Some Thoughts on Training Aids for the Llewellin Setter
Well here it is, fall has arrived. Are you any better prepared for the season than you were last year? Didn’t you promise yourself that you would be? Did you start earlier getting your dog into shape and working off some of the excess he put on while you were playing golf and sitting around in the sun? We try to work ours at least half an hour each day before the heat settles in. We admit to doing it these days from the cab of the Kawasaki Mule which has become a tool we could no longer do without. In fact we wore one out and are working on the second one. If you have ever thought about buying a four wheeler of this type let me say that our first one was gasoline powered and the new one is a diesel. That was a big mistake in retrospect. The diesel is far too noisy, does not warm up to operating temperature fast enough in winter and uses more fuel per mile. Plus the fuel is now over $3.00 a gallon. Maybe the engine life will be longer but the gasoline one ran for ten years, not bad.
My biggest gripe with the Kawasaki is the dismal top speed which makes the occasional excursion onto public dirt roads hazardous to say the least. We have to go downhill to get it over 15mph!
We notice competitors advertising as much as 50 mph top speed and that is a significant improvement. If you are in the market for such a vehicle to use in the field or in dog training transportation you should shop around and maybe think about our experience.
Take a look at Kubota and Polaris and others and compare. Ask about top speed. Usually we don’t because we are not racers and don’t want to give the impression that speeding along is what we want to do. It is, however, an important feature as you will find out when your speedometer is pegged at 15!