Breeding hard-hunting companion gun dogs of intensity on game is as much art as it is science.  Breeding primarily for the color of a dog's coat isn’t much of either.  Nor is breeding for extreme range.  

But Robert Wehle, of Elhew pointer fame, often mentioned the elusive, bottled lightning - breeding candidates for what he described as “the comfortable shooting dog.”

Although Wehle had enormous success in producing field trial winners (as well as virtually everything else to which he turned his artful hands and considerable intellect), at heart, he never stopped believing in his original mission of producing dogs with the baked-in "right stuff" to satisfy men and women of discriminating taste in gun dog performance.  In his 1964 book Wing and Shot, Wehle writes:

“Essentially, a good shooting dog…with a minimum amount of handling, will cover the desired hunting area, locate game and point it until the shooter arrives for the kill. This should be done in a fast, stylish fashion, with intelligence, boldness and accuracy. His manners on point are a matter of personal preference.  Personally I like a shooting dog to remain steady while the bird is flushed and the gun fired, not moving until so instructed…For general hunting retrieving would be desired, particularly in the case of wounded game…A ‘comfortable’ dog is one that will accomplish the above in a fashion that requires little effort on the part of the handler.”

Then Robert Wehle has the courage to wade into the heart of the most misunderstood part of gun dog performance…range.

“I see so many shooters who feel that a good dog should never be out of the range of his gun.  This concept is a mistake for it defeats the purpose of a pointing dog.  It may be fine to expect this from a non0pointing shooting dog such as the spaniels, but the pointing dogs should be allowed to reach out to find game.  Any game directly in the path of the shooter will automatically be flushed by him without the help of the dog.  There are, of course, practical limitations to the range of the dog, governed by the nature of the terrain and the density of the cover. But if he is broken to the point where he will hold his game, there is no reason to have the dog in sight at all times.  If he is out of sight for three or four minutes at a time, do not be concerned as long as he is hunting a forward pattern”(Wehle 4).

This is as good a time as any to say that if you are looking for a slow moving, metronome tick-tock, gun-range-always Llewellin setter, you are likely going to want to continue contacting other breeders.

One step further…if you are a “shooter” as Wehle describes in his second passage (and trust me, that was a most precise, deliberate word choice there), one who is primarily interested in killing birds, then you are likely on the wrong website as well. 

Eric Jacobs loves to shoot as much as anyone. And his Llewellin partners have found birds in times and places other dogs couldn’t and held them for good gunning chances other men and women couldn’t get over their own dogs…but he would be the first to tell you that if what you’re after is a class, comfortable companion gun dog that hunts with and for you, stands its game with confidence and staunch intensity, then you’re only going to shoot (at) birds that the dog has handled correctly.

“Correctly” is relative, to a point (so to speak). We love a “broke” dog, steady to wing and shot, eager to retrieve. But we can also appreciate those who make the choice to have their dogs stand steady only until the flush. We understand the utility of the European  (and some stateside) model that sends dogs in to flush while the handler gets clear for the shot.  We know others who care nothing for retrieving, insisting only that their dogs diligently "hunt dead."

What we ask our friends who come to Blizzard’s Huntmore for a puppy is that they go about their training (and take that training to the field) with a clear idea of just what they’re after in a bird dog. It starts with this: If you want a pointing dog that, well, actually points and holds that point, you’re not going to pull the trigger on birds that the dog runs up on its own. You’re going to only shoot birds that your dog stands and holds until either you or the bird flushes. That’s the bare minimum.

That’s also where things get dicey for some folks.

It's been a hard week at work, hustle-bustle at home.  You have just this one day to hunt this week. You have driven a long way to a good spot.  You have put in a lot of time with your dog.  You love to shoot. You love to eat ruffed grouse.

Then you walk.  Hard walking.  Up and down and up and down walking, busting briars, carrying that lightweight shotgun you’re so proud of in one hand all day, except when the terrain or the dog gets birdy, and then it’s two hands, muzzle high and forward, butt tucked for an easy, quick move to mount.

And you walk and you walk and you walk…and neither you nor the dog produces a bird.

That’s when discipline can go out the window. The dog flash points, then jumps in, and the only chance of the day comes clattering up.  Can you stand there and mark the bird’s line of flight, be consistent enough to bring the dog back in, set him up where he should have held his point, make him stand there, then heel him in the opposite direction of the flush so that you can re-establish your connection before getting reoriented on the bird’s flight and casting the dog on?

Maybe your dog has the bit in her teeth. Maybe she’s on a bit of a toot, verging on self-hunting.  You walk into a hazel run the dog didn’t cover…and, of course, a grouse lifts right into your eyes.

Are you dedicated enough to, again, track that flight with your gun and not pull the trigger?  Or are you doing to kill that bird and teach your dog that she’s on one hunt and you’re on another?

Are you a shooter or a bird dogger?

The Jacobs family selects breeding stock to produce puppies that, handled correctly, want to push cover while still hunting for the Gun rather than themselves.  Their innate, fiery intensity on point makes them want to stand there on scent.  Most retrieve naturally. They have the bred-in trainability to accept humane, thoughtful correction, to learn quickly from mistakes, and beg to please their people.

For the discriminating bird hunter, these Llewellins from the “home office” of London, Kentucky, have all the right stuff. After that, it comes down to establishing leadership, a clear sense of purpose, and providing maximum, managed opportunities to learn on wild game.  That “comfortable shooting dog” Robert Wehle describes is within the reach of any Blizzard’s Huntmore owner willing to keep an eye, and the effort, on the prize.

Wehle, Robert C. Wing and Shot. Country Press, 1964.