English Foxhound Breed History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=118 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="1944c763.jpg"> <div> <B>Foxhunter and Kiefernfels Kennels</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#003300" FACE="Georgia" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <div> <B>English Foxhound Breed History</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="0b8b4343.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Foxhunter and Kiefernfels Kennels"><U>Home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="fhpg.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Foxhunter English Foxhounds"><U>English Foxhounds</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=362 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="0b964643.jpg"> <div> Towards the end of the 17th century, fox hunting came into fashion in Britain as the sport of the landed gentry. Prior to this, stag had been the favourite chase. However, for a number of reasons the stag became quite scarce, but the fox was everywhere, hunted on foot by farmers who used a hound on a long line to scent the quarry and drive it from its hiding place. The farmers' hounds, descended from the St. Hubert hounds taken to Britain by the Normans, were amiable but slow, not at all suited to setting the pace for huntsmen mounted on horseback. A keener hound was needed. </div> <div> Early proponents of the foxhunt decided this should be a hound with a keen nose, sound feet, speed, obedience, enthusiasm, a loud voice and enough stamina to run all day. Dogs showing such traits were mated and by the process of selective breeding of their progeny, hounds that were remarkably similar in character and conformation were produced. They were named according to the work for which they were bred- the Foxhound.</div> <div> The first kennel specializing in these hounds dates to 1696. But so popular did the concept of selective breeding become that by 1750 there were fifty foxhound kennels in England owned by large land owners and members of the aristocracy. The most notable breeder was Hugo Meynell, who has been called "the father of foxhunting." Meynell developed the pack of hounds known as "the Quorn," the ultimate in style, workmanship, and uniformity of type. He also established a system of record keeping that others copied. Thus, many of today's hounds have pedigrees that can be traced as far back as 1760. Times have changed, and the number of packs has dwindled, but enough are still maintained to keep the sport of foxhunting alive. </div> <div> In Canada and in Britain the packs are owned by hunt associations. Having been bred for so many generations as pack dogs, foxhounds are happiest with their own kind. Attempts to turn them into family pets or show dogs have not met with much success. Only the occasional specimen appears in the show ring.</div> <div> The Canadian Kennel Club Stud Book lists thirty-two Foxhounds registered in 1889. By 1892, these had been separated into two breeds, the English and the American foxhound. Three registrations were recorded in that year.</div> <bR> <div> Web Design by <A HREF="mailto:foxfels@nexicom.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:foxfels@nexicom.net"><U>Foxfels</U></A>.</div> <div>  <STYLE type="text/css"> body { scrollbar-arrow-color: #D6E0D6; scrollbar-base-color: #006000; scrollbar-dark-shadow-color: #004000; scrollbar-track-color: #B1C1B1; scrollbar-face-color: #014301; scrollbar-shadow-color: #006A00; scrollbar-highlight-color: #CBDDCB; scrollbar-3d-light-color: #A0C4A0; } </STYLE>  </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>