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Quirky Britain

Hunting Pigs and Talking Dogs: Eccentrics and Their Animals

The British are known as a nation of animal lovers, so it’s not surprising to find that some of history’s most colourful characters were obsessed with their pets. But these eccentrics sometimes used their pets as status symbols, kept them as curiosities or subjected them to strange experiments.

Here are a few individuals whose love of animals brought them either fame or infamy:

John ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton

Born in 1796, ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton came into a huge family fortune as a young man and dedicated the rest of his life to spending every penny of his inheritance. He was fascinated by animals and once rode a bear into his dining room to terrify his guests.

Jack lived for risk and it was said of him “not only did he not mind accidents, he positively liked them.” In 1826 he won a bet by riding his horse up the stairs of a Leamington Spa hotel and jumping through the window into the street. He also kept over 2,000 dogs, feeding his favourites on steak and champagne.

Barbara Woodhouse

In the 1980s Barbara Woodhouse burst onto our TV screens with her trademark style of dog training, complete with commands such as “Sitttt!” and “Walkies!” which quickly became national catchphrases.

Barbara didn’t suffer fools gladly and she often talked to dog owners in the same brisk tone she would use for misbehaving dogs: “Now, you’re rather fidgety, Mr Chambers: can you calm yourself?”

Her TV series ‘Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way’ was an instant hit with audiences but some of Barbara’s training methods – such as jerking the dog’s lead and issuing harsh commands – have since been abandoned in favour of positive reinforcement techniques.

Jemmy Hirst

Born in Rawcliffe, Yorkshire in 1738, Jemmy was a true eccentric.

As a young boy he taught a tame jackdaw and a pet hedgehog to follow him around at school, but as an adult he decided to train his beloved bull, Jupiter, to behave like a horse, riding it and letting it pull his carriage.

Possibly the most bizarre incident in Jemmy Hirst’s animal training career involved him riding Jupiter to a fox hunt, using pigs instead of hounds to follow the scent. King George III heard of Jemmy’s animal exploits and invited him down to London. The bull-trainer and the monarch clearly got on well and Jemmy even invited the King to visit his Yorkshire home for a “good brandy”. George politely refused Jemmy’s invitation but reputedly gave him several choice bottles from the royal cellar for the journey back.

Whatever your feelings about these notable animal eccentrics, you can’t deny their obvious affection for their pets. These days, when one in ten pets has its own social media profile and when almost a third of owners admit they buy more Christmas gifts for their pets than for their partners, who is to say we Brits are not all a little animal crackers?

Barbara Woodhouse: “Sitttt!” and “Walkies!” became national catchphrases.

By Kate McLelland