Bloodhounds

[El Chivo]

I was listening on the radio to a report about the search for a missing girl, and they followed her scent with dogs.

The reporter said the dogs are trained to follow the subject's latest scent only (so previous trips back and forth from home to school are ignored). The dogs also followed her scent on the freeway, over which she had been driven in a car, and I believe the dogs were riding in a car too.

This last part blows me away, that they can follow somebody who was transported in a car, for miles. I thought you had to touch the ground for your scent to be picked up, with the dogs sniffing the ground. And this was days later, with God knows how many vehicles passing over it in the meantime.

Does anybody know more about these dogs? It sounds like magic. Either that or we must really stink.

[Cliff]

Bloodhounds are some of the best tracking dogs out there, but it is in the training and the skill of the persons working the dogs. I worked at a prison that had them and a chief who was almost legend in his ability to work them. He said they never forget a scent and will remember it several years later. He had used them to track people though busy cities, even showed where the person being tracked had stopped to use a telephone, one he tracked using a team of these dogs over a period of three days and over a hundred miles. There has been cases where these dogs will track cars as well as people. They will recognize the car smell and if worked right keep on it. The handler has to know what the dog is telling him. Good Bloodhounds properly trained are quiet dogs no barking or noise. Bloodhound breeders and such have contests with them to see what they can do. They are very athletic dogs and require a lot of exercise and proper care to keep in shape. They don't want barking or baying dogs which might scare a lost child and will usually lick them silly when they do come up on them. Great dogs. As an aside if the Bloodhounds shows any signs of being viscious or wanting to fight or be aggressive they are usually neutered or put down. But to use them you have to be able to understand what they want and how they react to their scent following. Great dogs. Young mature dogs require about 14 miles of running and walking a day. To be effect you may need several when tracking. The movies of the them chasing convicts and barking and baying is pure hollywierd these dogs are great. They do enjoy their naps as well. May want to take a look on the internet for Bloodhound breeders associations I am sure you will be surpised just how good they can be. ATB.

[madman4570]

Dont know if this is true or not?
The Vet told me that actually the Bloodhound does not have any keener sense of smell than many other Dogs?? (example---Bassett/Beagle/Lab/even the Poodle)
He said its "their drive to perform this tracking" that has been bred in them not a better smeller.
(All I truely know is they are amazing animals)
Also I have seen several that were vicious and they are extremely intimidating dogs.Thank God most are not!

[kimwcook]

As an LEO that's been behind many a track I'll second the "It's all in the handler."

[L_Kilkenny]

Dont know if this is true or not?
The Vet told me that actually the Bloodhound does not have any keener sense of smell than many other Dogs?? (example---Bassett/Beagle/Lab/even the Poodle)
He said its "their drive to perform this tracking" that has been bred in them not a better smeller.
(All I truely know is they are amazing animals)
Also I have seen several that were vicious and they are extremely intimidating dogs.Thank God most are not!

You're pretty much right here Madman. All dogs smell the same things more or less. Let's look at the difference between coon and big game HOUNDS vs. the Mountain Cur (another treeing breed for those unfamiliar). A hound wants to follow colder (older) scents that a Cur just passes over as not worth it's time. A Cur will smell the same trail but pass over it in search of something hotter. Different strains of hounds will also follow different age scents. Some are hotter nosed, some colder, But they all smell the same thing. Now lets compare dogs vs. human noses. When we walk into Burger King we smell a Whopper. When a dog walks in it smells burger, seasoning, catsup, pickle, lettuce, cheese etc etc.

You're also right about SOME bloodhounds being on the vicious side. I've been around a few that you in no way want to try to mess with. Others are great.

LK

[jkbrea]

At work I have had to use them a few times and was amazed. Waited 4 hours for one to arrive after a chase. It was very windy with 40 mph gusts. That bloodhound tracked for about a mile right to where the suspect was hiding. A handler told me that for training, they had a man walk to several predetermined seats at the Rose Bowl and sit in them for a moment. This was prior to the Rose Bowl game. After the game the dog was able to track the exact route. That's after about 100,000 people spilling drinks, food and walking around.
But it absolutely is in the training and the handler. We used one that probably couldn't find a cheeseburger in a paper bag.

[Hobie]

We used one that probably couldn't find a cheeseburger in a paper bag.

[Rusty]

We had a Lt. that had one that was a pretty good tracker. He didn't have an aggressive bone in his body though. When tracking a felon the Lt. always made sure he had someone backing him up with a shotgun in case they found the target. As the handler he was too busy watching his step and keeping the dogs lead free and if the dog cam up on them he'd just give 'em a big sloppy kiss.

Funny though, just today I saw a guy riding in an old F-150 that had a bloodhound in the passenger seat. We stopped at a light and all I could do was just sit there and smile. those are cool looking dogs if ever there was one.

Now how am I gonna talk my wife into this one???

