Can foxhounds function as house pets, or do they pretty much have to stay in a kennel?
Could you use, say, two of them to hunt coyotes for pest control rather than sport?
Those used by mounted hunters are generally not suited to life outside the pack. Whilst some are taken in to peoples homes and socialised as puppies they are returned to the kennels and are accustomed to life in the pack. These guys don’t do terribly well if removed from that environment. There are foxhounds that are bred to be pets and show dogs that would do well in a home, but I don’t know how well they would hunt as they have not been bred with that in mind. So you basically have two types. Those bred for hunting that live the pack life who would find it difficult to adjust to life outside and those bred as showdogs/pets that would enjoy that life but may be doubtful hunters. I’m sure there are exceptions though.
My in laws have two foxhounds. Well, one mixed breed foxhound that they have had since he was a puppy and one retired PMD. They adore these hounds; they are treated like the “kids”. They sleep in the bed; have their own chairs, etc. They live on a two hundred acre farm and they get lots of exercise. Every once in awhile they go off hunting and we all have to go track them down. Fortunately between my family and neighbors we have 5 foxhunting families that are pretty decent about “helping”. Our huntsman is great at picking out retired hounds that will do well with their new lives. Good Luck! The only hunt I have hunted with out west is Terry Paine’s hunt, Santa Fe. I believe they are bit to far south of you!! Terry is a great guy and it might be worth a call if you don’t mind the long drive south to Temecula.
I beg to differ with Equibrit. I know of numerous former hunting foxhounds with mounted packs that have transitioned entirely successfully to life as housedogs. I also have a beagle who hunted with a pack and then retired very happily to my suburban yard and house, and he has done superbly.
Many pack hounds can and do handle life as a house dog very well, though of course you would not want to coop them up in an apartment with little exercise, as most hounds–and especially ones who had hunted–will need good, regular exercise. Obviously, the more room you have the happier the hound will be, as it will have more ability to gallop around. But hounds can and do transition to life as housedogs–the key is regular, good exercise.
It seems that the OPs question was actually 2 separate questions - 1) can foxhounds be transitioned into house pets, & 2) can they be used to hunt coyotes for “pest control” ?
I think the answer to both questions is - it depends on the individual hound ? We have had 2 retired hounds as pets and although ours live outside, they are definitely house pets. They have no great desire to wander/hunt, and there is no doubt in my mind that they would LOVE to be in the house, on the couch or bed, etc. They are very affectionate and gentle dogs. Every hound we have brought home has instantly been compatible with our cats. I know others who do live in people’s houses and the only question is if they can be house-broken ? Not all can re-learn that.
I’m not sure about the 2nd part - obviously many hounds are bred to hunt coyotes, so if they are still able, they will happily hunt from your property as well. The bigger question is will they come home, or listen when called, etc ?
[QUOTE=Nlevie;3424372]
It seems that the OPs question was actually 2 separate questions - 1) can foxhounds be transitioned into house pets, & 2) can they be used to hunt coyotes for “pest control” ?[/QUOTE]
That’s right, but I am interested in whether a hound can be both a hunter and a house pet at the same time.
We adopted one of the hounds from our hunt as she was the “dog that just don’t hunt”. We were concerned about housebreaking but she took right to it. Of course, we had two other dogs that were already housebroken.
It can be done but is probably easier with hounds that that have not hunted much,
My only experience with hounds simultaneously serving as hunting animals while also being in-house pets come from local beaglers who use them as gun dogs for rabbit hunting and also keep them in the house. Among those I know that do this, they’ve had no troubles. Don’t know about foxhounds, and I would guess any animal trained to hunt in a pack (rather than in the pair or handful that beaglers who shoot often use in rabbit hunting with guns) would hunt better in a pack, but that is not to say it isn’t possible.
Just one of the hounds am I
I’ve been taking in hounds retired from mounted packs for about 15 years. I’ve never had one that didn’t adjust quite well. All except the first has “issues” but even with those they made great house-hounds.
Always keep at least two, currently I have one foxhound and a basset both retired from working packs. Just like in the pack they teach one another. It is the human who must adapt to hound-think to make a good go of the transition to house-hound. They simply don’t think like cur dogs, which is fine if you’ve been around hounds.
