeds in their coats.

Ms. Scarlet was giving me a welcome kiss after my surgery and hospital stay...woke me up and NEEDED attention.

I had one for 12 years (passed away now). My wife said "not another setter" after that. They are great around kids and good dogs, but it took ours 12 years to calm down. We have a lab now, but I still want another setter.

I've never had that problem. I suppose it depends on the bloodline, but I've seen more nervous Labs than Setters. In fact, IME, Setters and Pointers are more agreeable dogs than any other bird dog. And, I do love all bird dogs and have owned nearly every breed (this side of Clumbers).

Besides, I posted this in another thread, but, well. . .

Love mine but they are not close working.

They are a fine looking pair. Do you know their bloodlines?

I'm looking for that "calm" bloodline. Any tips?

Well, I guess we need to define "calm". I would be the first to admit that what I call calm, some might call hyper. I've lived with bird dogs (and always a Setter in the group) for 47 years now, so I'm pretty used to their behavior. Having said that, I have seen some dogs that I genuinely believe to be ADD/ADHD. The worst I ever saw was a Weimaraner and the second worst was a Lab. Both these dogs would literally foam at the mouth to go out.

You might as well expect your pups to chew everything they can for the first 12 to 18 months. Make sure they have plenty of excerise daily. So long as they are excercised, I've not had too many problems. Keep any hunting dog cooped up too long, they will get hyper. I will also tell you that I have great places for my dogs to run, so keeping them excerised is not a problem for me. I own a farm that adjoins several thousand acres of state forest.

Most bird dogs will bark at a mouse fart. They have highly tuned senses, so you need to be able know the difference between when they're barking at a two or four legged critter. Other times its just a weird sound. I get on my dogs pretty hard when they're barking at the wind.

All my dogs are out of field trial lines. They are largely Ghost Train/Jet Train/Grouse Ridge stock. I think the Grouse Ridge stock helps in the very sweet temperment of the dogs I own. The dog in the picture above is a son of Super B and grandson of Star's Misty Ghost both National Grouse Champions and his uncle Huntaria's Niklas Ghost was a NSTRA winner. He's as nice a dog as they come. He'll jump in your truck and lay down until you reach your destination. He minds like a baby too. On the other hand, my avatar is the granddaughter of John's Miss Mollie, a horseback setter. She's very no nonsense and is very biddable. While she's not excitable or hyper, she'll be the last to want to sit in your lap.

Interesting. I agree with you that these are hunting dogs and they need exercise. I just don't want CRAZY.

Grouse Ridge out of Oxford, NY is near by, but I have never investigated the dogs. If this is the same breeder, I think that I will stop by.

Thanks.

Well, this is some of the foundation stock. The breeder I would recommend is out of Hershey, PA.

I had an english setter until about 4 years ago. (she died at 18 years of age) She was my "once in a lifetime dog". She was about 5 years old when I got her from my uncle. She peed in the house a grand total of 3 times while I was house breaking her. Her greatest desire was to please me. They are great dogs, but each has their own personality.

WOW!

What great looking hunting buddies HUNTS and Huntaria! I really appreciate your sharing the photos with us. These are beautiful dogs.

Thanks! I need more photos in the field like yours!

Great looking pups as well. I think it will be setters now for the rest of my life. Can't see liking any other dog as much.

We have a beautiful 4 year old female setter from Suncanyon Setters in Arizona. She is as calm and quiet in the house as a cat would be, except if someone knocks on the door[great watchdog, stops barking as soon as I go to the door] She is the keenest hunter I have had of my three setters over the years. Hates cats and squirrels though. She would be considered close-working for a pointing dog, in fact the previous owner that got her as a pup from SC, said he didn't want her because she turned out too close-working. His loss, my gain!

My English; Lady Bird, is as sweet as you could want, but probably a tad high strung for your liking. Her mother Tess was very calm and one of the best trained pointers I've had the opportunity to hunt over. Lady Bird never developed into a good quail dog due to lack of trainer commitment, but she's a sweet heart with my 3 year old son.

