When linebreeding class grouse dogs, it's all in the family. Our stud dog, Parker, is a littermate to Bella. Parker and Bella are paternal half brother and sister to Mia, Anna Jacobs' favorite. Mia and Laurel are maternal half-sisters. All four are outstanding examples of the Blizzard-line mosaic assembled by the Noe family's Shoeleather Kennel. We had long-admired Joe Noe's breeding ethic; to be able to provide a foundation for our Blizzard venture from the very heart of his life's work is an honor, a privilege, and a calling.
Our program's flagship dog is Parker. His engine runs on an unquenchable desire to please, natural, biddable range, and smoldering intensity on point. His chassis, for us, is unmatched, starting with his classic, chiseled head, down through his short-coupled, coiled spring athlete's body. His is a quiet, easily focused mind, one that trains easily and makes for a very appealing companion dog for any setting.
That's critical, because we are looking for a puppy buying base of people who want to live closely with their Llewellin bird dog, who want the rapport and satisfaction of training their own home and field companion. In fact, one of the challenges moving forward is finding a male of his quality to put to his sister Bella who, herself, is a strapping, honest prodigious talent, holding exciting potential as a producer of the kind of gun dog prospects to please the most discriminating pointing dog aficionado.
While Laurel doesn't have the powerhouse frame of Bella, hers is a refined, sleek, correct beauty balanced with the intelligence and sensitivity that makes her a joy to keep, train, and take to the field. But it is Mia who, day after day, every trip out, makes only solid, natural gains that make her one of the most powerful expression imaginable for what we are trying to do with our breeding program. Her charismatic, tractable nature, her slashing, assertive way of going to her birds, her sculpted, deep muzzled head - she is the total package we could ask for in a potential brood matron contributor.
A breeding program is the sum of its parts. The heart of the matter is a background in superior gun dog performance under the most demanding conditions our Appalachian grouse coverts have to offer. It is an eye for the components that comprise a platform for that performance, and it rests in the uncompromising standards in selecting dogs who can contribute the very best attributes available in the Llewellin strain of setters. In Parker, Bella, Mia, and Laurel, not to mention proven producers like Sis and Dixie, we have gathered a collection of genetic endowment and performance talent that makes it a thrill every day we spend with these good dogs.
We hope you'll give our bloodstock your most serious consideration as you choose your family's Llewellin hunting partner for the next decade and more.