Either one that is done hunting or one that never took to it? What are they like around the house? My parents had beagles and later bloodhounds so I know a little about those two breeds. I think the foxhounds are beautiful and wonder if anyone can speak to what they are like when living away from the pack in one’s home and yard? What are the chances of one getting along with a cat (zero? or slightly better?). Thanks a ton in advance.
I’ve never had one, but my hunt used to let members have first dibs on hounds that didn’t work out in the pack.
I suppose they’d be happiest if you can have two to keep each other company?
I’ve adopted three. They are lovely dogs, but there is definitely an adjustment period as they transition from working hounds to housepets.
We have two cats, and the foxhounds have been fine with them.
Feel free to pm me for details.
I’m curious also. How are they as farm dogs? Is their prey drive too high for things like chickens?
I have a hound! she failed out of fox hunting school… she was very timid, but has really come a long way. Tries to “play” with our 3 cats, but not maliciously. Likes to run around at the farm. Not sure I would trust her with chickens… loves chasing squirrels. likes to roam a bit, but stays in the general area. Very smart, but very stubborn! Also she is very quiet (never really barks much)
[QUOTE=EventingJ;8849306]
I have a hound! she failed out of fox hunting school… she was very timid, but has really come a long way. Tries to “play” with our 3 cats, but not maliciously. Likes to run around at the farm. Not sure I would trust her with chickens… loves chasing squirrels. likes to roam a bit, but stays in the general area. Very smart, but very stubborn! Also she is very quiet (never really barks much)
Picture, because shes pretty!
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She’s gorgeous! What’s her name?
[QUOTE=EventingJ;8849306]
Picture, because shes pretty![/QUOTE]
What a good looking dog! This is not what I pictured when I read “hound”. lol
I thought they barked a lot. And loudly. Glad yours doesn’t!
I also know that a hound related to her (her bitch’s litter mates puppy) named Minnow was also re-homed and is also a good dog (Minnow didn’t want to leave the Master’s side, ever). Her bitch is still hunting I think, and I believe her litter mates have made good hunters.
We have one. If they are well trained hounds then they are not going to hunt anything they are not trained to hunt. We have rabbits all over the property and she has never chased a one.
Hounds are wanderers. They have been bred and trained to go seek out the prey. Ours, when she was younger, might be gone for hours but then she was right at the back door at dinner time.
We tried invisible fencing with her but she just walked through it. They are tough.
I think they make great pets. Once they adjust to their new lives they are great but you will go through an adjustment period.
They are also great with horses but be warned they can be in very close proximity. I was working with a new TB and our hound came flying by within inches. That TB had all four feet in the air. Hounds have learned they have the right of way. The TB became a very good staff horse for me.
Thanks for all the responses. I am really wanting to get a dog- I’m thinking since I am gone at work at least 8 hours per day that getting two might be nice since they would have company. I hope they can do OK getting fed twice a day.
mine only gets fed twice a day. I crated her the first few months (wasnt sure if i could really trust her alone with the cats). She LOVES her crate (we don’t lock her in anymore). her crate is “her” space. she goes there when she wants quiet time, she eats there, if we are being too loud in the kitchen, or a bad thunder storm, she generally goes in her crate.
I’ve had a few retired foxhounds. Mostly when they retire, they really retire. They make lovely pets who spend a huge amount of time sleeping in chairs. One of mine was a dreadful food thief and counter surfer–he’d steal whole roasts and legs of lamb right when they came out of the oven or if they were defrosting, but none of them ever had problems with my dog door, none roamed, and all were excellent with my cat. Mine were just the most laid back, gentle, non-aggressive, non-protective dogs you can imagine. Watch dogs they weren’t.
All of mine have been tall and rangy.
My friend owns a retired foxhound…hound gets along well with cats and people and when she is not stealing food from the counter, she is a total couch potato. I agree that a good fence is a necessity, so they don’t wander out. My sister has a hound mix who is also a mellow, food-thieving couch potato. On the other hand, I have a mutt adopted from a shelter who I am quite sure has some hound in him. He is young and very high-drive and it took a full year of intensive, daily training work to make him a good citizen in the house. You may get lucky and get a mellow pet, but be prepared to do a fair amount of training if you get a still-motivated hunter.
