Walking the walk, from puppy to Peterborough

o be asked to have puppies at walk is a privilege, and a labour. Eager volunteers nurture young hounds from as early as eight weeks until the start of the next hunting season or exasperation sets in. Puppy walking is a vital aspect of a hound’s education. It introduces them to the sights and sounds of the countryside, as well as offering some financial respite to the hunt (they eat a lot). Sometimes this sojourn is cut short if hounds become too wayward, or too many pairs of gumboots go missing. No matter how or when the puppies are returned, at every Puppy Show, the walkers smile like proud parents as the huntsman shows the new entry. Over the years, I have had the chance to talk and drink Pimm’s while puppies trod the flags at the Quorn Hunt Puppy Show, paying attention but envying those with something more at stake in the ring. The enduring relationship between puppy and puppy walker seemed an unassailable bond, although somewhat dependent on the level of destruction they have