Are Scent Hounds worth getting?

[White, the Loiterer]

I have a bad habit of losing animals after I wound them. So I figured grabbing a Scent Hound could remedy that?

I simply ask, how good are they at their job?

[LeeMax]

If they're anything like the retrievers, they need to be trained. They'll start out not very smart or cooperative and get better the more you use them.

[Legion]

i got one the other day and they are smarter than the retrievers but they still need some training. I recommend a hound if you constantly lose your game.

They help alot when tracking wounded animals, I just wish they could track healthy animals as well.

[White, the Loiterer]

Can they ONLY be trained via treats or do they just help?

[Whaaaaaaaatt]

They earn a bit of XP each time they follow a command.

[White, the Loiterer]

Thanks for the answers everyone.

No doubt the hound will prove of invaluable use during the countless bumbles that shall ensue when I try bow hunting.

[pinwolf]

It's no real help and generates more gm$ costs and needs time to make it moderate effective. But it malso makes gameplay more "interesting".

I have one at level 18. Got it in a sale bundle. I actually like it more than I thought I would and take it with me on the hunt every time. But it's more for gameplay immersion and to make the gameplay a little more challenging, because one has to plan and do more to hunt successful with a dog. If you want to ambush you always have to plan and command to place the dog etc.

In the beginning with untrained dog it's a lot more harder because the dog will spook the other animals more when he is not always disciplined. He also will mostly loose the tracks when searching. I have my now on level 18 and he is *sometimes* a help to find a wounded animal, but I would still be more effective alone in most cases.

So if you buy one, don't expect help and more easy game. It's the other way around. You have more to do and the game get's actually harder. I actually like it that way.

You can buy dog treat for gm$ to level more faster, but you have to do it constantly. So you better have lot's of unused gm$.

Also Dog GPS is necessary if you hunt in enviroment like Settlers Creek or Rougarou Bayou.

[White, the Loiterer]

Originally posted by HaddockA:

Originally posted by WarlordOfRome:

I have a bad habit of losing animals after I wound them

That's because you've only killed 105 animals so far, your tracking skills aren't leveled up high enough,

Ah, I was unaware of the improved accuracy that came from a higher tracking skill. I always though it was just to eventually understand the distance to the animal and where you hit the animal if it was wounded.

Thanks.

[Bumblewoot]

My scent hound Petunya is level 20 currently. 9 out of 10 times I can track faster than her; however to level her up, I let her do the tracking. They level the fastest simply by tracking. The dog treats do not really do much.

They are best at tracking deer species, and (at level 20 anyay) she really struggles with bear. On bad body shots where the blood stops and the animal will live on, the dog will lose the track. The dog also has trouble tracking across water. If it is a lung or intestine hit, the dog will find it, but in these cases normally the dog is not needed. Use the dog to track these though just to level it.

Where I have appreciated the dog the most is bow hunting. Specifically longbow hunting elk bulls. If I get a body shot on a elk bull, the wound time can be 20min. With arrows and bolts, the bleeding never stops so the dog is able to track the entire time. And helps the most if elk hit the border or the water and makes unpredictable turns.

Tracking animals on body bow hits is where the scent hound shines.

Bad rifle shots the hound is usually no help, as the bleeding stops.

Hope this helps,

Bumblewoot

P.S.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, hunting with a scent hound is a different style of hunt as you have to manage the dog. Beofre a shot, or when calling in a animal, make sure to command it to stay so it lays down. When it is in 'stay' it has pretty much a 0m spook radius. ALso when tracking if you are walking then the dog will bark when it finds the animals, if sneaking it wil not bark when it has found the animal.