Hound

Hounds are Monsters that attack periodically in packs. They attack every 3–13 daysGame Source Code: scripts/components/hounded.lua and can also spawn from Hound Mounds. 
They are the primary source of Hound's Tooth, and a good source of Monster Meat. Their associated hounds, Blue Hound and Red Hound are a good source of Blue Gem and Red Gem respectively. 
== Downloadable Content==
In the Reign of Giants (ROG) DLC, if a player tracks a Varg, the Varg can spot the player and howl, calling two Hounds to help attack the player. Depending on the season, these Hounds can be normal, Blue, and Red.
In the Shipwrecked (SW) DLC, the Slot Machine has a chance to spawn two normal Hounds. Hounds in periodic attacks are replaced by Crocodogs. 
In the Hamlet (HAM) DLC, Hounds in periodic attacks are replaced by Vampire Bats.
== Don't Starve Together==
In Don't Starve Together (DST), a character that has died and became a Ghost can haunt a Hound, giving it an equal chance of becoming either a Red Hound or a Blue Hound. After the Hound has converted, it will panic for a short while, before continuing with what it was doing, such as attacking other players. 
Hounds will also spawn from the Moon Stone and the Hound Suspicious Moonrock when the Star Caller's Staff is inserted into the Moon Stone during a Full Moon. Hounds, including Red Hounds and Blue Hounds, are affected by the Moon Stone event.
As of the Turn of Tides beta, Hound can swim. Hounds can attack from water, but they will be wet, taking extra electric damage. Hounds killed on Lunar Island has 50% chance to be transformed into Horror Hounds after 4 seconds.
== Red Hound ==
The Red Hound (also known as a Fire Hound, Flame Hound, or Hellhound) can spawn in the Summer and Autumn () during Hound attacks and from Hound Mounds. Red Hounds have less health than regular Hounds, cannot be set on fire, and have a higher resistance to the effects of an Ice Staff. 
Upon death, they "explode" into 3 large fires that will burn for at least six seconds, then extinguish into Ashes. These fires can easily ignite nearby flammable objects, potentially leading to serious loss of flammable Structures and Items. They should be fought in an isolated area from the flammable Structures and Items. They can also be killed near an active Ice Flingomatic to avoid the fires.
Occasionally, players can encounter Red Hounds as part of a Fire Staff Trap.
== Blue Hound ==
The Blue Hound (also known as an Ice Hound) is a Hound that can spawn in the Winter and Spring () during Hound attacks and from Hound Mounds. Blue Hounds have less health than regular Hounds, but deal more damage and cannot be frozen with the Ice Staff.
Blue Hounds can freeze the player and nearby creatures when they are killed. Killing one Blue Hound will give the player a blue tint, and killing a second one will freeze the player for about 5 seconds. Any attack will release a frozen character, and killing one can freeze another nearby Hound.
Two Blue Hounds always accompany the MacTusk N' Son hunting party. They will be found sleeping outside the Walrus Camp when the party retires at dusk. Occasionally, the player can encounter Blue Hounds as part of an Ice Staff Trap.
== Periodic Hound Attacks==
When a Hound attack is imminent, snorting and growling sounds will be heard. These sounds start off softly and grow louder as the Hounds approach. Characters will also call attention to these sounds with phrases such as, "Did you hear that?". Usually, these warnings appear at least twice before the Hounds come. When the Hounds appear, the growling sounds will be replaced with the very real running and panting sounds that Hounds make when they attack. Spawned hounds appear 30m away from the player. 
Wes and Wilbur cannot speak and therefore do not have distinguishable warnings. Wilbur will make random monkey noises, as with any other quote. Attacks will escalate and peak at day 100. Periodic hound attacks are a threat in a Sandbox Mode. The default attacks escalate making them dangerous to fight alone.
Hounds do not appear in Caves. Instead, Depths Worms attack in waves similar to the way Hounds do above ground.
Red Hounds will accompany normal Hounds during attacks in Summer and Autumn (), while Blue Hounds accompany normal Hounds during Winter and Spring (). Red and Blue Hounds will appear less often than normal Hounds. The chances of Red Hounds or Blue Hounds spawning with a pack increases with each day survived.
In RoG, the chance for Red Hounds to spawn is multiplied by 1.5 during Summer.
Day 	Time between each hound spawns (seconds)
Day 1 to 20 	3 to 8
Day 21 to 60 	2 to 5
Day 61 to 100 	0.5 to 3.5
Day 101 or more	0.5 to 1.5
Day 	Special Hound Spawn Chance
Day 1 to 16 	0%
Day 17 to 31 	10%
Day 32 to 51 	20%
Day 52 to 76 	33.3%
Day 77 or more	50%
Default setting	Next attack 	Hounds 	Warning time before attack (seconds)
Day 1 to 10 	5 to 8 days 	2 	120
Day 11 to 25 	5 to 10 days 	3 to 4 	60
Day 26 to 50 	7 to 12 days 	4 to 6 	45
Day 51 to 100 	9 to 14 days 	5 to 7 	30
Day 101 or more	11 to 16 days	7 to 10	30
Hound attack frequency can be configured in the World Customization.
