Foxhound

Description

The English Foxhound is one of the four foxhound breeds. It is a large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, great energy, and, like all scent hounds, a keen sense of smell. Packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed (usually on horseback) by hunters, sometimes for several miles at a stretch. Foxhounds also sometimes guard sheep and houses. Only recently have Foxhounds been shown in the ring in the UK although they have been established in the show rings of the USA and Australia for longer. The breed standards’ guidelines for showing English Foxhounds requires them to be 20–27 inches (51–69 cm) tall at the withers. The skull is thick, and the muzzle is long. The legs are muscular, straight-boned, and the paws are rounded, almost cat-like. The English Foxhound comes in any hound colour, most often tricolour, tan, red, or black with a white base.  As a pack hound it gets along well with other dogs and enjoys companionship with humans, horses, children, and other pets. It is a gentle, social, and tolerant breed. Developed in the sixteenth century in response to growing interest in fox hunting, traditionally it has been a pack hound with many hunts developing their own readily identified ‘type’. The breed was exported around the world as early as the seventeenth century. Many were taken to the United States early in its colonial history to allow colonists continue hunting as a hobby. It was here that it was used in combination with other hound breeds, including French Foxhounds to develop the lighter American Foxhound. George Washington himself was among those involved in this breeding programme.