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Bloodhound Dog
Bloodhound Dog
Although sad in appearance with their wrinkly foreheads,
the Bloodhound dog is an affectionate, sweet and gentle
giant whose nose cannot be matched by any other breed.
The Bloodhound dog are black and tan, liver, red or tan,
and are covered in loose, wrinkly skin. Bloodhounds
received their name due to the fact that they have such
pure blood, meaning their breeding standards were
untainted. This pure record is largely due to church
dignitaries who took care of the breed and were
determined to keep it unpolluted. Their noses are unlike
anything else in that Bloodhounds, or the Chien de Saint
Hubert, can track any scent even two weeks after it
being fresh. The Bloodhound dog has long ears help to
waft scent into their noses as they sniff the ground,
and the scent travels up their nostrils into a
membranous structure which is estimated to hold as much
as 250 million scent (olfactory) receptors - 40 times
that of a human! The Bloodhound dog is a powerful dog
that is larger than the other hounds and can take up
more space than most dogs. Their skin is thin to the
touch and extremely loose. The Bloodhound dogs are
powerful, yet graceful. The Bloodhound dog is good with
children and other animals with their gentle, loving
nature. They have a tendency to drool, but is otherwise
a very clean dog. The Bloodhound dog are also prone to
bay quite a lot, and need an area in which they are
allowed to make noise. Inside the house they can be
quiet, gentle and placid creatures, but when outside and
tracking a scent, Bloodhounds can often be stubborn and
independent about being called off a trail. An
outstanding ability as a scent hound, Bloodhounds are
superior in tracking abilities to all other hounds and
dogs alike which has made them extremely useful in
police investigations. One Bloodhound is known to have
tracked down over 600 criminals. Another is known to
have caught 23 escaped convicts in a day and a half!
Often these dogs are used in pursuing lost hikers or
children because of their gentle actions. Bloodhounds
will follow a scent to no end but will not attack the
source. The Police force, as well as thousands of
families around the world, would not be what they are
today without the St. Hubert Hound, the Chien de Saint
Hubert, or the dog most unanimously known as the
Bloodhound.
The Bloodhound is a massive, powerful
dog breed that is
known for its refined head, droopy ears, and wrinkly
skin. The jowls on its face give it a sad, mournful
look. Its neck and back is strongly muscled and its
forelegs are solid. The Bloodhound dog has a short coat that
can either be black, black and tan, or liver-colored.
Bloodhound dogs are generally quiet and passive indoors but
active and vocal outdoors.
The Bloodhound is one of the
oldest hound breeds, originating from ancestors who were
bred in Assyria around 2000 - 1000 B.C. It is thought
that these dogs were taken to the Mediterranean by the
Phoenicians, and then from there spread north into
Europe. Their ancestry, thought to be the St. Hubert
hound can be traced to the seventh and eighth centuries
in Belgium. Bloodhounds were brought to Great Britain by
William the Conqueror in 1066. The Bloodhound is said to
be the result of pure breeding thanks to monasteries and
church dignitaries. Their name comes from the English
blue bloods who helped nurture the breed, as well as
their untainted blood. The original Bloodhounds were
black or white; the whites being named Southern hounds,
and the blacks being named Saint Hubert hounds. The
Bloodhound was introduced to America in the mid 1800s,
and has since proven itself as a useful companion dog.
The Bloodhound dogs at one time were the only dog
accepted as an evidence-finding dog in the U.S. court of
law. They have since found hundreds if not thousands of
criminals, lost children, hikers and others. The
Bloodhound has an olfactory system the size of a
handkerchief and can smell over 40 times better than
that of a human being. It is estimated they have at
least 250 million olfactory receptors, and can smell out
a trail over 2 weeks old. In the past these dogs were
used for hunting by the church dignitaries, and are
still used for that purpose by common people today.
Bloodhounds these days are widely used as family pets,
tracking dogs, and police dogs.
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