The History & Mission of Long Gone Setters
Our Mission is to produce top-quality shooting companions
and future Grouse and Woodcock champions.
In 1916, R.B. “Bernie” Murray acquired his first english setter to assist in his quest of upland birds. This love of grouse and woodcock hunting, and more importantly, his attraction to the english setter breed stayed with him strongly for the next 76 years until his passing in 1992. Breeding, raising, training, and hunting english setters became his passion.
Naturally this involvement with bird dogs and bird hunting led Bernie to dog shows first, and then on to field trials. Once he got “the bug”, he
campaigned his setters with Paul Long until he retired from G.E. in 1960.
One of Bernies favorites was tri-colored male whelped in 1949 and registered as “Flight Doctor”. “Doc was a successful field trial winner and a tremendous shooting companion. The interesting thing about this is the dog’s breeding. Doc’s dam was “Flight Commander Sue”. This connection to, and line breeding of the “Commander” line of setters continues today, over 50 years later, at Long Gone Kennels.
Lloyd B. Murray Sr also had a great love for upland bird shooting over pointing dogs, and also helped to impart his love for this sport onto his son, Lloyd Jr. Although Lloyd Sr. did not share the same love of breeding and nurturing a bloodline as his father, his son did. And just as traits in dogs sometimes skip a generation, so to was this love of english setter breeding, hunting, and campaigning with Lloyd Jr.
Today in the mountains of northern New Hampshire, Long Gone Kennels thrives. In it’s third generation of a family directed operation, the kennel continues as it has always been: a small, but very vibrant operation. We are not a “puppy mill”! We are not interested in breeding and selling “common” puppies. Our females that we use in our breeding program are accomplished field trial winners on WILD birds, and are all shot over extensively during the hunting season. We feel there is NO difference between a grouse and woodcock championship dog and a cover dog, shooting companion.
We do not breed a large number of pups. One reason is our females are being campaigned extensively on a national scale (by Dave Hudges, Hughesview Kennels, Clearfield, PA, 814-765-7706.) and are also being hunted all fall. But we do breed a fair number of quality britches to our males. Our males are also very accomplished field trial winners, on WILD BIRDS, and are also hunted extensively. You can breed into this very successful line of setters with your own bitches, or call us and we will be glad to let you know what bitches are bred to some of our males. You may be able to get a pup from one of those females.
Our setters have wonderful, loving dispositions, and are extremely intelligent. I guaranteed they will become devoted members of your family!
Some say that winning field trial dogs are too high strung or run too much. This is simply not true. If you are considering buying a pup from a kennel that does NOT show their dogs publicly, and make great claims about their prowess, please stop and ask yourself: Why don’t they show them?
Our dogs are proudly and successfully campaigned from the Canadian Maritimes, to the aspen covered courses of Michigan, to the pole timber and beech nut thickets of Pennsylvania.
Inside this website we will provide you with a pictorial background on our dogs and information to help you make a logical choice on your next setter puppy. We are not a “flash in the pan”, “here today, gone tomorrow” operation. Rather, we are committed to breeding the best grouse and woodcock dogs in the world. Setters you will proud to own, shoot over and compete in field trials. Anything less then that, we are NOT interested in, as we DO NOT do this for a living, it is our passion (www.chaletcaterers.com) thus we don’t have to “settle” for anything inferior.
