A Rough-Shooting Dog: The First Season of a Hunting Spaniel

A Rough Shooting Dog is the beautifully told story of the selection, training, and first hunting season of Jenny, the author's English Springer Spaniel. In lyrical and moving prose, Charles Fergus explores how the intimate bonds between a hunting dog and her master produce a deeper understanding and celebration of the natural world. His insights on animal psychology, country living, writing, and animal breeding are interspersed among the eloquent meditations on the joys and frustrations of owning a dog.

During the course of his first season with Jenny, Fergus loses his father, becomes a father himself, and finds that hunting with a dog is one way to get close to wildlife and to a deeper appreciation for the natural cycles of life and death. But this is not a book that will appeal solely to hunters; on the contrary, anyone who has ever owned a dog will take great pleasure in reading the story of Jenny and her master.

"What a knockout book! Like all labors of love, a priveledge to read. A treasure of the woods." — Rick Bass, author of Winter: Notes From Montana

A Rough Shooting Dog is the beautifully told story of the selection, training, and first hunting season of Jenny, the author's English Springer Spaniel. In lyrical and moving prose, Charles Fergus explores how the intimate bonds between a hunting dog and her master produce a deeper understanding and celebration of the natural world. His insights on animal psychology, country living, writing, and animal breeding are interspersed among the eloquent meditations on the joys and frustrations of owning a dog.

During the course of his first season with Jenny, Fergus loses his father, becomes a father himself, and finds that hunting with a dog is one way to get close to wildlife and to a deeper appreciation for the natural cycles of life and death. But this is not a book that will appeal solely to hunters; on the contrary, anyone who has ever owned a dog will take great pleasure in reading the story of Jenny and her master.

"What a knockout book! Like all labors of love, a priveledge to read. A treasure of the woods." -- Rick Bass, author of Winter: Notes From Montana