THE AMERICAN FOXHOUND 5 



Here I sliall mention an iron -clad rale which should never be 

 ignored by trainers of foxhounds. The puppies should grow up 

 with the trained hounds with which they are to receive their 

 first lessons, no matter what scent they are to be trained to 

 follow. Puppies will not go in a chase with a strange pack and 

 try to keep with that pack. They should be thoroughly ac- 

 qainted with the older hounds, and they may then be expected 

 to do their utmost to keep with their old friends. I have known 

 would-be fox-hunters to pronounce the death sentence on beauti- 

 fully br^d young foxhounds because they would not go to a 

 strange pack and run the first time taken to the woods! How^ 

 little such men know of "dogology." 



When a year old young hounds should be put to work with a 

 good pack of trained hounds on the red fox. If the youngster 

 has been worked on gray foxes or fox hide he will, as a i-ule, be 

 of little trouble at this stage of the game, but if he has put in 

 several months of his life chasing rabbits, the trainer's life may 

 be expected to become a burden for the next year or two. From 

 now on the young hounds should be given from one to three 

 chases a week, all depending on how they stand up to the work. 

 It must be remembered that no man can have a high -class fox- 

 hound unless he gives him plenty of work in the field. A well 

 matured pack should be run not less than three chases a week. 

 Hunting and running the fox will develop them and nothing else 

 will. The trainer should stay with his hounds until the running 

 is over, and bring them in with him, otherwise enthusiastic 

 young hounds will frequently remain out hunting and running 

 two or three days. 



BREEDING, REARING AND TRAINING. 

 By W. N. Ramsey, Winchester, Ky. 



The breeding, rearing and training of foxhounds is like most 

 all other undertakings, one in which almost every hunter and 

 handler has his own ideas, and those ideas at variance with 

 those of all others to a more or less extent. 



Having owned a pack of foxliounds ever since 1866, many of 

 which I have bred, reared, trained and run during that time, I 

 have of course adopted a rule or rules for my own government 

 in handling the hound from his infancy up to maturity. 



