Hunting the clean boot is a term that has been used in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

to refer to the use of packs of

bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ...

s to follow a natural human scent trail. The 'clean boot' refers to the absence of either an artificial scent such as

aniseed Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...

, as used in

drag hunting Drag hunting or draghunting is a form of equestrian sport, where mounted riders hunt the trail of an artificially laid scent with hounds. Description Drag hunting is conducted in a similar manner to fox hunting, with a field of mounted riders fol ...

, or animal urine, as used in trail hunting. Whilst today the term has become synonymous with the use of bloodhound packs, most breeds of dog can be taught the skill individually with varying degrees of success. Typically, clean boot hunts are run along similar lines to fox hunting (now prohibited in Great Britain), with a field of mounted riders following a pack of bloodhounds which trails the scent of a runner. Like other forms of mounted hunting with hounds, hunting the clean boot usually occurs in the autumn, winter and early spring. In order to improve the speed, agility and pack hunting instincts of the bloodhound, the

Dumfriesshire Hound Dumfriesshire Black and Tan Foxhounds were a pack of foxhounds kennelled at Glenholm Kennels, Kettleholm, near Lockerbie until they were disbanded in 2001. They were established by Sir John Buchanan Jardine, author of ''Hounds of the World'' (19 ...

was used by several packs as an

outcross Out-crossing or out-breeding is the technique of crossing between different breeds. This is the practice of introducing distantly related genetic material into a breeding line, thereby increasing genetic diversity. Outcrossing can be a usefu ...

References

External links

Masters of Draghounds and Bloodhounds Association, ''bloodhoundhunting.co.uk''
retrieved 17 August 2017.

retrieved 17 August 2017.
Belgian Clean Boot Hunting, ''cleanboothunting.be''
(only available in Dutch and French), retrieved 17 August 2017. Dog sports Equestrian sports Hunting Hunting with hounds {{hunting-stub

See also

References

External links