Llewellin Setters Breeders Blog

A well bred Llewellin Setter will have very strong bird hunting instincts right from the get go. In fact we have often had visitors admire the “training” of dogs who in fact have never had any formal training. We can tell the story of a brood bitch that had two litters of pups before she was given the chance to experience game birds. She pointed the very first one staunchly and retrieved it to hand when shot. She went on to be one of our top gun dogs and never did have any real training. We tell this story to underscore the strong natural instincts typical of the breed which has been bred for over one hundred years only for bird hunting. However, having told the story, don’t count on getting your braggin’ bird dog this way. You are most likely going to have to work at it! (Read on …)

Certain inhabitants of the Countries of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, (collectively the United Kingdom today) can be associated with the development of a very high percentage of all of our modern sporting dogs. The English Pointer, English Setter, Irish Setter, Gordon Setter, Springer Spaniel, Beagle, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever and numerous other breeds can be traced back to breeders and breeding programs in the British Isles. Why is this? Could it be that these people have so much more passion for dogs than the inhabitants of other countries?

Well, there is certainly no shortage of dogs and dog enthusiasts in the British Isles today. But then that’s about the same situation in the USA as well as the rest of Europe. The French, for example, would not want to be left out!

One needs to take a look at a number of factors involved to have a true understanding of what took place in the past and to some extent continues today with regards to dogs and the British. Some of the vital factors include, in no special order: (Read on …)