Custom setting	Next attack 	Hounds	Warning time before attack (seconds)
Never 	-- 	-- 	--
Less 	6 to 13 days	3 to 4	60
More 	4 to 11 days	4 to 6	45
Lots 	3 to 8 days 	5 to 7	30
According to the script, the default hound attacks eventually escalate to "crazy" (settings as per the last entry in the Default settings table above).
Currently the only way to eventually get to a "crazy" level of hounds is to leave the hound attack setting on default. All other settings are constant (as described above). In other words, currently it is only possible to make the hounds easier in the long term (but more difficult early on), or to leave them as default.
=== Don't Starve Together === 
In DST, hound attack frequency and amount were changed in the 2022 March QoL update. Hound Attacks become less frequent as the player survives more Days. After Day 25, there is a chance that 5 hounds will merge into a Varglet.
Player Age (days)	Attack interval (days)	Hounds	Warning time before attack (seconds)
1-8 	5-8 	2 	120
9-10 	5-10 	2 	60
11-25 	5-10 	3-4 	60
26-50 	7-12 	4-6 	45
51-100 	9-14 	5-7 	30
101+ 	11-16 	7-10 	30
While a player is on a boat, hound attacks cannot start and will be skipped if the chance occurs. However, if the warnings begin while the player is on land and they go onto a boat, the hound attack will still occur.
== Behavior==
Hound battle is generally messy due to their diverse behaviour.
Hounds without leaders or homes chase until killed or when the player is more than 100m away.
Hounds eat carcass of fellow hounds, and also eat meat on the ground, within 30m. 
Up to 5 Hounds within 30m will assist when one of them is attacked. Also, up to 5 hounds within 30m will assist when one of them attempt an attack. 
Hounds can spawn from Hound Mounds. These Hounds wander 8m away from Hound Mound, but they can target players 20m away. These hound stop chasing after 10 seconds or when the player is 20m away from them.
Leaderless Hounds randomly attack Walls along their path. Hounds with leader, such as a Varg, do not attack walls.
== Fighting Strategy==
Player can hit twice before running to dodge. Player can first bait Hound's attack, by running away slightly after the Hound started biting. Player can then attack twice and should then move away if the player is avoiding being hit.
Hounds, homeless and leaderless, are generally faster than the player and with their infinite chasing time, they are difficult to outrun. Player would probably rely on allowing the hounds to attempt to bite a few times, during which they may get distracted on other mobs.
=== Strategies when fighting multiple hounds ===
Players can tank Hound attacks, aiming to kill the Hounds as fast as possible to avoid them growing to overwhelming numbers. Players can prioritize targeting Blue Hounds and Red Hounds because they are more damaging and fragile, and have debuffing area effects on their fellow Hounds in their vicinity. Players should aim to have weapons that deal at least 50 damage, such as the Tentacle Spike, because this damage breakpoint is rather manageable and greatly reduces the number of hits to kill the hounds. The player should be strongly advised to have sufficient armour such as the Football Helmet. There are characters such as Wolfgang with extra single target damage or Wendy's Abigail's area damage that would further boost this strategy. 
Players can also rely on other mobs to kill the Hounds. There are mobs, like Pigs and Bunnymen, who are naturally aggressive towards Hounds. Player simply would only need to near their dwellings when they are out. These mobs can be manipulated to be outside their dwelling the entire day by baiting them with walled bait. Other neutral mobs, like Beefalo and Rock Lobsters, can be manipulated to fight the Hounds by running around the neutral mobs. Hounds may choose a new target after they bite once, and they are likely to attack the neutral mobs in favour of the player if the player is further than the neutral mobs when the hounds are reselecting an attack target. 
Players can rely on fortifications, such as a field of Tooth Traps, or some Houndius Shootiuses. Mass Tooth Trapped rooms, also known as panic room, can likely be in the scale of 100 traps. Because Hounds, from periodic waves, will attack walls, buildings and obstacles can be placed densely so the Hounds are unable to run though. Buildings will also confuse Hounds' pathfinding.
== Tips==
*While Hounds are attacking, Chester can be targeted.
** The same goes for Glommer in ROG, Packim Baggims in SW, and Ro Bin in HAM.
== Trivia==
*Hounds and Red Hounds were added in The Birds and the Bees & Dogs That Want to Kill You update.
*Blue Hounds were added in A Winter's Tale update.
*According to Wickerbottom, a Hound's Tooth contains brimstone, also known as sulfur. In folklore, sulfur is often associated with demons, implying that the in-game Hounds are Hellhounds, a supernatural dog common in some mythologies or beliefs.
*The Red Hound is available for use on Steam as a chat emoticon.
*Red Hounds are the only mobs that take 16 hits from an Ice Staff to be frozen - the maximum for most Mobs is 4.
