Brazilian Tracker

The Brazilian Tracker is unusual among scent hounds in that its origin is documented rather than guessed at. According to the FCI standard it was not the product of chance crossings but of deliberate selection from the American Foxhound, carried out by the Brazilian breeder Osvaldo Aranha Filho with the aim of adapting the hound to the Brazilian climate. The breed is described as the evolution of the older “Urrador Brasileiro”, the Brazilian Howler.

The FCI recognised it on 1 September 1967. The standard then records something few breed histories admit to: a major setback from the 1970s until the year 2000, when breeding was resumed. It is bred mainly in rural areas, above all in the north of the country.

The work explains the temperament. The standard asks for a quiet, balanced dog, self-confident and intrepid but docile, neither shy nor aggressive, precisely because it hunts in pairs, in threes, in packs and sometimes alone. It is expected to run for hours over rough ground in high temperatures without much difficulty.

The breed is registered by the FCI.

What the standard asks for

Bred for: Hunting dog used for flushing and corner prey animals

“Strong, rustic, cheerful, lively without being aggressive, he has a privileged sense of smell and ability to hunt.”
— FCI standard no. 275

Temperament: Quiet and balanced, attached to its owner, self-confident, intrepid and docile, without being shy or aggressive.

Coat colour: Fully mottled black and white, giving a slate blue colouring effect, with or without fawn and/or black markings on any part of the body; bicolor (white with fawn or black markings; or black and fawn, totally black with fawn markings); tricolor (white and black with fawn markings).

Size, standard by standard

• FCI — height 60-65 cm (males), 56-63 cm (females)

Full standards: FCI.

• The breed was developed from the American Foxhound by a single named breeder.
• Its older name, Urrador Brasileiro, means “Brazilian Howler”.
• The FCI recognised it in 1967, and the standard openly records the decline that followed in the 1970s.
• Organised breeding resumed only in the year 2000.
• It works in pairs, trios, full packs or entirely alone.