Darkhounds are a particularly nasty form of [Shadowspawn]. They look like very large dogs or wolves. Their saliva is deadly poison - a single drop on the skin can kill. They are extremely difficult to kill. Once they sense their prey they never give up. The only thing that stops them is rain or running water. They leave footprints in stone but none in soft ground.

! References (Possible Spoilers)

%%collapse
# In [The Dragon Reborn]
## [TDR,Ch9] - Darkhounds are hunting [Rand]. He [balefires|Weaves] one of them.
## [TDR,Ch33] - At [Remen], [Perrin] smells a sulfurous odor later identified as Darkhound.
## [TDR,Ch43] - [Lan] discovers footprints of a Darkhound outside the [Easing the Badger] inn.
## [TDR,Ch44] - [Moiraine] says that [Sammael] sent the Darkhound. Later, they are attacked by a pack of ten [Darkhound]. [Perrin] kills one with an arrow and [Moiraine] kills the rest with [balefires|Weaves].
# In [The Fires of Heaven]
## [TFoH,Ch6] - Three Darkhounds attack [Rand] and others go after [Mat] and [Asmodean]. Swords do not kill them. [Rand] resorts to [balefires|Weaves] to get rid of them.
# In [Lord of Chaos]
## [LoC,Ch3] - [Rand] warns [Mazrim Taim] about [Shadowspawn] including Darkhounds.
# In [Crossroads of Twilight]
## [CoT,Ch5] - [Perrin] smells Darkhounds in the wolf dream. When he sends the scent, the wolves tell him that the [Last Hunt|Creator] is coming, then they break contact.
## [CoT,Ch6] - [Perrin] and [Aram] scout around the camp. They find the trail of a huge pack of Darkhounds that came from the north, circled the camp, then headed south.
## [CoT,Ch7] - [Masuri Sokawa], an expert in Darkhounds, examines the tracks. She studied traces of seven different packs. Many believe there are few packs, seven, nine or thirteen. During the [Trolloc Wars], [Sorelana Alsahhan] wrote that there were a hundred packs. Earlier, [Ivonell Bharatiya] wrote of 'numbers like unto the nightmares of mankind.' This is a new pack. It is huge, maybe fifty, instead of the normal ten or twelve. There is also a sense of urgency in the trace.
## [CoT,Ch8] - A Shadowbrother is the soul of a wolf corrupted by the [Shadow|Creator]. Darkhounds and wolves will fight in the [Last Battle|Creator]. Darkhounds can eat the souls of wounded wolves turning them into more Darkhounds. [Perrin] wonders if they can eat the soul of a [Wolfbrother|Wolf].
%%
----
More [Category Creatures|Category.Creatures]