Bloodhound
Also known as: Chien de St. Hubert St. Hubert Hound Sleuth-hound
Breed at a glance
- Origin
- Belgium , France & the United Kingdom
- Weight
- Males
- Height
- Males
- Coat
- Short
- Colour
- Black and tan, liver and tan or red
- Other names
- Chien de St. Hubert St. Hubert Hound Sleuth-hound
Voice
A common misconception is that Bloodhounds are employed in packs; while this is sometimes the case in Britain, where foxhound blood is mixed into them to increase speed, in North America, Bloodhounds are used as solitary trackers. When they are on a trail, they are usually silent and do not give voice as do other scent hounds. The original use of the Bloodhound as a leash-hound, to find but not disturb animals, would require silent trailing. [ 20 ] Nevertheless, the Bloodhound bay is among the most impressive of hound voices. When hunting in a pack, they are expected to be in full cry. They are more likely to 'give tongue,' 'throw their tongue,' or 'speak' when hunting in a pack than when hunting singly, and more when hunting free than when on the leash. The quality of 'speaking to the line', that is giving tongue when on the correct scent while remaining silent when off it, is valued in British Bloodhound circles, on aesthetic grounds and because it makes it very easy to 'read' the hound's tracking behaviour. As a result, special trophies for speaking to the correct line are on offer at British working trials (where hounds hunt singly), although rarely awarded. [ 14 ]
intro
The bloodhound is a large scent hound , originally bred for hunting deer , wild boar , rabbits , and since the Middle Ages , for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium , in French it is called le chien de Saint-Hubert . This breed is known for its ability to discern human scent over large distances and extended periods of time through its keen sense of smell and strong tracking instincts. Bloodhounds are used by police and law enforcement around the world to track fugitives, missing people, and lost pets. [ 1 ]
Lifespan
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 9.3 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds . [ 6 ] In a 2004 Kennel Club survey the most common cause of death was gastric dilatation volvulus at 34%, the second leading cause of death in the study was cancer, at 27%. [ 5 ]
Training
It is generally agreed that the basis of initial training is to make the experience enjoyable for the puppy or young hound to keep their enthusiasm high. [ 14 ] [ 51 ] [ 53 ] Whitney preferred waiting until the hound is 18 months old, to start training, [ 31 ] but others start as young as possible; say, three months. [ 15 ] [ 51 ] Training can be started by running short trails on a family member whom the puppy sees walk away, at first remaining visible, and later going out of sight. Even though familiar with the scent of the 'runner', the dog can be given a scent article to sniff, and given the command to follow. The dog can also be introduced to the tracking harness, which is put on just before the trail starts, and removed as soon as it is finished. On reaching the runner, the puppy is given lavish praise and perhaps a reward. Generally in training, the handler must know exactly where the runner went, so that the handler does not encourage the hound to go the wrong way, or 'correct' the hound when the hound is on the scent; [ 14 ] [ 53 ] however, the handler should not be too ready with corrections if the hound goes astray, or the hound may come to rely on the handler too much. The handler should give the hound time to realise their mistake and put themselves right, if possible. As training progresses the handler learns to 'read' the hound's behaviour. The hound must trust their own nose and the handler must trust the hound. From early hot trails on a familiar person, the young hound progresses to colder trails on the scents of strangers. Later training can be designed to teach particular lessons: crossing trails with false scents, having the runner start out with a companion, who leaves the runner somewhere along the trail, laying a trail on ground frequented by wild animals. This will teach the hound not to change on to other humans, or riot on animal scents (known as 'staying clean' [US], or 'freedom from change' [UK]). [ 14 ] [ 51 ] [ 52 ] The hound also needs to work over a variety of ground and learn to cope with distractions of many kinds, as well as being introduced to 'negative trails': given a scent article which has not been handled by anyone in the area, so that the hound will learn to indicate to a handler that the required scent is not there. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] If the hound is becoming discouraged they can revert to simpler tasks to recover enthusiasm.
