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I got me a new hunting buddy at Woods and Waters Weekend in Imlay City, MI a couple of weeks ago. He is a Llewellin Setter. He is a little over 12 weeks and already pointing a pheasant wing. I am in the process of getting him accustom to gun fire. He is doing good. I can shoot a 22 around him and he shows no negative reaction. In a week I will move up to a 410.
Grouse season opened last Monday and I am getting itchy to hit the woods.

Good luck with your new pup......

I hope when you say you are "getting itchy to hit the woods" that you aren't planning on hunting over him at 12 weeks of age....that's kinda young, not matter how great he is.
Also, a word of caution: I heard through the grapevine that one/some of the dogs at the Woods-n-Water weekend have come down with parvo (read it over on the M-S website). You may want to keep a close eye on him and take him to a vet right away if he starts showing symptoms.....I would imagine that NONE of the pups that were there would have much in the way of immunity, irregardless of whether or not they were vaccinated, due to their age.
Again..........nice looking pup and good luck!

COOL!!!



If they only knew the hopes and dreams that rested on their little shoulders�..

..very pretty pup.

Hope he turns out well as a hunting buddy for you.

Altho we love em the same if they dont.

16 gauge
No, I do not intend to hunt over him this year. I just want to get him out into the woods and get him acclimated to the environment. Besides there is no prettier place to be than in the woods in Northern Michigan in October.
Thanks for the heads up about the Parvo. Could you give me the website address where that info is located? I do not know what the M-S website is. Thank you.

Can't disagree.....heading up to the U.P. the end of October for a week myself.
Here is the link to the thread I was talking about:

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=517040

Click on the bottom part that says "Advice needed: the michigan sportsman forums" for a more detailed thread.....oddly enough, that pup is an English setter also; I hope it's not from the same breeder. Good luck!

Congrats on the pup! Spend all the time that you can with him.

Hunting with Hank was a Llewellin setter and that dog was amazing.

Congrats on the new hunting partner!

Have been working with the pup on acclimating him to the gun. I started out banging on a pan when I fed him to get him used to loud noises. Once he was used to that, I introduced a 22. While he was playing with the other dogs or retrieving a thrown training dummy, I would shoot the 22. He never showed any negative reaction to that. I worked with him for about a week with the 22. Had my grandson come down yesterday and we shot some clay pigeon with the 28 gauge while he was romping with the Lab. After he saw the first clay pigeon busted he ran to see if he could find it. Then he waited for each one to be thrown and would track them and once they were shot he would go look for them. He did not show any fear of the noise from the 28 gauge.
Also took him for a walk in the woods to see how he would do. Didn't see any birds but was happy with the way he worked and how when he lost sight of me he would circle back and find me.
I think I have may have a good dog here.

Tracking birds? Sounds like more of a labrador than a setter!

....just kidding; I think you have a good dog there, too!

Nice pup, best of luck.. We are considering a trip to the U.P.next fall.

I did some target shooting today with a couple of .22 rifles.
The pup laid at my feet and took a nap while I was shooting.
I've had quite a few dogs in my lifetime and have only had one that was "gun-shy". After that dog was when I heard about banging on the pans while they were eating and it has served me well with all the other dogs.
My only regret is that we don't have the pheasants around like we did in the late 50s and early 60s when I was growing up. When I first bought the 20 acres I live on, I could walk out the back door and be back in 20 minutes with my limit of 2 roosters. The last time I saw a pheasant on my place was at least 5 years ago.
I have cover and food plots on my land but NO birds other than turkeys. Also when I first moved here I had grouse in my woods but haven't seen a grouse around here in years.