How to Track With Two Bloodhounds

The bloodhound breed with its' distinctive loose skin and long droopy ears, is over one-thousand-years-old and came to the United States via England. It is sometimes referred to as the Flemish hound. Bloodhounds take joy in tracking, like Labradors take joy in retrieving. They are unlike other dogs because they have the rare ability to track human scent and have been known to follow days-old scent trails. Because of this, bloodhounds are a popular breed for search and rescue.

Instructions

    • 1

      Spend time with your bloodhounds, so they connect with you and want to work for you. Without this bond, they will be unlikely to have any desire to please you and track for you. Bloodhounds will be very devoted to their master, if given daily exercise and treated well.

    • 2

      Train your bloodhounds to come on demand. Do this in a safe setting where they can roam freely, until you call for them. Wait for them to begin to sniff the ground, then run away and call out for them. When they obey and come, give them lots of verbal praise and a treat. Make sure your verbal praise has a different tone than the voice you use when you give commands or reprimands. The dogs will eventually associate this voice with praise.

    • 3

      Ask another handler to assist you while you train your bloodhounds to track. Take them to an open area and ask the other handler to hold the dogs. Walk in front of them and shake an object that has your scent on it, like a glove or hat. Walk away and drop the object where the dogs can see it. Then run away, while calling out to the dog and drop to the ground, keeping your face down while you wait.

    • 4

      Have the handler walk over and pick up the object you've dropped, letting the dogs smell it. Then have the handler give the verbal command of "find" or "track" and then release the dogs to see if they can track you. If they do it successfully, give them lots of verbal praise and a treat. As they get better increase the distance before you fall, till it's about the length of a football field away from the dogs.

    • 5

      Make it more difficult, by only letting the dogs see the person running away for a moment. Then, have the handler turn the dogs around, away from the person running away. This makes the dogs find you on scent only. Be sure to give lots of praise and a treat, when they do find you. Increase the difficulty from here, once the dogs are really comfortable. Don't allow them to see you run away at all. Also, have them wait a few minutes, before they are allowed to track you.