Dogs out hunting?

[Orangehorse]

I mean cur dogs obviously. I always thought it was a "no no" to take your pet dog hunting, and not really the done thing, but people seem to a lot nowadays. At least it means that you don't have to walk it again when you get home!

I always thought it was a bit dangerous for the pet too. Hounds like to go among the foot followers to see if there are any dropped sausage rolls or bits of fruitcake, and if you dog goes "grrr" to a hound, the reply might be "crunch." I know they are trained not to attack dogs, but it is tempting fate a bit.

There has been a hunt email saying that dogs should be left in the car, so I don't know what prompted that, but I have sympathy for the hunt.

 

[Swirlymurphy]

I think all hunts are wary of diseases spreading from 'civilian' dogs to the hounds so we sometimes get emails saying exactly this. I wouldn't bring my dogs as they would actually quite like to be out there hunting themselves and subsequently would behave appallingly! I'd hate to get sent home from foot following because of their behaviour

 

[Fiona]

I hunted for years with a bloodhound pack, and at one stage they introduced a proportion of foxhound breeding into the bloodhound pack....

They killed a couple of cur dogs at least to my knowledge (one was out hunting and one was the masters own terrier) so for that reason I would never bring my own dog anywhere near a pack of working foxhounds....

Needless to say the master reverted to the traditional breeding the following season, even if they did tire quicker...

Fiona

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I wouldn't do it, personally, for all the reasons given above which are very good ones.

One of my dogs is the same colour as a fox i.e. bright ginger! So I wouldn't dare take her anywhere near hounds for obvious reasons.

There was an awful incident at our opening meet a few years ago where hounds killed the host's pet dog which was roaming around the grounds at the meet

 

[Countryman]

I've certainly never heard of foxhounds attacking other dogs, even if they were ginger! Seen strays and loose cur dogs go for foxhounds but they were usually ignored. Interestingly I've been told bloodhounds are significantly more difficult to handle and more dog aggressive than foxhounds by a man who has hunted both.

This email will be because of the risk of kennel cough - spread from dog to dog, and one infected pet who may not be showing symptoms can put an entire pack out of work for several weeks.

 

[Clodagh]

As CM says, it is kennel cough that is the no no.
I have told this story on here before but I do like it.
Years ago my OH used his ginger lakeland to bolt a fox from a drain. It took a lot of time to bolt and the dog would have reeked of fox. No one managed to grab him when both fox and dog came out and he shot off across the airfield in hot pursuit. The huntsman had already laid the hounds on and they were hunting hard behind him. OH thought that was that for the dog, the pack of hounds overhauled him and then just ran on and killed the fox, the terrier was outraged at them stealing what was his but came to no harm at all.
Hounds also sometimes used to break past the whip and come back to a dig, if there was a spare terrier tied to a tree the terrier used to soon send those hounds packing.
Hound pups meet many cur dogs when they are out at walk and are socailised just like a notrmal dog, they don't see curs as quarry.

 

[Orangehorse]

I guess it is the kennel cough, as there has been an outbreak locally. I still don't think it is a great idea to take pet dogs though.

 

[Shay]

Several of our foot followers bring dogs with them - but it is not polite to have them loose. I've hunted for decades now and never known foxhounds kill a cur dog. A hound that is so undisciplined as to kill something not quarry would not be tolerated.

There is cough going around at the moment - there always is at first frost - and many packs will email and politely ask supporters to leave dogs at home or in the car until the pack have moved off. Cough in a domestic dog is little or nothing really. Cough in a working pack will cause numerous lost days hunting and associated loss of revenue for the hunt as well as damaging the fitness of the pack.

And despite the polite reminders someone always brings a dog....