The Key Task of Breeding

There is the usual mystique of the pedigree world surrounding the art of hound breeding. Masters and Huntsmen look for ‘quality’ (the physical confirmation to meet the demands of the country) and hunting ability. They breed from what they consider to be the best blood lines in the pack and bring in new blood when necessary from other packs identified from close scrutiny of the Stud Book, visits to the kennels and hound shows. Key bitch lines in the OBB go back to, among others, Gala, introduced in 1984 and Glover in 1987. Of the stallion hounds Musket, introduced in 2001, who comes from the Chilmark Ploughman line, is important. His qualities are widely admired and he has sired many whelps for other hunts.

Although a pack must work as one, individual hounds bring different qualities. Some hounds, for instance, are better than others at following a cold scent. Postman can do so for as long as an hour, a better performance than an Army tracker dog. Our hounds are adapting well to the new world of ‘legal hunting’,  responding as the breed and the ancient line it has stemmed from, have always done to changing conditions and the  demands of dedicated huntsmen.

There is so much more to beagling than meets the eye. It is  an ancient and noble tradition. We must continue to fight for it as others have in the past.