Breed dogs for trailing dogs and bloodhound trailing? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
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Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
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About trailing dogs and bloodhound trailing
A trailing dog follows the scent of one particular person from where they were last seen to where they are now. In the UK the tradition is strongest among bloodhound people, through working trials and packs hunting the clean boot, while mantrailing is offered as an activity for pet dogs. This page explains how trailing works, who organises it and what to look for in bloodhound puppies from working lines.
What this work involves
An air-scenting search dog looks for any person. A trailing dog is given a scent article and must follow that one person’s trail and ignore everyone else’s, even when the trail is hours old and crosses roads, fields, other people’s tracks and livestock.
Bloodhound trials. The Association of Bloodhound Breeders holds championship trials twice a year, in March and October, where hounds hunt the clean boot: they follow the natural scent of a human runner, with no artificial scent laid. The special stakes test much older lines. Hounds placed first or second in the senior stake can compete for the Brough Cup, on lines of about three miles, six hours cold; the Bracken Trophy is run on lines 12 hours cold and the Marlwood Beaker on lines 24 hours cold.
Clean boot packs. Bloodhound packs hunt the clean boot across country, with riders following the hounds.
Mantrailing. Mantrailing is a pet activity in which dogs of any breed learn to follow a person’s trail on a long line. It is enrichment and sport, not an operational qualification.
Operational trailing dogs exist too. SARDA Wales and several NSARDA lowland associations qualify trailing dogs alongside air-scenting dogs, and the volunteer charity Specialist Search Dogs works bloodhounds on live person trailing. The Association of Bloodhound Breeders notes, however, that bloodhounds are out of favour with law enforcement agencies in Britain.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
- The Association of Bloodhound Breeders, founded in 1897, whose objects include promoting the training of bloodhounds to hunt man, runs the championship trials and issues working permits.
- The Bloodhound Club is another UK club for the breed and holds its own breed show.
- The Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association represents draghound and bloodhound packs in Great Britain, including those that hunt the clean boot.
Owners train their own hounds. Hounds can compete from 12 months old, but before entering trials a hound needs a working permit. Part one is a line one mile long and half an hour cold across country, if possible through farm stock, especially sheep. Part two is a stock test: a half-mile line through sheep, after which the hound is taken back among the sheep off the lead and must not chase them when some are driven across in front of it, while the handler stays silent. Search teams train their own trailing dogs to their association’s standards. Breeders supply puppies, not qualified trailing dogs.
Breeds and lines
The Bloodhound is the specialist, but other breeds trail too. NSARDA’s listed trailing dogs include Labrador Retrievers, spaniels, collies, German Shepherd Dogs and a Beagle, and Specialist Search Dogs has a Bavarian Mountain Hound in training. The Royal Kennel Club lists the Bloodhound as a vulnerable native breed with a lifespan under ten years, so health and genetic diversity deserve as much attention as working ability.
What to ask a breeder
- Do the sire and dam hold ABB working permits, and have they run in trials? With what results?
- Are the parents steady with sheep and other livestock?
- What are the parents’ hip and elbow scores, and have they been eye tested? The Royal Kennel Club recommends hip and elbow testing and prioritising genetic diversity as good practice for the Bloodhound, with eye testing as best practice.
- How long have the parents’ and grandparents’ generations lived, and what health problems have appeared in the line?
- Can you put me in touch with trials people or a pack to help me train?
Legal and welfare notes
Hunting the clean boot follows a human runner, not a wild mammal. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence in England and Wales to hunt a wild mammal with a dog unless the hunting is exempt. Clean boot hunting is also different from trail hunting, which follows a laid animal-based scent and has been the subject of public controversy. In Scotland, the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 makes trail hunting an offence, apart from a limited exception for training dogs; that Act defines trail hunting by reference to animal-based scent, not human scent.
Bloodhounds follow their noses and can ignore commands once on a line, so work them on a harness and long line near roads and keep them under control around livestock. Owners also have a legal duty to meet their dog’s welfare needs under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in England and Wales and the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 in Scotland.
Frequently asked questions
What is hunting the clean boot?
It means following a human runner’s natural scent, with no artificial drag or animal scent. Bloodhound trials and clean boot packs both use it.
Can any dog do mantrailing?
Most dogs can enjoy mantrailing as a pet activity. It is not an operational search qualification.
Where can I find bloodhound puppies from working lines?
Ask breeders whether the parents hold working permits and trial results, and contact the Association of Bloodhound Breeders for guidance.
Breeders whose bloodhounds trial or hunt the clean boot, or whose dogs work in trailing, are invited to list on the site.