Sleuth-Hound

This old breed was developed in Scotland from the Talbot Hound, Scottish Deerhound, English Mastiff and possibly the Russian Bloodhound and the St.Hubert Hound in the 1300's, before eventually becoming assimilated into the modern Bloodhound breed during the 17th century. The Sleuth-Hound was used for hunting large game and guarding property, but was also commonly employed to track people, primarily thieves and escaped convicts on the Scottish-English border region. This ferocious working dog would not only trail its prey, be it animal or human, but would also attack them, earning the reputation of a vicious breed. In the 1800's, the Sleuth-Hound was regarded by some to be the Bloodhound's ancestor, while others claimed these two dogs to be the same breed. The English variety of the Sleuth-Hound also had the imported Cuban Bloodhound crossed into it and was reportedly even more vicious than the dogs of Scotland, but this short-lived creation was most likely just a working sub-type in the border region. The Sleuth-Hound was also influential in the creation of some other breeds, most notably the rare Scottish Dumfriesshire Foxhound, the now-extinct Old Texas Bloodhound and the mighty Fila Brasileiro. With the development of the modern Bloodhound breed as an even-tempered, trainable and reliable working dog, those strains that carried blood of the Scottish Sleuth-Hound were no longer popular in England due to their aggressive nature and these bloodlines eventually vanished, as did the old Sleuth-Hound itself.

Said to had been a colossal dog, the Scottish Sleuth-Hound was taller and heavier than the Bloodhound, being more mastiff-like in features, with a larger head, smaller ears and tighter skin than English dogs. This tenacious breed was broad-shuldered and deep-chested, valued for its great stamina, strength and drive.

The coat was short, hard and flat, usually red, black, black-n-tan or brindle in colour, oftentimes with white markings on the feet and chest, but also found in tan shades with a black saddle on the back, a colouring now commonly associated with the modern Bloodhound. Average height was around 32 inches.