Bloodhounds

Noble Medieval Trackers

The era of wild boar and stag in British history marked the height of the Bloodhounds' popularity. Long before Bloodhounds were used to track men, they were noblemen's hunting partners. Their job was to find the boar or deer wherever they hid. Scent hounds, like the bloodhound, have long flews (loose hanging parts of the upper lip) and long flapping ears specifically designed to funnel and push air and scents toward the dogs' olfactory system. The bloodhound has the special ability to follow a cold scent. THE HUNT A handler would be sent out with a leashed Bloodhound, or "limer". The leash-hound would locate the deer or boar, but it wouldn't attack it. Once the prey was located, the nobleman would follow with the running hounds of the hunt, or "raches". The Bloodhound however, was always honored with the first meat from the kill. As man-hunters, the Bloodhound is unequaled. English literature shows reference to these dogs being used to track men as early as 1220. Both Robert the Bruce and William Wallace were supposedly tracked by "sleuth-hounds". The hunts both occurred in 1307, and records show the sleuthhound and the Bloodhound are either closely related or the same breed. The Bloodhound's tracking abilities were so highly regarded that a law was passed requiring the people to allow the dogs access to any home or building during a chase. In the Mediterranean Bloodhounds are mentioned as far back as pre-Christian times. The chiens du St. Hubert, bred at the Abbey of St. Hubert in France, may originally have been either an ancestor or the two breeds may have stemmed from the same breed. A pair of St. Hubert's was given annually to the French King. Once the boar became extinct in England and hunting turned mostly to fox and hare, the Bloodhound fell out of favor. For many years Bloodhounds were used on the deer parks of Britain to help gamekeepers track and protect the stock. Today the breed has been reestablished in England and France.

These websites can provide more information about bloodhounds. Bloodhounds, by Cindy Tittle Moore http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/bloodhounds.html#his Bloodhound, by Barbara Meyer http://puffin.ptialaska.net/youngs/bloodhou.htm Bloodhounds! http://bloodhound.kchomecare.com/index.php3 The American Bloodhound Club http://www.bloodhounds.org/ The Bloodhound Bunch http://bloodhounds.com/bhb/ Bloodhound Home Page http://www.hoflin.com/b/bloodhound.html Bloodhound (St. Hubert Hound) (Chien de St. Hubert) href=http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bloodhound.htm

About Author
Dianne Staley is a freelance writer living in Tucson, Arizona. She has published numerous articles, short stories, and children's stories. Dianne is currently writing a young adult fantasy. Her passion is teaching children to write. You can e-mail her at dstaley29@aol.com

Photos by Bob Staley