Bloodhound
Dogs in General

Can You Escape a Tracking Dog?

James Gray September 13, 2024

Can You Escape a Tracking Dog?

So, you’ve just escaped from prison, and the Bloodhounds are on their way. Can you outsmart one of the most formidable trackers in the animal kingdom? It might seem like a thrilling, high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but outwitting a trained tracking dog is a monumental challenge. Let’s break down what it takes to even attempt an escape and whether you really stand a chance.

First Step: Run!

This might sound obvious, but your first move is to run—and fast! Most tracking dogs are ground-scenting specialists, meaning they follow your trail using the scent particles you leave behind on the ground, like skin cells or sweat. While their sense of smell is incredibly sharp, these dogs are usually on a leash and guided by a handler, which can slow them down. Your advantage is speed and agility, so take the most difficult route possible.

Pick pathways that are tricky for both the dog and handler to traverse. Climb fences, dash through backyards with other dogs that could cause confusion, or run through crowded areas. Urban environments can work in your favor here—take an elevator instead of the stairs to force the handler to check multiple floors. If you’re in the wilderness, take advantage of boulders, trees, and culverts. Each time you go vertical—whether scaling a rock or jumping down into a ravine—you’ll buy yourself some time because the dog will have to scout the area for your descent point.

But remember, dogs are patient trackers. A handler’s doubt in the dog’s accuracy can slow the pursuit, so if you create enough confusion with your route, you might buy more time.

Understanding the Dog’s Superpower: Scent Tracking

A dog’s nose is its most valuable asset. Bloodhounds, in particular, are famed for their tracking ability. Their noses are designed to catch even the faintest scent trails. When a dog tracks you, it’s picking up microscopic skin cells you shed as you move, as well as the scent from ground disturbances where you’ve stepped.

You can’t prevent yourself from shedding skin cells unless you’re wearing a full-body suit, which—let’s face it—would be hard to run in and would leave its own scent. So, while you can’t escape your own biology, you can take measures to confuse the dog.

For instance, sticking to hard surfaces like asphalt or rocks can slow the dog down, since those materials don’t hold scent as well as grass or dirt. This tactic also denies the handler the visual confirmation of footprints, making the job even harder. But don’t count on this alone. A skilled Bloodhound can follow a trail over rocks, roads, and even through water.

Mess with the Handler’s Head

One of your best chances at escape isn’t fooling the dog—it’s confusing the handler. Studies have shown that handlers can inadvertently lead their dogs off track. In one experiment, when handlers were falsely told a particular scent was present, their dogs were more likely to signal that they had found it, even when it wasn’t there. This suggests that the human factor plays a crucial role in a dog’s success rate.

How can you use this to your advantage? Consider leaving misleading clues, like footprints that lead the handler in the wrong direction. For example, allow your footprints to be visible as you head toward a rocky area, then leap off a trail onto something hard, like a boulder, leaving no prints. The handler might believe you’ve followed a straightforward path, while you’ve actually backtracked and doubled back on your trail, taking a hidden exit.

Streams and rivers won’t wash away your scent, but they can add confusion. A skilled dog can still follow your trail across water, but if you’ve carefully crafted a scenario that misleads the handler—such as visible footprints leading to the stream, followed by backtracking—the team might waste precious time searching along the wrong path. The key here is subtlety; the handler’s doubt in the dog’s precision might make them second-guess their approach, allowing you more time to escape.

The Science of Backtracking: Can Dogs Tell?

For years, it was believed that dogs couldn’t tell the direction of a track. More recent research, however, shows that trained tracking dogs can indeed determine which way a trail is headed, sometimes in as few as five footsteps. The reason? It’s believed that the freshest scent particles are stronger and easier to detect, allowing the dog to distinguish between the start and end of a trail.

If you’re hoping to fool a Bloodhound by backtracking, it won’t be easy. A dog can usually figure out the correct direction by the subtle differences in scent freshness. However, one odd finding from a 2003 study revealed that dogs led at right angles to a trail were better at identifying left-to-right tracks than right-to-left tracks. So, if you’re going to try backtracking, go left! Still, this quirk won’t guarantee success, but it might add a few extra minutes to your escape window.

Distraction Tactics: What Works and What Doesn’t

You’ve probably seen movies where fugitives use creative tactics like pepper spray or smelly fish to confuse or distract tracking dogs. While it makes for good entertainment, these tricks rarely work in real life. Survival experts often suggest using pepper spray on your trail or boots to overwhelm the dog’s nose, but in practice, this is unlikely to stop a trained Bloodhound. Pepper spray might cause discomfort or slow the dog down temporarily, but these canines are highly resilient and focused. A momentary distraction is not enough to throw them off for long.

The Mythbusters TV show put several common dog-evading techniques to the test in multiple episodes. Their findings? Even the most creative tricks—such as zigzagging, backtracking, crossing rivers, changing clothes, covering the trail with coffee grounds or pepper—failed to stump the Bloodhound. In every test, the dogs eventually tracked down their target, often with impressive speed. The takeaway? It’s incredibly difficult to beat a dog’s nose, no matter how many tricks you try.

So, Can You Escape a Tracking Dog?

The short answer is: not easily. A Bloodhound’s nose is a biological marvel, capable of following even the faintest trails over varying terrain and through multiple obstacles. While you might be able to slow them down with clever tactics like using difficult terrain, creating confusing footprints, or misdirecting the handler, the odds are stacked against you.

In the end, your best strategy is to avoid the need to escape in the first place. Whether you’re evading Bloodhounds in the woods or navigating life’s obstacles, the lesson is the same: it’s far easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of it. When it comes to escaping a tracking dog, you can run—but you probably won’t hide for long.