St. Hubert

The Saint-Hubert dog or Bloodhound is a breed of hunting dog. The International Cynological Federation attributes its origin to the town of Saint-Hubert in Belgium. Use Aside from hunting big game which is its privileged domain (stag, roe deer, wild boar), where it deploys its qualities as a bloodhound, closer, foot dog. Since the dawn of time, it has been used as a search dog. The monks of the Abbey of Saint-Hubert in the Ardennes used it to find lost pilgrims. He found himself expatriated to the USA and England with the nobles who had fled the revolution. In the United States it was used to search for runaway black slaves and Seminole Indians before being used in penitentiaries to find escaped prisoners, then becoming the search and rescue police dog with an infallible flair valid in front. courts. Recently, thanks to the determination of certain breeders, he entered the French gendarmerie and the Belgian, Swiss and German police. Many cases have already been clarified thanks to its ability to discriminate odors that are several days old. Today, it is mainly through its use in hunting that the genetic heritage of this breed is preserved, which is at the origin of a large number of dog breeds of the 6th Group. In France, the number of hunter-users is stable. A potential buyer should, however, be wary of certain farms with shimmering "windows" which hide the fact that one of the interests that is brought to the breeding of Saint-Hubert is the high selling price. Price which seems hardly justified in view of the prices practiced for comparable hound breeds (Grand Bleu de Gascogne, Gascon-Saintongeois...) In Great Britain the Saint-Hubert (Bloodhound) is today frequently used by crews of "Clean-Boot". Recreational sport, derived from hunting with hounds, which consists of having one or two runners "tracked" by a pack (pack). The "Clean-boat" crews, at the beginning of the third millennium, certainly represent the largest "reservoir" of Saint-Hubert with "work" characteristics.

It is said that in the 8th century, Saint Hubert himself raised the ancestors of this dog for hunting with hounds; Hubert was originally from Guyenne. But it was Gaston Phébus who was the first in his "hunting book" to portray a dog that depicts the characteristics that are those of Saint-Hubert. Great Hunter the legend of Saint Hubert was born when one day of hunting, God appeared to him between the "antlers" of the deer he was pursuing. This is how he radically changed his life. After his death, the monks would have kept the breed. Each year they offered the King of France six examples among the most beautiful for the royal hunt. Due to their qualities, these Saint-Hubert dogs were used to put the animal on its feet (the closers). They were, however, neglected by the Huntsmen who preferred faster "new" breeds and said of the Saint-Hubert "that they are better at the lines (on a leash) than uncoupled (in pursuit of the animal)". The Saint-Hubert dog would have arrived in England with William the Conqueror. It is also said that at the same time there was a race of white Saint-Hubert, so the specimens took the name of "talbot" across the Channel. The Saint-Hubert dog almost disappeared in France after the revolution. Its return to France in the 19th century was made from packs preserved across the Channel. The Saint-Hubert then experienced a new era in the packs of Napoleon III. The revival of the breed at that time owes a lot to M Le Coulteux de Canteleu Saint Hubert is celebrated on November 3, the date on which a traditional blessing of the dogs takes place in Tervuren, the place of death of the saint.

A very reserved dog who knows only one master, he is also very sensitive to both compliments and reproaches, affectionate in nature, full of nobility and dignity. Like many dogs intended to hunt by scent, he becomes temporarily deaf when he smells a trail.