Hillcrest Kennels

Puppy Socialization

At Hillcrest Kennels we believe in Socializing puppies at an early age is key to early development of your hunting companion and pet. We have a whelping area set-up in our attached garage so that we can give constant attention to the female and puppies. We start socializing within a couple days of the litter whelping and the puppies are handled multiple times each day by family members.

When puppies are 3-4 week’s old they are introduced to the backyard with all the new smell,sounds and places to explore.  The pups are introduced to a portable kennel around 5-6 week’s of age.  This is a start to crate training and we take the pups on a couple of short trips to get them comfortable with the crate as well as motion.  The pup’s that are flying to their new home will generally be given a few more trips to prepare them for their travel time.

The last couple weeks the pups are with us is a particularly important time for  socialization.  We get down on the ground with them which makes the pups more comfortable and secure.  We also take them in and out of the whelping area which helps to establish a response from the pups to take our lead and go with us.

English Setter Litters

Elite breeding not only produces greater ability it also produces more consistent offspring.  Variance in size is still common but natural ability around game, athleticism, and mental make-up is more consistent in English Setter litters produced from elite ancestry and highly discriminative selection practices.  Therefore, the best practice in selecting a pup is actually to focus your search on the right litter.

What specifically does “focusing on the litter” mean?  In general terms it means to focus on the parents and relatives as well as why a breeder selected a given pairing.  Start with the process used to select females to participate in a breeding program.  Did the breeder keep a female simply because they liked her dog or was she the product of evaluating several females in order to find a truly exceptional individual?  This process is a good measure of the quality of the breeding program and the likelihood of producing great English Setter puppies.

Asking questions about how specific traits are evaluated and weighted is the key to finding your ideal hunting companion.  Be prepared to ask about specific commonalities (traits) of not only the parents but the siblings and even-half siblings of this line of English Setters.  The breeder’s knowledge of the ancestors is an indication of the thought and effort put into a breeding program.

Important Traits

  • Companionship traits – Personality / Calm off-task
  • Natural ability to handle game
  • Application – Very influential in terms of bird finding ability.  This includes Pattern, Range and Pace.
  • Athleticism –  Hunting dogs are athletes with considerable variance among breeds, lines, and individuals.
  • Stamina / Heat Tolerance – The ability to maintain a strong pace for hours is a key element to performance.
  • Preference – Size / Color / Sex

Be careful not to over emphasize non-performance related attributes if performance is important.  The percentage of litters produced via highly selective practices is low.  Further reducing the available pool makes it considerably harder to get a pup that represents the upper echelon of the breed.

English Setter Litters for Sale

The litters on Setters Unlimited are offered by breeders with great track records and considerable experience.  All of the S/U breeders were invited here because of their reputation for being the best of the best.  Ask the participating breeders about these specific traits in their English Setter pups for sale or planned litters and find a great match.