More reviews!
I'm happy to say that not one, not two, but THREE new reviews for Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals have come out recently.
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Finally, I received a review from William (Sandy) Gunn who has written for a variety of national and international dog magazines and is described as "a Canadian hunter, a breeder, and an active field trial and conformation judge with experience behind pointing dogs on five continents under numerous performance evaluation systems."
Mr. Gunn also wrote a very positive review, and I will include it in its entirety below. After you read it, you will understand why I will not only need a new hat to cover my hugely swollen head, but I may even need to widen the door to my house just to get across the threshold!
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What Craig Koshyk set out to do had been done by nobody before him, and is unlikely to ever be done again. His investment of time, more than a decade, and travel, throughout Continental Europe and North America, has achieved his goal of examining, photographing, and describing each of the continental pointing breeds in detail, and from firsthand experience with each at work in the field.
While Mr. Koshyk’s work is done from the perspective of a hunter, for hunters, it would be an extraordinary waste were it not to be read by anyone with the audacity to stand in the middle of a conformation ring and pronounce judgment as to the merits of the exhibits in his/her sporting group ring. The breed standards for each breed should be the blueprint from which judgment proceeds, but for a fleshing out of the standards and to give them meaning, now we have a text that can truly help, most especially with the less frequently seen breeds.
Even those of us who judge not only conformation but field trials and tests of pointing breeds, and have done so on multiple continents, are unlikely to have seen all of these breeds in the flesh and at work, but Mr. Koshyk has and he has recorded his observations in an orderly and very readable way with a high degree of conformity from one breed to another. One of my greatest pleasures in life has been hunting with and observing pointing breeds at work and I find myself being jealous of this remarkable accomplishment, and wishing I could have been along for the ride!
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If my use of superlatives is off-putting I apologize but, when you are able to read this yourselves, and please do not neglect to do so, you will find my descriptions not only accurate but understatement, such is the value of this book to the serious student of pointing breeds. Nothing can replace being present and experiencing the thrill of a great dog, of whatever breed, doing his thing with the scent of game birds filling his being with purpose but we can now live that experience vicariously through Craig Koshyk’s marvelous book of photos and word paintings.
If I had to be critical and presumed to be able to offer constructive criticism of such a book as this, it would be only that the font size leaves old eyes like mine wishing for relief through magnification. That said, the present 365 glossy pages would have used twice the paper and have become not only unwieldy but prohibitively expensive had larger fonts been used. Though there will never be a substitute for the presence of this beautiful book in ones greedy hands, or on ones bookshelf, it would be great if a digital version might one day be available." --William (Sandy) Gunn
Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals, I received the book today. My wife bought it for me for my birthday. I have to say, this book is very well created from the materials from which the book was composed to the quality of the pictures, its comprehensive nature, and its content. I was surprised how heavy the book was when I picked it up from the post office. I have a long way to go before I get through it completely, but so far I would recommend it. I am sure that I will refer back to it throughout the coming years. A good resourse it will be. I have to wonder how this book might help those breeds that are less known from other countries?
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