What makes a good houndsmen?

[bearsnva]

Al,
Very good answer! You covered a lot of ground with very few words and no prejudice. The size of a man's wallet doesn't make nor keep him from being a houndsman, it is actions and attitude that determines what he is. Great reply.

[shade]

Tbluedawg I guess that was a rant more than anything else. On a hunt a while back guys dog was shaking his head and seemed to walk with a cant , i ask about it he said the dog had been doing that for a month or so he just hasnt had time to look at it . I took a look yeast infection in both ears.

[1bludawg]

I know what you mean. A person that can't or won't take care of the animals they own,shouldn't own them !

[scrubrunner]

I don't really know what a houndsman is, if it is a coveted title or what but I have known a lot of men who were good with hounds. Some of them well respected citizens, some scallywags and a lot in between.
One rich guy comes to mind, he just bought the dogs he wanted but he knew hounds and always had good ones. One of his buddies tried to do the same but if he ever got a good one it didn't stay that way long or someone told him it wasn't any good and took it off his hands. I think the first guy could be called a houndsman.
Now to two other old guys, both are gone now but I don't remember either ever having a full time job, certainly wasn't conservationists and most people that didn't know what both these men did in WW II had a low opinion of them, neither one had dogs all the time but would pick a couple up every now and then, mostly mixed breeds or somebody's culls. In a short amount of time they'd be catching more game than most, using those mixed up pot lickers. I saw one of them with a bobcat he caught with 4 half blue tick half bassets. I think they were houndsmen. I was young, full of myself and how great my hounds were back then, even making fun of their dogs behind there back and even sometimes to their face. Looking back, I sure wish I would have spent a lot more time with them and kept my mouth shut with my eyes and ears open. Since then I've kinda leaned you can learn more sometimes if you act like you don't know anything.

[shade]

You have a point with that, if I was half as good as I thought I was when I was younger I would have been unstoppable.

[19LittleD99]

Hi,
I'm definetly not an old timer, but in my mind, a good houndsman is:
1. A person who respects the game he hunts
2. A person who respects the people of the sport
3. A person who keeps his/her family first and formost.
4. A person who takes the absolute best care of his/her dogs
5. A person who doesn't take shortcuts just to win
6. A person who does their best to be a good example and role model to the younger generation
Thanks,
D

[burnin tail]

You got to be just a little bit smarter than the hounds.

[Bigsky1]

Houndsman, musher, dogman, NBA coach, S.E.A.L. team commander, there is no difference. It is all about team work, recruiting, training, conditioning, and engaging. Any great team leader recognizes the qualities of his team members, situates them for maximum success and leads them to victory..
Houndsman are coaches by another name

[19LittleD99]

Definetly agree Bigsky1. Way to put it!

[19LittleD99]

See, I ride quite a lot of horses. An old friend of mine tells me that you shouldn't be the "boss" of a horse, because even though we don't like to admit it , there are many times horses show themselves to be smarter than us. Rather, you treat it as a team effort, with you being the Captain. I figure that if it works with horses. it probably works with hounds. Just an idea.
Thanks,
D