Huntaria- being from Kentucky, do you know anything about Mountain View Setters (Mike Bloodgood)?

I know about the Bondhu dogs. I've hunted them a fair amount. I believe this is essentially what this fellow has. PM me and I'd be willing to tell you about my experience with them and my thoughts. Just so its no mystery to anyone that's reading, I've had no bad experiences with them, but I prefer bigger running dogs.

All five of mine are real goers... I like that in chuckar dogs, as they need to cover a lot of square miles to locate birds.

I am able to get two of them to work close to me on command without threat of torture, so it works out well, once we break up coveys into scattered singles.

Well, I suppose that's the only thing that gives me some pause. I've seen these dogs with some range, but I've seen boot polishers too. Just like with English Setters, the exact bloodline matters. What are your dogs out of?

Ms. Scarlet is out of Hank's grandson, but I don't have her papers handy so the Dam is unknown presently. Her son and daughter were out of a dog in Filer ID, but the owner never sent me the papers or DNA kit, so the grandson and granddaughter are out of Scarlet's daughter and a local guy's Llewellin he got out of Oregon.

I don't breed the dogs for sale, so papers have not been kept. I saw all of them at various times, but never pursued it.

The new dogs are the last ones I'll even need, so no breeding is in their future.

All are western dogs from NV, ID and OR lineage. The males get very big, by the way. My two males have superior noses, but the adult, Rocky, has no desire to retrieve. He does point staunch however, and he finds the dead/down birds well.

LOL...he did retrieve a cell phone someone lost on the mountain when he was a pup, however. He was so dmned proud of that!!

Nose is the thing I've always bred for, then range. My foundation stock, Mollie, could smell a quail fart from 200 yards away.

It really comes down to how YOU like to hunt. I'm pretty sure most guys would be frustrated by my dogs, cause I let'em go, then look for them. I learned this from my grandfather who had pointers that would be gone for hours. It was your job to find them.

At the end of February in 1960, he had 93 wild quail in the freezer and this was after eating a bunch of them. I sure wish bird populations were like that again.

Motion beeper collars sure help with that. My FIL lost a big running, hot blooded Setter to a 'yote pack and almost had the same thing happen to a county crossing GSP.

Absolutely. I've been using these since 1990. Although, now that my hearing is not once what it was, I'm looking into the GPS tracking units.

If you try one out, please give a report on it. I think they may be good for this country.

H.S. I have always stayed away from setters because I was afraid that they hunted to close for me. I am like you and let my english pointers out of the box and listen to there beepers. With quail populations they way they are a dog must cover ground to find them.

How far will your dogs range? I know my dogs depending on cover but alot of times they are 200 to 400 yards which is what I like. If they can see me they will really turn it on and range.

Dink

I have one that works out to about 150 yards, then back, and the others go out at least twice as far, then back, then on out again. These dogs GO! I like the fact that they are mostly white in our brown/gray terrain. It makes them easier to spot at 400-600 yards...

For this vast area chuckar hunting, we need dogs that aren't afraid to get out to find the birds. My biggest problem is getting them to hunt close for quail or a rare pheasant hunt. Old Scarlet and her son Rocky will work close, so I have that covered.

My setters will cover about as much ground as many pointers. It depends on the bloodline of the pointer or setter though. In general, a quarter mile is not unusual for my setters run beanfield edges and I have had them go a bit farther than that if they can see me. They are pretty smart and tend to adjust their range to the cover. When I'm hunting grouse in the gray dogwoods of MI, they'll work quite a bit closer (but then again, I sort of hack at them to keep them a bit closer).

You've exhausted your quota of birds shot over those dogs. Send 'em to me for a season... or two.

Ditto on the GPS report. My FIL breeds for the big running trait in addition to the nose. His hearing isn't what it used to be either.