Heartbroken about the Hounds

[Jaegermonster]

[QUOTE=cssutton;4573453]
Thanks.

Hunting a bagged fox is specifically forbidden by the MFHA.

Several years ago, a now very famous huntsman and master caused a big uproar essentially because they did not get the hounds away from an earth quickly enough.

I forget the exact wording, but the MFHA has a time limit on how long hounds can mark the den.

How times have changed.

When I was young, fox were considered vermin and the farmers would get really ill if you did not catch a reasonable number during the season.

That was in the day when most farmers had chickens free ranging during the daylight hours. Also many of them hunted birds and the bird hunters could never be convinced that the fox is really not that hard on birds.

A fox is like a crow. If it is easy, he will grab it. If it is hard, he will trot on to the next opportunity.

But I digress. The present day game laws, MFHA rules, the fact that many in the field are not really that close to nature and hunting; all result in a totally different approach to hunting.

CSSJR

Protect your privacy. Replace Google with IXQUICK at www.ixquick.com.

If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor’s right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.[/QUOTE]

I found that particular post that you originally referenced regarding releasing foxes to be particularly offensive. And insulting
I whip in at two hunts, and all of the people that I hunt with that are true ride to hunt people pride themselves on being true sportsmen in all senses of the word.
I don’t mind people new to the sport asking questions and trying to learn, and will help as much as I can. but I do mind people coming on a public forum and trying to stir up s$^%.

[cssutton]

[QUOTE=Jaegermonster;4574236]
I found that particular post that you originally referenced regarding releasing foxes to be particularly offensive. And insulting
I whip in at two hunts, and all of the people that I hunt with that are true ride to hunt people pride themselves on being true sportsmen in all senses of the word.
I don’t mind people new to the sport asking questions and trying to learn, and will help as much as I can. but I do mind people coming on a public forum and trying to stir up s$^%.[/QUOTE]

If that was directed at me, it was misdirected.

And if you consider it directed at me correctly, I would like an explanation.

CSSJR

[Jaegermonster]

No no cssutton not at all and please accept my apologies for not expressing myself well between the cooking and baking and 5 yo niece running about.

The post i am referring to as insulting and offensive etc in my last post is the post by the OP that originally referenced releasing a fox and chasing it and so on. Not any post of yours.
You and I are on the same page.

[Candle]

[QUOTE=OneGrayPony;4571325]
Hrm…I recognize the writing style of the OP.

just sayin’[/QUOTE]

Jeez, y’all are good!!! I don’t recognize anything other than GOLDFISH!!! and SNAPS!!!

[cssutton]

[QUOTE=Jaegermonster;4574423]
No no cssutton not at all and please accept my apologies for not expressing myself well between the cooking and baking and 5 yo niece running about.

The post i am referring to as insulting and offensive etc in my last post is the post by the OP that originally referenced releasing a fox and chasing it and so on. Not any post of yours.
You and I are on the same page.[/QUOTE]

Thanks.

I really thought that was the case, but usually the reply is directed to the person quoted.

But that is OK.

I do agree with your thoughts.

I saw trouble with a captital “T” in OP’s first post and that is one reason I took a hard line.

It sounds like Christmas is going to be fun at y our house.

Merry Christmas.

CSSJR

[Jaegermonster]

Thanks this is the first christmas that our whole family has been together since before my niece was born, and my first with her, plus the first time she has met my husband, so we are having a blast with her.
we got her a pony for christmas and a helmet and little paddock boots, so she was just beside herself.

[beanie_boomer]

First, I want to commend many of the hunt people for their thoughtful and candid replies. If you love the hounds, this is an issue that bothers you. Knowing that something is the “right” thing to do doesn’t always make it easier. And I am one of the folks that works with the hounds day in and day out, works very hard to find homes for some of them, and also holds them when they are euthanized.

What struck me on the first page of this thread and bothers me to the end, is why did the OP feel it necessary to concoct an alias to ask the question?

If it’s a legitimate issue to raise, and I think it is, and you are going to expect people to dignify your questions with answers, then why can’t you do it under your own identity?

[iechris]

Artful wishes all the hounds, still hunting and retired, a very Merry Christmas.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv297/iechris/artfulchristmas09.jpg

[Beverley]

@beanie&boomer;4576110

What struck me on the first page of this thread and bothers me to the end, is why did the OP feel it necessary to concoct an alias to ask the question?

Well, yeah, that sort of thing always strikes me as odd on this board in general. Tangled webs and all that.

But then I’m not afraid of asking dumb questions. And I don’t feel a need to ‘hide’ who I am to say what I mean. I don’t generally say behind peoples’ backs what I wouldn’t say to their face, but I recognize that most folks aren’t like that. Downside of course is nobody shares any good gossip with you.

Who was it that said- if you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, come and sit by me?

[xeroxchick]

The “come and sit by me” was said by Bettye Davis, I believe.

