Yeah, the Hounds will appear every 5-7 days...I've had as many as 5 chasing me. I usually make them follow me around until I run up against something else that they will attack. You can run the same speed as them without the Walking Stick (which is VERY useful to have by the way), but it helps if you are on a road as well.
I can only imagine how tough this game would have been if I did not spoil some of it reading the wiki...but I'm glad I did, otherwise I might still be trying to survive my first winter.