Bloodhounds and mastiffs are excellent tracking dogs. These breeds are designed to have a lot of lean mass and are known for being somewhat sedentary with a relatively short life span.
These dogs excel at the following dog sports:
- Tracking & trailing in hunt tests and search & rescue work.
- Weight-pulling
- Cart pulling
- Dock Jumping: They might enjoy dock diving, but care should be taken not to jump the dog from very high platforms so as to not injure the dog.
- Scent Work: They can use their keen sense of smell to complete scent work puzzles and games.
- Field Trials: Bloodhounds are bred for tracking and finding game, so a field trial environment might interest them.
- Conformation Showing: Mastiffs and bloodhounds are often shown to achieve championship titles due to their unique breed qualities.