*Even though Red Hounds cannot be set on fire, they still take fire damage if they come into contact with it.
*When Red Hounds are inspected by Maxwell, he reveals that he "put gems in there as a joke". This implies that the notable traits of the Red Hound, such as its red color and spontaneous combustion upon death, are due to the presence of the Red Gem inside its body.
* Maxwell comments that he had a lot of surplus Gems when examining Blue Hounds. This reveals that the freezing resistance Blue Hounds have is caused by the Blue Gems in their body. This may also have caused their "blue" fur, although the grayish teal coloration they sport is a common pigmentation in many real-life mammals, especially those living in colder climates.
*The Blue Hounds have a dark blue nose when awake. Should they fall asleep, however, then their nose will change to the color of an ordinary hound's nose.
*There's a small chance for a special hound to spawn in the first season.
== Bugs==
*Saving the game when the Hound attack warning begins and then loading that save will cause the attack to become bugged. The Hounds will arrive extremely late, up to 7 days, and the warning will persist indefinitely, making the player unable to use Tents and other items that require a "safe" condition.
*Occasionally, dying in a Cave and getting resurrected on the surface (perhaps when Hound attacks are supposed to begin) will cause the growling and snorting sounds to play in half-day intervals while the character remarks that the Hounds are coming, but they will not appear until a Hound attack in 3–10 days, where the warnings properly play close together.
*Sometimes, Hound attacks will 'reset'; the growling warning will last longer and only two normal Hounds will spawn, just as the first Hound attack.
*Saving and exiting the game during a Hound attack, and then loading the save will cause all of the Hounds to become temporarily distracted.
*Occasionally, when a SW and ROG world are merged, a hound attack may occur every time the player reloads the game.
*In DST, when a Hound attack is about to occur, going into the Caves and then back to the Surface will cause no Hounds to spawn. Restarting the server between entering and leaving the Caves will fix the bug.
== Animations==
Hound_Running_Animation.gif|Animation of Hound running.
Hound_Taunting_Animation.gif|Animation of Hound taunting.
Hound_Sleeping_Animation.gif|Animation of Hound sleeping.
Hound_Death_Animation.gif|Animation of Hound dying.
== Gallery==
Hound All Sides.png|Hound from all sides.
2556-05-24 1248.png|An attacking Hound.
Hound running.png|A running Hound.
Hound-attacking.png|A snapping Hound.
Hound sleeping.png|A sleeping Hound.
Frozen Hound.PNG|A frozen Hound.
HellHound bark.png|A Hound barking.
Hound Corpse.png|A dead Hound.
Hound and butterflies.png|A Hound losing interest in Wilson and attacking Butterflies.
Dead Fire Hound.png|A Red Hound bursting into flames when killed.
Fire Staff trap.png|Red Hounds sleeping in the Fire Staff set piece.
Dead Red Hound.png|A dead Red Hound.
Blue Hound running.png|A running Blue Hound.
Blue Hound attacking.png|A snapping Blue Hound.
Dead Blue Hound.png|A dead Blue Hound.
Moonrock Hound.png|A Moonrock Hound
MacTusk N' Son idling.png|Two Blue Hounds following MacTusk.
Ice Staff Trap.png|Blue Hounds sleeping in the Ice Staff Trap set piece.
Hounds vs beefalos.png|The aftermath of a fight between Hounds and a herd of Beefalo.
Corridor of Death - Imgur.jpg|A corridor made to funnel Hounds into Tooth Traps.
Teeth trapes.png|A trap layout made to prevent Hounds from attacking in all directions.
Hound stuck due to a pine tree.png|A Hound stuck because of a Tree and a Wall.
chasedbyhounds.png|Wallpaper for the launch of Don't Starve.
The Birds and the Bees & Dogs That Want to Kill You.jpg|The Birds and the Bees & Dogs That Want to Kill You poster featuring Hounds.
BBDKY Poster.jpg|An alternative poster for The Birds and the Bees & Dogs That Want to Kill You update featuring Hounds.
Hound and Howl Hound concept art.png|Hound concept art.
Art Stream 57 MacTusk N' Son.png|A Blue Hound as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 57.
Turn Of Tides Trailer 1.jpg|A Hound and Wilson as seen in the Turn of Tides launch trailer.
Turn of Tides Trailer 2.png|A Hound biting a Ham Bat and Wilson as seen in the Turn of Tides launch trailer.
DST A New Reign Release Poster.jpg|Hound as seen in the Release Poster for A New Reign.
A Winter's Tale.jpg|Blue Hound as seen in the poster for A Winter's Tale update.
==References==
fr:Molosse
Category:Fire Starter
Category:Hostile Creatures
Category:Mobs
Category:Monsters
Category:Periodic Threat
Category:Sanity Loss
Category:Summer
Category:Surface Creatures
Category:Winter
Category:Non-Flammable
Category:Mob Spawning Entities