The Gamekeeper’s Dog By John Cowan

John Cowan is an experienced gamekeeper working in Scotland and here he shares a lifetime’s expertise in using and training working dogs.

He covers each category of gamekeeper’s dog: Retriever, Terrier, Hunter Pointer Retriever, Pointers and Setters, Guard Dogs, Spaniels, Lurchers and Cross-breeds, and discusses in fascinating detail the role that each group of dog plays in the working life on a sporting Estate, once trained.

He discusses the strengths and weaknesses of individual breeds and illustrates his points with some fascinating first-hand experiences with specific working dogs.

The Gamekeeper’s Dog also includes John Cowan’s account of how a gamekeeper trains his specific dogs, how he selects them and his relationship with them. Unique specialist advice on how to train a dog to ‘bay’ and to find and sit by fallen game is also included.

John Cowan was born in the Scottish Borders and spent his early years exploring the surrounding countryside and learning about its wildlife, trying to glean as much knowledge as possible from the old countrymen and their working dogs.

His first job was under the watchful eye of the famous keeper, Ronnie Rose, at Eskdalemuir, where he learnt about deer stalking, grouse, blackcock, duck and pheasant shooting. Each role required the services of a different breed of working dog. He then took employment at the Duke of Roxburgh’s estate near Kelso, learning about grouse and wild partridge management under Jimmy Nairn.

John has been a gamekeeper in Scotland for over 40 years, much of it as a head keeper managing pheasant and partridge shooting and roe deer stalking.

He and his wife Jan have two children and two grandchildren.