Nigel Peel, MFH, North Cotswold Foxhounds (UK) and member of Foxhunting Life’s Panel of ExpertsDulany Noble, MFH of the Carrollton Hounds (MD) has a problem with one of her foxhounds. She writes:
“I have a second year bitch who is very shy around men, just men. I can tell you she has never been abused in any way by any man, staff or otherwise. She just does not like men. The men who come to the kennels work with her every time to get her over it. My worry is that she will get away and none of our male staff members or any guy on the road will be able to catch her. Any ideas for me?”
Many huntsmen would undoubtedly pass over such a hound and draft it to a friendly home, but we thought that any small hunt maintaining a small pack, or for that matter any dog owner with a similar problem would be interested if one of our experts could come up with a solution. And in fact, Nigel Peel, MFH of the North Cotswold Foxhounds (UK) sent us a very interesting suggestion for Dulany.
“I have never come across this particular problem,” writes Nigel, “but I know that some hounds are much more shy than others and not necessarily because they have been knocked about by a man or woman. What I have found in dealing with shy animals is that if you just move quietly about them, taking little or no notice of them, they become quite inquisitive and start to make friends with you rather than you with them. This leads to an increasing confidence. Perhaps this may help solve this rather difficult problem.”
Just as the horse whisperer turns his back on a nervous horse to seduce the horse to follow him, it seems that Nigel is saying that the same approach can work for the canine. Ignore the animal; don’t make eye contact; and see if it will eventually become sufficiently curious to come to you.
We hope this bit of wisdom helps Dulany and any dog owner with a similar problem.
Posted August 9, 2013