Limestone Creek is looking to re-home a few of our retired hounds. They are older (11) and have lumps and bumps from a lifetime of sport, but they’re very sweet and friendly. Our territory is relatively suburban, so all our hounds are very well socialized to people, cur dogs and the like (and, on Sunday, the entire pack moved through a yard with chickens with nary a feather lost).
If you are interested, PM me and I will put you in touch with our hunstman.
I adopted Blossom a 12 year old hound from Bellwood Hunt 2 years ago. Blossom is 55 pounds. She is fairly tall.
This is her with my 80 pound lab the first winter we got her.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204342458267681&set=a.10203026284524160.1073741834.1416383062&type=3&theater
First day we got her:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204148306374005&set=a.10203026284524160.1073741834.1416383062&type=3&theater
She is great with my cats. I have a fenced yard so none of my dogs roam. She gets along great with my other 2 dogs. She does talk quite a bit when I first get home but in general is not very barky. She is not a watch dog.
Housebreaking has been interesting. We still have the occasional accident. We just try to kick her out a lot and make sure she does what she needs to do. We also had to get her a doggy jacket for last winter. She is almost 15 years old so I think needed the jacket to encourage her to go outside in the cold. She quickly figured out the dog door.
Bellwood only feeds hounds once a day during non-hunting season and once after a hunt. During the hunt season on non-hunting days they do get fed twice a day. We feed all our dogs twice a day and she had no issue adjusting.
She is quite the couch potato. She is now a great food hound. She will counter surf if given the opportunity. The Bellwood hounds were all well socialized so she is good with people. She was one of the better hounds when she was hunting but by and large is pretty mellow.
She had a number of health issues when I got her. Lyme, bilateral ear infections and needed 10 teeth removed. I have not had her spayed due to her age. She was supposed to have the teeth and spay done at the same time but she became unstable under anesthesia since the teeth took so long. Then life got in the way and she never got rescheduled. She still cycles. Many if not most packs do not spay/neuter. So figure that into projected your expenses.
I would certainly consider adopting another one.
Snoozing with the lab a couple of months ago.
[QUOTE=vineyridge;8851056]
I’ve had a few retired foxhounds. Mostly when they retire, they really retire. They make lovely pets who spend a huge amount of time sleeping in chairs. One of mine was a dreadful food thief and counter surfer–he’d steal whole roasts and legs of lamb right when they came out of the oven or if they were defrosting, but none of them ever had problems with my dog door, none roamed, and all were excellent with my cat. Mine were just the most laid back, gentle, non-aggressive, non-protective dogs you can imagine. Watch dogs they weren’t.
All of mine have been tall and rangy.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much this, although we only adopt bitches (as our other dogs are all males), and our American hound females aren’t huge, about 42-45 lbs. Fantastic house dogs, although the current one is the WORST counter surfer. She almost snagged the leg of lamb on Sunday night! Be warned they will spend most of the day sleeping on the softest, warmest spot they can – couch, chair, bed, etc, so best to cover those areas with something. Both of ours have LOVED to snuggle, with either people or our cat. Fine with crates. You will have to spay/neuter them, clean teeth, etc. They get their vaccinations while in the kennel, but not much other maintenance.
I’ve always thought about adopting a hound, but we live in the city during the week. We have a large fenced yard, and of course take the dogs on lots of walks. I always thought a hound would be miserable as a city house dog, but maybe not? Anyone have their hound as a “city” pet?
Also, hounds in my experience have quite the odor. Does this go away after a good bath and living in doors, or is it just their personal scent that you can’t scrub away?
Thanks for any insight!
[QUOTE=Mukluk;8850190]
…I’m thinking since I am gone at work at least 8 hours per day that getting two might be nice since they would have company. I hope they can do OK getting fed twice a day.[/QUOTE]
I used to free feed my dog but when we got the Weimaraner, we had to change that; he would eat all of the food put in front of him immediately and if we fed him once a day he was obnoxiously hungry by evening. So we started twice daily feedings and the first dog had to learn to eat her meal or the Weimaraner would. A great benefit of this is that the dogs, having an eating schedule, now have a pooping schedule as well, which works out great when we want to leave them in the house for a few hours and we are sure that they are not uncomfortable. It also makes it easier to clean their potty yard because we can time it and know it is clean for a few hours.
If you will be feeding yours breakfast and leaving for work, I think twice daily feedings will work out really well for you.
As for your comment about getting two dogs… some breeds really suffer from separation anxiety more than others and I would guess that hounds might be among them; it’s a great idea to get two to keep each other company.
