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. As hounds hunt over private farmland, they must ignore all farm animals and other dogs and pursue only the chosen quarry. The chasing of any other wildlife is also not allowed. A hound begins to hunt at roughly twelve to eighteen months of age. If he meets the standards set by the staff, he will be entered by that particular hunt.