Olena and her friend Fern came to us from a high kill shelter. This sweet puppy is so cute but her breed is a complete mystery. She looks like a little bit of everything all rolled into one dog. Who doesn't love a mystery dog!

Foster Update: Olena is such a playful & affectionate puppy. At first, my two large dogs didn't want to play with her but after 3 days of trying, my 6 yr old dog finally gave in to her. They love playing with each other now! She hardly ever barks at anything, only when she gets excited during playtime with my dog. She walks really well on the leash and loves exploring the neighborhood, chasing after frogs & lizards. So far, she hasn't reacted to the cats around the neighborhood.  She also listens really well & minds us when we correct her. Her motivation is food / treats & we feed her in her crate so she won't eat our dogs' food. She's a li'l piggy. :-) When she's sleepy, she loves to cuddle with us on the couch. She is just about housebroken with very few accidents. Olena does great in her crate & sleeps through the night in there with no accidents. She only jumps up on us when we first get her out of her crate because she's just so happy to see us. No jumping otherwise. We truly love her & so does everyone else who meets her!

General Information about Hound Dogs
All of the dogs listed below belong to the collection of dogs referred to as Hound Dogs. As implied by its name Hound Dogs have been bred to chase (or hound) a quarry by sight or smell, or a combination of both senses. Sighthounds have exceptional eyesight, combined with the speed and stamina necessary to catch the intended prey once seen, typical examples being the Greyhound and the Whippet. Hounds which rely strongly on the sense of smell to follow the trail of a prey, such as the Bloodhound, quite literally follow their noses, speed and eyesight is of less importance.

Characteristics and features have been introduced and strengthened by breeding from animals who already demonstrated the desired traits. Breeding for appearance was only introduced in the 19th Century. Before this time dogs and puppies were bred to increase useful abilities and traits helpful for the duties they were intended for. Thus, the various hound breeds were initially introduced to help man according to specific requirements such as:

• Hunting and running down small quarry

• Flushing out and Driving game

• Vermin Hunting

• Guard duties

• Tracking

In this day and age only a few hounds still undertake these tasks, but nevertheless, they still harbour the skills and characteristics that made the original Whippet dog breeding program successful. The Hound Breed Group of dogs differ in that some hunt by scent and others by sight. Many hounds are kept in packs, in outdoor kennels. Any dogs and puppies belonging to the Hound breeds require a significant amount of exercise as they have high stamina levels suitable for hunting quarry. There are some breeds in this group who make a distinctive ' baying ' sound - invaluable information should be considering puppies.