The English hound, as his name implies, is a hound whose ancestors are in the English Foxhound Studbook. American and English hounds must have less than one sixteenth outcross blood in their pedigree to be considered pure. Some of the best known varieties of American hounds are the Bywater hound, the Walker hound and the July hound. Crossbred hounds are a cross between English and American hounds. Only in Canada does the English hound predominate.
Crossbred hounds are the most popular in the United States.
The hunt must also have a breeding program and produce their own hounds. Their kennels must meet the qualifications of sanitation and space. Since hounds must be trained and controllable, training starts before a hound is a year old. Early training takes place on foot with the huntsman and whippers-in supervising. Once the young hounds are under control, they are introduced to horses when the staff mounts up and hounds are exercised with fitness being the goal.