# Bloodhound Question



## hmmhoyhoy (Sep 22, 2009)

Hi everyone, I will have a new bloodhound in a few weeks and was wondering if anyone has ever used or heard of a bloodhound being used as a retriever/bird dog?

I understand that bloodhounds are "Scent Hounds" and not "Retrievers" but I know that it is possible to train dogs to do certain things. If anyone has any tips I would apprecitate it. 

Thanks


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Nobody can say it's impossible until you try it, but I wouldn't embark on the project with high expectations. It's not even possible to turn every Labrador into decent retriever. You can certainly turn him into the world's best retrieving Bloodhound, but if you really want a retriever...get a purpose bred retriever.


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## Adustgerm (Jul 29, 2009)

If you want a retriever, why are you getting a Bloodhound? It would be best if you used the dog for what it was bred for.


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## bully (Sep 16, 2009)

Do you have patients for howling and barking? Do you have "lots" of time to exercise?

Is this a puppy or an adult?


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## kelpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Adustgerm said:


> If you want a retriever, why are you getting a Bloodhound? It would be best if you used the dog for what it was bred for.


I agree.

But I guess you could give it a go.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Well, any dog can learn to retrieve...retrieve well is another story, enjoy retrieving yet another. 
It is good to teach your dog multiple skills and games and to try new things, but what is most important is that your dog gets to fulfill his needs...if he likes retrieving then great..but chances are he will want to be tracking and treeing instead. Start your puppy out with the basic obedience training necessary for a good basis for different sports and hobbies and then see what he enjoys most (notice I said ENJOYS, not EXCELS). Hounds are bred to work pretty independently of their humans, retrievers work as a team with their human, waiting for signals. Retrievers often find the retrieve itself to be the reward...hounds find the scent to be the reward. You may be swimming up stream with this one..lol.

Good luck with your puppy, can't wait to see pictures!


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## jiml (Jun 19, 2008)

hounds find the scent to be the reward. >>>> I found it quite difficult to ween a coonhound off treats when clicker training. She always knows if I have food.. LOL


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

A big part of why you start out behind the 8-ball with such a program, is breeding. A Bloodhound's eyesight is probably as good as a Labs, but their brains don't key in on movement in the same way. You may not even be able to get a true hound to follow the flight of the incoming birds. Another thing that distinguishes a top notch Lab is his superior memory. The dog has to mark the fall (possibly hundreds of yards out) and take a line to it--maybe over obstacles, maybe across water, maybe both--using his memory to get him to the area. Sometimes the bird is not where it landed, and the retriever has to use his nose to find it. A savvy dog will know what kind of cover to key in on (i.e. he won't waste time scouring bare ground). If the hunter knows where the bird has gone, he will direct the dog to the spot with hand/whistle commands.

So a talented retriever has to be 1/3rd sight hound, 1/3rd scent hound, 1/3rd obedience worker, and 1/3rd motor boat. There is a very good reason why the duckboats that are carrying a dog are sportin' a Lab--and to a lesser extent Chessies and Goldens.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Hounds aren't bred to retrieve and don't have the instincts for it. I look at it as a talent type thing. Neither of my parents have very much athletic ability. Neither do I. I don't have a lot of talent in that area because I don't have the genes for it. Look at Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. They're both NFL QB's which takes a lot of talent and skill to achieve. They've got a brother (who's name escapes me) who was also a very talented QB until he had an injury that ended his career. Both guys were born with the talent and ability to be NFL QBs just from pure genetics. Both guys would probably make poor concert pianists or engineers. I'm sure you could train them to play the piano, but they'll never play in Carnegie hall. They don't have the genetics for it. They're genetically inclined to be athletes.

Dogs are the same way. A scenthound is genetically pre-disposed to track an animal via scent. Sometimes this animal is alive. Sometimes it's dead or wounded, but in every case, scent is the primary sense it uses to track. A bloodhound does not use it's eyes to look for a rabbit, it uses it's nose. A retriever tracks with it's eyes. It sees where the duck falls and immediately heads for that area. Then it uses it's eyes or nose to track the fallen bird. Then it uses it's eyes and/or nose to figure out where the owner is and head back. A hound just doesn't think that way. He's more apt to track the closest duck that passed by, then the one you just shot.


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## kelpie (Sep 10, 2009)

I guess it could be sort of like trying to teach a Labrodor to heard.
Possible, but incredibly difficult.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

kelpie said:


> I guess it could be sort of like trying to teach a Labrodor to heard.
> Possible, but incredibly difficult.


That would probably be easier. That's not where a Lab's natural talents lie, but a typical Lab is temperamentally inclined to try his damnedest to do whatever you ask of him. He'd probably never be much good at it, but he'd put genuine enthusiasm into the effort.


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## kelpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Marsh Muppet said:


> That would probably be easier. That's not where a Lab's natural talents lie, but a typical Lab is temperamentally inclined to try his damnedest to do whatever you ask of him. He'd probably never be much good at it, but he'd put genuine enthusiasm into the effort.


Ok, not best example

I'll rephrase.

Its like trying to teach a King Charles Spanial to heard


Will I have a KCS owner correcting me now?


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Not disagreeing with you; just pointing out that a hound's work is more like that of an independent contractor vs. a retriever's as a salaried employee.


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## kelpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Marsh Muppet said:


> Not disagreeing with you; just pointing out that a hound's work is more like that of an independent contractor vs. a retriever's as a salaried employee.


No, no. I agree with you


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

As someone pointed out earlier, don't assume that just because a dog is a hound that they're a good tracker. Zero would be an awful hunting dog despite being a cocker spaniel. I've taken him to the park and he had no interest whatsoever in any of the ducks or geese there. Now, if he could hunt squirrels or cats, then we might have something.


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