Gun Dog Breeds: A Guide to Spaniels, Retrievers, and Pointing Dogs

by Charles Fergus

This lively, engaging, and extremely helpful book covers the history, physical characteristics, temperaments, and field capabilities of the more than thirty dog breeds used to hunt gamebirds. It teaches both the novice and the experienced hunter how to choose the right dog for any hunting situation. Gun Dog Breeds covers breeds both popular and little known. It gives advice on how to select a breed and pick a puppy. It emphasizes the pragmatic without ignoring the whimsical. From pointers to drahthaars, from English springers to Boykin spaniels, from Labrador retrievers to curly-coated retrievers, Gun Dog Breeds gives an unbiased, comprehensive, and entertaining look at the wealth of dogs available to the modern hunter. (6 x 9, b&w photos)

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

I write a mystery series set in the 1830s in a rough-and-tumble county in backwoods Pennsylvania, where an "accidental" sheriff works to solve crimes while battling his own griefs and travails. My most recent Gideon Stoltz mystery, "Nighthawk's Wing" (Arcade Crimewise 2021), received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. It's the sequel to "A Stranger Here Below" (Arcade Crimewise, 2019), which just came out in paperback. I'm currently at work on a third in the series, with the working title "Lay This Body Down." The Gideon Stoltz mysteries take place during the Jacksonian era of American history, when our young nation was flexing its muscles and finding its identity.

Born and raised in central Pennsylvania, I now live on a farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. I love to spend time outdoors in all seasons, hiking, snowshoeing, and especially riding horses. I'm married to the writer Nancy Marie Brown. I have written many nature books, and my readers tell me my knowledge of natural history and wildlife helps inform my fiction.