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Making a Pack
by Pat Pearce

Making a pack is a subject that has a great many components, all of which are of great importance. If you skip steps in training or don’t keep an eye on conformation your will inevitably wake up to a pack that has no bidability or can’t run together or finish a season. To begin with, a pack of hounds is like a football team: Each player or hound has something special to give to the team. These are some of the skills that every pack needs:

striking marking den dogs honoring cold tracking voice or cry concentration bidability quartering casting toughness spring bravery drive speed natural talent scent identification

Remember, these are the skills needed in their working day.

Now we look at conformation:

straight legs plenty of chest up on their toes strong back and loin well defined muscle good bone lengthy neck length in the muzzle no overbite good spring of rib angulation in the withers

The next area of concern is the temperament of the hound under stress, and its ability to coexist in the kennel without fighting or worry:

kennel compatibility ability to handle stress acceptance of medical care obedience ability to deescalate quickly trailering trust bonding loyalty pack oriented good work ethic enthusiasm confidence

I hope this outline will help you to understand the requirements by which every hound is assessed. We assess the pack as a whole, the terms liveliness, tractability, honoring, patience, stride, speed, and attention are all attributes that make a pack work well together. Do remember that through selection, breeding, culling, and drafting, all aspects of the pack are shaped. The training is essential, of course, but we need the raw material that is physically and mentally capable to do the job.

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