Setter owners, some advice

[tyler94]

Hey everyone. Im looking to get my first bird dog, and I’ve pretty much settled on an English Setter. From my research, they seem to be a good blend of hunting ability and having an off switch in the house. I have little kids at home, so the dog being well mannered around kids is very important for me.



I live in CA and 90 percent of the time I hunt chukar and quail. Right now I’m trying to navigate the process of selecting a breeder, and a lot of them seem to breed for grouse and woodcock in the Midwest, which is something I may not ever do. Does anyone have any experience hunting “western” birds with dogs from these breeders? Or can anyone provide any insight or experience on selecting between a Ryman type, Llewellin, or field bred setters? I appreciate all the advice

 

[Wallace]

I have a Llewellin that's nearly 4 now, I had one before him as well (got him from a friend as a 2 year old, unfortunately hit by a vehicle shortly after in an abnormal accident, I bought my current one within a few months of that happening).

My current Llewellin is a male, he's a hybrid when it comes to staying inside and outside in a kennel. When I let him outside or out of the kennel, he's automatically hunting with high drive. If he's inside, he's usually sitting there begging for food or sleeping. Both of the Llewellins I have had were great inside, best 'off switches' in a hunting dog that I've had.

I hunted him for pheasant, quail, sharptail, and ruffed grouse his first 2 years between the southeast and out west. I didn't get to hunt him last year (Hurricane Helene and a moose hunt screwed up my September/October bird hunting, November/December/January is for ducks). This year he'll go after ruffed grouse in Maine and quail in the southeast. He does great hunting, he'd do better if I was a better dog trainer and put him in front of more birds.

If something happened to him, I'd have another Llewellin within 6 months. Not a necessity hunting, but IMO they are the best looking dog around. I cannot take that dog in public without someone complimenting how good he looks.

 

[chemist]

My uncle has always run setters, and in general I like them. I run german shorthairs. We both keep our dogs in the house and the most important thing for having a pointing breed live in the house is keeping them well exercised and well trained.

With respect to personality and behavior there is a lot of variations within any of the most popular pointing breeds (e.g Brittanies, English pointers, GSP, and setters) to the point that picking the breeder will be more important than picking the breed.

Well bred dogs will be able to adjust to different birds but in general field bred dogs are going to range more while a forest grouse dog will in theory work closer. Most dogs will naturally work closer in thick cover and further in open cover. The question is what the definition of closer and further is for that dog.

 

[tyler94]

I have a Llewellin that's nearly 4 now, I had one before him as well (got him from a friend as a 2 year old, unfortunately hit by a vehicle shortly after in an abnormal accident, I bought my current one within a few months of that happening).

My current Llewellin is a male, he's a hybrid when it comes to staying inside and outside in a kennel. When I let him outside or out of the kennel, he's automatically hunting with high drive. If he's inside, he's usually sitting there begging for food or sleeping. Both of the Llewellins I have had were great inside, best 'off switches' in a hunting dog that I've had.

I hunted him for pheasant, quail, sharptail, and ruffed grouse his first 2 years between the southeast and out west. I didn't get to hunt him last year (Hurricane Helene and a moose hunt screwed up my September/October bird hunting, November/December/January is for ducks). This year he'll go after ruffed grouse in Maine and quail in the southeast. He does great hunting, he'd do better if I was a better dog trainer and put him in front of more birds.

If something happened to him, I'd have another Llewellin within 6 months. Not a necessity hunting, but IMO they are the best looking dog around. I cannot take that dog in public without someone complimenting how good he looks.

I agree on their looks. Not the most important trait, but it certainly is great having a beautiful dog. That seems to be the same sentiment that I hear from others who own setters. Thank you