One Hound

[foxbolter 447]

I think it takes a type of hound to mark hounds mark also in different ways some just stand looking down a hole some wedge they self up a hole and dont make a sound some just dig not making a sound and the ones I like are the ones that check the hole and just stand back a foot off the hole entrance making as much noise as they possibly can and in my eyes they are the ones that will get a pack of hounds marking it winds the others up so that if it is in them to mark then they will start but there are ways to get them to mark if its in them but firstly you got to make them want to kill a rabbit without that they wont mark and then with a little thought when you get the opportunity you use it . It is also easier for hounds to mark after they have run their rabbit to ground its hard to get hounds to cold mark you need a good marking hound to start this off he should check hole steadily and then make is mind up I say steadily cause one wrong indication to the other hounds could have the whole pack ripping the place to bits with nothing there and that is when the trust in a terrier will come in you need a good terrier to tell the truth which is proven to be always right or a good huntsman that needs to pick up on everything at a mark he will see a couple of hounds a couple of foot back not marking that usually will tell you that the rest are wrong . There is a fine line in hounds marking correctly and falsely but when hounds are tuned in correctly under a good huntsman they should never put a foot wrong and when they do they should be corrected very quickly and that is the difference between a good and bad huntsman I think it would be very hard to get one single hound to cold mark vocally on is own if he hasn't come up the ladder with a pack but with the right hound in the right hands anything could be possible I suppose all the best foxbolter

[milliken 791]

very good input there foxbolter

[foxbolter 447]

I got carried away then

[Mr B 2]

After he retired the late Harry Roberts the legendary Huntsman of the Plas Machynlleth Foxhounds, kept one hound as a pet which he then hunted in the hills above Machynlleth on Sunday mornings. Initially it was old Monitor 63 but after he died it was Eryri Rouser'76, a brindle coloured Welsh hound which Harry deliberately kept rather fat so that he won't disappear out of view too soon!

I was privileged to go out with him on a couple of Sundays and marvelled as the old boy cheered on his beloved hound with the same enthusiasm as he cheered on the flying Plas hounds in their heyday. We would then sit on Llynlloedd Hill (where Harry's ashes were eventually scattered) and listen to Rouser 's deep voice as he patiently hunted his fox through the rhodedenrons and then over into the forestry on the slopes of Glaspwll, seldom missing a beat. I don't think that Rouser ever caught a fox but he did put a few to ground. it obviously didn't match the thrill of a full pack at full throttle as they made the trees shake with their cry but there was something extremely pleasing and fulfilling about the whole exercise.

[foxbolter 447]

One good old hound sometimes will hunt a fox further than a pack especially on bad scent because it would be very steady but that means slower than a pack .with a pack of hounds they will all be racing to get to the front and then somtimes over run and if there is not enough scent they will lose it ive seen a couple of hounds hunt around for a hour or two on a bad scenting day and then when the pack has been brought back to join them it all ends in two minutes because the steadiness has gone but this is usually when hounds are trying to run without putting their nose first normally a young pack

[ands 544]

Surly the main problem with one hound is they get to good! You'd need to a hell of an athlete to keep up with the beast.

[CWN-HELA 228]

I have a harrier bitch. She will find and hunt all day aslong as he dont go 2 ground she will stay with him.