David Tomlinson

David Tomlinson

David Tomlinson is a specialist writer on wildlife and countryside subjects whose work has taken him from Arizona to Argentina, Kazakhstan to Kenya, and almost every country in Europe. Among his more memorable experiences are being charged by a bull elephant while walking in Okavango, sharing a car with a young Jeremy Clarkson and watching Borg beat McEnroe at Wimbledon. He has contributed the Sporting Dog column to The Field for 12 years. He lives in rural Suffolk with his wife and spaniels. He doesn’t do social media.

wet spaniel

  • January 5, 2026

ONE of the great attractions of fieldsports is that, generally speaking, they are not affected too much by the weather. Bad light never stops play, and rarely does bad weather.…

labrador in sea

  • July 14, 2025

We all know that you can take a horse to water but can’t make it drink; it’s equally true that you can take a dog to water but can’t make…

Best gundog

  • June 17, 2025

Breaking into shooting is difficult in the best circumstances, and becomes even more so when you have an HPR. But old assumptions that they are noisy and hard mouthed are…

Chesapeake Bay retriever

  • April 28, 2025

Retrievers don’t have to be labradors. The flatcoat was the Downton Abbey gundog and Edwardian gentleman’s favourite retriever. Every 10 years for the past four decades a friend has bought…

dog looking at chocolate chip cookies

  • April 25, 2025

As a general rule, dogs are pretty robust and can eat most things in moderation without any issues. However, the list of foods that are toxic or poisonous to dogs…

German longhaired pointer

  • April 22, 2025

Many HPRs excel at hunting and pointing but fall short at retrieving. German longhaired pointers are superb at all three. David Tomlinson thinks these pointers are magical.

Welsh springer spaniel

  • April 22, 2025

Do working dogs have to wear a collar? Yes, it is a legal requirement for dogs in public places to wear a collar, with details of their owner. In that…