Was Huan a traitor?

[Pitchwife]

Nice topic!

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Love and loyalty are different things. You can have loyalty without love, but not the oposite way.

I'd rather say there's loyalty born of duty, and loyalty born of love, and when both are in conflict, the latter tends to beat the former - as in Beregond, who I think felt bound by loyalty to both Denethor and Faramir, but defied Denethor (whom he was duty-bound to obey as a sworn Guard of the Citadel) to save Faramir (whom he loved).
[EXCURSUS] These are human distinctions, however, and I don't think a dog would get what we're talking about here - for them, love and loyalty tend to be the same thing, but in both their master comes first. I don't see a dog turning against its master and siding with another person in a direct conflict, no matter how fond they may be of that person otherwise. (E.g. our three dogs, who were raised and trained mostly by my wife before we moved together, love me dearly and would try to protect me against any danger, but in a romp between the two of us, I'll be outnumbered 4:1.) So I guess by purely canine standards, Huan would indeed be considered a traitor - but then again, as has been said, he was a most unusual dog in more respects than just his gift of speech. [/EXCURSUS]

As for Huan's impatience, I don't know - isn't it basically a hound's job description to flush the quarry out of its cover, and in some cases even kill it himself? I wouldn't see it as his fault that Carcharoth was too cunning for him and circumvented him.