Etymology
The word 'bloodhound' is recorded from c. 1330. [ 16 ] [ 44 ] Most recent accounts say that its etymological meaning is 'hound of pure or noble blood'. This derives from an original suggestion of Le Couteulx de Canteleu [ 10 ] [ 13 ] in the 19th century, which has been enthusiastically and uncritically espoused by later writers, perhaps because it absolved this undoubtedly good-natured dog from suggestions of bloodthirstiness. Neither Le Couteulx nor anyone since has offered any historical evidence to support this view . The suggestion sometimes seen [ 31 ] that the word derives from 'blooded hound' is without basis, as the expression does not appear in early English, and 'blooded' in this meaning is not found before the late 18th century. Before then, 'bloodhound' had been taken to mean, 'hound for blood', or 'blood-seeking hound'. This was the explanation put forward by John Caius, [ 23 ] who was one of the most learned men of his time, and had an interest in etymology, in the 16th century. It is supported by considerable historical linguistic evidence, which can be gleaned from such sources as the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ): the fact that first uses of the word 'blood' to refer to good breeding in an animal postdate the first use of 'bloodhound'; that other comparable uses, as in 'blood horse' and 'blood stock' appear many centuries later; and that derogatory uses of the word 'bloodhound', which any suggestion of noble breeding would sadly weaken, appear from as early as c. 1400. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] Other early sources tell us that hounds were supposed to have an interest in blood, and that the Bloodhound was used to follow the trail of a wounded animal. [ 22 ] [ 37 ] In the absence of anything in early usage, or any historical evidence whatsoever, to support the modern explanation, the older must be regarded as correct. [ 47 ]
Illnesses
Compared to other purebred dogs, Bloodhounds suffer an unusually high rate of gastrointestinal ailments, with gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat) being the most common type of gastrointestinal problem. [ 5 ] The breed also suffers an unusually high incidence of eye, skin, and ear ailments; [ 5 ] thus these areas should be inspected frequently for signs of developing problems. Owners should be especially aware of the signs of bloat, which is both the most common illness and the leading cause of death of Bloodhounds. The thick coat gives the breed the tendency to overheat quickly.
Appearance
Bloodhounds weigh from 36 to 72 kg (80 to 160 lbs). They are 58 to 70 cm (23 to 27 inches) tall at the withers . According to the AKC standard for the breed, larger dogs are preferred by conformation judges. Acceptable colors for bloodhounds are black, liver, and red. Bloodhounds possess an unusually large skeletal structure with most of their weight concentrated in their bones, which are very thick for their length. The coat, typical for a scent hound, is hard and composed of fur alone, with no admixture of hair. [ 1 ]
Bloodhound
References to Bloodhounds first appear in English writing in the early to mid-14th century, in contexts that suggest the breed was well established by then. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] It is often claimed that its ancestors were brought over from Normandy by William the Conqueror , but there is no actual evidence for this. It is virtually certain that the Normans brought hounds from Europe during the post-Conquest period, but it remains disputed whether this included the Bloodhound itself or merely its ancestors. This question likely cannot be resolved with surviving evidence. In Medieval hunting , the typical use of the Bloodhound was as a ' limer ', or 'lyam hound', that is a dog handled on a leash or 'lyam', to find the hart or boar before it was hunted by the pack hounds ( raches ). [ 19 ] It was prized for its ability to hunt the cold scent of an individual animal, and, though it did not usually take part in the kill, it was given a special reward from the carcass. [ 20 ] It also seems that from the earliest times the Bloodhound was used to track people. There are stories written in medieval Scotland of Robert the Bruce (in 1307), and William Wallace (1270–1305) being followed by 'sleuth hounds'. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Whether true or not, these stories show that the sleuth hound was already known as a man-trailer, and it later becomes clear that the sleuth hound and the Bloodhound were the same animal. In the 16th century, John Caius , [ 23 ] in the most important single source in the history of the Bloodhound, describes its hanging ears and lips, its use in game parks to follow the scent of blood, which gives it its name, its ability to track thieves and poachers by their foot scent, how it casts if it has lost the scent when thieves cross water, and its use on the Scottish borders to track cross-border raiders, known as Border Reivers . This links it to the sleuth hound, [ 24 ] and from Caius also comes the information that the English Bloodhound and the sleuth hound were essentially the same, though the Bloodhound was slightly bigger, with more variation in coat color. [ 25 ] The adjacent picture was published in Zurich in 1563, in Conrad Gesner 's Thierbuch (a compendium of animals) with the captions: 'Englischen Blüthund' and 'Canis Sagax Sanguinarius apud Anglos' (English scent hound with associations of blood). It was drawn by, or under the supervision of, John Caius, and sent to Gesner with other drawings to illustrate his descriptions of British dogs for European readers. It is thus the earliest known picture published specifically to demonstrate the appearance of the Bloodhound. We are told it was done from life, [ 25 ] and detail such as the soft hang of the ear indicates it was carefully observed. Fully accurate or not, it suggests changes between the Bloodhound of then and today. The collar and long coiled rope reflect the Bloodhound's typical functions as a limer or leashed man-trailer in that period. The earliest known report of a trial of t