| Hillock Kennels is a proud member of these organizations. |
Club for Bavarian Mountain Blood Hounds
| Questions to ask before you buy or import a Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound. |
I am writing this page to help anyone interested in purchasing, be it import or domestic, a Bavarian Mountain
Bloodhound (BMH,BGS). I recently had a situation were someone ask me if I knew something about a
particular bloodline or breeder. The comment I made was not meant to be a knock on the bloodlines or the
breeder but merely to get the person interested in the pup to ask the appropriate question. The problem was
that it was taken as such by the breeder. So now if you want to know something about a particular bloodline or
person you will have to find out on your own. This is the only way I know to protect myself from any liability.
Remember in most situations you are dealing with foreigners who do not all ways understand the English
language as spoken by Americans even if they themselves speak it. The list of questions below are not meant
to be all inclusive. They are some of the things I would ask if I was importing a dog. Hopefully you can use
these questions to find yourself a quality BMH. Remember to do your research and ask lots of question.
Unless you are using a repeat breeder then more than likely you will have little or no contact with the breeder
again especially if you are importing.
Bloodhound (BMH,BGS). I recently had a situation were someone ask me if I knew something about a
particular bloodline or breeder. The comment I made was not meant to be a knock on the bloodlines or the
breeder but merely to get the person interested in the pup to ask the appropriate question. The problem was
that it was taken as such by the breeder. So now if you want to know something about a particular bloodline or
person you will have to find out on your own. This is the only way I know to protect myself from any liability.
Remember in most situations you are dealing with foreigners who do not all ways understand the English
language as spoken by Americans even if they themselves speak it. The list of questions below are not meant
to be all inclusive. They are some of the things I would ask if I was importing a dog. Hopefully you can use
these questions to find yourself a quality BMH. Remember to do your research and ask lots of question.
Unless you are using a repeat breeder then more than likely you will have little or no contact with the breeder
again especially if you are importing.
What type of pedigree will the pup come with?
Is it an
export pedigree, TSSO, or full pedigree no restrictions. The only one that will effect most people is the TSSO. This is
strictly a show pedigree. Meaning the dog can never be breed and produce registrable pups. Usually but not all ways
this is an indication of non working parents., avoid this at all passable. For most importing a pup you will get an export
pedigree. As long as the pedigree is from a FCI recognized club then you will be able to re-register the pup in Puerto
Rico stud books if you ever want to breed this is required to have registered pups. There are a few countries that the
BMH is registered with a national kennels clubs instead of the FCI. In those situation the dogs lineage can be traced
back to FCI dogs that were imported. But the pups will not be FCI registered. Nothing wrong with the dogs but they not
eligible to be registered in Puerto Rico FCI stud book for breeding. Currently there are very few dogs with full pedigree
from Puerto Rico. I know of only 13 and that is the pups that we have produced. Three things that you want stamped on
the pedigree is the FCI emblem and the JGHV stamp and the ISHV stamp. The JGHV stamp will allow the pup to
participate in tracking test here in the United States and is the only recognized blood tracking test here for the BGS.
This test will become very important to anyone considering breeding their dog.
The breeder should provide you with a copy of the parents pedigree for analysis also. What you want to look
for is common ancestry. With a rare breed it is sometimes hard to find unrelated bloodlines or the breeder has
chosen to line breed. So sometimes you will see the same dog or bitch used in both the sire and dams
bloodlines. There are pros and cons to this and I will not go into it but do your research.
A great resource to look at the genetics coefficients or breeding schemes is the web site Baza BGS
This is not a complete list of all BMH know but a great resource for conduct research, test matings and asking
questions. If you find the Sire or Dam listed you can look to see what type of testing or show record the dog might have.
Is it an
export pedigree, TSSO, or full pedigree no restrictions. The only one that will effect most people is the TSSO. This is
strictly a show pedigree. Meaning the dog can never be breed and produce registrable pups. Usually but not all ways
this is an indication of non working parents., avoid this at all passable. For most importing a pup you will get an export
pedigree. As long as the pedigree is from a FCI recognized club then you will be able to re-register the pup in Puerto
Rico stud books if you ever want to breed this is required to have registered pups. There are a few countries that the
BMH is registered with a national kennels clubs instead of the FCI. In those situation the dogs lineage can be traced
back to FCI dogs that were imported. But the pups will not be FCI registered. Nothing wrong with the dogs but they not
eligible to be registered in Puerto Rico FCI stud book for breeding. Currently there are very few dogs with full pedigree
from Puerto Rico. I know of only 13 and that is the pups that we have produced. Three things that you want stamped on
the pedigree is the FCI emblem and the JGHV stamp and the ISHV stamp. The JGHV stamp will allow the pup to
participate in tracking test here in the United States and is the only recognized blood tracking test here for the BGS.
This test will become very important to anyone considering breeding their dog.
