According to the FCI standard, the Masters of Foxhounds Association stud books date to before 1800, and almost every English Foxhound can be traced far back within them. Breeding has always rested with pack masters who carefully recorded their matings. The dog was bred for hunting in packs on horseback.
| FCI | Group 6 (Scent hounds and related breeds), Section 1.1 Large-sized scent hounds, Standard No. 159, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Great Britain |
| Size (height at the withers) | around 58 to 64 cm, without distinction by sex |
| Weight | not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | median 13,0 years in a British analysis of 584.734 dogs, including only 71 Foxhounds (McMillan et al. 2024) |
| Coat | short, dense and weatherproof |
| Colours in the standard | any recognised hound colour and markings; other colours or combinations not permitted |
At home in a pack
There have been over 250 Foxhound packs in Great Britain, the standard says. The Kennel Club published a provisional standard only later, and the FCI recognised the breed in 1964. The current FCI version dates from September 2026. Its smaller relative, better known as a family dog, is the Beagle.
Friendly and tireless
Endurance, stamina and a natural hunting instinct come first in the standard, followed by friendly and not aggressive. A dog bred to work in a large group usually gets on well with other dogs. Expect a need for company, however, and learning to be alone can be difficult.
Built for galloping
Long, straight forelegs, round firm feet and ground-covering, tireless movement with galloping ability reveal a body meant to follow horses over long distances. Several hours of daily exercise are normal. Running beside a bicycle, pulling sports or tracking on a long lead come close; fenced ground permits free running. The short, weatherproof coat needs only weekly grooming.
Lifespan and a lesson from the kennels
In McMillan and colleagues’ British longevity study, Foxhounds reached a median 13,0 years, compared with 12,0 for crossbreeds. But only 71 dogs underpin the figure, with a confidence interval from 11,4 to 16,9 years. A bovine tuberculosis outbreak in 2016 and 2017 in an English pack of around 180 dogs offers a lesson: of 164 tested dogs, 97 were positive on at least one test, and Mycobacterium bovis was confirmed in six. Their diet was mainly raw meat from fallen livestock (O'Halloran et al. 2018). The practical message: raw meat of uncertain origin is not harmless food.
A dog for few homes
The most rewarding home is rural, with plenty of time outdoors and an owner wanting a sociable dog with a big voice, ideally with a second dog at home. It is not built for a flat, a full-time job without care or hopes of reliable woodland recall. A more compact combination of scent-hound types appears in the Beagle-Harrier entry.
Our breed quiz answers whether a pack hound fits your life, with detail in our book “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German). For the first weeks with a puppy, there is the free Puppy Starter Pack. Classic hound markings look good as a magazine cover on canvas, with more options among all our dog portraits.
Further reading
- Beagle: a nose with a dog attached, and what that means day to day
- Leaving your dog alone: learning without drama (step by step)
- Calculating your dog’s food allowance: how much your dog really needs
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 159 English Foxhound (fci.be, English version dated 06.10.2026, valid original standard dated 08.09.2026; no German version published); McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024; O'Halloran C et al., An outbreak of tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis infection in a pack of English Foxhounds (2016-2017), Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 2018.
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