Llewellin Setter
| Country of Origin: | Northern England |
| Height: | 22 to 24 inches at withers |
| Weight: | Females: 35-50 pounds; Males: 45-60 pounds |
| Color: |
There is a wide variety of color variations in this breed. Color Type descriptions:
Color Descriptions: The color listed first is the predominant body color. Non Belton: (most typical)
Belton: (more rare)
Blanketed: (most rare)
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| Coat: | Soft, fine and silky. Medium to long in length. Feathering should be present on chest, on the back of all legs, on the ears and most noticeably on the tail. Most bloodlines produce coats that are flat (without curl), but some have been known to produce wavy coats. Easily sheds out when running through fields during hunting season. |
| Character: | Llewellins embody the ideal blend of strength, stamina, grace and style. They have a high desire to please their owners whether in the field or in the home. They are close working gun dogs that are loaded with natural instincts to hunt and point birds. |
| Temperament: |
They are gentle, intelligent, affectionate, obedient, enthusiastic and very loyal. They bond to their owners very quickly and readily seek out attention and affection. Due to their highly sensitive and gentle nature, they do not tolerate harsh treatment or reprimands. They are a very outgoing and friendly dog that need human companionship. This is not a breed that should be maintained outside in a kennel with limited human interaction. These dogs do extremely well in the home, around children, and as part of a family. |
| Care: | Like all dogs, the Llewellin Setter requires a nutritionally sound diet, plenty of exercise, companionship, and regular grooming. The Llewellin’s ears require frequent cleaning and the coat feathering must be combed to keep free from mats, and also burs and seed pods picked up from the field when hunting. |
| Training: | Easily trained. Basic obedience is highly recommended and is the foundation for any further field training. Gun Dog/Field Training is also recommended. Even though Llewellins possess a very strong natural instinct to hunt and point birds, in order to get the perfect hunting companion, the dog must learn obedience and field commands to perform the way they are asked to. The Llewellin does not need to be taught “how to hunt”, they only need to be taught “how to respond” to the owner’s commands. Once that perfect blend of natural instinct and obedience is achieved, hunting with a Llewellin will be a highly enjoyable experience. Llewellins can be trained to hunt any kind of upland game bird, including, but not limited to: pheasant, quail, grouse, ptarmigan, chuckar and other partridge. Once they get the "birdy" knack, they will transition very easily to all different types of game birds making them very versatile in the field. |
| Activity: | Active: They require daily exercise with the ability to run. When outdoors, the majority of the time they are on the hunt, so a large fenced enclosure where they can run and exercise is beneficial. |
| Description: |
The Llewellin Setter is a very specific and pure strain of the English Setter that can be traced back to the original dogs in R. L. Purcell Llewellin’s breeding program of the 19th century. These dogs were bred specifically for field work. One cannot merely glance at a Llewellin Setter and tell definitively that the dog is indeed a “Llewellin” like you can with most other breeds. The proof can be acquired only through DNA testing which shows parentage by dogs that are known to be Llewellins and so forth down the line with no outcrossings. This “DNA proof” is required in order to register the dog as a Llewellin. A Llewellin may “look” exactly like an English Setter, but the difference is in the breed’s history, the bloodline and the dog’s superior performance in the field. *NOTE: This breed is not recognized by the AKC as being separate from the English Setter, so registration as “Llewellin” is done through the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB) by the American Field. |
| By
Laura Whitlock
Hickory Hollow Llewellin Setters |