Bloodhound Training Camp

19 Jul 08

Ever wonder how other hounds around the world spend their summers? Well, in Washington (USA) an international delegation of more than 35 bloodhounds and their two-legged handlers — some from as far away as Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Brazil — came together to participate in an annual week-long training camp.

Organizers had to turn away nearly 30 applicants to the 17th annual Search and Rescue Training Seminar. The popular event is sponsored by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia Bloodhound Search and Rescue Association.

“I’m just happy I made it into the program,” said Sam Shipley, a participant from the York County Sheriff’s office. Shipley and his 6-month-old hound, Lou, are freshmen in the program.

The camp is one of a handful of training programs in the country geared toward bloodhounds and their owners, said trainer Jerome Swain of Loudoun’s Department of Fire, Rescue & Emergency Management.

Although a number of dog breeds are able to distinguish the scents of individual humans, bloodhounds are especially adept at the task. The dogs are born with it, but the humans have to learn to train them. And that’s not always an easy task.

In top condition, bloodhounds often gather evidence that can stand up in Virginia courts. According to Swain “These dogs were bred by monks to search for humans hundreds of years ago.”

“It is more of an art than anything else,” Swain told one of the students. “As humans, we can’t see or smell this scent — we just have to train the dogs.”

The teams of trainers, studentes and hounds work on skills such as sharpening up the ‘differentiation’ skill. First, dogs are harnessed and exposed to a human scent. Handlers then guided the dogs to a human line-up where the hounds were expected to place the scent. It is a quiet exercise until the dogs find their target; the lineup erupts in claps and cheers for the dogs when they complete the task successfully.

“These dogs work for praise and treats — that’s their pay,” said John Lavinder, a trainer with the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office. Hounds are “a lot like athletes: They have it in them, we just have to help bring it out.”

The week-long camp is only the beginning for some students. On average, a novice trainer should expect to spend 12 to 18 months training a bloodhound. And as little feet is fond of saying - ‘training is ongoing…’

SuperWoof to Bloodhound Training Camp!

Archie