The Bavarian Mountain Hound (German: ''Bayerischer Gebirgsschweißhund'') is a

breed of dog A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slight ...

from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. As a

scent hound Franz Rudolf Frisching in the uniform of an officer of the Bernese Huntsmen Corps with his Berner Laufhund, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Scent hounds (or scenthounds) are a Dog type, type of hound that primarily hunts by scent rather than ...

, it has been used in Germany since the early 20th century to trail wounded game. It is a cross between the Bavarian Hound and the

Hanover Hound The Hanover Hound is a breed of dog sometimes referred to as a Hanoverian Hound. It is a hunting and tracking dog descended from bloodhounds of medieval times. It was first introduced into France in the 1980s and is still a very rare breed. ...

Appearance

The Bavarian Mountain Hound's head is strong and elongated. The skull is relatively broad and slightly domed. It has a pronounced stop and a slightly curved nosebridge. The muzzle should be broad with solid jaws, and its lips fully covering the mouth. Its nose is black or dark red with wide nostrils. Its ears are high set and medium in length. They are broader at the base and rounded at the tips, hanging heavily against the head. Its body is slightly longer than it is tall and slightly raised at the rump. The neck medium in length, strong, with a slight dewlap. Topline sloping slightly upward from withers to hindquarters. Chest well-developed, long, moderately wide, and well let-down with a slight tuck-up. It has a long, fairly straight croup and solid back. While its tail is set on high, medium in length and hanging to the hock, carried level to the ground or hanging down.

Size

Bavarian Mountain Hounds weigh between 20 and 25 kg, males are high, while females are .

Coat and color

The coat is short, thick and shiny, lying very flat against the body, and moderately harsh. It is finer on the head and ears, harsher and longer on the abdomen, legs, and tail. Its coat can come in all shades of black-masked fawn or brindle.

Temperament

Bavarian Mountain Hounds are calm, poised, and very attached to their masters and family. When hunting, they are hard, single-minded, and persistent, courageous, spirited, fast, and agile, they are at ease on a rugged terrain, with a superb nose and powerful hunting instinct. However, they need a patient, experienced trainer. Friendly and playful, they have great personalities.

Care

The Bavarian Mountain is not suited for city life. It is in regular need of space and exercise and also requires regular brushing. They are not dogs for the casual hunter. Most are owned and used by foresters and game wardens.

History

The Bavarian Mountain Dog was developed in the 19th century by crossbreeding specimens of the Hannoversche Schweißhund breed and hunting dogs from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

. The result was a hunting dog ideal for the work in the mountains. In 1912, the "Klub für Bayrische Gebirgsschweißhunde", (Club for Bavarian Mountain hound), was founded in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Afterwards, this breed started gaining popularity in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. The Bavarian Mountain Dog specialises in tracking injured big game following the traces of blood the prey loses after being shot.

References

{{German dogs FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Germany Scent hounds