Blood hounds

Did you find the bloodhound? Or is the bloodhound going to have to find you?

What is a bloodhound?

Many dogs can track deer. They sniff the air or ground where the deer went, and follow it. Much like you might be able to scent track an animal if it had just been skunked. Or like you might be able to follow a perfume trail.

Bloodhounds have a special talent, they are suppose to track the one wounded deer from a whole herd of deer, and when that wounded deer, leaves the herd to lie down and die, the bloodhound must follow the trail left by the dying deer, not go off after the rest of the herd.

That's the story the show bloodhound people tell. I don't track shot deer - but I will give you a link to someone who does - but don't arrive at their site uneducated. Read the rest of this post first.

The truth of the above photos is this: a bloodhound is a dog that tracks wounded animals, you can't tell what a dogs occupation is by looking at him. Any of the dogs in the photos above could be bloodhounds - or none of them.

But, but, but, you say, bloodhounds are red with a black spot and they have big bones and long ears, and droopy skin.

Hmmm. Let me disillusion you. How about I recommend a good wife/ kitchen worker/ caterer? How do I know she is a good cook? Her last name is Cook. And if you want a second recommendation, I know somebody named Baker.

Please calm down, and in a short paragraph, explain to me why Cook & Baker might not be any better in the kitchen than Fletcher & Cooper. I'm serious. Find the words and explain it.

In explaining it to me, have you put your explanation in your brain's memory? Good.

People did not use to have last names. How to say which David you are talking about?

You say David the Cook, David the Baker, David the Fletcher, etc.

At some point the government wrote down peoples names, and people were given their fathers profession as a last name which was then handed down through the generations no matter what your job was.

So you could be a barrel maker named Cook.

Dogs are like that. At one time, bloodhounds tracked wounded animals. Bloodhounds that did not track well, were culls and did not live to reproduce.

But that was before dog shows. Since dog shows started up, the breed split into 2 groups, the ones that actually tracked, and those that had the Bloodhound last name, and DESCEND from dogs that really did track wounded animals.

I guess I could write it like this:
a bloodhound tracks wounded animals,
a Bloodhound descends from dogs that tracked wounded animals.

But few people write names or professions with understanding, so why should I? You could, I'd know you understood. But the name of countries have to be capitalized no matter what, it upsets some people if you fail to capitalized their countrys name.

You could write:
English Pointer (a breed of dog) or
English pointer (a pointing dog from English lines).

German Shepherd Dog (a breed of dog).
German shepherd dog ( a working dog).

Border Collie (show dog, purebred)
Border collie (works sheep, might be purebred).

The capital means the profession is only the dog's last name.

But it isn't a standardized thing. But if you write it that way, you'll think of it that way every time you think whether your writing about a cook or a Cook, a Retriever of a retriever.

So why did I use the bloodhound to illustrate? It's an issue with bloodhound people yes, but, I heard on TV about bloodhounds looking for a girl, and it reminded me that I want to write about a site I found. Go to this blog, and the answer to what a bloodhound is, can be learned from reading there.
http://borntotracknews.blogspot.com/