Anyone have any first hand experience with bloodhounds? My wife and daughter have caught a hankering for one. Would be a family pet and blood tracking for us personally

Not no but hell no. Trust me it’s the worst mistake you’ll ever make. Two buddies didn’t listen neither have them now.

I had one that was a great dog. I mean great dog. Now no matter how clean you kept him he stunk.

You probably know all about them, but they’re bigger than most people think. Even some of the females are over 100lbs. I thought I would mention it in case it was going to be a house dog.

There's a lot of other breeds one could "catch a hankering for".......

Good luck. My bloodhound is probably the smartest dog I've ever met but has also done some of the dumbest crap I did not know dogs were even capable of. Their nose is a blessing and a curse. My boy can find whatever he needs to, but their nose and ears do not work at the same time so he won't hear vehicles coming or you yelling at him to come inside. Go ahead and invest in a good shock collar because you'll be using it every second the dog is awake. Don't get me wrong, I love the dog and would never dream of giving him up, but good lord that dog has tested my patience more than I thought possible. Go ahead and get real friendly with your vet too, because they're clumsy, curious, and stubborn, which means lots of trips to the vet. And make sure he knows you control his food from the second you bring him home- we've dealt with some awful food aggression and resource guarding that's apparently pretty common with the breed

Doesn’t sound promising. It would be an outside dog, we don’t do pets inside. Crazy the mixed reviews I’ve gotte . I have a buddy who swears by his and wouldn’t have anything else. I’ve got a shock collar from my current lab as well that I will use with whatever I get.

If your only interest for the dog is using him for tracking there are plenty other breeds that have great noses that wont eat as much, and stink as much. Might want to look into a bird dog that can be a multi purpose dog. ive personally never had a bloodhound, but ive heard the same. they stink to high heaven and are pretty stubborn.

I will say, I've heard there's a night and day difference between males and females when it comes to hounds. I've always stuck with male dogs, but I've heard female bloodhounds are a lot smarter and more trainable. As crazy as it sounds, I still want another bloodhound, but will be looking at a female for my next one.

If you’re looking for something to track with as much is I loved mine I wouldn’t use a hound. The disconnect between the nose and brain would be miserable at midnight in a pine thicket. I can whistle and call my lab and it will quit whatever it’s doing and come back. If I was getting a dog to track deer I would think there are better options.

The bitch dog I had was was nuts and a pain in the ass.

I have a 5 year old bloodhound and he's a big ol baby. He would track a deer when he was a puppy with very little training but other than that he isn't good for much but sleeping, eating, and shaking slobber all over everything. On tracking his nose is great but he is so big and strong that when he starts pulling on the lead he will drag you thru whatever it is in front of you. He's not a bad dog but I will never own another one.

Get a pit, they are much better dogs. They can even create blood trails as well as track them.