English Foxhound Dog Breed

The English Foxhound is a brilliant hunting dog whose keen sense of smell, hearing, and tracking makes this dog highly desirable to those who are experienced with the breed. For those who have little to no dog experience, however, they are not at all recommended as they are very difficult to control. Even those with dog experience but not with English Foxhounds may find these dogs hard to deal with. They love to play, they are great with kids, and they get along like gangbusters with other dogs, but your cat, nearby squirrels, and any other small ferries are considered targets by these dogs. More over, these dogs are somewhat idiosyncratic on the best of days, and you really need to be ready to deal with the unexpected on a daily — if not hourly! — basis.

Here are some of the good and bad things about these dogs:

Despite the rarity of this breed, there is a great amount of English Foxhound information as these dogs are nevertheless very popular. They are superior, specifically trained hunting dogs. If you simply wish to adopt one because of the beauty and rarity, you will want to carefully consider such an adoption.

These very sharp hunting dogs can be trained to do a lot of related rural tasks such as herding, towing, and so forth, and they are great in field trials in the most discerning dog shows too. They can sometimes let their smarts get the better of them, however, so it's best to always be aware of what they are up to.

Perhaps the first bit of English Foxhound dogs 101 you will hear (and we mean this in every way!) is the dog's bark. The loud baying of this breed is one you'll never forget should you hear it in the wild. It's how they communicate to you and the other dogs when in the field.

Exercise, exercise, exercise — and that's the morning session for these dogs. English Foxhounds are accustomed to going long and hard all the livelong day. They may not be as fast as everything they chase, but they have more endurance. If you have a non-hunting English Foxhound, you would do well to have a very active daily lifestyle so as to keep these dogs happy.

They may be small, they may be copacetic, but the English Foxhound temperament is a stubborn one and perhaps more so than most other dogs. Your best bet would be to enroll yours in an obedience class overseen by a highly experienced and verifiably veteran English Foxhound trainer.

Once they understand that they are not to run off on a lark (and this is something they will always want to do no matter how well-trained they may be), you will be able to easier enjoy this dog's friendly personality that extends to kids, other dogs, and most any human he meets.

As their prey drive will remain firmly intact no matter how good the obedience training may have been, you should always be on your guard around small furries if your English Foxhound is about. You absolutely must have a leash as these dogs are notorious for refusing the "come" command once they get going.

The English Foxhound is a very healthy breed whose relatively new breed status means the effects of hybrid vigor remain very good and the in-breeding that could occur in a few centuries (to keep the breed "pure") and cause severe health problems is nowhere near happening. Still, there are some dog problems that can happen to a few of these dogs, whether by work-related injury or something else.

Below is the short list of the most common concerns that befall an English Foxhound:

• Bloat
• Epilepsy
• Hip Dysplasia
• Renal Disease

This breed tends to have an average lifespan of about 10 to 13 years.