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Article written by Troy D. Sparks. Visit his
Llewellin Setter Page for more information on
Llewellins.
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The Llewellin Setter is a very
specific, pure strain of "English Setter with
bloodlines tracing back to the breeding program of
nineteenth century sportsman R. L. Purcell Llewellin.
Llewellin and Edward Laverack played a key role in the
development of the breed. Llewellin's name has been
irrevocably associated with those English Setters bred
for field work." It should be noted that
not all field-type English Setters
are FDSB Registered Llewellin Setters, and "Llewellin-type"
setters are not FDSB registered Llewellin Setters.
The generic use of the term 'Llewellin'
for all field-type English Setters does NOT mean that
the dog is a registered Llewellin. If the dog is not
registered as Llewellin with the
Field
Dog Stud Book (FDSB) of Chicago,
then, it is not technically a Llewellin in an historic
sense. I, personally, don't have a problem with folks
using "llewellin" as a generic term to describe field
English Setters as long as they know that there is
difference. Llewellin bloodlines include Dashing Bondhu
(= Scinn Amach = Luathas), Wind'em (= Machad =
Cloncurragh = Advie (but >90% Dashing)), Bomber,
Gladstone, Tony-O, Royacelle and Blizzard.
"In the mid-1860s, R.L. Purcell Llewellin of
Pembrokeshire, South Wales, began his breeding program
utilizing dogs obtained from Laverack. Llewellin was
primarily interested in developing dogs for field work,
and he experimented with various crosses before
discovering the nick that would ultimately establish his
name as a synonym for topnotch field-bred English
Setters." As an aside, confusion also stems from the
fact that the AKC does not recognize the Llewellin
separately from English, and they refer to all
"field-type" English setters as "Llewellin" which is
technically incorrect....but we all know what the AKC
has done for field dogs.
"Llewellin's breakthrough occurred when he purchased two
dogs, Dan and Dick, while attending a field trial at
Shewbury in 1871. Dan and Dick were sons of a dog named
Duke, owned by Barclay Field, and a bitch named Rhoebe (Rhoebe's
dam was half Gordon and half South Esk, a now extinct
breed), owned by Thomas Statter; both of these dogs were
out of northern England stock noted for outstanding
field work. Llewellin bred Dan and Dick to his Laverack
females, and a new era in bird dog history was begun."
"The Duke, Rhoebe, and Laverack crossing produced
exactly what Llewellin was looking for, and the
offspring quickly attracted the notice of sportsmen in
both England and North America. Dan proved to be
especially preponent, and it was he who sired Gladstone,
one of the most important Llewellins of all time.
Gladstone quickly established himself as a top field
performer and sire. His achievements contributed greatly
to the surge of popularity the Llewellins were soon to
enjoy."
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"Count Noble, another great Llewellin furthered the
recognition begun by Gladstone and surpassed Gladstone's
record for siring winning progency. When mated to
Gladstone's daughters, Count Noble produced dogs that
swept the field trial circuit, firmly fixing in
sportsmen's minds the notion that the Llewellins were
the "ones to beat" in trial competition. |
Count Noble, cornerstone of the American Llewellin
dynasty. Pictured here on display at the
National Bird Dog Museum, Grand Junction, TN. |
One of Count Noble's sons, Count Gladstone IV, won the
inaugural National Bird Dog Championship, run at West
Point, Mississippi in 1896."
"Today, only the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB) of Chicago,
published by
American Field, recognizes Llewellins as those
English Setters whose ancestry traces back to the
Original Duke-Rhoebe-Laverack Cross." Hence, all
Llewellins are currently registered via the FDSB
separately from English. Although some do breed English
to Llewellin, in such cases, the litter must be
registered as English Setter with the FDSB and NOT
Llewellin. Any such outcrossing of Llewellin lines
disqualifies the resulting litters registration as
Llewellin with the FDSB.
So, why do Llewellins have a separate registry with
the FDSB, and other field-type English don't?
This is a simple matter of timing
and history. Llewellins were so dominant to any other
'English' setter of the day that they, in essence, won a
separate registry in 1902. In fact, Llewellins were the
base stock for most (if not all) field-type English in
the U.S. today. So, the percentage of Llewellin blood in
most modern English lines is most likely quite high.
Current field-type English (Ryman, DeCoverly, Tomoka,
Tekoa Mountain, etc.) were not established for several
decades after the Llewellin; therefore, they are not
recognized separately from English by the FDSB.
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"Traits: Intelligent, strong natural abilities, a desire
to please, willingness to work for the gun and a
companionable disposition. You can make a pet of these
dogs and you won't have a bit of trouble with them in
the field. Their disposition contributes to the dog's
easy handling. One of the most interesting and
controversial points to arise in any discussion of
Llewellin setters |
"CH Count Gladstone IV, winner of the inaugural National
Championship in 1896." |
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concerns their appearance.
Many sportsmen erroneously believe that a purebred
Llewellin can be identified by its color and markings.
In actuality, a Llewellin
can be marked and colored like any other English Setter,
and appearance is neither a guarantee nor a condemnation
of bloodline purity."
Indeed, it is not surprising that many modern field-type
setters have a Llewellin like physical appearance since
these dogs are also bred for nose, and stamina. "Because
many of the early Llewellins were tricolors - white with
solid black heads and tan eyebrows and check patches -
that coloration has long been considered standard by
many sportsmen. But equally common are the blue and
orange beltons. And although somewhat rare, there is
also a chestnut belton, a color particularly favored by
Llewellin himself. The term "belton" was first used by
Laverack, and was taken from the name of a town near
Northumberland, England where many of the setters
carried this distinctive color scheme." Additionally,
one may here the term 'Belton-type' setter. This is a
misnomer, and is misused to describe field-type English
that are used almost exclusively to hunt grouse and
woodcock.
Pups that are born all white will eventually develop
small black, orange, or chestnut ticks (very small
spots) all over their bodies. When older, these pups
will end up with a great number of ticks and are called
"beltons" (blue belton, orange belton, or chestnut
belton). Blue refers to black hair that mingles with the
white surrounding hair to form bluish-gray coloring.
Ticking will not be completed until a pup is about 9
months old. All large spots will show up on a pup at the
time of birth (pups with large spots on the body, and/or
partially or solid heads are not referred to as belton).
Adult weight averages around 50 pounds and height is
about 24 inches with females being slightly smaller.
"Although lacking the exaggerated beauty of bench
setters, the modern Llewellin Setter is indeed a
good-looking dog, and he is every inch a sporting dog."
For more detailed information, read the
American Llewellin articles as seen in the LSA
Journal (part 3 includes info. on the "Six Pillars").
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NALBA, Inc.
3413 Forrester
Waco, TX 76708
Phone: (254) 752-1526
http://www.nalba.org/llewellin_setters.htm |
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