Thought ?

[dEs 6]

 

 

 

Greggs link has answered my question best so I'll leave it at that other than to say the John Pugh hunted hounds 'till the 90s and I doubt he fed mutton as most huntsmen wont feed mutton for obvious reasons.

Mutton by the way is around 15% protein, 22% fat, lean beef is around 21% protein ,10 - 15% fat.

What's the obvious reason they won't feed mutton ??? ........

Because a dogs diet can affect it's scenting ability and there's not enough protein in it!!

Anyway Neil i don't know how you can be bothered. It's hard to educate ignorance. But thanks for starting this.. JP might be right, he might be wrong. But one things for sure i've learned something and so have others. I've already been bending mens ears, the same men who have been hunting years and had or have some fine packs of hounds, the same men who will be on the blower 2 or 3 times a week during the season cause they've seen something new or have had a hound brain-wave and need an opinion.

Why? Cause when it comes to hounds they know they'll never see or know it all!

Oh really ... These experts would disagree with you and I know who I would believe .....http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/03/more-fat-less-protein-improves-detection-dogs-sniffers

Fella.. I take it you missed the fact i said that in jest to your first post. Due to the fact i know the obvious reason Neil talks of, of which i agree, in carcass form anyway. However i'm sure some do, some don't. Same as everything. It's a pity mutton actually looks ideal! But im glad you've learned something to.

 

Foxbolter. If it was a mis-print there ya go. Still doesn't dis-miss the fact it wasn't bullshit and a hounds diet could possibly affect it's nose. I think thats the whole point your missing of which Neil has tryed to put across. Not that it was some magic remedy that could change hounds into deep scenting machines. More an opinion, that wasn't straight away classed as bullshit, but thought provoking to the enthusiast.

Edited June 4, 2015 by dEs

[socks 32,253]

It's nothing I learned I knew about it all ready I have a bit of an obsession with canine nutrition so I keep up with the latest news ... Are you boys suggesting that if the hounds are fed on skinned mutton they will attack sheep ??? ........

[dEs 6]

Hence your original post.

 

No it's cause they're feckin' stinkin and the wife won't come near ya.

[wilbur foxhound 480]

The scent from Dead animals is different from live animals, skinning mutton is a lot of work,i fed mutton to my hounds and they didnt touch any that were running around, wf

[foxbolter 447]

I used to feed mutton to my lurcher just told him he mutton kill sheep

[desertdog 149]

I'm not so sure about hounds fed sheep will kill them,surely that's down to hound management ,I were always told by our huntsman,their to fatty, he'd never feed sheep the day before hunting,but would feed them it after,some hunt country's get a lot sheep in their flesh round,oss meat or beef were preferred ,if were in short supply,he'd cook pig and feed it with cooked flake maize and cooked barley as a pudding,some hounds are deeper scenting,some country's hold a colder scent,the atmosphere has a lot to do with scent,scent always seem better after Christmas,and as the day get longer,into darkness,otter hounds will hunt better as the summer gets warmer,I'd say diet won't give a hound any better scenting ability,surely that comes with breeding , and condition of the day ,just another thought,

[baz69 37]

I No off hounds that r feed on dry food and still couldnt find steak in a oven, what a load off old bollocks , try brandy tins , make my hounds Mark every time

[baz69 37]

Lol

[greenshank1 407]

I think this topic was mentioned in Chapman' s , Hunting the Lakeland Fells. So it's not a new theory that diet has an effect on scenting ability. I think it was in connection with the coniston but I will dig out the book and see if I can find it.

[skycat 6,173]

This might sound a bit fanciful, but as someone who suffers from chronic sinus problems, I've learned that a low grade intolerance to certain cereals (gluten) can cause sinus, and hence nasal congestion. Now it probably sounds mad to transpose this to dogs, but I've also noticed that my dogs used to do what they call 'reverse sneezing' before they were fed on raw food. Since being on raw, and on food that doesn't contain any wheat, they don't do this any more. Reverse sneezing is seen in dogs suffering from allergies, and is also seen as an attempt to clear the nasal passages and sinuses. Not a huge leap in logic to say that maybe such dogs have less scenting ability than those which aren't suffering from nasal/sinus problems. Just a thought.

[desertdog 149]

When a man works,lives,with his hounds he will know his hounds inside out, the best to breed from,for stamina,scenting ability,and drive, the days conditions of a days hunting will determine your day,they might fly and you'll have trouble staying in contact with your pack,you may not get going,they may fly about 3.pm and you come home late,hounds have been bred for hundreds of years,and the qualities of each hound taken to breed, what is required for the job, scent is very fickle,some huntsmen blame it for a bad day,you may get away with that a few times,I'm no means an expert on hunting and scent,but without it you ain't hunting,surely feed will condition and it's a must have, but I'm not sure about it giving yours hounds nose.

[dytkos 17,783]

When a man works,lives,with his hounds he will know his hounds inside out, the best to breed from,for stamina,scenting ability,and drive, the days conditions of a days hunting will determine your day,they might fly and you'll have trouble staying in contact with your pack,you may not get going,they may fly about 3.pm and you come home late,hounds have been bred for hundreds of years,and the qualities of each hound taken to breed, what is required for the job, scent is very fickle,some huntsmen blame it for a bad day,you may get away with that a few times,I'm no means an expert on hunting and scent,but without it you ain't hunting,surely feed will condition and it's a must have, but I'm not sure about it giving yours hounds nose.

 

The three o'clock fox, usually the best of the day.

 

Cheers, D.

[desertdog 149]

You know it d, many times I've hacked home in the dark,with the first horse changed about 3.45,and their still flying,sometime they wouldn't get back to kennels till gone ten, get the pick up and look for hounds, Great days.

[Alimac2 321]

It might have already been said, but the 3oclock fox I believe, comes about when the air temperature drops below the temp of the ground. A old saying that makes sense, to me anyway, is that if you see smoke sinking to the ground from a chimley, scent would be good.. What I find amazing is the variety of noses in every good pack, from deep scenting hounds that go away when the rest can't utter a squeak, to the hound you know will take the pack up a tarred road again when the rest would likley need lifting and cast along the road. Hounds & scent are two of the most fascinating things in life.

[the goat 642]

I can't say I know a lot about hounds but know a good pack when I see one...and the pack in question is easily up there with the best iv seen. Different huntsman to who the thread is about though...hats off to the man.