Dog handler: focus on the Saint Hubert

The Saint-Hubert dog, also sometimes called Bloodhound, is appreciated by law enforcement and firefighters for its extraordinary scent. Nothing surprising then that more and more dogs from this breed are joining the ranks of canine intervention units throughout French territory.

Table of Contents:

• Origins
• Physical abilities
• Character
• Learning abilities
• Careers

The Saint-Hubert is a very ancient dog breed selected for its endurance and robustness. It has always been renowned and used as a hunting dog thanks to its scent incomparable to other dog breeds. Although of Belgian origin, this hound was particularly appreciated in England. In France, the "Bloodhound," which had gradually disappeared in favor of faster breeds for fox hunting, returned to the forefront in the 19th century in the packs of Emperor Napoleon III.

Later in the United States, it was used as a police dog for tracking criminals and escaped fugitives or searching for missing persons. The identification of a criminal by a Saint-Hubert can even constitute evidence in an American court. While its use in law enforcement was once the privilege of Anglo-Saxon countries, this breed is becoming increasingly popular worldwide.

The Saint Hubert dog is a working dog renowned for its tenacity and natural ability to follow only one scent and not change from it. This physical aptitude is very useful in cases of missing persons. An exceptional tracking dog, it has its place in the canine investigation units of the National Gendarmerie.

The Saint-Hubert's "identity card":

• Size of the male: 64 to 72 cm at the withers for the male and between 58 and 66 cm for the female

• Weight of the male: 46 to 54kg for the male and between 40 to 48 kg for the female

• Origin: Belgium

• Coat: Short

• Coat color: bicolor black and tan, liver and tan or solid red

• Appearance: large size, noble and massive

• Life expectancy: 11-15 years

• Common diseases: elbow dysplasia

The Saint-Hubert dog is a dog that needs exercise. While not as athletic as the Belgian Malinois, it still needs daily physical and mental stimulation. It especially needs to satisfy its olfactory needs, for example by practicing tracking.

The main character traits of the Saint-Hubert dog:

• Easy to train

• Affectionate

• Calm

• Intelligent

• Hunter

• Escape artist

• Athletic

It is poorly suited to elderly people and sedentary individuals. It does not always get along with its peers and its hunting needs prevent it from getting along well with cats and other animals. It can become a family dog if children have learned to properly respect the animal.

If it is so skilled in searching for missing persons, it is because very early, when it was still just a puppy, breeders and canine educators transmitted to it the love of humans. An expert hunting dog, its education must make it "forget" animals and give it the desire to find humans. Moreover, when it tracks a scent, it can quickly tend to stop listening to its handler. This is why the education of working dogs is very important and must be started as early as possible.

The Saint-Hubert dog has more olfactory receptors. It is thus capable of memorizing up to 10 different scents when a dog of another breed can only retain two or three. It is particularly useful in the context of searching for missing persons. Well trained, it can differentiate the scents of several people on a piece of fabric, for example, to focus solely on that of the person to be found. Unlike the versatile Belgian Malinois, the bloodhound is a specialist dog. It is therefore not used for offensive or defensive missions. It sticks to what it does best: using its scent. And it is for this reason that it has gained popularity in recent years in canine investigation units around the world.

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