Bloodhound

sounds like my kinda guy lol thats only ONE of the reasons i got a bulldog.... to track wounded game... though i must say i have yet to use them for that purpose.. hope i never have to either.. letting one get away like bothers me deeply.. i do my best to make a clean kill every time..

anyhoo!!

i have met only ONE working bloodhound.. and not for S&R. This one was owned by the man who sold me my Redbone Coonhound. The usual price for his dogs were $75 per puppy, and an extra $50 if you wanted papers... he cut me a deal because we were friends and only charged $50 for pick of the litter.... But i dont know if he sold bloodhounds or not.... the one he had was a male that he was cross breeding with a red dog for his father who wanted the mix.. to these guys.. hounds are hounds. Bloodhounds have great sniffers to be sure, but these guys had their reasons..... they werent in it for profit.. but thats most dogmen for you. they only care if the dog can do its job. they dont usually give two flips if its a cur or pure bred.

Honestly... if he just wants a dog to track then any dog will do. i understand him wanting a puppy, but honestly any well seasoned older hunting hound, or terrier for that matter, will work just as well, if not better! my grandad hunted with airdales and chihuahuas.... he even had a Pomeranian/Peke mix that would track wounded deer.. and also had an American Bulldog/Beagle that would hunt with him (that was a BIG oops litter by the way)

So, My advice would be for him to go to the local shelter - yeah i know, everyone says that, but seriously!!  Go to the shelter and get a hound from there. i dont know about up there but in Florida this time of year, and well into spring, there is a FLOOD of hounds. Why? Because the men who run dogs without tracking collars often lose them in the woods. if the dog doesnt come back with the pack... then he stays in the woods. some guys will spend weeks trying to find their dog... but others cant be bothered..... The lost hound either gets eaten by coyotes, hit by a car, shot by another hunter (dog men and deer stalkers hate each other around here) OR the hound gets picked up by ACO.... doesnt mean there is anything wrong with the dog... just means he doesnt run with a pack.... either its a pup, or a stubborn dog with better ideas... which also means he would be ideal for tracking wounded game ON leash  

..just did a google.. typed in Bloodhound Deer and came up with this..

http://www.deersearch.org/ 

http://www.deersearch.org/dogs.htm  - the dogs they use..

http://www.deersearch.org/introduc.htm- Their intro.
 

Your bro needs to talk to hunters that have tracking hounds.  Frankly getting a bloodhound would probably be too much scenthound for him, if all he's doing is tracking wounded game.  Heck he could get any dog to do that, but there are hunters out there that have deer dogs (they usually turn 'em loose at the end of every season) that are bred cheaply for that very purpose.  

I'd think that he'd be able to teach any dog to track wounded game, specifically deer. 

I'd have to agree with the others no real need for a bloodhound to do that job - heck Bugs can scent an uninjured deer from a mile or so judging by our walks and experiences.  I know when he scents deer as it is totally different than other 'stuff' he hunts.  I would probably lean toward a hound or hound mix just recognizing the difficulties in training a strong recall.

I do love bloodhounds so not saying don't go that route just thinking that there will be a great dog sitting in a rescue/shelter that would do a great job

Yeah, I'm not sure why exactly he wants a Bloodhound.  He said a Bloodhound or a Dachshund would do what he wanted.  If I were him, I'd go with the doxie b/c they are smaller.  A GSD could easily track, but it sounds like he doesn't really want such a "velcro" dog, something that has an innate ability, but also is more independent, doesn't mind being outdoors, etc.

No way would the shelter around here let him have a dog.  They do lots of screening and interviews.  They would not release a dog to someone who was going to use it for hunting/tracking, most likely keep it outdoors, yadda yadda.  They want them to all be family companions. 

If he's considering a Dachshund, PLEASE steer him clear if he's going to keep the dog outside! I think a Bloodhound would be fine for him. I'm sure other dogs could do the same job, but if he wants a Bloodhound then why not? All hounds are stubborn, independent and follow their noses. He would just have to make sure to have a really secure enclosure because I'm sure the dog would be off following his nose if he had the chance! Bloodhounds aren't very expensive; I would think about $400 or $500.

Edited to add, I've only met one Bloodhound and that was at an animal shelter I worked at in California. She was around 8 months old and very sweet, smart and STUBBORN. lol

Here's a breeder that I had to post just because I think the liver and tan colored Bloodhounds are adorable:

http://www.flatcreekbloodhounds.com/

He actually might want to look in to coonhounds as well. Bloodhounds can be very sensitive dogs and might not do so well in an outside-only working situation. Most working bloodhounds are mantrailers and live inside with their handlers. Coonhounds are more classic "outside dogs" as they aren't as mooshy as bloodhounds, a bit more businesslike, especially if raised that way. They also require a lot less maintenance. Bloodhounds have a lot more health problems common in the breed than coonhounds do, and all that extra skin can lead to ear infections, skin infections, and the various droopy eye issues. They're also quite prone to bloat and hip displasia.

But seriously any dog could do that job if trained. Bloodhounds are called bloodhounds not because they are particularly better at following blood trails, but because the name is short for "full-blooded hound". They are a very ancient breed and the name comes from that ancestry, not following or being attracted to blood. 

