Llewellin Setters Breeders Blog

I have written in the past expressing my views about Llewellin “blood lines” and their significance today. I feel that I must also say a word about the popular idea that if a breeder gets involved in breeding a certain breed of dog then his name gets to be in some way associated with the breed.

I refer to many writings I see on chat sites (which I never would participate in) and the like, as well as to the many people who e-mail and call me making reference to dogs which they attach the breeders name to.

Some examples would be “King Llewellins,” Humphrey Llewellins,” “Advie Llewellins,” even “Lynnhill Llewellins” and so on. This is of course total nonsense. There is no such thing. These dogs are Llewellin Setters. Period. (This same statement has also been attributed to Bernie Matthys of the Field Dog Stud Book in spite of his actions against Alfred King). You have no qualifications to add your name to the breed regardless of who you are. Of course you are free to register the dog with any name you please. However, just because you have registered or bred a hundred or even a thousand or more Llewellin Setters they remain Llewellin Setters going back to the work of the founders.

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The subject of umbilical hernias comes up frequently. One must assume therefore that the condition also comes up frequently in many if not all breeds of dogs.
This is a subject where you will no doubt find variances in Veterinary opinions. Some vets clinging tenaciously to the opinion that all defects at the midline are hernias and therefore must be surgically repaired without delay and the dog never bred. End of subject. Naturally, you can never be shown to be wrong if you follow this course of action so you remain above criticism.

Research on line will only serve to confuse you more. I propose therefore to simply pass on to you my own experience, particularly with the Llewellin Setters and will then publish for you information what I consider to be one of the most valid and informed professional articles on this subject.

Delayed closures, which may or may not be actual hernias, are found in the Llewellin Setter. The offspring of certain bitches seem to produce examples more than others. This would indicate that it tends to be hereditary. Good breeders will try to phase these animals out of the breeding program since it is, if nothing else, a nuisance and a significant expense. Around $250 average to repair. If the animal is a female who will be spayed it is really not a problem at all since surgical entry can be made at the umbilical and repair made when closing. The repair is usually straightforward with no complications and the hunting dog’s life will go forward as normal.

It is my own experience that the majority of examples we see in Llewellin Setters are not in fact true hernias but rather delayed closures which resolve by 9 to 12 months. You will find vets who are adamant that this will never happen. Take it from a breeder it can and does happen with this breed. It is important to check every day to see that the protrusion stays soft and can be reduced (pushed back in) and that nothing is being trapped.

If you want to make an immediate contribution to your vet’s retirement fund, go ahead and get it fixed. Nothing lost beside your money. If you keep an eye on it and wait it out it will resolve most of the time.

From my kennel we would never sell you a pup with this condition unless we discuss it first and you understand the prognosis. Of course we work constantly to eradicate all congenital and hereditary situations but the fact is this has been cropping up for hundreds of years so we may have to work around it a bit longer.

Keith H. Smith

Taking Your Llewellin Setter Puppy Home

There is as much information published on how to nurture and raise your Llewellin puppy, as there is information of caring for a human baby. Frankly, some of the published information appears to be theoretical and much of it does not match our own experience. We thought we would therefore pass on our actual experience in a few areas in no particular order.

Road Trip or Air-ship?

We must say that even if it involves giving up a weekend and driving a few hundred miles, there is no substitute for giving the pup the attention it deserves at this time of departure from its siblings and entry into its new life style.

If possible, plan to have two persons in the car and hold the pup some of the time at least, on the lap, using a towel under him. He may throw up and that is to be expected on first car rides. Have a puppy crate along as well so you have a place to put him if you have to leave the vehicle or as an option. Here is another article with more information on car sickness.

Air-shipping your Llewellin pup may be your only option. If so, make it as easy on the little guy as you can. Ship him “Counter to Counter” and not airfreight. This costs $100 more but it’s the way to go. Some airlines will not take live animals (i.e. US Airways). Of those airlines that will ship puppies, some are better than others. Some are very marginal. Our best experiences by far have been with Continental and Delta. Both get our 5 star rating.

Get the dog breeder to give you a small sample of the puppy food he has been getting. You can mix this food 50/50 with your food of choice for a few days to avoid upset. Or of course feed the same feed he has been eating. Plan to stay with puppy food for the first year of the pup’s life.

The Pup’s First Days at Home

Once you get the puppy home, especially if he is to live in the house, a number of issues arise. The first one usually being house breaking. As an experienced Llewellin Setter breeder, here is how we handle this:

• Do not start out by allowing pup run of the house. This will compound the problem to no end. He will sneak into rooms and corners unseen to do his thing. Confine him to an assigned area–maybe the kitchen, the laundry room, an enclosed porch or whatever.
• Use baby toddler gates (get ‘em at Wal-Mart) to keep pup where you want him.
• Get pup a wire crate to sleep and hang out in. This is his special space. Don’t use a plastic shipping crate, they are too confining. He needs to be able to see around him.
• You can start by using newspaper as a place to “go”. Best, however, is to establish a routine of putting pup outside as soon as he wakes from snoozing or right after eating. Most pups will get the idea quickly but expect some “accidents” for a while, of course.

See Housebreaking Your Llewellin Setter Pup.

