Breed: Many researchers believe that the Bloodhound originates from the St. Hubert's Dog, bred in Belgium by the monks of the St.Hubert monastery, and then - in the time of the Norman Conquest - this dogs came to England.

However, in the works of Strabo and Horace, who were writing before our era, there is some information about the export of the dogs-trackers from Britain to the ancient Gauls, on whose lands was later built the St Hubert monastery.

The ancient English law officially recognized the use of sniffer-dogs in searches and in finding criminals.??So, in a letter of Iohanas Kay (1570) to Conrad Isner there is the explanation of the breed name, from which it follows that, despite the ability of these dogs to chase a wounded animal, "Bloodhound" (blood dog) - must be understood as a purebred, but not in??the sense of "bloodthirsty" dog.??
In the "History of Scotland" (written in1527), we can find the following description: "a large, black with red sides and a small white markings, dog, which is called by people: a Bloodhound. The long ears, a wrinkled head.

These dogs are very intelligent and easy to distinguish the good man from the bad one. They are guarding home well, easily find hidden items and the traces of the thief, also save the children and adults."??This dog was well known and so much loved in Scotland and England, that people made a monument for the Bloodhound!??In 1860, the Bloodhound won a brilliant victory in the trackers competition in Birmingham (England).

In 1898 there was established the official Association of Bloodhound, the main target of this organisation was to improve breeding and training of the Bloodhounds.??The main contribution in the development of this breed belongs to the English cynologist Edwin Brough.??Breeding in his kennel was based on two lines.??The founders of the first line were the champions ??Beckford and Bianca, of the second - the champion Bono.??From the cross of these two lines was obtained the champion and the most famous sire in England - Penter.

The Bloodhounds are very widely used in the Police Services of America.??They have saved many lives.??A large number of criminals were arrested with the help of the Bloodhounds, that were working with the police Captain Volney Mullikin (uncovered more than 2500 crimes).

They say that the Bloodhound is able to take the trace, which began in the burnt chicken coop.??The length of the track does not matter: the shortest track was 3 meters, the longest - 55 miles (90 km) - in this case the Bloodhounds were working continuously for several days.??During this time, one of the dogs ...??whelped, and along with the newborn puppies she was sent back, but Captain Mullikin continued to work with the other dogs.

The longest of investigated traces was 135 miles (more than 210 km) long and it was passed by the Bloodhound from the Police Department of New York.??One of the best guarding dogs was a male, named Boston, who "worked" in the jail of Oklahoma. With the help of this Bloodhound 23??fugitives were found and returned back to the jail

Once Boston was working??continuously??for two days, his paws and nose were already bleeding, but he never left the trace. Police officers of Mississippi believe that the impeccable reputation of a Police Bloodhounds is one of the factors that help to keep crime in the state at a low enough level.??
The Bloodhound is successfully used in tracing of missing people and those children, who got lost. The owners of these dogs believe that if at least one child's life will be saved, the Bloodhound's contribution to this noble cause will remain invaluable.

General Features: The Bloodhound is a heavy large dog, rather phlegmatic, good-natured, peace-loving and loyal.??Bloodhound is noble and majestic, with a serious, wise look , but his movements are sweeping and free.

Head is heavy, long, narrow, slightly tapering from the cheekbones to a long snout.??The skull is convex, with strongly developed occipital protuberance.??The hallmark of the Bloodhound's head is the excess skin: skin drops from the head with the deep folds, especially on the forehead and sides of the muzzle.??Lips are long, pendulous, merging with the free folds on the neck and passing into suspension.??Bloodhound's ears are very long, longer than the muzzle, set very low and hang in the light folds.??The skin on the ears is very thin, covered with short soft and silky hair.??Neck is long, muscular, allowing the dog to easily keep his nose on the trail without stopping.??Legs are straight, well boned, muscular, set wide apart.??The tail is long and thick, tapering to the end, set high, at the bottom it is covered with a somewhat long hair.??The Bloodhound holds his tale just above the back line.

The coat of a Bloodhound is short, thick and hard.??Acceptable??colors - red-brown, black and tan or black & brown (with a dark saddle on a red-brown background). Very small white markings on his chest, fingertips and a tail are allowed.

Temperament: The Bloodhound is a born tracker with a unique senses and a passionate willing to work on the trail, whether it is a trace of a human or an animal.??For this dog it is not always important, what exactly he will find at the end of the trail, since he is just very found of tracking itself.??The appearance of a Bloodhound helps him to work successfully. The skin on a Bloodhound's head is??forming a flowing folds and during the search moves closer to the nose, falling over his eyes, holds his low set ears forward, thus closing the ear canal.??As a result, the Bloodhound is almost not able to see or hear anything around him.??Apparently, this feature of the exterior plays an important role in the successful work on the trail and helps the dog to stay focused for a long time and not to lose once taken trace regardless of external conditions.

When the Bloodhound is on the trail, his nose is working with such a power, that it seems like a small but powerful vacuum cleaner is switched on nearby.??Sometimes the dog is so fond of the searching process, that may beat all sorts of obstacles on the way, but even in this case will never be discouraged...

In most of Western??European countries?? and in the United States the Bloodhound was considered one of the best breeds of dogs intended for the trace service, ie, the search for people by the trail.??For example, a well-known in the U.S. dog named Nick Carter took a trail that was left 105 hours ago, and it brought the Bloodhound to the the goal.

(This record was set in the early XX century and since then more than doubled).??
Lawyers from the National Association of the Police Bloodhounds and some volunteers from the club "Search and Liberation" (America) are trying now to return back to the Bloodhound his role of a working dog.??Unlike most of the police dogs (German Shepherds, Dobermans, etc), the Bloodhound is not aggressive and walking on the trail he is taking as an exiting kind of sports, without attacking a man, who is being tracked.

Innate self-confidence and physical strength leads to the fact, that the Bloodhound is a rare??participant??of the dog fights. His self-esteem is respected by both: the people around him and the dogs.??Along with the large size and weight Bloodhound can be characterized by the plasticity of his movements and harmony of the composition.??As a representative of the hounds, he likes long walks in the countryside, where every smell he is sensing with the great pleasure, forgetting about everything. His natural intelligence and outstanding ability to learn are sometimes indeed surprising, however, some difficulties may appear while training the Bloodhound due to the intransigence of his character.??Having, however, a gentle and calm disposition, the Bloodhound is getting along well with the children, he is tolerant to all inhabitants of the house and unobtrusive with the guests.??And yet the blood of fighting dogs is flowing in each Bloodhound, so with the appropriate training this dogs can really protect their master and guard his belongings, working at the course of protective guarding duty.??But still the Bloodhound is primarily a hunting dog and he is not able to fully implement the role of a guardian dog in the house.

Surprisingly strong nervous system and calmness, however, are not giving any reason to assume his temperament as a phlegmatic, and this can be seen not only by his??excitement??at work, but also during the games with the children and dogs.

Health problems: The Bloodhound should be fed 3-4 times a day with the small portions, because most of the dogs of this breed are prone to bloat. Because of his long ears, the Bloodhound is often having ear infections. In some lines the Bloodhounds are prone to hip dysplasia.

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