King Llewellin Setter

Upland Bird Hunting Dog

A member's first season bird dog.

llewellin setter bird dog

hunting llewellins
His first pheasant hunt, warm in the 70's, dry and windy. He had never seen one in training and pointed his first after having one shot off of his brace partner earlier that morning. Never quit hunting even though that day he sliced a pad.

A snap point on a single quail when cutting the scent cone close during a sweeping run.

His second pheasant hunt. This is the hunt where he begins to learn how to relocate on running birds and finally successfully did so by the end of the day.

A roadside point that turned up nothing.

One tired puppy after two hard and warm days of hunting. He wanted nothing to do at this point except get into his box. A hard running day of sprinting from one point to another so we excused his poor manners at the picture shoot.
The brushy draw in the background was the habitat where these two birds came from. This entire MAHA hunting lease map sheet were composed of such properties and while there was over 2,000 acres available to hunt we covered three properties and it took all day as we were into birds on each property.

His hunting range varies dependent on the upland bird habitat we are hunting. In pheasant grass fields he works 90% of the time within beeper collar range. Tracking running pheasants will take him away and he always returns. On crop edge quail habitat he does push out while maintaining eye contact saving me much walking.

He works independent of his brace mate and learned to honor on site during this hunt. As with all bird dog training working on wild birds is always preferred.

It is immaterial in the picture at right that there are few birds. This picture represents the day and hunt when this first season bird dog out produced his 10 year veteran brace mate. Both are Llewellin Setters.

First season bird dog work is never about numbers in the bag. This dog is on enough wild birds on natural habitat to refine the pre season training of all the gentlemanly required bird dog tasks of point, honor both on sight and beeper collar, track, steady to wing and retrieve.

Young dog trying to steal the retrieve from his 10 year veteran brace mate, nothing doing.

His share of the take (right). Notice his feet. That discoloration is not from mud. They have been abraded by the crusted snow on a 5 day hunt. After 11 weeks of hunting he is in prime physical condition and tough enough to withstand the extra punishment of the sharp edge snow cover. His ears show how he maintains his happy attitude.

Copper honoring his brace mate.

Whipped his tail bloody, ear flipped back from a racing run brought to a quick halt and lip caught while he sucked in the hot scent of a single pheasant. Five day hunt and he is tired of the crusted snow as he starts to let his front leg lower.

Left, the first true double off a first season dog is always worth a picture.

A true double where the dog remained on point steady to wing of the first bird while at the same time as the shot (trained to break on shot) the second rooster flushed and the dog stayed steady to wing. He did mark both as the vegetation at that point allowed for it and retrieved the second bird first and then hunted for the first for retrieve.