Have him contact coon hunters; those hounds, regardless of the mix are likely to be more what he is looking for.  He wants a dog that is not sound sensitive more than anything.  He also wants one that has some indication of "bidability" versus one all out for him/her self.  He also need to consider how and when he will use the dog....a bird dog especially one that is smaller and white might be a better bet.  Less chance it will be mistaken, more likely to have a temperment to work for a hunter.

Oh yeah, the sound thing! I totally didn't even think about that. Seriously bloodhounds might look like imposing mastiffs but they are really, really mushy soft dogs. I would think that getting a gun shy bloodhound would be much more likely than a gun shy coonhound.

Just, whatever hound he gets, please please please please URGE him to get a radio collar for the dog and learn how to use it. They are not cheap, but you can get used ones at pretty good prices. Get him one for his birthday or Christmas yourself, Liesje if that's what it will take. Or if they have a handheld GPS, get one of those tags you put on the collar that will GPS track the dog. Just....something. Way too many hounds wind up in shelters after being lost on hunts, and hounds don't stand a chance in most pounds and shelters. No one adopts them.

i think a bird dog would also be a good bet.. as was already mentioned. i know bloodhounds get a LOT of hype for their tracking ability(probably why he is lured to that breed)  but let us not forget to give credit to pointers and setters and retrievers. thats ALL they do! track birds and point. they arent so much a run away and chase down the game kinda dog... they're supposed to find their quarry and hold the position. but i dont think they're going to be cheap..

my main question is: whats he going to do with the dog outside of hunting season?

reason i ask is because growing up in the southern country i cant even count how many times i saw small kennels filled with more than seven hounds, all laying around, bored out of their minds. and these kennels looked like a nightmare... concrete slab, barb wired, and electrified, LAYERS of wire... and chains... the dogs are normally fed via automatic feeders and their water came from a constantly dipping water spigot. all of it designed so that the hunter doesnt have to spend a ton of time maintaining several bored and HYPER hounds during the spring and summer.

with only one hound your brother might not have to the above set up...  hopefully he'll have pride in his hunting partner. but the thing for him to remember is.. he MIGHT need him.. and he MIGHT now. is it going to be worth it to him to keep a bawling, baying, bored hound in his yard 24/7?

 also i couldnt resist lol i did a quick search in Petfinder for your area

http://search.petfinder.com/search/search.cgi?breed=hound&tmpl=&preview=&animal=Dog&preview=&zip=Grand+Rapids%2C+Mi

i'm sure if did the talking for him you could find him the perfect hunting dog!

and if that fails.... i'd be more than happy to mail Mattie to you... she thinks she's a rabbit dog all of a sudden.. ever see a Chihuahua herd bunnies? it IS possible!! pathetic as it may be..

Carol Delsman (AKC herding rep) has a pap who herds sheep.

yeah i saw that lol its just one of those things that you'd least expect to see on an average day  

I'd rather have him get a bird dog as well.  I personally like them better and like the size/shape.  I'll have to ask him why a bloodhound, seems overkill, especially for actually tracking BLOOD.  I mean, I know they are called a "bloodhound", but when there is blood on the ground my cat could track it.

Dum, there's never NOT a season for him, lol.  Maybe not open deer, but he hunts and fishes year round.  It is his LIFE.  Deer is his favorite and he prefers to shoot with a bow.  He actually works in fishing shops, tying specialty flies for fly fishers.  I don't care for that kind of stuff, but apparently my little bro is really good.  He is trying to get a summer job as a guide.  People have offered him side jobs like that in the past, but he was in New Orleans re-building houses to make some money (and working at the top class fly fishing shop on the weekends).  Now he is back home.  He is a carpenter here too and works for a family friend, whose kids are also obsessed with hunting and fishing. 

My uncle has a field lab (working and sporting dog, NOT a pet!) and when they went on sabbatical to Alaska, my brother took care of the dog for 5 months.  The dog actually calmed down a bit and was better behaved with my bro, but he took the dog everywhere (hunting and fishing almost every evening and all weekend).  One time they realized they had made their deer camp right next to a wiccan cult compound.  They found this mangy dog wandering the woods and took it (they had psyched themselves out that the wiccan people were going to sacrifice it or something).  They were going to keep it as their hunting dog, but it was intact and so was my uncle's female, so they gave it to one of the guy's girlfriends.  Now the dog is like her baby and they aren't getting it back for hunting.  When my uncle came back, he was going to offer his dog to my brother but we convinced him not to since we knew he was moving to New Orleans and didn't need a dog down there.  Now he's back and misses having a dog with him.

Please do let him know that bloodhounds are called bloodhounds not because they are for tracking blood necessarily  (as you said, your cat could do that) but because they were known as "full blooded hounds"--purebred, pure-blood hounds descended from the hounds bred by the monks of St. Hubert in France.  The name comes from shortening that moniker to just "blooded hound" for short and then "bloodhound".

I'm pretty sure that he would be disappointed with the dachshund.  They are stubborn, & hard headed.  They work only when they are seriously motivated to work, & they are very much a family oriented breed.  I don't think that they would handle being an outdoor dog, & I'm not sure that they would be capable of doing tracking without some serious work on your brother's part.