PrintThat advice, coupled with spending time with hounds, will result in hounds trying hard to please you.
Why Certain Packs Hunt Better Than Others
A question that haunted me for years. Hounds have been bred for centuries to hunt. The answer is aligned closely with understanding why hounds trust their huntsman. Put aside other influences for the moment and concentrate on the huntsmen.
I've been out with huntsmen whose hounds absolutely loved them. In kennels and walking out, they were biddable, happy, adored their huntsman, and would respond to his/her every wish. These huntsmen walked and fed their hounds daily. Yet a few of these packs, when out hunting, would not draw or did not hunt well.
I have also been out with a few packs where the huntsman did not walk out with his hounds very often or personally feed them. Usually a kennel huntsman or whipper-in did this. Many times, the only time they spent with their hounds was when they went hunting; yet these hounds seemed to also love their huntsman, hunted like demons, drew well, and consistently provided good sport.
Don't misunderstand me: I'm not suggesting that hounds draw better when the daily caretaker is not the same person who hunts them. I'm saying that daily walking out and feeding a pack is not necessarily a prerequisite to good drawing and hunting.
Another consideration for gaining trust comes from Mason Lampton, MFH and huntsman of the Midland (Ga.). He believes, "When a huntsman lifts hounds to a view or casts them forward where the line is fresh for them to scent the quarry, hounds learn to trust the huntsman and hark to the huntsman as he has become as much a part of the pack as the best strike hound."
Eidon Letts, jt-MFH and whipper-in for the College Valley/North Northumberland (England), when asked, "How does a huntsman get hounds to trust him?" answered in three words: "By being right!"
She meant that hounds learn that when their huntsman takes them hunting, they're likely to find a fox. It builds a strong bond between them. She also means that if, when hounds have an unsolvable loss, the huntsman steps in and makes a brilliant cast that sets them right, trust is forged as a result.
Couple Eidon's answer with an understanding of a hound's priorities and it becomes clear. Hounds have a "hierarchy of needs." They include: water, food, shelter, health, comfort, love and sex. But topping that list is hunting. Hounds will forgo all else to hunt.
The huntsman who consistently does everything he can to ensure that his hounds find something to chase when hunting will win over the fellow who has great rapport with his hounds but doesn't have the country or the game.
Hounds trust their huntsman to give them the opportunity to find game. The greatest reward for a hound is to chase and account for something. If you want to motivate him, take him hunting. If there is never game to chase, hounds will eventually quit hunting and lose trust in their huntsman.
If a huntsman can draw coverts where hounds find regularly, hounds will hunt and draw like demons. Hounds seem to know that the harder they try, the more likely they are to find something. They transfer the pleasure they feel hunting to that huntsman. He gives them the ultimate pleasure and reward--hunting! If you understand a hound's motivation, you will gain insight into what to expect from him.
Watch The Body Language
