Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

The American Foxhound

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History and origin of the American Foxhound

This breed is said to have been derived from a pack of Foxhounds taken from Britain to the United States in 1650. This scent hound was used in packs or individually for fox hunts. He is now mostly used as a competitive field trial dog and a showdog.

Description: The American Foxhound stands 21 to 25 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 55 and 75 pounds. He has a large, strong, athletic body and a short, dense, shedding coat that is stiff to the touch and requires regular brushing with a hound glove. The coat color is black, white, and tan.

About the American Foxhound:

This breed is friendly, lively, and full of stamina. He is a first-rate hunter and does not usually make a great house pet. His high-energy level can drive you nuts. He can be very stubborn and is easily distracted by a scent. He is happiest when doing a task such as tracking, hunting, or doing some other type of field work. The American Foxhound is suspicious of strangers and makes a good watchdog, but he can be dog-aggressive. He is good with your children, but he may knock them down and hurt them while playing. He does not normally exhibit the type of non-thinking aggression common to Bloodhounds and Coonhounds. If left alone, he can be very noisy, restless and destructive. Training and socialization should begin early. As with all hounds, the “Come” command is hard to teach this breed. He is also inclined to be disobedient.

Feeding:

Traditionally, pack members were trenched-fed with horse meat and an oatmeal mash called a “pudding.” They are not fed the day before a hunt. Present day feeding include about 1 ½ cans (13.3oz) of high-quality meaty product with biscuit added in equal part or 5 cupfuls of a complete, dry dog food.

Ideal home for the American Foxhound

The English Foxhound is the perfect breed for a hunter or a very active person. A house in the country with a fenced yard or kennel is important. Children are fine as long as no roughhousing and teasing is allowed. Plenty of directed exercise is needed to avoid restlessness, barking, and digging. The owner must be a firm no-nonsense leader who has time to train, socialize, and exercise the dog. The American Foxhound is not a lap-dog and will not do well with an easygoing, elderly, or disabled owner.

Human Food For Your Golden Retriever

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A lot of people wonder what type of human food they should feed their Golden Retriever.  Even though many prefer to stick with dog food and only dog food, there are certain types of human food that a Golden Retriever will love – and is actually good for them.  Golden’s crave attention as we all know – and when they watch you eat it never hurts to give them a bite – as long as you know what they should and shouldn’t consume with their diets.

For your Golden’s health, feeding him foods such as chicken, raw vegetables, turkey, brown rice, fruits, and oatmeal are always great.  Even though we think of these type foods as “human food”, they are actually good for many animals as well.  All dogs have taste buds and noses, meaning that they get very excited when they see you with food.

If your Golden Retriever runs to the refrigerator when you open it up, he’s trying to tell you that he smells something good.  Even though he may run to the refrigerator, he isn’t begging for food as many think, he is simply wanting to have some real food.  Once your Golden Retriever starts to do this, you should give him some of what he wants.  Although most real food is great for Golden’s, there are some that aren’t quite so good.

Egg whites

If you feed your Golden Retriever a large amount of egg white in his diet, he will get a deficiency in biotin, which is a B vitamin, due to the amount of avidin, which is a very destructive substance.  If you are feeding your Golden Retriever egg yolks, you shouldn’t worry as the effects of avidin will be offset by the high biotin levels that are found in egg yolks.  You can also feed your Golden egg shells as well, as they contain a large amount of protein.  If you want the best for your Golden – try feeding him raw eggs – with the shell intact.

Any form of Chocolate

We all know never to feed chocolate to any type of animal.  Chocolate contains bromine, which is very toxic to both dogs and cats.  Unsweet chocolate is by far the worst to feed to your Golden Retriever, as it contains a large amount of bromine.  Bromine is a very harmful chemical, one that normally leads to death of your animal should he be fed any type of chocolate.

There are other foods out there that can be good or harmful to your Golden Retriever.  If you have any questions, you should always ask your veterinarian.  Your vet will be able to recommended real food that is beneficial to your Golden, as well as foods you should avoid.  You can experiment with real food if you like – although you should never allow your Golden Retriever to consume any type of chocolate.

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