American Foxhound

American hunting dog with keen sense of smell

The American Foxhound is a breed of dog, closely related to the English Foxhound. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt foxes by scent. United States Founding Father George Washington was key to the breed's early development.

In 1650, Robert Brooke sailed from England to Maryland with his pack of hunting dogs, which were the root of several strains of American hounds. Dogs of this bloodline, known as "Brooke Hounds," remained in the Brooke family for nearly 300 years, possibly one of the longest documented breeding records for a single breed and family. The American Kennel Club credits George Washington as the Father of the American Foxhound. Washington is said to have had a strong love for dogs that grew from his love of hunting for foxes. Washington bred the American Foxhound in hopes of breeding faster speed and tracking of foxes into the breed of hounds he already owned. He received French Foxhounds, Grand Bleu de Gascogne, (which look much like an American Bluetick Coonhound) as a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette. Around two years later, Washington acquired eight regular hounds from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and two “Slow Pace” hounds from England. The combination of those dogs, the French Foxhounds, and the dogs Washington kept, which were descended from Brooke's, create the present day American Foxhound. The American Foxhound originated in the states of Maryland and Virginia, where Washington lived, and is the state dog of Virginia. The breed was developed purely for hunting foxes. With the importation (or migration) of the red fox, Irish Foxhounds were added to the lines, to increase speed and stamina in the dog, qualities still prevalent in today's dogs. The breed was first recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1886. Today, there are many different strains of American Foxhound, including Walker, Calhoun, Goodman, Trigg, July and Penn Marydel. Though each strain looks different, they are all recognized as members of the same breed. Most show hounds are Walkers, many of the pack hounds (used with hunting foxes on horseback) are Penn Marydel and hunters use a variety of strains to suit their hunting style and quarry.

While standards call for the American Foxhound to be about tall to the withers, and weigh anywhere between , many of them are larger in structure (especially the show strains), with males standing and females and smaller in weight, typically between The legs of a Foxhound are long and straight boned. The foxhound's chest is rather narrow. It has a long muzzle, and a large, domed skull. The ears are wide and low set. The eyes are hazel or brown, and are large and wide set.

A close, hard hound coat of medium length, and any color, though the combination of black, white and tan is prevalent. American Foxhounds do tend to shed a good amount of hair, but a weekly brushing will decrease shedding.

The American Foxhound is known to have a musical bark, called a bay, when it is hunting that can be heard for miles, probably inherited from the Grand Bleu de Gascogne's signature howl. This is one reason why this breed does not do well in city settings. According to W. L. Porter in an article in The Chase, local fox hunters who saw the dogs purchased from Birdsong found them unattractive, but their performance was surprisingly good. Porter stated that the dogs were "racy built, crop ears, rough coated, bushy tails and chop mouthed and looked unlike any fox hound any of us had ever seen". Eventually, Trigg's breeding program became successful on a local and national level. In 1910, well known big game hunter Paul J. Rainey purchased twenty five hounds from Trigg and took them on a hunting trip in Africa, later buying more from Trigg, his son Alanson, and others. After Trigg's death, some fanciers began to lose interest and the strain declined in popularity, despite a small core of active breeders. After Rainey returned from his trips, however, he announced that the Triggs were the "best and most courageous hounds in the world," causing their popularity to rise again amongst hunters. Male Trigg Hounds stand 23 to 24 inches (58 to 61 centimetres) at the withers and weigh 45 to 55 pounds (20 to 25 kilograms), while females stand 20 to 22 inches (51 to 56 centimetres) and weigh 35 to 45 pounds (16 to 20 kilograms). The variety has a long snout, hanging ears, and a short, smooth coat, and though it may come in any color, the Continental Kennel Club allows only tricolor and bicolor dogs. The Trigg Hound is obedient but "tenacious", and is well suited to hunting because of its sense of smell and endurance.