As much as she likes dogs I think she'd sooner see me with a mistress.

[Bruce]

I have trained and worked tracking/scenting dogs since I was barely able to walk. Dogs will naturally follow the strongest scent (if trained so), but the part about tracking down a highway (while in a car) is not part of the real world. They can discriminate a chosen scent from vehicle scents and other people's scents to a great degree.

I have seen some dogs do very amazing things and I firmly believe it is their desire to please and drive that motivates them. I use to tell K9 students that dog's already know what they are doing, you just have to learn how to get them to want to do it when you need them too. You also need to know when they are doing it and understand that dog's don't lie and you need to trust them. If there is a mistake made, it is the handlers fault.

As far as breeds go, many have the ability to track or scent. I have worked most of the major breeds and have only found one that I did not like or trust. Dobermans. As the saying goes - Don't try it at home - they don't work.

Bloodhounds and their first cousin (Redbones) both have one little fault - if you will - and that is stamina. As stated previously, they need a lot of work to stay in shape.

I do not own one at this time, but if I had to pick one working class dog to own and train for all purposes, the choice would be...

Border Collie

If you would listen real close, they could tell you where the beef in the cheese burger came from.

[madman4570]

Interesting stuff Guys!
Bruce,---How come the Dobes being "bad boys"?? Just kinda curious(I had a pair of Red Dobes,pretty gentle/male/female)and a 110 lb big black male Dobe(he was Very protective)had to watch em.


Over the years have had a German Shepard,a bull terrier(the white spuds type)and the Dobes
I have to say though right now we have a 4 month/ 3 week old AKC Male yellow Lab that is 23" at the shoulder and weighs 66lbs.This is the most amazing dog---His smell OMG/and his strength I just cannot believe(I think is stronger right now than any of the others I have had.
He swaggers around looking kinda like a female lion if his ears were up and rounded.
Honestly, though this dog knows if a bird is just there way up in a tree.(without it making any noise)and smart.Very smart dog but he is a chewing machine.

He swaggers around its so funny the way he stuts/swaggers--and I am always saying He's a natural" yep "He's a natural born world shaker" a 100 percenter! My wife thinks I am nuts.
Stole that saying from Cool hand Luke!

[Blaine]

Dogs are amazing....When someone is coming over that has been here before, Thor will perk up and whine when their vehicle is a couple hundred yards down the road, and he is inside with the doors shut.

[Bruce]

Madman,

My experiences w/ Dobermans is that for some unknown reason(s) and w/o any pattern or warning - they will just flat quit on you. These experiences are for working K-9's only. I have not been around any as pets.

[fordwannabe]

Madman good luck with that bruiser. My yellow "freak" is 3 1/2 yo 120 lbs and strong as a n ox. Smart too he has learned to open the door by using his incredibly long tongue(hence the term freak) to wrap around the doorknob and twist. Oh yeah the other thing he really likes to do is lick the inside of your ear....from the other one yyyuuuucccckkkkk! If you've ever had about a gallon of doggy slobber in your ear you know it ain't pretty takes about a day to get your hearing back and a whole 500 count box of q tips. Labs gotta love em. We have a red dobie too. Tom

[madman4570]

Madman good luck with that bruiser. My yellow "freak" is 3 1/2 yo 120 lbs and strong as a n ox. Smart too he has learned to open the door by using his incredibly long tongue(hence the term freak) to wrap around the doorknob and twist. Oh yeah the other thing he really likes to do is lick the inside of your ear....from the other one yyyuuuucccckkkkk! If you've ever had about a gallon of doggy slobber in your ear you know it ain't pretty takes about a day to get your hearing back and a whole 500 count box of q tips. Labs gotta love em. We have a red dobie too. Tom

Tom, oh boy, I'm in trouble! What would we do without our Dogs! See ya---Thanks!

P.S.----------Thanks Bruce!

[Rexster]

The generally accepted consensus is that Bloodhounds are following the scent of the tiny "rafts" of shed skins cells that are constantly falling from us at all times. So, there is no need for the tracked person to be touching the ground. As for whether Bloodhounds can smell "better" than other breeds, well, the amount of real estate inside a dog's nose means more area for the receptor cells that smell things, so a Bloodhound is certainly going to smell more stuff than a Boxer, though our Boxer, Heidi, can sniff well enough to be an excellent Search and Recovery dog. Our Bloodhound, Gracie, however, can better trail my elderly father-in-law when he "escapes" from home.

Bloodhounds have been bred to be excellent at following ONE trail, and sticking to it. This ability MUST be reinforced by truly good training, and as already stated in other posts, a good handler is also necessary. I won't pretend to be a good Bloodhound handler, but Gracie knows and loves "Little Dad," and will try to find him with little prodding.

I will try to post a pic of our mostly-retired Gracie. The red soil is because I snapped the pic in northern Alabama, where I picked her up.

[madman4570]

Man, that is one beautiful Bloodhound!