scent.

[whippet 99 2,613]

a nose to a hound is the same as ears are to humans. they can tell the difference between fresh fox and a hound with fox scent on it. they know the stronger the scent the closer they are to there reward. an exsperienced hound will always take the most recent line as it is the strongest. my scenario is the stronger the voice the closer they are to there reward. you can tell the difference in voice tones, the tone when they mark,when there right upon there reward, when there on the wrong quarry etc. and there tones attract hounds that are casting around and the more hounds that pick up the scent the greater the chance of the true most recent line.( i will shut up now as i could go on forever lol)

[Bootsha 1,306]

I think this is an interesting topic, (very rare on thl these days ), and as you rightly say, there's theories and then some more opinion, but to be perfectly honest, and this is just my opinion, If scent was a predictable thing, half the fun of hunting would be out the window.

 

If there was a book to be had , a guaranteed solution to all questions regarding scent and was 100% guaranteed proven to be factually correct, i'd rather leave it on the shelf to gather dust, and get out there and see what happens when you loose the hounds out the back of the box, you;ll soon find out what the scent is like. Thats the sparkle of hunting, not knowing.

 

B

[Foxtrot 24]

Very interesting topic and one that's got everybody thinking! My own opinion, is that every fox has their own unique smell, and although when we smell fox it smells exactly the same as others, to a hound each one is unique! Whippet 99 is spot on in that a hounds nose is like our ears! when I hear a hounds cry within our pack, I know exactly who it is and whether it is a fresh line or old drag. Same principle with scent to a hound!

[francolin 449]

scent is a thing that we will never understand completely,the late lawton evans once told me that he reckoned when his hounds got unboxed within a few minutes his hounds new if there were more than one fox in the wood as sometimes when they caught a fox they didnt spend much time with the carcuss before moving on to another fox almost immediatly

Your right mate load's have tried to work it out i dont know if anybody has fully,i think the only one's that do understand it are the hound's did ye find that dog hound that hunted on mate or is he still missing ??

and thats only some hounds fella,{heaL Line ect}

[wilbur foxhound 480]

scent is a thing that we will never understand completely,the late lawton evans once told me that he reckoned when his hounds got unboxed within a few minutes his hounds new if there were more than one fox in the wood as sometimes when they caught a fox they didnt spend much time with the carcuss before moving on to another fox almost immediatly

Your right mate load's have tried to work it out i dont know if anybody has fully,i think the only one's that do understand it are the hound's did ye find that dog hound that hunted on mate or is he still missing ??

aye he,s still missing,he was seen a couple of times on thursday so i went down to see if i could get him but no sign

[MOO 730]

I have to agree with foxtrot to us all foxes smell the same but to a hound im sure they can tell the differance scent to each fox and not just that there nose is that tuned that I bet they can tell differant information about individual foxes ...sex..young or old ...fit or poorly etc etc

I dont think anyone can give a deffinate answer but only theories but the way I see it is our main sence is our sight so if you go and look out your window for a few seconds the amount of information your brain takes in is vast for such a small amount of time .....so with a k9s main sence being smell the amount of information gather through scent will probably be as vast ...who knows....? but its good to see you thinking at nights Ali ....was this during an add break between coronation street good topic

Edited February 27, 2012 by MOO

[weasle 1,119]

Then you have individual noses,a hound that you might think is a hanger on not much use,can suddenly carry the pack when crossing sheep foil,or hounds that can hunt well when a fox runs the tarmac.As said its probally not knowing that makes it so interesting.My own favourite is hounds screaming fox gets headed and thats it they can no longer hunt him.

[Malt 379]

I think the main problem with us trying to get to grips with how a dog uses scent comes down to perception. We will never be able to know how how a dog's brain processes and perceives such as vast amount of information. For all we know it might paint as clear a picture in a dogs mind as our eyes do when we look at something. It's the same with some snakes that can sense infra-red or sharks who can sense electrical impulses. We'll never know exactly how they do it..

[alimac 882]

Moo im afraid your wrong, again. It was infact emmerdale,it must have been a thought prevoking episode as i also came across the thought of how similar you are to sam dingle, spookly similar

Weasle the foxs definatly seam to have the ability to suck up there scent when headed/shot at. I guess its the same as the vixen uses to reduce the amount of scent she amits through cubbing. So why do we think this is? Do they have the ability to switch off there scent glads and after being headed etc only leave a line from the vegitation / earth they disturb, hence the sudden failer of being able to take the line on as they had just a minute previous?

[irishfoxhunter 64]

now, this is interesting!its similar to what i read some time ago about the term "sinking fox" when his scent starts to fade when hes beat after a long hunt. how does that work?

[redcharge 378]

A dogs smell is its strongest sense just as human being strongest sense is probably their eyesight . What happens 99% of the time a dog meets a different dog it hasnt came across before they sniff each others arses just as we would look somebody in the eye and shake their hand upon meeting someone for the first time, so is it possible all dogs/foxes dont smell the same just as we all dont look the same?? is scent a way of identifying an individual in the animal kingdom just as a human beings facial features identify them?? IMHO I think so, hence the reason they can differientiate between different fox scents

[dEs 6]

How many packs in the Uk and Ireland would of/do stick to they're hunted quarry when a fresh un jumps in front of them, but unsighted, and either runs the line or just flashes that of the hunted................. ?

[paulus 26]

How many packs in the Uk and Ireland would of/do stick to they're hunted quarry when a fresh un jumps in front of them, but unsighted, and either runs the line or just flashes that of the hunted................. ?

seen it countless times with beagles, normaly the pack splits

[Bosun11 537]

Ali, I wouldn't say a fox has the ability to shut down its scent glands, or at least not as an action/decision but subconciously as a fear, startled reaction, yes, I do belive the glands would eminate and react differently, as does the rest of the body. Nor do I think it lasts long, the same fox's phyisical state, glands included, would return to normal as soon as the animal belives it's out of danger. Would be the same when a vixen is in cub, her hormones change and change her scent naturally.

i would agree with Weasle too, in that hounds have individual noses and where one can pick up clean on a certain surface, others struggle and that can and does change as the hunt goes on.

Good thred lads.

[paulus 26]

Ali, I wouldn't say a fox has the ability to shut down its scent glands, or at least not as an action/decision but subconciously as a fear, startled reaction, yes, I do belive the glands would eminate and react differently, as does the rest of the body. Nor do I think it lasts long, the same fox's phyisical state, glands included, would return to normal as soon as the animal belives it's out of danger. Would be the same when a vixen is in cub, her hormones change and change her scent naturally.

i would agree with Weasle too, in that hounds have individual noses and where one can pick up clean on a certain surface, others struggle and that can and does change as the hunt goes on.

Good thred lads.

every hound is different much the same as humans, some being better than others at things, we call it tallented/gifted