Bloodhound

[Geronimo]

I've trained hunting dogs all my life, and really enjoyed the Hunter Classic retrievers.

When CoTW came out with the bloodhound I waited to see if bugs needed patching, and to read reviews.

It's been awhile now and most reviews are positive so I'm excited to start training my hound today.

Any advice upfront would be appreciated. I know I can google alot of info, and earlier posts have been made, but it all seems outdated.

[Buckshot]

The bloodhound in CoTW sucks. When moving (walking or running) it makes too much noise. Realistically, the bloodhound should weigh...what...40 or 50 pounds, but it sounds like something that weighs closer to 200 pounds. I play with a headset, and seriously there is no difference in sound between the bloodhound and a bear or moose. I can not beginning to count the number of times I have been trampled by wildlife because I did not hear wildlife running toward me over the sound of the bloodhound. I am no expert but a 40 or 50 pound animal should not be so heavy on its feet. Even when standing still and slightly turning your head, the bloodhound tramples around like bigfoot. Many times I have found when I am walking or running and come to a complete stop because I think I hear wildlife, the dog keeps walking or running in circles and it drowns out any sound from any wildlife. IMO the bloodhound in CoTW still needs work.

I almost wish it was possible for there to be a simple key press to instantly put the dog into the kennel or release it from the kennel. Instead, you first have to set up your tent and then click on kennel and then drop your dog off and then take your tent down. By then you are either trampled or the wildlife you were tracking has long disappeared.

I suck at tracking wildlife I have injured/shot at, so that is the only reason I take the dog with me on hunting trips. Otherwise I prefer to hunt alone so its only my footprints/steps that make noise.

One final point I wish to add here. A lot of times when I am tracking an animal and am in the crouched position, when I raise my rifle to look through the scope, the dog walks right in the way and then I cant take the shot. That is beyond irritating to me. I quietly as possible follow the footprints of the animal I am tracking and get into a good position for a shot, and then as soon as I raise my rifle to take a shot, the dog steps in front of me and I am blocked from taking the shot. It makes my blood boil when that happens.

[James]

There was a bug introduced to the bloodhound in the September patch, as far as I know.
The studio know this and is looking into it. The sound and behavior was affected.

Before September, I really enjoyed training my dog and he became my faithful companion tracking down every animal I shot. Also warning me from spooking nearby animals and finding droppings as we just wandered the woods. Saved me from a few predator attacks as well.

I was going to train my second dog, but the sound bug kept me from it. Instead, I'll ground him in the kennel unless a fix comes out soon. I hope EW come out with a hotfix for the dog so that we all can go back to the hunting we're used to.

As for training the dog, make sure to bring him/her along on every hunt. Choose the perks/skills to your liking as he/she is leveling up. I missed the "howl" perk that would be really useful when I can not see him/her... After completing the training, the hunts begin :)

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by James:

There was a bug introduced to the bloodhound in the September patch, as far as I know.
The studio know this and is looking into it. The sound and behavior was affected.

Before September, I really enjoyed training my dog and he became my faithful companion tracking down every animal I shot. Also warning me from spooking nearby animals and finding droppings as we just wandered the woods. Saved me from a few predator attacks as well.

I was going to train my second dog, but the sound bug kept me from it. Instead, I'll ground him in the kennel unless a fix comes out soon. I hope EW come out with a hotfix for the dog so that we all can go back to the hunting we're used to.

As for training the dog, make sure to bring him/her along on every hunt. Choose the perks/skills to your liking as he/she is leveling up. I missed the "howl" perk that would be really useful when I can not see him/her... After completing the training, the hunts begin :)

Preciate the heads up James. Guess it's best for me to wait a bit longer as well.

[Buckshot]

Thanks James. Glad to hear its a bug and they are aware of it.

[Neutral1]

I found the bloodhound to be very useful from the very beginning. I would always have trouble tracking hit animals. Now with the hound, I just need to go to a blood mark, and he has tracked each animal expeditiously.

[Buckshot]

Thats odd. Many times my dog loses the blood trail. Ill trade you bloodhounds. Haha.

[Geronimo]

I started my hound yesterday.

I think you really need to do the actual basic training to get the most out of your dog.

Many players probably just start hunting with it immediately and than have trouble because they didn't do the proper training and levelling.

I've reached level six quickly, and did alot of sit, lay, stay, heel lessons before even tracking anything.

If you want a good quarry for tracking practice, try the pronghorns in SRP and head to the area just northeast of the bison outpost. There's plenty of them and they tend to return readily after being spooked.

The trick is to gutshoot them with a lower caliber so they run for a ways which gives the dog a chance to follow a longer trail.

I'm impressed with how good this dog works, and have no problems with its obedience.

Without training in that obedience you will have an unruly, wandering dog.

[Buckshot]

Considering you say you just got your dog yesterday, and you seem to be such a professional in dog trainiing already, you should ask the admins of this forum to make you a special title named "CoTW Professional Dog Trainer".

By the way, my first dog I had in this game I trained to the max and am well on my way to maxing out my second one :)

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Buckshot:

Considering you say you just got your dog yesterday, and you seem to be such a professional in dog trainiing already, you should ask the admins of this forum to make you a special title named "CoTW Professional Dog Trainer".

By the way, my first dog I had in this game I trained to the max and am well on my way to maxing out my second one :)

Lol, very funny Bucky!

But seriously, no awards or recognition necessary. I was just pointing out that, because of my real life interests, this gaming dynamic was one I eagerly awaited.

And why spend 50 grand just to change appearance?

[Buckshot]

Originally posted by Geronimo:

Originally posted by Buckshot:

Considering you say you just got your dog yesterday, and you seem to be such a professional in dog trainiing already, you should ask the admins of this forum to make you a special title named "CoTW Professional Dog Trainer".

By the way, my first dog I had in this game I trained to the max and am well on my way to maxing out my second one :)

Lol, very funny Bucky!

But seriously, no awards or recognition necessary. I was just pointing out that, because of my real life interests, this gaming dynamic was one I eagerly awaited.

And why spend 50 grand just to change appearance?

Its all good my friend. The dog is pretty nice to have and it works fine, but there are currently bugs within it that the devs are aware of and I hope they are working on them.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Buckshot:

Originally posted by Geronimo:

Lol, very funny Bucky!

But seriously, no awards or recognition necessary. I was just pointing out that, because of my real life interests, this gaming dynamic was one I eagerly awaited.

And why spend 50 grand just to change appearance?

Its all good my friend. The dog is pretty nice to have and it works fine, but there are currently bugs within it that the devs are aware of and I hope they are working on them.

Oh noooooo, please don't mess up my dog. It's working great.