Paint River Llewellin Setters the Way We Raise Our Pups Into Dogs

1 ©Paint River Llewellins All Rights Reserved PAINT RIVER LLEWELLIN SETTERS THE WAY WE RAISE OUR PUPS INTO DOGS This is an outline to aid in the raising of your Paint River Llewellin Setter puppy. Puppyhood is filled with both joys and challenges. Many of you are experienced dog owners, and even Llewellin Setter owners, so to you I say— continue to do what has worked for you and use this material to better your own practices. We will cover the genetic disposition of the breed and what you can expect from your little Llew pup from day one through his development. There will be a lot of hunting material intertwined throughout this article given many go to hunting homes and it is a part of who they are. Character: I have a great page on our website describing the breed on a whole that overlaps this description, but it is vital to understand the nature of the animal you have chosen to live with for 15 years. These are not dogs. They are bird dogs! Ok good— we got that out of the way. I always prefer to highlight the classic things people complain about first, because ultimately these are the things that you convinced yourself were not a big deal, or worth it anyhow…and then… 2 Llewellins love to dig, chew and bark. They are amazing escape artists! And can pretty much jump above your head when they are really happy (which is 99% of the time). The thing about this breed is that they were designed to be loved for exactly who they are. I do not mean that you need to embrace all of their usually bad behaviors, but you do need to understand that these things will happen, and when it’s appropriate they will either need attention OR will need to be allowed. I often say that dogs force people to be very good housekeepers— and this breed defines that statement. You wanted a dog that is very intelligent, with loads of mental energy— you got one now. So just have to hold your ground and breathe until maturity. Llewellins love love, they love to hunt and they love to express themselves. It’s a breed for dog people, not people that own dogs…. dog people. A Llewellin will teach you more than you teach it about relationships, emotions and working on birds of course. And these dogs have been preserved wonderfully over the past century by loving upland bird hunting enthusiasts who really know what a great bird dog is really made of. Llewellins do best with softer handling than firmer handling. They’ll do better with an easy-going hunter than a triple type A control freak. And they’re naturals plain and simple: they’ll get better and better as they mature and exposed to more situations. No dogs are designed to be robots and hunt mechanically. If a dog naturally quarters on the hunt— ok— cool— I guess… but I could care less about its pattern because depending upon the terrain, the most efficient hunting doesn’t really have anything to do with patterns. It has to do with a good nose, 3 problem-solving ability, bird sense and the dog’s knowing where they have hunted and cleared territory and where they have not. My Llews will naturally expand their range once they have worked the areas around me well, or come back and jump up on me as to say— um Dad— can we move on please? Llews do their job and work with you all on their own. That’s what this breed is all about. Medical care: Your pup has received two vaccines (listed on their history card provided to you) and will need one more at 12 weeks of age. That should be followed by a rabies vaccine, which I would suggest around 16 weeks of age. I do advocate for the Lyme (Merial) vaccine: it is very safe and effective in the prevention of Lyme disease. (I pull thousands of ticks off my dogs every year and they never have had Lyme Disease.. Anaplasmosis yes but never Lyme.) It is more expensive, but with the distemper / parvo combination vaccine I prefer to do titers starting at three years of age on the dog to see if it needs the vaccine. The Lyme vaccine I do every year and rabies must be done every three years by law. If you plan to neuter your male this should not be done before 10 months old and females should not be spayed before they have one heat cycle and you’ve waited another two months afterwards as her body has fully concluded that cycle. All mammals’ physical, mental, emotional, and physiological development is largely based on hormones (testosterone {boys}, estrogen {girls}). Removing these the body parts 4 responsible for producing these hormones before they have been fully active can be very harmful to the dog’s health. Paint River Llewellin Setters Come with a three- year health guarantee on any congenital deFeCts which is waived completely if they are neutered/spayed prior to the suggested timetables in this paragraph. In the event there are any defects you will receive a free puppy if desired, providing you will to care for your first dog as a loving family member. You will be responsible for any shipping costs. Housebreaking & Diet: The number one factor for success in controlling elimination with the average pup is due to handler anticipation. Let’s start out with an eight- week old pup. Key times to anticipate elimination are after the pup wakes up, even if it has only been asleep for five minutes, after eating or drinking; within fifteen to twenty minutes, max, anytime the pup gets very stimulated mostly during and after play, and anytime the pup disappears from the main room in which it is being stimulated, go find that pup quickly! Taking all of these times into consideration, keep in mind that the average eight week old pup will eliminate possibly fifteen to twenty times per day, including three to six bowel moments — that’s completely normal. Please make sure that the pup is receiving the proper amount of food. Food does not take long to get from one end to the other! When a person feeds more than the necessary quantity that will add to the problem. You cannot take the pup outside too much, the more the pup 5 goes potty outside the more it will want to go potty outside. If you are home take that pup outside 20-30 times in a single day. Dogs want to eliminate outdoors— it’s natural, so facilitate this desired behavior. Up to four months of age, feeding as many as three times per day is acceptable. In the event you are having a lot of difficulty with too- frequent bowel moments, you can certainly feed the puppy twice a day (over the years I have started feeding my pups twice daily roughly 6am and 6pm. Your pup is currently being fed on this schedule). All meals should be rationed evenly regardless of feeding two or three times daily. With pups over four months of age, I suggest feeding twice per day, dividing the portions equally. Do NOT only feed your dog once daily. There are many great foods out there today: ACana Wild Prairie is what my own dogs and your puppy eats. There are many terrific grain-free foods these days unless supplementing with raw try to avoid foods with more than 35% protein. Sometimes these grain-free foods are a little too high in protein and in the event the puppy develops panosteitis (pano), more commonly called “Growing pains,” it is recommended to give a lower protein food (20% or lower for a couple months) and often that helps. I do not deviate from this diet unless pano actually occurs, usually seen in young dogs under 14 months of age, exhibited by lameness most often in a front leg. A completely raw diet is superior to all dry food diets. Having fed raw for seven years to my working dogs, there has been no time in their lives they have looked better. That being said, plenty of dogs live 15 years eating junk in a bag. There are many 6 options out there and I believe not every dog always does best on the same food. When the pup goes out to go potty, give praise and say “potty” every time he or she is in the aCt oF going. If you do this your pup consistently, will go potty on command in the future. That’s very helpful down the road. A handler certainly has enough times to practice this command. Just from saying “potty” each time your pup eliminates you will have practiced this two hundred to three hundred times in the first month. Please understand that it is normal for it to take one to three months to housebreak a puppy so do your best and be patient. CRATE TRAINING & TOYS: I do use a crate to aid in housebreaking and house manners. I recommend purchasing a crate that the pup will fit into when fully grown. We only want enough room in the crate for the pup to stand up and lie down to go to sleep. If your pup is eliminating in the crate and can get away from the mess, then try blocking off any extra area with a solid object until the pup grows big enough to need that additional space.

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