This is the little I know about them from friends of mine that have had them or have them
Really do you research on breeders. There do not seem to be a lot of great ones at least on east coast. They are awesome trackers for sure. What they don't do real well at is being a great family dog. Like labs Goldens etc they just don't fall in with that. They need a lot of room to roam. Big dog with long legs
Good luck with your search
They come short and tall, short haired (smooth coat) and long haired (rough coat). I have a rough coat that I have clipped about every three months. He’s not only a family dog, he IS FAMILY !
God dogs.
KH~
Here's Sharps, a tracker in training. Second find for a 10 month old pup. Bridger the last dog I had found 22 deer and 4 bear. Some of his finds were unbelievable and if it wasn't for me, he probably would have had another 10 finds.
Timex is the best name for a dog, because they're watch dogs.
Bowmania
. . . . . . .
. . . .. . . .
They also have very good noses.
What was really neat was that she rode on the truck console that had indoor outdoor carpet Shoegoo'd on top.
If all you're looking for is a dog to trail, why feed 80 lbs?
I'll give ya the bad on these hounds first. IMO they are high maintenance hounds. They need alot of space to run around unless you want a house dog...which I do not recommend. They drool alot (or take a drink) and when they shake their head, large slobber balls go everywhere. Their ears need to be kept clean inside so they don't get ear infections and outside as the ears get food on them when they eat out of a bowl or drink. When they sweat they can get oily and smelly....like a dog. Their nails need to be kept short otherwise they get too long and will then bleed when you do a trimming. When our male got older he became antisocial outside the family and food possessive. That wasn't his fault though. When we had him we moved 4 times and one of those was overseas. We lived on military housing areas and you had to keep you dogs leashed and/or locked up. I and my military lifestyle failed him more than he failed me. He was great around our family but I couldn't trust him around other people as he could get aggressive. The female was older when we got her. She was a great dog...lovable and funny....great disposition. The vet bills can get spendy due to their size....bigger body's, bigger doses of meds needed.....that translates to more $$$. Their average lifespans are not that long...something like 8 or 9 years. Our female we think got gastro-distorsion and that killed her....broke my heart. She died in the truck as I took her to the vet to get put down. The male got some type of cancer that paralyzed his spine and had to get put down.
The good is the dogs are loyal, affectionate, very smart and fun to watch tracking something. If you want a tracking dog (man, blood, animal), you have to start working them early and consistently. I never did any real training with the older female. I started with the young male as a pup but never went far with him. He could trail a mean hot dog track. I don't know how good a dog of that size would be in tight or rough terrain a deer would run into to hide. He would pull alot when on a hot track and once they get on a track they go! You can't let go of the leash otherwise they're gone running the track and you'll have a hard time catching them. That could be a problem if you're tracking a wounded deer with a marginal hit....the dog would catch up quick and bump the deer.
So my two cents....talk to other bloodhound owners and get their perspective. These hounds are a long-term commitment on your part. They will do ya right if your take care of them or they can be your worst nightmare.
With all that said, some of the best, smartest, and most talented dogs are mixes. Good luck and God Bless
It’s not a “breed” per sea that’s easy to come by, but if your looking for a solid family dog that’s not too big and can learn to track pretty easy you might consider a beagle mix.
I have seen some unlikely breeds and mixes be great blood tracking dogs. And I have seen some breeds well known for their hunting ability turn out to be nothing but good pets (not to minimize the importance of that).
My best advice is to really think about what you will be doing with the dog. Some breeds are MUCH easier to train than others, and some are really not suited to beginners.
Where most fall down is with the basic obedience work. It's a huge part of every kind of hunting where you and the dog work as a team. If your dog won't obey basic commands, you'll have one hell of a time making it a good bird dog, or shed hunting dog.
Pay attention to what a dog has been bred to do, there is a reason so many people love labs, they (generally) have gentle dispositions, they are pretty easy to train and they can swim like a fish. I have only owned 1 but I have hunted over a bunch of them, hardly ever a bad one. One friend has a Pointing Lab (it's a thing) and he is a joy to be around. GSPs are usually really great at finding birds, but they can be a handful and I think they are better suited for a more experienced dog person, or one who will get some help with the training. ymmv
My lab never really turned into much of a bird finder, she would retrieve anything you wanted her to but I never was able to turn her into an upland dog. And that was all me, I didn't know what I was doing as a trainer, and she was a great dog around my kids, so ... My next dog was a German Wiredhaired Pointer, sweet and a great family dog, and a bird hunting machine. So much drive that she would run through a barbed wire fence to find and point a bird, and yes she did just that a few times. No quit in her, and if anything TOO much prey drive. Had a thing about squirrels too, they must have pissed her off in a previous life. She finally slowed down enough for me to keep up with her at about 12 years old. When she died, at firdt I said NO MORE. Who was I kidding, I got a Spinoni Italiano pup, a big white goofy curly mellow persnality but pretty high energy Italian hunting dog. She's much more my speed in the woods, and at 2, she's become a really good hunter.
Do your research, your choice of a breeder is at least as important as the choice of a breed. Or you can roll the dice and hope for the best.
Sometimes we pick the dog, but very often, the dog picks us.
