Do bitches make better blood tracking dogs?

by John Jeanneney, Full Cry October 2009

“Bitches are better!” We’ve all heard these words start an argument in no matter what hunting dog sport. It’s no different when it comes to tracking dogs. And I must say that it’s usually the handlers who have tracked only with bitches who talk the loudest and are the most certain on this point.

Personally I’ve been gathering experience on the gender question for 34 years now and I don’t think it’s all that simple. Male and female dogs have different characters, just as boys and girls do, and these differences are strongest in the adolescent years.

I have found that young female tracking puppies “get it together” sooner than males. They are less rebellious and more eager to please; this makes for easier training. If you cull early, more females will make the grade than males. When it comes to staying focused on the line, they ignore the distractions of hot lines better than their brothers.

Adolescence is the real testing time. It tests the patience of the owner handler almost as much as having a teenage son. I fondly recall my own early teenage years, but I’m sure that my teachers didn’t have the same warm feelings. I was always in trouble and I was kicked out of class a good part of the time. The other spitball shooting wise asses in my class were all males too. This is the common pattern

In dogs adolescence usually begins around nine months of age. It is usually over before age two. In Bavarian Mountain Bloodhounds it is common for it to last for three years. Lab trainers, on the other hand, experience much fewer problems. Tracking dachshunds are somewhere in the middle. If you want to minimize adolescent down time, go with a female puppy.

In adulthood males begin to catch up and surpass many females that looked more promising before maturity I would like to believe that this is true of both dogs and humans. The male brain is working more efficiently now, at least in human, brain wave tests. The stronger disciplinary tactics, required for the “teenage” rebel are no longer necessary. The aggressiveness of the male is now focused on getting important jobs done.

A seasoned male is certainly more convenient to work with than a bitch that comes into heat just when there is the most tracking work to be done. Many bitches really fall apart at this time, but my best bitch ever did a great tracking job on the day she was bred. There are exceptions to every rule.

Whelping is another handicap for bitches. They shouldn’t track for the last four weeks of pregnancy, and then they are occupied with puppies for six weeks more. Once their mammary system is tucked up again, the brain still may not have returned to normal. I had one tracking bitch that completely lost her ability to track a wounded deer, even when there was a decent blood trial, for six months after weaning her pups.

At this point you are probably thinking, “Who needs this!” I’ll spay or neuter my pup; my vet is eager to the job. Wait a minute! Better yet wait a couple of years. For one thing it takes this long to make sure that your dog or bitch has the very superior abilities that would make it suitable for breeding.

There is another factor, which is difficult to explain. A neutered or spayed puppy grows up to be a dog without a gender. If the castration or spaying comes after maturity the gender personality is by then already established, and the surgical operation doesn’t change things very much.

As a handler I find that I can relate better to a dog that is male or a bitch that is female. There is definitely a difference between male and female company, but both mean something special when the handler/dog team are working a tough track on a long cold night. Working with a “steer” just isn’t the same thing. I’ve spoken about this with other experienced handlers, and they agree. They want to track with a canine that is definitely male or definitely female.

Whatever gender you choose is pretty much a matter of personal taste. If you are getting your first tracking partner, a calm, eager-to-please bitch puppy may be your best choice. Just don’t underrate the males. Basic ability is more important than gender.

Speaking for myself I have to admit that my two best tracking dogs ever were two bitches, Clary von Moosbach and Sabina von Moosbach-Zuzelek. But right now my own two top choices for tracking difficult calls are males. We’ve survived their difficult early years together, and now they calm, steady trackers with great desire to find their game.