Dog Breed Info
american foxhound
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American Foxhound Description
The American Foxhound is very similar to its British cousin, which dates back to the 13th century. Even in the US, the American Foxhound dates back to the 1650's, where they were also popular with the upper class for hunting. It was even a favorite pasttime of George Washington. The American Foxhound is a both a bit taller and lighter boned than its European counterpart, and it was in the south that the breed was streamlined.
Bred to accompany their masters on the hunt, the breed is known for its stamina and shrewd nose. They were primarily used to chase and flush game while their masters stayed on horseback ready to dispatch the fleeing beast. Should they dog catch the quarry, they very rarely maul their prey, preferring the chase itself.
The breed standards describe a graceful dog with easy movements. The head should be long and somewhat domed on top. They have large, floppy ears which are carried to the side and frame the face. Their tail should be held high and slightly curved upward without curling over the top of his backside.
Though the coat is well formed and close, it is also thick and coarse for deep woods action. American Foxhounds with very soft coats do not meet the accepted breed standard because they are susceptible to getting bits and bobs stuck in their coat while running through the under story.
American Foxhounds have very long legs (taller than any other member of the foxhound sub-group) allowing them to run through thick woods for hours before tiring. Their stamina is one trait that separates them from their English cousins.
American Foxhound Temperament
These dogs are cheerful and make wonderful family pets, provided they have enough room to run around and expend some of their excess energy. They do not do well indoors for long periods of time, preferring to be outdoors. They are very pack oriented, and will readily call a human family its own, demanding daily affection (which they crave). These dogs are generally quite good with children and can be trusted with even the smallest young ones.
In fact, American Foxhounds are very social dogs that will fiercely defend their pack, human or not. If a dog has spent a log of time living with a pack of dogs (as is common with a hunting pack) it can be difficult to retrain him to live with a human family.
American Foxhounds are a bit high strung and are known for their howls (which are quiet loud) and yips. It can be very difficult to convince these dogs not to bark at people.
Because of the foxhounds accute senses, they can be a bit nervous around loud noises and situations when they are overwhelmed by scents and sounds. Sometimes this can send them into a frenzy, resulting in destructive behavior.
Their sense of smell is especially highly developed, and if they catch a scent of something good, they can be difficult to call off that scent, following it to the exclusion of all else. Even a well trained hound may ingnore your commands. It's not that they don't know what you want, it's just that they don't care right now.
When hunting, they are fearless and will do some stupidly brave things if you give them the chance. They should be kept on a leash unless you're sure there are no roads anywhere nearby, and you are in a position to get your hound out of trouble if they decide to take on a bear or something equally suicidal.
Regardless of where you live, owners need to be very careful that American Foxhounds don't run off. They are known for their stupidity around traffic, but at the same time are clever enough to figure out how gates latch (and tall enough to do something about it!).
American Foxhound Grooming
The Amercian Foxhound's smooth, short-haired coat is easy to groom. Just comb and brush with a firm bristle brush, and shampoo only when necessary. This breed is an average shedder.
American Foxhound History
The American Foxhound is directly descended from English hounds brought to America in 1650. Over a century later these dogs were bred to a French hound sent as a gift by Lafayette to George Washington. Washington ran a breeding program and often mentioned the hounds in his journals. The American Foxhounds is primarily a combination of the French and English breeds.
However, there are also many different strains of American Foxhounds. Such as the Walker hounds which are known for the speeds. Other strains include Trigg, Goodman, July, Calhoun, and Hudspeth. Each strain has been developed for as either a running hound or a show hound; and if a running hound, may specialize as competitive field trial hounds or pack hounds.
Today the American Foxhound is especially widely distributed throughout the Southeastern United States and very often used for several different types of hunting. Though the breed was one of the first breeds registered with the AKC, their AKC registered numbers have never been particularly high, primarily because most owners register their dogs with specialty Foxhound studbooks, most notably the International Foxhunter's Studbook.
American Foxhound Training
The American foxhound is a very intelligent breed, though not always responsive, even to the best of training. This is due to their stubborn and independent nature. They require a lot of patience and persistance, and training is best started when they are young (it is possible to start on an older dog, or a dog kept with a pack, it just takes even more patience and persistance!). An obedience class is quite ideal for the American Foxhound.
Because of there inherent social nature, try to maintain a position of authority and dominance as the leader of the "pack". This means being firm, but loving. Live most dogs, foxhounds are very receptive to postitive reinforcement.
The difficulty in training also applies to house training. Just when you think you have successfully house trained them, they may slip back to having accidents in the home. Even hounds are house trained can loose it if sufficiently excited.
American Foxhound Health Problems
A fairly healthy breed, American Foxhounds are generally free of many genetic diseases such as hip and bone problems, which often plague other large breeds. Gains weight easily, so be careful not to overfeed. Some have been known to have chronic ear problems, but it has not been prevalent enough to call it a breed problem.