I personally wouldn’t want my house-hounds hunting coyote. I don’t want them over the bridge before their time and I don’t want any unnecessary vet bills. But that’s just me.
Ol’Hound
[QUOTE=WilfredLeblanc;3426484]
That’s right, but I am interested in whether a hound can be both a hunter and a house pet at the same time.[/QUOTE]
I should think so. I’ve no experience with foxhounds, but I share my house with two working border collies. Each of the girls is capable of facing down an ornery ewe who weighs as much as I do, but also realizes she must accord the cats and smaller dogs the respect due a non-ovine type critter.:winkgrin:
My maremma cross would be very capable of dispatching a coyote - that’s what those dogs do, after all - but I also trust him with my tiny Lhasa Apso. The Lhasa is a dreadful little beast, but Scot ignores him until he attacks one of us, then carefully mashes the Lhasa under his great furry paws until he can be safely contained.
We hunt with the Brazos Valley Hunt in Texas and the Christmas before last…guess that’s 2006, I had the opportunity to adopt Novice, a four year old Hound that just didn’t ahve the confidence to hunt.
Now, I have quite a history for taking in animals of all kinds (most recently a Cardinal that had been HBC and he maded full recovery to the wild) …but when my daigher and I went to pick up Novice, whom I’d never seen before, I was a little intimidated. He is just HUGE…really huge…he was 80 pound then at kennel working hound weight and I won’t tell you what he is today.
Anyway, he socoalized so well. We adore him. He is so timid that he won’t even look a baby kitten in the eyes. Not kidding…could go on and on.
Others in our hunt have also made adoptions and have house hounds. Our novice will never consider getting on furniture, but a friend has one who is a couch potatoe.
Hounds are so amazing that it wouldn’t surprise me in one could do both…be a hosue hound and hold down a job. LOL
I hope never to have to be without a hound.
Donna Ray
Fox hounds can certainly be brought into the house. You may come to regret the loss of your right to the sofa, but they don’t need to be kept in a kennel.
You can also quite easily hunt a house hound. They are hunters by nature and enjoy comfort by nature. The dog was domesticated zillions of years ago because he was able to split the duties of field and home and he still can.
Also your hound won’t know the difference between hunting for pest control and hunting for sport. He’s hunting and he’s happy.
The unwritten question, however, is whether or not you can accomplish all this with retired hounds from a pack. If you meant simply to go out and obtain a couple of pups and train them yourself, then “yes” to all your questions. If you are going to get a couple of pensioners, then it depends on the hounds and on your ability to train them. Even so, the answer would be “probably.”
I have a beagle bitch retired from a mounted pack. She lives with me and another dog, a sighthound, at the edge of suburbia. When taken out into the woods she hunts enthusiastically with her sighthound brother, but her primary job in life is to be a princess. She sleeps on or in bed with me, reclines on fine antique chairs, thinks she’s entitled to all the cheese.
The only real problem I’ve had is that she has not been exactly bombproof when it comes to housebreaking. She knows perfectly well where to go and where not to go, but she prefers to pee on oriental rugs instead of doing her business outside. This means I have to keep the living room, parlor, library, and dining room fenced off at all times.
But apart from this little shortcoming she’s a joy and we adore her. OK, maybe the sighthound is not all that nuts about her, but we humans adore her. 
Please consider - there are lots of other breeds that do a good job of discouraging coyotes, it’s not necessary to use one bred to hunt them. Many other breeds consider it their job to patrol their territory and keep unwanted pests away. . .
off hand I wouldn’t think two foxhounds would be capable of running off coyotes- they’d be more likely to end up as coyote supper. You’d probably want something like a livestock guardian breed or a pair of irish wolfhounds.
[QUOTE=Ashby;3432230]
But apart from this little shortcoming she’s a joy and we adore her. OK, maybe the sighthound is not all that nuts about her, but we humans adore her. :)[/QUOTE]
Funny you should mention sighthounds. My wife and I adopted an IG who was far from bombproof when it came to housetraining, but after two years, he finally seems to have become willing to cooperate. He isn’t crazy about sharing space with other dogs, either–lived with another IG before and didn’t have much patience with her, apparently. Another curious thing about the IG is that he seems to have very strong hunting instincts–always sniffing, pointing, lifting his paw in that bird-dog way. I say “curious” only because I think it’s been a long time since IGs were commonly used to course game, or even lures.
help with beagles
This is off topic (and I apologize to the OP) but if any of you can help, I’d like some advice from real beagle people.
