Is a Bavarian Mountain Hound the dog for you?




I had never heard of a Bavarian Mountain Hound before my partner, Anton, broached the topic of getting one. We already had two black Labs, a terrier, and two cats. As far as I was concerned, our animal family was complete.

All of our animals worked. The two farmers worked with Anton during bird season to retrieve pheasants, woodcocks, snipes and ducks. The terrier would catch any rats around our farm and the cats would catch mice and leave their headless carcasses on our front step. Anton, however, felt that there was room for one more animal in our herd; a Bavarian Mountain Hound to help him track down live and injured deer during deer season. Similar to a Beagle in size but reddish-brown in color with a black face, it has a short coat and weighs about 70 pounds when fully grown. Hunters use this breed when tracking deer to shoot or when wounding a deer but still able to run. They are bred to track deer through the mountains of Bavaria and can track an injured deer for miles.

I had a hard time persuading. The animals we already had were expensive and very hard, yet rewarding, work. Bavarian Mountain Dogs are relatively new to Ireland so it was difficult to find other people to ask questions about the breed. I researched everything I could online and while I didn’t find anything objectionable about them, they still didn’t sell me. Because they are a rare breed in Ireland, we knew that if we wanted one, we would have to be on a waiting list. Anton made some preliminary calls and, to his disappointment, he discovered that there were only a handful of breeders in Ireland and that all of his puppies were booked for that year. I was relieved because it meant I had more time to make sure this was the race for us. I had some specific concerns about the race. First of all, we live in a rural community and had read that they were not reliable without lead if they picked up an odor. We let our dogs run free around our house often and I was afraid a Bavarian Mountain Hound might run too far or worse, chase the neighboring sheep.

We get on with our lives and put the dog out of our minds. A few weeks passed when a breeder from Northern Ireland contacted Anton. He had been disappointed by someone who had booked a male puppy and he wanted to know if we would be interested. We talked about it for a few days and Anton had long talks with the breeder and we finally decided to give it a try. The puppy was eight weeks old when we decided we wanted him. The breeder recommended that we name him now and collect him when he was sixteen weeks old, that way I could do preliminary training with him. He also invited Anton for a day to do some hunting so he could watch his mother and father work. We were both happy with this arrangement and decided to call our newest addition Riley.

A few weeks later, Anton made the long trip to Northern Ireland to pick up Riley. He met his mother Heidi and his father Alfie and spent time with the breeder learning about our new pet. When they got home, I met Riley at the door and fell in love instantly. Lanky and shy at first, he followed me into the living room and climbed onto my lap.

Riley was definitely not what he expected the breed to be. All the research he did before bringing him home was helpful, but he had a lot more to learn. He was adorable, like all puppies, with his big dark face and long clumsy legs. We kept him by our side for the first few days as we had with all of our puppies. Unlike our other pups, Riley was very calm and not prone to the random outbursts of emotion that we had experienced with Labradors and terriers. He loved our company and, unlike the crazy Beagle-type dog he expected, he was lazy and loved lounging by the fire. At night he went to his pen in our shed with the other dogs and didn’t cry or bark. He was a far cry from the separation anxiety all of our other dogs had experienced and, in short, he couldn’t believe our luck.

Our first insight into the negative traits of the breed was a few days after we brought Riley home. He was so calm and didn’t seem anxious about being in the pen at night, so we didn’t think to leave him alone in our living room while we went shopping. We drew our curtains so the cats couldn’t bother him at the window and set off on our short trip. This was a big mistake. When we got back home, I immediately noticed that the curtains were now open. On closer inspection, they were not open. They had been cut in half. Yes, our wonderful, calm and placid puppy was, in fact, a normal puppy after all.

Riley is almost a year old and the Bavarian Mountain Hound is my favorite breed of dog. He is loyal, intelligent, and a fantastic hunting partner for Anton. They tracked many deer together this season and although he is lazy and loves to laze by the fire at home, when he hunts he is dedicated and committed and can go for miles. As he demonstrated by destroying my beautiful curtains, he hates being alone and is very destructive when left alone inside for too long. As I write this, he is curled up next to me with his head on my shoulder. He is fiercely loyal and affectionate towards his owners, as is typical of the breed. He gets along with the other dogs, but he definitely sees himself more as a human than a dog and seeks human company over canine. His hunting instinct makes him chase the poor cats if they get in his way, but he is kind and loving with children. He is not a guard dog, where Labradors and terriers will bark at the house if they hear someone outside, he will barely raise his head from the bed.

If you’re considering adding a Bavarian Mountain Hound to your family, there are a few things you should seriously consider. Do you have an interest in hunting? These dogs are scent driven and it is in their nature to hunt. They enjoy tracking over any other form of play and exercise. Do you have a lot of time to spend with the dog on a daily basis? This breed adores their owners and gets very upset when they can’t be with them. Can you commit to loving and caring for a dog for about fourteen years? If you can answer yes to these questions and decide to adopt a Bavarian Mountain Hound, you will find yourself a loyal and loving companion for years to come. Adding Riley to our family was one of the best decisions we have ever made, I hope this article helps you make the right decision for your animal family.

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