The Foxhound originated in England during the 1600's. The desire for foxhunting dogs came at the end of the Middle Ages as forests began shrinking and along with them, deer populations. Before this time, foxhunting was deemed a lowly sport, as it was essentially just pest removal. However, the British gentry still wanted to hunt despite the shortage of deer, so they gradually switched over to fox hunting. The Foxhound was developed from crosses between large stag-hunting hounds and quick Greyhound-like sighthounds.