I adopted a male beagle (2 years old) about 2 weeks ago from the local pound. He didn’t have much time left and he got me- couldn’t leave him.
I have 2 issues- He does not seem to fathom that he has to ask to go out. If I feed him early and take him out several times in the evening we won’t have any issues but if I am not very stringent about this he will go in the house. My vet suggested keeping him in my room to sleep at night so that he can’t sneak away and do his business and this has worked. But how do I get him to just go to the door and ask to go out? (During the day he is at doggie day care but at night and weekends he is with me.)
Next - his separation anxiety is acute. He does not want to leave my side (helpful at the barn and when we are out riding) but not great at home. He wants me to be with him when I put him outside and when he eats. And he does not want to be left alone ever even if i have to run a few errands and leave him in his 4x6 foot indoor wire cage.
Any suggestions?
I’ve got three beagles, two of which were badly abused. I think time and consistency will help solve your two problems. If you’ve only had him two weeks and he’s got two places whose routines he’s simultaneously learning, it might well take him a while to figure it all out.
You will have to be very stringent about your routine, and especially the going outside stuff, for quite a while before he will ask to go out on his own, in my experience.
As for the separation anxiety, you don’t mention how bad it is. One of mine gradually got over being separated from me even though he didn’t like it; he just got used to my usual routine. Sometimes a “kong” dog toy filled with frozen peanut butter or the like helps keep them occupied while you’re gone, and that might help. If the problem is more serious–for example if the dog engages in seriously destructive behavior while you are out or has physical reactions such as trembling or vomiting or uncontrollable peeing–then you should probably consult your vet. It may be that medication is appropriate, and, if not, your vet might have other good training suggestions.
Two of my beagles are fine when I leave, but the third one is somewhat destructive when left even in the company of the other two, so we crate him when we go ride. We bought him the biggest possible crate, put his water bowl in it, and arrange the other dogs’ beds around it so they will stay near and keep him company, which they do. Generally by the time we get home, they’re all lying around asleep. One hint: if you do crate, take his collar off before putting him in, so that he won’t accidentally get hung up. Try to get a crate that doesn’t have anything inside he could get hung up on–but take the collar off anyway! And remember that, especially if he was abused, he might have some issues with crates that rule it out as an option. In other words, if it makes him worse, try to find another solution.
Years ago, with my first beagle puppy, I quickly found that he calmed down the more space I gave him. If I kept him gated in the kitchen, he was awful and would open drawers and chew on things. If I gave him the run of the house while I was gone, he’d hop up on the couch, go to sleep, and be just fine.
I hope any of that is helpful to you. Good luck, and good for you for giving this fellow a chance at life!
for separation anxiety you can try Dog Appeasing Pheronome, DAP, it has worked wonders for my thunderstorm-phobic dog. I believe it’s strongly not-recommended to crate dogs with bad separation anxiety some of them will destroy their bodies trying to get out when they go into their panic.
[QUOTE=WilfredLeblanc;3423364]
Can foxhounds function as house pets, or do they pretty much have to stay in a kennel?[/QUOTE]
Foxhounds can be pets and can live in the house. They can also oscillate between the house and the kennel. Many Huntsmen will bring their favorite hound “inside” from time to time. It is without a doubt, a bonding experience. I have a hound that comes and goes between the sofa / bed / fireplace / heating vent and lastly the kennel. Make no mistake about it, she understands house life. – and frankly prefers it.
I’m going to assume you want two foxhounds not to chase a coyote away, but rather dispatch it. This probably isn’t going to happen. Not with two anyway. They will chase it and the will hunt it, but probably not take it down. I’m would not be too concerned about a single coyote turning on the two hounds, assuming the two hounds stay together. But if that coyote runs back to its respective pack, well then, the odds just changed. There are plenty of people that use one or two hounds to hunt coyote, but they are not asking the hound to take the coyote down. You need a pack for that.
