re: OB Puppy Training advice?

Hounds are what they are. Their nose is the boss, not you. The problems are even worse with a bloodhound. They are definitely not good pets but they are incredibly good at what they are bred to do.

I'm working on a bloodhound right now for a tracking dog. I didn't really do anything different with her than any other dog, although it took a few more arse whippings to get her lined out than others. She's 6 months old now and listens very well. You just have to be very firm and persistent and realize you do not have a house dog, you have a bloodhound. Should have gotten something else if you wanted a house dog. Not saying it can't be whipped into a house pet, but you can't whip it into not slobbering, and it's going to do that a wholeeeeeeeeeee bunch.

For teaching it to bloodtrail, I would be much more concerned with discipline than anything else. The dog is going to track. You just have to be able to control it. Use cut up pieces of deer liver and drag them through a yard and leave the liver at the end. Once they figure out the game your pretty much done with that part. Just work on making him controlable. If you're going to leash track, you need a tracking harness and LOTS of practice. Nobody wants to try and hold on to a 115lb hound in the woods at night that isn't very well leash trained.

If you're going to let him free-track, you'll need a bell collar and make damn sure you can call him back no matter what he's doing. A GPS collar would be a good idea as well.

Lemme know if you have any questions. Blood dogs are my thing these days. Good luck because you're gonna need it