Welcome to Bristle Ridge Llewellin Setters
Llewellin Setters have been bred for the highest qualities in an upland game bird dog. From their start in the mid-1860's with R.L. Percell Llewellin's dogs Dan and Dick, to the well respected lines of Bonhdu, Wind'em, Bomber, Gladstone, Tony-O, Royacelle, and Blizzard, these stylish dogs are hard to top in the field or in the home.
The Field Dog Stud Book, published by American Field, is the only registry that recognizes those dogs that can trace their ancestry back to the original Dueke-Rhoebe-Lavarack cross. All Llewellins are English Setters, but not all English Setters are Llewellins. Just as in other breeds, those bred for bench shows have a more polished appearance than those bred for field work. They are by no means a rough looking dog. A Llewellin on point, working a scent, or bounding for a retrieve is poetically beautiful.
When a Llewellin is not busy in the field, they do best in the house with their human partners. They make a wonderful addition to the family. Inside they learn to be calm, quiet, yet playfully attentive. While a Llew could be a kennel dog, they thrive while sharing the house with humans. The connection with humans can also be utilized by using a Llewellin Setter as an Emotional Support Animal. Several of our pups have been donated to combat veterans for just that purpose. Keep in mind, this ESA will still need some time for serious exercise.
As an athletic dog, some individuals have used the great scenting abilities of the Llewellin Setter to train them as Shed dogs, or dogs that hunt fields and woods for antler sheds. Others have used Llewellins as agility dogs.
Many of our dogs originate from Shoeleather Kennels. Mr. Joe Noe has been very kind in helping us learn about the breed, teaching us the importance of conformation and proper breeding practices. We are extremely grateful for Joe and Lorrie for helping us over the years keep the Llewellin breed strong. Through Joe's recommendations, we got very particular dogs for continuing the Shoeleather lines.
We also are aware that genetics and paying very close attention to which dogs get bred is important to the Llewellin breed in general. We breed for hunting capability, but no dog is bred unless they are vetted through the UC Davis VGL DNA screening. We use Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) to determine what dogs we bring in. However, low COI is not DNA testing. Our hopeful breeding pairs are tested for genetic distance and inter-relatedness. If these numbers are not what we believe they should be (even with low COI), the dog is re-homed to a hunting family. With this eye toward the health of the breed, there are breedings in our kennel that will not happen if genetics are too similar.
Llewellin Setter owners can thank Dennis Hammett (Jornada Setters) for doing the leg work to set up the Llewellin Setter group at UC Davis. Without frequent conversations with Dennis about genetics and what the data are saying about the breed, I am not sure we would be (or should be) as confident as we are in creating some of the most genetically sound Llewellins possible. Thank you Dennis. You can see Dennis' dogs at https://www.jornadasetters.com/.
The Field Dog Stud Book, published by American Field, is the only registry that recognizes those dogs that can trace their ancestry back to the original Dueke-Rhoebe-Lavarack cross. All Llewellins are English Setters, but not all English Setters are Llewellins. Just as in other breeds, those bred for bench shows have a more polished appearance than those bred for field work. They are by no means a rough looking dog. A Llewellin on point, working a scent, or bounding for a retrieve is poetically beautiful.
When a Llewellin is not busy in the field, they do best in the house with their human partners. They make a wonderful addition to the family. Inside they learn to be calm, quiet, yet playfully attentive. While a Llew could be a kennel dog, they thrive while sharing the house with humans. The connection with humans can also be utilized by using a Llewellin Setter as an Emotional Support Animal. Several of our pups have been donated to combat veterans for just that purpose. Keep in mind, this ESA will still need some time for serious exercise.
As an athletic dog, some individuals have used the great scenting abilities of the Llewellin Setter to train them as Shed dogs, or dogs that hunt fields and woods for antler sheds. Others have used Llewellins as agility dogs.
Many of our dogs originate from Shoeleather Kennels. Mr. Joe Noe has been very kind in helping us learn about the breed, teaching us the importance of conformation and proper breeding practices. We are extremely grateful for Joe and Lorrie for helping us over the years keep the Llewellin breed strong. Through Joe's recommendations, we got very particular dogs for continuing the Shoeleather lines.
We also are aware that genetics and paying very close attention to which dogs get bred is important to the Llewellin breed in general. We breed for hunting capability, but no dog is bred unless they are vetted through the UC Davis VGL DNA screening. We use Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) to determine what dogs we bring in. However, low COI is not DNA testing. Our hopeful breeding pairs are tested for genetic distance and inter-relatedness. If these numbers are not what we believe they should be (even with low COI), the dog is re-homed to a hunting family. With this eye toward the health of the breed, there are breedings in our kennel that will not happen if genetics are too similar.
Llewellin Setter owners can thank Dennis Hammett (Jornada Setters) for doing the leg work to set up the Llewellin Setter group at UC Davis. Without frequent conversations with Dennis about genetics and what the data are saying about the breed, I am not sure we would be (or should be) as confident as we are in creating some of the most genetically sound Llewellins possible. Thank you Dennis. You can see Dennis' dogs at https://www.jornadasetters.com/.