Bloodhound Dog Breed

SitStayFetch offers a free consultation with every order! Here is one submitted by Simone about her Basenji mix called Tamsin...

Sara's Consultation

Dear Daniel,

Thank you so much for your valuable advice. I am considering getting a bloodhound puppy. She’ll be just over 3 months old when/if I get her. I have heard so many opinions about them – thankfully, mostly good. But here are my concerns:

1. That she will be huge! I’m not! Will I be able to handle her?

2. She’ll probably stay indoors most of the time. The breeder doesn’t seem concerned, but…….

3. That they are notoriously hard to train. Yikes!

4. That my other dog, a Whippet, will hate her. But he’s the whole reason I’m considering seriously getting another dog!! And the Whippet plays beautifully (and without injury) with my friend’s gigantic lab.

5. Are the training issues discussed in Sit Fetch Stay?

Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sara M. Stewart

SitStayFetch Reply:

Hi there Sara,

Thank you for the email regarding your possibility of purchasing a bloodhound puppy. Getting a new puppy is always somewhat of a concern for a variety of reasons, but also very exciting. The trick is weighing up your concerns to see if they stack up and to then compare them to your excitement and anticipation to see if those things that are genuine concerns outweigh your need/want of another puppy. Let’s look at your questions one by one.

1.) Bloodhounds are big – Will you be able to handle her?
This is more of a question of – Will your house and yard be able to handle her? Or even will your Whippet be able to handle her? Basically, with the right training, you can have absolute control over any dog be it big or small. The basics are outlined in SitStayFetch, but they revolve around the Alpha Dog theory (detailed more in the bonus book “Secrets to Becoming the Alpha Dog”). In this it explains that every dog has a pack mentality and places itself in a ranking system that includes yourself and your family. With correct training she will realize that she is bottom of the pack below your family and with this combined with the correct obedience training – you will have great control over her in every respect such that her size won’t be an issue. It is definitely a good idea to weigh up whether you yard will be big enough for two dogs to play in though.

2.) Leaving a dog indoors ALL the time is probably not recommended, but so long as she has access to the outdoors at least a couple of times a day for walks, then she should be fine. Usually a dog left indoors all day will get very bored and cause mischief relatively quickly, however having two dogs in the home quickly avoids this and by supplying them both with adequate toys to keep them happy indoors as well as keeping them well exercised and giving them a chance to get outside frequently, they should be fine.

3.) Certain breeds of dog are typically called “Hard to Train”, “Dumb” and “Very Intelligent” – however this does not automatically wipe out all chance of a dog in that breed being an easy to train dog. All it basically means is that, on average, people have had trouble training these dogs. The fact is that ALL dogs are trainable, and comparatively a puppy is much easier to train than an old dog. I think, with the help and advice found in SitStayFetch you will have no problems training her, so long as you start early, make training fun, give her plenty of rewards for good behavior and play a game after each training session. The only real difference between a ‘Dumb’ breed and an ‘Intelligent’ breed is the speed at which they pick up new ideas. You may encounter an Intelligent dog for the breed, or you may not – the fact however is that it will be trainable either way and you will get results relatively quickly if you follow the guidelines in SitStayFetch.

4.) Your Whippet will love having another dog – which as you say is one of your reasons for getting another dog. It will keep it entertained as well as giving it a companion when you are not at home. I think introducing another dog into a one dog household is an excellent idea and more people should be doing it. It will of course take time to introduce the puppy, but if done correctly in most cases is a complete success.

Since introducing a new animal is stressful to the residents, it makes sense not to do it at a time when your Whippet is already under stress – if you have just moved to a new house or apartment, for instance, or it is recovering from an illness or injury. If your Whippet displays any inappropriate aggressive behavior towards the newcomer, the behavior should be quickly and firmly corrected, since the dog must learn what is acceptable and what isn't. But do not force the animals to be together if they do not get along. Extra supervision is called for if the new dog is much smaller than the resident dog. A large dog can easily injure a small one in play or overtire her. But, on the whole, dogs will work things out on their own, and, given a carefully chosen set of animals that have been properly introduced, will become friends.

Timing is also important. I would recommend in your case that you first introduce your Whippet to the puppy in a neutral area such as initially perhaps at the breeders if possible a few days before you take the puppy home for the first time. Then when you get it home on the first day let your dogs meet again at the front of the house in an area the dogs don’t usually use. Let them get used to the new smells and so on. For the first week or two, it may be an idea to keep the puppy separated from your Whippet for most of the day and try slowly introducing it into other areas of the house for certain periods of the day with short meetings with the other dog. Slowly increase the frequency of these meetings until several weeks after first getting the puppy home, you allow it a great access of the house with close supervision. Make sure you quickly and firmly reprimand any growling, nipping or aggressive appearing behaviors from your Whippet.

It is important to provide equal attention to both the new and established pets. This includes one-on-one time, appropriate exercise and play time, and lots of love. If it appears that the new animal is getting all the attention, the older dog may become jealous and redirect its jealousy aggression toward the puppy and cause injury. Animals are very intuitive. You may notice that your Whippet may put its body between you and the new puppy or try to ‘steal' your attention from the puppy.

I hope this information helps. Getting a new puppy is always a very exciting time, but one that must be approached with caution. For more information please refer to SitStayFetch – particularly the Multiple Dog Household section.

Best of luck with your Bloodhound puppy – it will be a lot of fun and very exciting for yourself, your family and I’m sure, your Whippet as well!

Kind regards,

Daniel Stevens
Daniel Stevens and the SitStayFetch Team
"SitStayFetch - Dog Training To Stop Your Dog's Behavior Problems!"

Sara's Reply

Hi Dan!

Thank you so very much for your quick response. Well, I got the bloodhound before I received you reply but, thankfully, your answers would not have dissuaded me from getting “Lucy”. She is soooooo pretty and funny and she and the Whippet, “David”, get along like to peas in a pod! They play together, sleep together (yes, in a crate and I’ve ordered a bigger one to arrive shortly), eat together, you name it. Just to let you know (as I’m sure you’re questioning my sanity right about now), Lucy spent her first night in the crate alone. And now, just a day and a half later the two of them are inseparable. She’s very quickly learning house broken-ness and her name. I can’t wait to employ the “tricks of the trade” I’ll surely find in SitStayFetch.

After this long and I’m sure boring note, I just want to thank you for your words of support and share a happy-ending story. Thank you again.

Sara