How To Train A Bloodhound

Bloodhounds are the dogs that are presently used by police, detectives and crime agencies due to their extensive olfactory senses and impressive tracking ability. These dogs were initially bred to hunt deer and wild boar and are now used as ‘cop dogs’. If you are living a city life on the umpteenth floor than bloodhound is not the dog for you. They are attracted to scent and will always want to track it down and not given enough space and confinement will depress your bloodhound. Living in an apartment is just not a bloodhound’s thing. These are big dogs and have a fur coat without hair and a strong smell of hound. Bloodhounds are affectionate, making them great family dogs. Bloodhounds are available in black, tan, liver and red colors. These dogs need to be trained with a firm and stern authority as they will not listen to a quiet and gentle trainer. Bloodhounds are really affectionate and good around children. You will have to make sure your kids do not trouble him much because we do not expect a bloodhound will ever stand up for himself in front of children.

Importance of Bloodhound’s Training

Bloodhounds do not think when it comes to tracking down a smell and once they start tracking it gets really hard to make them drop down their mission. These huge dogs will not be controlled by a leash. These dogs are not at all lazy and will always prefer trailing a smell for miles over sleeping in the sun. As much as they enjoy tracking it makes it difficult for the owner to control him. These dogs are stubborn, energetic and destructive as puppies. Bloodhounds are best as cop dogs, but if you are really determined to get him home, He will prove to be family dog provided he is trained fairly well. Bloodhounds are huge and need a lot of exercise and training to lead a healthy and proper life. Also, these dogs shy away from strangers and other bloodhounds, hence ample socializing is a must. You should not delay it and begin as soon as possible.

Useful Training Equipment and Accessories for Bloodhounds

The pet market is flooded with all kinds of training equipments and accessories for your Bloodhound. You must research and consider various available options, and then select the appropriate one for your dog. Bloodhounds are stubborn and choosing a perfect training equipment for them is a very important task as it might be the deciding factor that your dog is interested in training or not. Gone are the days where shopping by instincts used to work fine. Understand your dog’s need and then choose accordingly.

Types of Training Methods for Bloodhounds

A variety of training methods are used to train Bloodhounds. Some of them are-

Pack Leader Method

This training method is the best method of training bloodhounds as they are bred as pack animals and understand the concept of a pack. This method also teaches them that they are not the ones in command. You will have to teach your hound the desired responses and he will be more than keen to follow and please his commander. The key to train a bloodhound is patience and persistence. They might be difficult at times, but will eventually come along.

Clicker Training

Clicker Training is a way to evoke your dog’s interest in a click sound that he only gets to hear when he performs well. The challenge of this training is to instill the sound in him. Initially you should feed him with those clicks.

Corrective Reinforcements

Corrective Reinforcements are a way where you correct your dog and let him figure out the desired response on his own. The only thing that can go wrong is that over-correcting your dog might irritate him.

Different Trainings Required for Bloodhounds

When training your Bloodhounds, certain factors need to be taken care of, such as:

Socialization

• Bloodhounds do not get along with strangers and other dogs.
• These dogs must be taught to be calm as a situation is likely to arise where the dog is scared of people and they are scared of him. Fear can never get the best of you.

Obedience

• Bloodhounds must know who is in command.
• These dogs tend to take command when they hit puberty.

 Do’s and Don’ts in Providing Training to Bloodhounds

 Tips to Make the Training Task Easy for Bloodhounds

• Appreciate your bloodhounds often as they are sensitive.
• He should know he is at the bottom in his pack.
• Use a very strong leash for bloodhounds.