Craig Koshyk writes a great dog blog. Also: psychic moment!

CCraig Koshyk is a terrific writer/photographer and author of a book that must be on every dog person's wish list — Pointing Dogs, Volume One: The Continentals. To quote from Craig's website [and I get nuthin for this, by the way]:

It is a definitive guide to the versatile gundog breeds of Continental Europe, an in-depth study of the history, development and current status of the pointing dog, and it is a remarkable travelog of an incredible journey.

Written by a hunter for hunters, this volume provides detailed descriptions of all the pointing breeds from Continental Europe. It is illustrated with stunning images of hunting dogs doing what they were bred to do: hunt.

Back in 2008 I wrote:

If anyone has ever taken better photos of sporting dogs, real sporting dogs, I have yet to see them. Professional photographer and teacher Craig Koshyk takes wonderful photos of gun dogs — working portraits that make a person covet a keen Braque du Bourbonnais, or a Deutsch Drahthaar, or a Perdiguero de Burgos. The photos show what the outdoors feels like: see, for example, the wind in the photo of Craig's Uma with a ruffed grouse. Yes, Craig hunts over dogs of his own, and he knows what to look for.
[...]
[He has reorganized his website of photos] in the last week or so, and I know this because I can't find his photos of a dog I had fallen in love with: a gray, good-sized, wire-haired Eastern European dog.

Happy discovery: that dog is a Slovakian Rough-Haired Pointer. Craig just blogged about it today. Does he discuss the breed's history and its current stage of development? Does he comment on its hunting style, health issues, its temperament at work and at rest? Does he share some of his wonderful photos of the dogs afield? He does. And he's spent time in Slovakia, where he interviewed the secretary of the national breed club and watched a number of SRHPs hunt, which tends to give one an extra bit of credibility in addition to making readers insanely jealous. Have I mentioned that I love Craig's blog?

Once again, a hat tip to Andrew Campbell of The Regal Vizsla [now including handsome Jake, a young Pointer] for introducing me to Craig Koshyk's blog and photos.

Upper left: my latest fave, the Slovakian Rough-Haired Pointer. To see Craig Koshyk's actual photo of this beautiful dog, click here.

Great photography: Craig Koshyk's Sporting Dogs

If anyone has ever taken better photos of sporting dogs, real sporting dogs, I have yet to see them. Professional photographer and teacher Craig Koshyk takes wonderful photos of gun dogs — working portraits that make a person covet a keen Braque du Bourbonnais, like the one in Craig's photo on the left [see the full size here], or a Deutsch Drahthaar, or a Perdiguero de Burgos. The photos show what the outdoors feels like: see, for example, the wind in the photo of Craig's Uma with a ruffed grouse. Yes, Craig hunts over dogs of his own, and he knows what to look for. [Check out the videos in his latest blog post. No, he does not suck at making videos.]

In addition to his blog [big hat tip to Andrew of the Vizslak for the link], Craig of course has a most excellent website of photos. He's reorganized the site in the last week or so, and I know this because I can't find his photos of a dog I had fallen in love with: a gray, good-sized, wire-haired Eastern European dog. Good thing Craig is preparing a book. It's called The Continentals — "a guide to the versatile hunting dogs of continental Europe" — and it's slated for publication in early 2009. I can't wait.