American Foxhound

Bred especially to hunt down foxes by scent, the American Foxhound, with its sleek, light features, long head and legs, large brownish eyes, wide ears, straight muzzle and a little curvy tail, is a cousin of its English counterpart – the English Foxhound, and primarily are parts of the large packs in the South and East regions of the USA where fox hunting is a popular sport among the horsey sets. They are also comfortable as pets of apartment dwellers provided they get enough space to run and exercise openly every day.

American Foxhound Pictures

History

The history of these American dogs is highly glorious with their names being attached to George Washington, who would run a breeding program, after they directly descended from the English foxhounds in America after 1650, and then after, directly bred with a French hound gifted to the first president by Lafayette. The American foxhound, thus, is a combination of their English and the French counterparts. Known for their excellent sense of scent and as a smarter and slimmer breed than the English foxhound, they were (and still are) used for hunting (see introduction), as also for their skills in tracking and agility.

Mixes

American Foxhound X Beagle mix and American Foxhound X Lab mix are the popular, sought-after mixes by pet lovers. Treeing Walker Coonhound is a breed of hound descended from the English and American Foxhounds.

Temperament and Behavior

The American foxhounds are extremely polite, tolerant, gentle and sweet by nature, having a very lucid disposition, although stubborn at times, but go well with kids and other pets and dogs too, except being shy and introvert when strangers are around. These high-energy, active dogs tend to follow scents that they might feel interesting, motivated by their hunting instincts, and once found, they would follow with all glee heedless of its master’s command.

Training

Train the dog to socialize first since they are a stubborn breed, for which, a few (or at least one) professional obedience class is recommended, as also to deliver the training with patience, which should help the independent-minded dog to be the ‘teacher’s pet’ and respect you as its master. Teach them to follow its human owner (master) while opening and closing a gate or during walks/jogs, which should in turn teach them that its owner is the real ‘leader’ of its ‘pack.

Feeding

Like we mentioned, these dogs tend to get overweight, and hence, do not overfeed. A mixture of lipids, vitamins, protein and minerals is recommended for your foxhound. Before buying dry dog food from the store, be sure to check that the content does not contain fats and sugar, because, primarily, your dog needs such foods that contain protein level between 32% and 40 %. The food quality should be high and the quantity recommended is 2 to 3 cups daily ^[2]. These dogs drink frequently and hence a constant supply of water all day for them is recommended.

Interesting Facts

• The front legs of the American foxhound are longer than the hind ones.
• The American foxhound is known to have a musical bark, and hence, while out for a hunt, one can hear them from miles.
• This breed does not make a good watchdog.
• The sonorous voice of the dog has been so popular that, its tones had even been used in many popular songs.