A short film which offers insight into life in Kennels from the UK Countryside Alliance
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Lovely film. Loving hounds.
And I wonder if Daniel Hammett grew up in Dartford, because he sounds enough like Keith Richards to be his twin! 
I don’t know where his accent comes from. It isn’t Gloucestershire or Bristol.
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Very romanticized view.
Countryside Alliance propaganda so it likely would be romantic… it does provide some insight into a working kennel.
Not really. Shows absolutely nothing of the actual life in kennels.
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Mmmm, I do agree but also it does show something of what the kennels look like and how the hounds are housed. The Countryside Alliance titled it “How Hunting Affects the UK Countryside” or something completely detached from the film. Anyway, I thought it was a short and charming film of hounds.
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The dogs are certainly beautifully filmed and appear in good condition (as you’d expect). But the kennel itself looks awfully stark and cold and rather crowded for so many dogs. I agree I would have been more interested in everyday training, feeding, and care.
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Well, I thought it was charming. Loved the way the camera was able to show a love of dogs – the close-ups of the paws, the ears and eyes, etc.
(It’s a 2-minute movie. I think realistic expectations are in order for the nuances of houndsmanship).
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They are not dogs - they are hounds, and they behave like hounds. Packs operate very differently than domestic dogs.
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Good to know!
One way to really annoy the keen foxhunter is to call a hound a dog. Hounds also have sterns, leathers, give tongue and make music and own many other specific terms that distinguish them from common “cur dogs”. By tradition, hounds have inhabited a unique space between humans and wild nature and over the centuries have acquired a specific language. I personally have been known to refer to “dogs” just to be annoying.
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I love this insight. You express the way I feel.
I know what a stern is. What are leathers?
ETA: Now I’m wondering if this is what Francis Thompson was thinking of when he wrote “The Hound of Heaven.” And other writers on other symbolic hounds …
Leathers = ears.
Have you read Raynard the Fox, a long poem by John Masefield? It has some beautiful descriptions of hounds. I can’t find my copy or I would quote a bit.
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IME,
Kennels aren’t glamourous or luxurious. Hounds are working animals, kennels should be clean and functional, uncrowded and well ventilated. That’s what the hounds want. Yes, retired hounds will sleep on a sofa in front of the fire, but working hounds need to be housed as a pack.
Is it a bit romanticized? Eh, yes, I guess. But I have never, ever known a huntsman worth a darn that wasn’t utterly devoted to his hounds and adored by the hounds in return. I think that’s something that’s poorly understood by the non-hunting public.
If I were making a film like this; I would show how much control the huntsman has over his pack with voice and horn. To your average dog owner struggling to control one pet dog on a leash, a huntsman leading an entire pack up to the edge of the road and having the entire pack sit and wait with him until he gives the signal to cross is quite impressive.
I would also show footage of the mark to ground, where the hounds are all deliriously happy, and the huntsman has dismounted to praise, pet and give treats, the hounds just about coming out of there skin with delight at the praise and attention. It may be one of my favorite parts of hunting, after all the other bits. 
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No, but I like other poems of his so now I will go find that one. Thank you!
@Willesdon OK, I’ve just found it. So far it reminds me one of my favourite poems, not about hunting per se but I do like the bit in verse 3. Do you know this one?
http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/gordonal/poetry/webeatfav.html
