In fact, Edward Laverack dedicated his book to Llewellin and wrote “who has endeavored, and is still endeavoring, by sparing neither expense nor trouble, to bring to perfection the ‘Setter.'” The “ Llewellin setter” has carried a legacy that is still very much alive today, though whether or not it should be considered an English Setter is a topic up for lively debate. More notable in the bird dog community is the name Richard Purcell Llewellin, also from England, who would use part of the bloodline developed by Laverack to produce the sporting version of the breed.
In his book The Setter, published in 1872, Laverack describes the various types and lines of setters that were found in England by the second half of the nineteenth century. The modern version of the breed is traced to the early 1800s when Edward Laverack of England developed what most believe is the modern show breed. According to the AKC, the Setter’s origins trace back to a mixing of types and breeds such as the Spanish Pointer, the Large Water Spaniel, and the Springer Spaniel. Artwork dating back to the 15 th century depicts long-haired dogs that many people believe to be the earliest days of the breed. In fact, over 20% of the dog-owning community within Project Upland owns an English Setter.īut beyond our community trends, the English Setter has a long history in the story of bird dog development. That culture has contributed heavily to the popularity of the English Setter around our community. The north woods has a fascination with Ripley paintings, George Bird Evans, and many iconic cultural norms when it comes to grouse hunting. There certainly remains a level of bias as Project Upland is rooted heavily in our origins in the north woods as grouse hunters–a factor that most certainly contributes to the number one most popular breed in our community. This article, however, is based on some data such as crowdsourcing via our community survey as well as litter populations in the United States, in an attempt to identify which of the bird dog breeds are most popular within our upland world. That’s why we do our best to cover all breeds (and upland game birds) and keep our personal preferences and opinions to ourselves. There’s no better way to incite a riot in the bird dog world than to talk about favorite dog breeds. Exploring the most popular bird dog breeds of the upland hunting community over the years