Hanover Hound

Hanover Hound

The Hanover Hound is an asset to hunters and experienced dog owners.

A Hanover Hound is a popular companion for hunters or the search and rescue services. This is mainly due to its fine sense of smell and passion for retrieval. When it isn’t busy tracking, it is even-tempered, gentle and friendly. Find out in our breed description what you should offer these dogs in return.

Hanover Hound Breed Information

Breed information: The Hanover Hound is a medium-sized, strong thoroughbred bloodhound, which puts all its strength, endurance and devotion into tracking work. Besides hunting, this breed is calm and friendly.
Shoulder height: 48 – 55cm
Weight: 25 – 40kg
Average life expectancy: 10-14 years
Price: From several thousand pounds upwards, possibly exceeding £5000.
Nature: Pronounced hunting instinct, calm, friendly, intelligent, affectionate
Fur: Short and thick
Fur colour: Light to dark deer red, more or less brindled, with or without facial mask
Training requirements: Low
Care requirements: Low
Exercise requirements: High
Origin: Germany

Appearance: Medium-Sized and Well-Proportioned

The forehead is slightly wrinkled and the dark eyes sparkle expressively: a Hanover Hound, sometimes also known as a Hanoverian Hound, typically looks serious.

This isn’t surprising: After all, this bloodhound breed has an important job to complete. Hanover Hounds are pros at tracking injured animals and are assisted by their broad nose with wide-open nostrils.

How Big Does a Hanover Hound Get?

Hanover Hounds are a medium-sized dog breed. They can grow between 48 and 55 centimetres in size and reach between 25 and 40 kilograms in weight.

Since running is also one of their tasks, Hanover Hounds are well-proportioned and powerfully built. Their limbs are strong and muscular, and the chest is broad and deep, so that these four-legged friends don’t get out of breath even when covering long distances in the woods.

Another typical feature of Hanover Hounds are their high-set floppy ears, which hang down close to their head and are bluntly rounded at the bottom.

Hanover Hound
Typical Hanover Hound: serious expression and adorable floppy ears.

In Which Colours is This Breed Found?

Typical of the breed is a red base colour, which ranges from light to dark deer red and may be more or less brindled. There are dogs with or without a facial mask, whilst those with small white markings on the chest are still considered true representatives of this dog breed.

The Hanover Hound’s fur is short, thick and coarse. It is somewhat longer and coarser only on the rear edge of the thighs and the lower side of the tail, which is set high and slightly curved with Hanover Hounds.

Why the Bloodhound?

This breed is classed as a bloodhound. ‘Blood’ refers to the blood of game that has been shot or injured in traffic.

Dogs pick up this ‘blood track’ and help hunters to find game after it has been shot. This is also referred to as retrieval.

A Hanover Hound is an intelligent thoroughbred bloodhound. It carries out its work passionately and with full commitment. When doing so, it benefits from its strong concentration ability and pronounced hunting instinct. It is also defined by its calm and confident nature.

However, this doesn’t mean that bloodhounds only think of hunting 24/7. On the contrary, they seek out affection from and proximity to their owner after completing their work.

Compatibility and Trainability

The Hanover Hound is quite reserved and discerning towards strangers and won’t cuddle with just anyone. On the other hand, it is friendly and open towards other dogs.

Thanks to its intelligence and composure, the Hanover Hound is easy to train. It radiates calm and expects this from its owner too when training – as well as a certain degree of experience. Hence, these professional hunting dogs aren’t suitable for beginners not in the hunting profession.

Hanover Hound
Hanover Hound

A Hanover Hound isn’t just easy to care for due to its inner values. This attractive four-legged friend’s short fur also makes it easier to handle:

  • Occasional brushing is sufficient for grooming its short fur.
  • After outdoor excursions, you should check your dog from head to paw in order to detect parasites or any injuries.
  • Keep the floppy ears clean through regular ear cleaning

There is a large selection of care products available for your dog in the zooplus online store.

With its calm demeanor and strong character, the Hanover Hound makes an excellent new family member, but only if you are prepared to meet its special needs.

City or Countryside?

This breed won’t be happy in a city apartment. Instead, it needs an environment in which it can pursue its favourite activities. It is happiest in close proximity to woods and nature, where it can carry out the tasks that it was originally bred for.

For Whom is The Hanover Hound Suitable?

Experienced families of hunters, police officers or members of a rescue dog association can offer the Hanover Hound the necessary tasks and level of activity that it requires on a daily basis.

Bloodhounds are hunting specialists trained in retrieval by their breeders. To keep them sharp, they need experienced owners who can provide them with regular tasks, such as hunting or search and rescue.

Hence, the Hanover Hound needs to be regularly challenged and to get plenty of exercise. For the often energy-sapping missions involved with hunting or rescue operations, dogs and owners need a high level of fitness, which you can maintain with dog sport like man-trailing.

Food recommendations for active Hanover Hounds:

Since the job of bloodhounds is physically very demanding, their breeders make sure they are in robust health. There are no known frequently occurring hereditary diseases that affect Hanover Hounds.
In order to guarantee a healthy breed, breeders regularly examine their charges for ailments such as hip dysplasia and only allow healthy dogs to take part in breeding.

What Age Do Hanover Hounds Reach?

If kept in a species-appropriate way with diligent care, your Hanover hound will reach 10 to 14 years of age. On average, most dogs of this breed reach 12 years of age.

The Hanover Hound is a German dog breed and emerged almost unchanged from the so-called leader of the pack. This hunting dog breed from the Middle Ages was considered to have a particularly good sense of smell. It is assumed today that it was a German Hound.

When firearms became an integral part of hunting, the requirements of the leader of the pack also changed. Hence, it was developed into a bloodhound, which from then on was bred for tracking down big game that had been shot.

Training at The Elite School

In the 17th century, the royal House of Hanover founded the Jägerhof, an elite school where both hunters as well as horses and hunting dogs learnt the art of hunting. The stature and colour of bloodhounds was further developed at the Jägerhof.

The Hirschmann Association has overseen this dog breed since 1894 with the aim of maintaining pedigree breeding. Shortly after the association was founded, the name Hanover Hound, which is still known to this day, was coined for these Hanoverian dogs.

Further Development of The Hanover Hound

The Bavarian Mountain Hound originated from crossing Hanover Hounds and German Hounds. Although it looks physically similar to the Hanover Hound, the southern German variety is smaller and more mobile, therefore better suited to working in the mountains.

Buying a Hanover Hound: Where Are These Hunting Pros?

In the United Kingdom, the traditional way to obtain a Hanover Hound is through the Hanoverian Hound Society (HHS), dog shows or online search (e.g. breeder directories).

What Does a Hanover Hound Cost?

A Hanover Hound currently costs from several thousand pounds upwards, possibly exceeding £5000. For this price, you get a staunch and robust dog guaranteed to meet the breed standards.

Conclusion: An Ideal Dog for Hunters, Police Officers and Rescue Workers

The hurdles of owning a Hanover Hound are significant. Although these dogs are easy to groom and train, they pose significant requirements in terms of housing.
However, if you have experience with hunting or rescue dogs and can offer a four-legged friend regular missions, a Hanover Hound makes a perfect companion for you and your family.

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