The breeder should provide you with a copy of the parents pedigree for analysis also. What you want to look
for is common ancestry. With a rare breed it is sometimes hard to find unrelated bloodlines or the breeder has
chosen to line breed. So sometimes you will see the same dog or bitch used in both the sire and dams
bloodlines. There are pros and cons to this and I will not go into it but do your research.
A great resource to look at the genetics coefficients or breeding schemes is the web site Baza BGS
This is not a complete list of all BMH know but a great resource for conduct research, test matings and asking
questions. If you find the Sire or Dam listed you can look to see what type of testing or show record the dog might have.
Are the parents working dogs?
You would think this is a no brainier when looking for a working dog but each year dogs are imported where
the parents are either couch potato's or show dogs. This does not all ways mean they are not going to make it
as tracking dogs but it does reduce the possibilities. You would need to check the grandparents. If the
grandparents were not hunting stock then I would avoid the pup. The BGS has such strong desire/abilites to
track that it is not lost in a single breeding so if the parents did not work look into the grandparents. If the
grandparents worked then I would consider the pup. The best pups come from tested parents and their
pedigree will have the ISHV stamp on it. This is a stamp of approval that he parents are working dogs. It is
Very important that if you want a dog that you later can breed that the dog come from working bloodlines and
have this stamp on the pedigree to prove it.
You would think this is a no brainier when looking for a working dog but each year dogs are imported where
the parents are either couch potato's or show dogs. This does not all ways mean they are not going to make it
as tracking dogs but it does reduce the possibilities. You would need to check the grandparents. If the
grandparents were not hunting stock then I would avoid the pup. The BGS has such strong desire/abilites to
track that it is not lost in a single breeding so if the parents did not work look into the grandparents. If the
grandparents worked then I would consider the pup. The best pups come from tested parents and their
pedigree will have the ISHV stamp on it. This is a stamp of approval that he parents are working dogs. It is
Very important that if you want a dog that you later can breed that the dog come from working bloodlines and
have this stamp on the pedigree to prove it.
That both parents have at least OFA certified hips before breeding or equivalent testing with the
appropriate agency for that country.
To me this is VERY important. Currently the dogs that have been brought into this country do not have Hip
Dysplasia. With so few dogs in this country all it would take is one dog used for breeding to introduce this
devastating disease to the breed over here. If using the OFFA Scoring the hips should be either 2 A's or an A
and B-1. You do not want anything less than this, not even 2 B's or a B-2 A great resource that show s all of
this is OFFA Hip Grade
The only study I have found was done on BMH from Slovakia,
Slovakia National Vet. Clinic research into Hip Dysplasia in BMH. Brief over view of the paper shows that out
of 272 BMH tested over 6 years ruffly 20% showed signs of Dysplasia. This is enough of a reason for me to
make sure that all dogs that are used for breeding be tested. I personally would not purchase a BMH unless
the parents were tested unless I had something else to go on like a history with that breeder and knew them
well enough. This is not to say that dogs not tested are not free of the disease but why take the chance.
appropriate agency for that country.
To me this is VERY important. Currently the dogs that have been brought into this country do not have Hip
Dysplasia. With so few dogs in this country all it would take is one dog used for breeding to introduce this
devastating disease to the breed over here. If using the OFFA Scoring the hips should be either 2 A's or an A
and B-1. You do not want anything less than this, not even 2 B's or a B-2 A great resource that show s all of
this is OFFA Hip Grade
The only study I have found was done on BMH from Slovakia,
Slovakia National Vet. Clinic research into Hip Dysplasia in BMH. Brief over view of the paper shows that out
of 272 BMH tested over 6 years ruffly 20% showed signs of Dysplasia. This is enough of a reason for me to
make sure that all dogs that are used for breeding be tested. I personally would not purchase a BMH unless
the parents were tested unless I had something else to go on like a history with that breeder and knew them
well enough. This is not to say that dogs not tested are not free of the disease but why take the chance.
| Other things to consider when purchasing a BMH The breeder is following the current FCI (1996) bred standards. The breeder offers a health guarantee. Choose a reputable breeder who is willing to answer any questions about the dog before you purchase it and as long as you own the dogs they are breeding. Look for a breeder who wants to keep informed on the progress of all pups, so that they will know what type of puppies they are turning out in their breeding program. Make sure that the puppy you choose shows no signs of aggression towards anyone at all. The puppy should not be shy nor aggressive. A dog that shows aggression towards anyone should never be breed. Other than when protecting the game from strangers. This is the only time that a BGS should show aggression. The coat (hair) should be dense, close fitting, moderately harsh with little gloss. Finer on the head and leathers, harsher and longer on belly, legs and tail. |
Web site created and maintained by Ken.
Last updated 8-06-11
Last updated 8-06-11
Home , Ken's Bio , BMH's from around the U.S. , Breeding , Health Guarantee , Links ,
Our Dogs , Recoveries , Status , Tracking Services , Training ,
Our Dogs , Recoveries , Status , Tracking Services , Training ,