About the Bloodhound
The Bloodhound: "A nose with legs."
A Bloodhound ("technically" known as the St. Hubert hound and Sleuth Hound) is a huge dog breed that was bred originally to hunt deer and wild boar, today used by police to track human beings by scent. They are known for the ability to follow scents hours or even days old over far distances. The Bloodhound's very sharp nose is combined with a strong and tenacious tracking instinct, producing the ideal scenthound, and it is used by police around the world over to track escaped prisoners, missing persons, and even missing animals.
The Bloodhound's massive head is long and narrow in proportion to the dog's length, and long in proportion to the body. The muzzle is long and the nose is black. The deeply sunk eyes are diamond shaped and appear droopy because of the lower lids being dragged down and turned outward by the heavy upper lips. The thin, soft, drooping ears of the bloodhound are set very low and extremely long to trap scents while tracking. The Bloodhound has a lot of extra, wrinkled skin hanging loose, even more so around the head and neck where it hangs in deep folds. The dewlap is very pronounced. The muscular, front legs are straight. The tail is carried high with a slight curve above the back. The Bloodhound's coat is wrinkled, short and fairly hard in texture, with baby soft hair on the ears and skull. Colors include black & tan, liver & tan, and red & tawny and red.
Bloodhounds are sweet, friendly, mild mannered, intelligent, tolerant, determined and inquisitive in temperament. However, they can be stubborn at times and difficult to train. They tend to get along well with children and other pets in the home. These highly devoted dogs love human companionship and attention. They are always eager to please their masters.
Another favorite pastime of Bloodhound dogs is to obsessively follow interesting scents. So, special care should be taken to avoid and keep a check on their precarious scent excursions. The bloodhound is characterized by good watchdog abilities. But, the same cannot be said about their guard dog abilities. In other words, an intruder would most likely be licked to death and not attacked.
Interesting Bloodhound Facts:
- The Bloodhound is the only dog able to testify in the court of law.
- The Bloodhound is the only dog that is built (ligament/tendon structure) like a horse.
- The Bloodhound is the only dog that smells with his nose and eyes.
- The Bloodhound is the only dog that, by instinct, hunts people.
- An Alsatian is any dog that is not a Bloodhound.
- In the world of dogs, there is no other breed that instinctively hunts people.