[Equibrit]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the OP would be taken even less seriously when posting under their own name.

[Jaegermonster]

[QUOTE=Beverley;4576766]
Who was it that said- if you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, come and sit by me?[/QUOTE]

It was in “Steel Magnolias” also love that movie

anyone noticed the OP has conveniently disappeared?

[Wheel_Whip]

The original quote might have been Dorothy Parker. Anyway. Merry Christmas to all!

[Gloria]

[QUOTE=HuntNewbie;4571122]
How could you consider my question “complaining”? I am sad and trying to figure out what I can do to make the situation for our hounds different than I suspect it is. I could not get a direct answer so was trying to figure out what normally happened to them when the were “retired.”

I can not adopt them all, but will try to change their lot in a very civilized way.

How mean spirited of you to attack.[/QUOTE]

Dear dear dear, you call me mean spirited??? Here is the deal, your original post said nothing about trying to help them. All you said was how heart broken you were, how unfair the hounds were to be put down, and how mean and cruel those kennels to do it.

And that really really annoyed me.

You cannot adopt and keep them all, but you expect others to perform the deed you can’t/won’t. That is quite a double standard don’t you think?

If you Do try to improve their lives, hat off to you. If you can’t, nobody will blame you, but you shouldn’t put higher standard on others than yourself either.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=Beverley;4576766]

Who was it that said- if you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, come and sit by me?[/QUOTE]

Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

[Corky]

Love all the house hound pics! Too cute!

[Nbairnsfather]

We had a stray(?) coonhound show up at our farm one night dragging a length of chain behind him. We tried, unsuccessfully, to find his owner, and he soon found himself firmly ensconced on our couch along with our two Springer Spaniels. He was a terrific dog, eccentric and opinionated with a unique sense of humor. He also had an insatiable drive to hunt. We tried using an “Invisible Fence” to contain him, but he would just grit his teeth, plunge right through the charge, and with a yelp, take off for the fields. Eventually he came home, tired, hungry and happy.

One day he took off and didn’t come back. We found him in a ditch; he had been hit by a car and suffered from two broken legs and a broken pelvis. I cried like a baby as I held him while he was “PTS”.

The moral of the story? Hounds make wonderful companions, but they WILL live their life their way, and if you have one whose hunting drive is still so powerful, it is essential that they be confined for their own protection. But will they be happy? That, to me, is the most important consideration.

[BohemianRN]

Okay, silly question. I read how some hunts keep the oldsters in a special kennel, but I know not all hunts can do this. I also can see how a working hound would NOT do well in a home situation. Is there such a thing as a re homing program? I am sure some would be fine as “ranch dogs” or something like that. Are they okay to be out loose? Or would they run off? I am really curious now. I know very little about foxhounds, so pardon my ignorance, but I am a life long Basset owner. I know one of my Bassets was miserable in the house but fantastic w the horses.

[Hounds]

I think a lot depends on the individual hound and also to some extent the age at which they are rehomed. I don’t know of a specific program or standard method that hunts or affiliated hound groups might use for rehoming, so I’ll second the question and wonder aloud whether such a thing exists (if that was what you were asking!) and, if so, what it entails. In my experience, people tailor their own programs according to the specific hound and use a variety of resources for training/rehoming advice.

I think, if left to their own devices and loose, most hounds with working backgrounds probably would be inclined to follow their noses and go hunting on their own. Having said that, I know of non-hound dogs that will do this, too–including the miniature schnauzer that was our family dog when I was a child!

We have a beagle from a hunting pack who now lives in the suburbs with us very happily as an indoor pet. In our neighborhood are several foxhounds who also have done well here as individual pets, though I don’t know what training methods their owners might have sought or used to get them to that point. I do know that, as with most active dogs, they do best with plenty of exercise.

The Hound Welfare Fund (which I volunteer with) keeps the retired Iroquois hounds at the kennel where the hunting pack also are, as you mentioned, but some of the retired hounds also have become house or farm dogs.

On occasion we’ve used our local MFH, huntsman, and kennel staff as resources for knowledge and advice when we’ve needed it for any of our house dogs, but not, funnily enough, for our former hunting beagle, who was so easy to integrate into his new life with our small house “pack” that we haven’t had any problems with him. One of our other (non-hunting) beagles had some issues when I first got him, and they were very helpful in giving advice then. Interestingly, HIS problem improved dramatically when the former hunting pack beagle moved in, so that was helpful, too.

[awm]

drafting older hounds

There are many Huntsmen & Masters that have a network for trading
hounds—it’s not official but by word-of-mouth, new packs take older,
very reliable hounds to teach the young or in-experienced entry; some
packs will take older hounds to help with deer-breaking (good deer-broke
hounds will run to the Huntsman & tattle!)
Great older hounds will go for breeding, to keep out-crossing strong—
Not all of them get to continue on; but these tradeshelp keep packs strong-----