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gun dog puppies Llewellin Setter Breeding llewellin setter health llewellin setter puppies llewellin setter training

The à Goës family is an old family located in Longueville, east of Brussels, Belgium. In many ways similar to the Humphrey family in England, they have been long associated with Falconry and members of the family had been servants of the Belgian Royal family in the capacity of Falconers.
Marie Thérèse went to England quite often when she was a young woman, especially right after the world war period. On these occasions she visited and stayed with William Humphrey and his family at Lake Cottage. She also was a friend of the then owner of Walcott Hall, Ronald Stevens. Ronald was perhaps the most important English falconers of his generation and also a well known author on the subject.

Marie Thérèse had acquired some special skills relative to the replacement of flight feathers in Falcons which are often shed in the heat of battle making the bird incapable of hunting. This made her very popular with the falconry fraternity and always a welcome visitor. She was a special favorite of William Humphrey who shared his knowledge of the Llewellin Setter and they often hunted together around the British Isles. Marie Thérèse became expert in her knowledge of the dogs and their use both to the gun and the falcon. It was then no surprise that William left a large part of his kennel to her upon his death and these dogs were taken to Belgium to establish the kennel which Marie named, “D’Hurlain Pré.” In French that means “The Meadows of Hurlain” which was the area adjacent to her home.

I visited many times with Mlle à Goës in the years before her death at age 84. She never married and always had devoted all of her energies to her dog breeding program. Many of her major customers were Italians—mostly aristocrats. This accounts for many of the Llewellin Setters in Italy today. Mlle was President of the English Setter Club of Belgium and a recognized authority on every aspect of the Setter breed. She actually had no love at all for Americans, convinced that we screwed up every breed of dog we ever touched. The dogs she actually sold to Americans were certainly not more than three or four. I am very pleased to say that I was one of them!

When we made the deal she told me, “Mr. Smith, I am not selling you a dog so you can make a name for yourself with him. You are not important! All that matters is the breed. You must promise to make him available to any well-bred Llewellin with good pedigree, good health, good personality and especially good bird dog abilities.” I have tried to do this up until the eventual death of Count Gladstone Wind’em D’Hurlain Pré.
I must say that on occasion my motives were questioned when I called breeders offering his services…So be it.

I have two fine sons of the Count in my kennel and his blood can now be found across the U.S.A., which is what we set out to do. This infusion will be working in favor of our breed for years to come.

Keith H. Smith

Nothing is any more devastating to the breeder and the owner of a gun dog than to discover that Degenerative Joint Disease (Hip Dysplasia) is present. This is especially sad when it makes itself obvious only after much time has been spent and financial investment has been made in the training of a Bird Dog.

A responsible breeder will try to do everything possible to ensure that this cannot happen. Sadly, there is no way known at this time to eliminate hip problems in any breed of dog. The causes are multi genetic which means that in spite of using all known methods to reduce the incidence of the disease, it can–and does–crop up.

As in all genetic disorders a dog can be completely free of the problem itself but still be a carrier of the disease and pass it onto the offspring. This is why it is very important that any dog you buy be from parents who have been evaluated by one of the two known methods. Not only for your own dog’s sake but also for future generations, should you choose to breed your dog. (Read on …)

V The Ins and Outs of Pedigree Analysis, Genetic Diversity, and Genetic Disease Control

by Jerold S. Bell, D.V.M.

(This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared in the American Kennel Club Gazette in September 1992 entitled, “Getting What You Want From Your Breeding Program.” It is reprinted with the permission of Dr. Bell.)

IT’S ALL IN THE GENES

As dog breeders, we engage in genetic “experiments” each time we plan a mating. The type of mating selected should coincide with your goals. To some breeders, determining which traits will appear in the offspring of a mating is like rolling the dice ­ a combination of luck and chance. For others, producing certain traits involves more skill than luck ­ the result of careful study and planning. As breeders, we must understand how we manipulate genes within our breeding stock to produce the kinds of dogs we want. We have to first understand dogs as a species, then dogs as genetic individuals. (Read on …)

I often receive calls from fellow breeders as well as clients who are interested in the strategies we might employ in our programs to move forward in reduction and elimination of Genetic defects and diseases as well as how we might utilize Pedigree data as a tool in breeding selection. Firstly, let me say that we make great use of a Breeder software program purchased from Australia and produced by Wild Systems Pty Ltd. The software is Pedigree Explorer 5.4 and can be purchased on line (support@breedmate.com).

We have every dog in the kennel together with all known ancestors entered into the data base.This enables a wide selection of menus to generate pedigrees, family trees, photo pedigrees, email pedigrees, as well as the recording and manipulation of data on every aspect of breeding, competing and showing. Wrights Inbreeding Coefficients can be obtained on any dog at the click of the mouse, health and inoculation records generated and many more areas covered. (Read on …)

One cannot become interested in the breeding of any species of animal very long before the question of “blood lines” comes up.

In pedigreed stock, the assumption is often made that those animals bearing the same ancestral names as part of the registered pedigree are in fact of the same blood lines.

What are meant by blood lines are presumably specimens sharing common ancestry and therefore having common genes. Popular ideas are that breeding animals sharing the same blood lines will be a positive thing and ensure that traits will be continued or strengthened. (Read on …)