The breeds · scenthound · blood tracker

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 217

Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound.

FCI 217: a specialist for the search of hoofed game (Group 6 Scenthounds, Section 2 Leash hounds, with working trial); must show all the abilities required for the more difficult search, confirmed by working trials. UKC: a lighter leash-trailing scenthound bred for mountainous regions, the classic companion of the professional hunter and gamekeeper in the Bavarian mountains..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

20 / 18INHeightdogs 19.5, bitches 18. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

37–66LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 37 to 66.1 lb; breed bitches 37.5 to 66 lb.

2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC). AKC energy band 4 of 5, mental stimulation 4 of 5 (AKC's own bands).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 19.5 in (17 to 20.5) · bitches 18 in (17 to 20.5)

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

UKC prints 17 to 19, FCI 17.3 to 18.9; low and high use the wider UKC figures. Center is the midpoint. Low/high widened at key 2 to include the AKC breed-page figure (Chad's show-every-source rule: the filter finds the dog under any cited source); the standards' own ranges stay in the text.

Weight

dogs 37 to 66.1 lb · bitches 37.5 to 66 lb

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI 'ideally' figure. Conversion kg x 2.2046. Low/high widened at key 2 to include the AKC breed-page figure (Chad's show-every-source rule: the filter finds the dog under any cited source); the standards' own ranges stay in the text.

Coat

Dense, close-fitting, moderately harsh, little gloss (FCI) / dense, close fitting and harsh (UKC); finer on head and ears, harsher and longer on belly, legs and tail. Colors: deep red, deer red, reddish brown, tan, fawn to biscuit, reddish grey, brindled or interspersed with black hairs; small light 'Bracken star' on chest allowed. UKC: black and tan is a serious fault. RKC: short coat, sheds.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI 217 and UKC agree on the coat.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Dense, close-fitting, moderately harsh coat with little gloss; finer on head and leathers, harsher and longer on belly, legs and tail (FCI 217; UKC agrees).

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

Derived from the standard's coat description (short dense = 4). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day (RKC). AKC energy band 4 of 5, mental stimulation 4 of 5 (AKC's own bands).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band = 150 min by the ruled mapping. Per the shared-FCI-standard ruling the RKC page describes the UK population of the same FCI standard; applied here as the only exercise source.

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

2 of 5 · Once a week (RKC). AKC coat grooming frequency 2 of 5, shedding 3 of 5.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'Once a week' = 2.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI 217 utilization; UKC history. FCI: bred from Hanoverian Scenthounds crossed with red mountain scenthounds after 1870 by Baron Karg-Bebenburg; KBGS (founded 1912, Munich) is the only recognized club in Germany.

Primary game

Wounded hoofed (cloven-hoofed) game, tracked after the shot, in mountain country (FCI: specialist for the search of hoofed game). North American use reported by UBT and TPW is wounded deer.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI says 'hoofed game' without a species list; deer is from the UBT and TPW sources.

Also used on

North America: blood tracking of wounded deer and other big game on United Blood Trackers certification lines (UBT lists the breed as 'Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound'); a Texas handler reported tracking 20 to 30 deer a year with his Bavarian mountain scenthound (TPW magazine, 2014).

Breed clubUnited Blood Trackers

UBT breed page; TPW magazine account (one handler).

Range

Close, on lead: a leash hound worked on the line by the handler; the TPW handler notes Texas lets tracking dogs run off-leash while many states require the lead.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

No published range figure. FCI 217 calls the breed a leash (scent) hound. Marked as the standards' own description.

Search pattern

Leash hound: 'Bracken' have the finest nose for ground scent and trail, are firm on scent with a strongly developed will to follow a trail and give tongue readily (FCI 217 history); FCI separates the Leithund (cold, natural scent only) from the Schweisshund (the trail of wounded game). UBT: can track old cold lines out to 48 hours and sometimes beyond; slow to mature, sometimes up to 3 years and many tracks to become their best; not for someone who tracks only 4 or 5 animals a year. TPW handler: a very methodical tracker, much slower than lacy dogs and some other breeds, but he shines on an old track.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI 217 history paragraph; UBT breed page; one handler quoted in TPW (editorial). The 48-hour claim is UBT's statement, not a measured test result.

Field trial standard

FCI 217: with working trial; the breed's usefulness must be confirmed by the relevant working trials (the German breed club KBGS's Schweisshund tests). North America: United Blood Trackers tests UBT I (about 400 to 500 yards, at least 2 hours), UBT II (800 to 900 yards, at least 8 hours, up to 20 overnight), UBT-OL (off lead), UBT III (3 to 5 turns plus challenges), all with 8 oz of deer blood (or hooves and 3 oz). A UBT-sanctioned test seen by TPW: trail 12 hours old, at least 800 yards.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2017

FCI 217; UBT Chapter 3 (Feb 2025); TPW 2014. The KBGS test rules (Pruefungsordnung, Riemenarbeit age and length) were not opened; see open_gaps.

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 2; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 3; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Bayerischer Gebirgsschweisshund, BGS, Bavarian Mountain Hound, Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound

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