Name, name of the hunt and where are you based?

I’m Richard Bonham of the Lakeland Foot Beagles, based in Co Westmeath.

What type of hounds do you have at your kennels?

We have Beagles and they measure in at between 14-16 inches.

How many hounds do you keep?

We have 17 couple in kennels, split fairly evenly between dogs and bitches.

What exercise regime do you follow for your hounds?

During the summer they are exercised every day and also given a longer walk two to three times a week.

This builds up in intensity as it comes closer to the hunting season.

During the hunting season from October to the end of February, we hunt once a week with the beagles.

They still get a run every day as well to keep them occupied and fit.

When do you start hunting? Talk us through how you introduce young hounds?

The season for hares starts on September 26th every year. To build up to that, the younger hounds spend the summer getting used to the voice commands we use and how to act in a pack.

They also learn not to chase livestock or to go on roads.

To do this, we couple them up to an older hound who shows them how things are done for the first few weeks of the routine.

We then make sure we go to good locations for our first few meets so that the younger hounds can learn how things are done.

In terms of hunting, do you separate your hounds on a day’s hunting – for example do you bring a mixed pack?

We only hunt one day a week so we hunt both bitches and dogs together.

I find that this works well as they each are better in certain areas.

When it comes to prepping hounds for Stradbally Hound Show or for any puppy show, can you tell us what what is involved?

Puppy shows and hound shows are very important with young hounds in particular as it gets them experience in settings they aren’t used to and bring around other hounds.

The training and prep that is completed over the summer also helps me to build a bond with them.

They have to be shown on a lead and off the lead where they show off how well they move and their eagerness to please.

Please share one interesting fact about your pack of hounds for our readers.

Since we started burning the pack two years ago, we have acquired beagles from all over Ireland and the UK including Cork, Armagh, Mayo, Galway, Devon, Cornwall and Warickshire.