Llewellin Setters Breeders Blog

We have been asked by a number of people if our discontinuance of advertising in Pointing Dog Journal is an indication that we are going out of the dog business.

Not at all.   But here are the facts surrounding this:-

I have been very concerned now for some time about the changing position of writers, editors, journalists and so called trainers towards the use of the electric collar. Don’t get me wrong, I am not at all opposed to the electric collar.  I own at least 6 of them of three different makes.

My concern is that the collar has now moved away from being a “training device” and is applied more or less as a permanent appendage to every dog running in the field. It is almost impossible to see a photograph in major publications such as Pointing Dog Journal where the dog is not burdened with this device. This goes for advertising, training articles, reader-submitted photos, dogs for sale classifieds, and so on. We have even moved to putting two collars on the dog, one around its waist as well.

Recently there was an article by Steve Smith , the Editor of Pointing Dog Journal, in which he extols the virtue of a specific band  of collar in the hunting field. We are not speaking of training here.

When I challenged him on this he declined to respond or debate the issue.  Clearly, if you read these magazines you will quickly observe that almost all of the advertising dollars are coming from collar manufacturers or trainers who advocate their use not only as a “training device” but as a means of handling a dog under all circumstances including during the hunt.

Here at Lynnhill Llewellins we are extremely opposed to this development. We have had numerous issues under our unconditional guarantee of dogs returned who were totally ruined by uneducated and excessive use of electric collars. This includes dogs who were “blinkers,” dogs who were collar smart (only controllable when the collar was on) dogs who were collar shy (headed for the next county as soon as shocked). Dogs where the entire drive had been neutralized and on and on.

We live in a technological time where people are wanting to believe that all you have to do is spend a few bucks and press a button and you will get results. Sadly, young people are being taught that this is in fact the case and the idea of bonding with the dog, teaching by kindness and repetition  and above all learning and accepting that as with all living creatures not all will be world class students, not all have the inherent ability nor the required geneological traits.  It matters not one iota how much you shock the dog, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear!

At the end of the day, it has a lot to do with profit. A quick dollar for the makers, advertisers, journalists and magazines.  None  of them appear to be at all concerned with the long term effects on the bird dogs receiving this treatment.  Will future generations of bird dogs be altered forever by what we are doing to them?  I am sure the answer is a resounding YES.  We are destroying hundreds of years of breeding heritage and have entered the age of the final destruction of some of the most important sporting breeds on earth. Most of them developed by the British Aristocracy without regard to cost but with patience, knowledge, compassion and boundless enthusiasm always with the future of the breed at heart.

We  do not feel any longer that we can support any publication which represents itself as a champion of the bird dog breeds while advocating that the dogs be controlled while doing the very thing they were born to do by continuous electric shocks.  Look out now, the public relations guys are at work.  They call it “stimulation,”they call it “correction,”… “just a little nick.” Put it around your neck and try it! If this is such a humane and good idea then it’s way overdue for use on our teenagers.

Lets start to say it the way it is and although no doubt some good can be achieved in the right hands it would be much better in the end for our bird dogs if collars were banned altogether as they are in many European countries.

That my friends is why we no longer advertise in journals.

Keith H.Smith.    President.  Lynnhill Llewellin Setters.

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!

If your Llewellin Setter pup is going to live in the house, and we most certainly encourage this, then you will be very interested in housebreaking him. There is a school of thought that a gun dog must be a tough macho beast who endures the weather no matter what mother nature throws at us and to get him accustomed to this he is better off living in an outside kennel. This is pure nonsense. Get pup bonded and close to you and sharing your world. He will handle better, understand you better, and respond better to commands. If he could also have an optional outside kennel to use at certain times especially to enjoy the good weather periods, then so much the better.
(Read on …)

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 …)

To the new owner the question of how to train and when to commence training are issues we are often questioned on. Of course we must split the training issue into two parts.

Part I. Yard Work

This would be the training you would expect to do even if you had no intentions of ever hunting with the dog. However, yard work is very necessary as a foundation for field work also, so it is the mandatory first phase.

Part II. Development of the finished bird dog. This is a process also of several steps which are best accomplished in logical sequence without hurry or pressure on the dog. The question of whether any of these steps are best done by the owner or placed into the hands of a professional will be discussed. (Read on …)

We can anticipate that when you go to collect your pup and take him home, riding for the very first time in a car, he will be sick. This event will be worse if he had a square meal just a short time before the ride.With most pups this reaction will go away in a short time and he will get to look forward to and enjoy riding. After all he is to be our constant hunting companion so car riding is a must part of his education.

There are however some dogs where the problem continues for an extended period. Worse than that, such dogs develop almost a phobia to riding because the experience is so unpleasant for them. These dogs will often salivate and foam at the mouth to the extent that they will be dehydrated and they are quite clearly distressed. (Read on …)