Breeds / Medium
Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound puppies
A quiet, serious German tracking hound bred to follow wounded game over mountains. It is calm and devoted with its own handler, reserved with strangers, and it needs a real working outlet rather than a garden.
The facts
- Size class Medium
- Country of origin Germany
- Adult weight 16.8 to 29.9 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 37 to 66 lb
- Adult height 43 to 52 cm
- Energy level High
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Short smooth
- Typical lifespan 12 to 15 years
- Good with children Fine with supervision
- Good with other dogs Fine with supervision
Where these come from:
About the Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound
The Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound was created in Germany by crossing the heavier Hanoverian scent hound with lighter local hounds, producing a dog agile enough to track wounded game across steep alpine ground. It is a lean, deep chested hound of 43 to 52cm and 16.8 to 29.9kg, with a short harsh coat, a serious expression and a notably quiet manner. It bonds tightly to one handler, stays reserved with strangers, and settles indoors in a way that surprises people expecting a noisy hound.
This is a working breed first, and most are owned by foresters and game wardens. It rates well for trainability and low for barking, but it needs hours of physical and mental work daily, and it does badly in a flat or a small garden, since a bored one climbs fences and digs. Grooming is light: a regular brush, plus ears, nails and teeth. The mistake buyers make is wanting the calm indoor dog without providing the tracking, scent work and long hill walks that produce it.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A medium breed puppy at eight weeks is a manageable armful that will not stay that way. Most of the growth happens between now and six months, so buy for the adult dog where you can. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Hip dysplasia, screened by hip evaluation and x-ray of breeding stock
- Epilepsy, diagnosed by ruling out other causes of seizures
- Ear infections, because the drop ears hold wax and moisture, so ears need regular checking and cleaning
From Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bavarian-mountain-scent-hound/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Medium for a Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 16.8 to 29.9 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other medium breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.