# Do hunters "brand" their hunting dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 9, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497 "2012-11-09T17:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/1 "2012-11-09T17:45:21Z")
Referenced article: > **[Dog found chemically branded in Aurora](https://torontosun.com/2012/11/08/dog-found-chemically-branded-in-aurora)** > > They call him Lucky 191. (Don’t read the comments, it’ll hurt your brain.) Do hunters _really_ brand their dogs in such a manner? In numbers that big, no less? Does it look to you guys like the chemical used (possibly bleach) just un-coloured the fur, or does it look like it caused a painful burn? Will the fur eventually shed the numbers and grow out? One commenter actually had some sense, they stated that it’s possible that the dog got lost, suffered the head wound in an accident and wasn’t actually abused, which I hope is the case. Thankfully he was found in time and is being cared for now and will get a loving home. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/2 "2012-11-09T17:50:44Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Do hunters _really_ brand their dogs in such a manner? The answer to this part wouldn’t just be no, but hell no!! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/3 "2012-11-09T17:55:29Z")
I have never heard of branding hunting dogs. Most hunters are fanatical about their dog’s wellbeing not just because they love them but also because they have to spend so much time and money on them to make them good hunting dogs. I can’t see branding dogs to be done by hunters other than the subset of animal abusers in their ranks and I don’t know what the point would be in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/4 "2012-11-09T17:57:18Z")
All the hunting dogs I’ve ever associated with (say, a dozen or so) were “branded” with a collar bearing a tag that showed dog’s name & owner’s phone number. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/5 "2012-11-09T19:08:24Z")
Maybe it was Chuck Connors’ dog. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/6 "2012-11-09T19:31:35Z")
I have never heard of branding but with hounds that run in large packs it might be possible that peroxide might be used to bleach the fur so they could pick a dog out of the pack while on the run at a distance. I have never heard of it like I said but can see where it might be done. No dog owner with pride would do a chemical burn to an animal. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/7 "2012-11-09T20:12:18Z")
I haven’t read the linked article and don’t think I want to. Anyway, there’s [freeze-branding](http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/What_We_Do/wild_horse_and_burro0/freezemarks.html), which doesn’t hurt. That said, I’ve seen that used mostly on horses, and not dogs. I think hunters prefer using [radio tracking collars](http://www.gundogsupply.com/tracker-radio-collars.html) and [ear](http://www.dog-register.co.uk/)-[tattoos](http://www.allk-9.com/ear-tattoo-machine-p-393.html). Racing greyhounds are tattooed on their ears. Disclaimer: web sites I linked to in this post are for illustrative purposes only. I have no financial interest in any of them. ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/8 "2012-11-09T20:23:56Z")
watching the video, it looks more like the number was just shaved into the dogs fur. That’d make a lot more sense than some sort of actual branding, and be perfectly humane. The purpose of branding livestock was to prove ownership. With modern technology, that’s easily accomplished with an implantible microchip, which offers many benefits over branding. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/9 "2012-11-09T20:49:03Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > The purpose of branding livestock was to prove ownership. With modern technology, that’s easily accomplished with an implantible microchip, which offers many benefits over branding. The purpose of branding livestock is to readily identify animals and groups of animals. It is not primarily done for proof-of-ownership purposes and I doubt that it ever was. Readily identifying animals is not accomplished at all using microchips, hence the reason why branding is still used. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/10 "2012-11-09T21:55:53Z")
The closest I’ve ever heard of is some dog breeders who get their dogs tattooed with ID numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/11 "2012-11-09T21:56:30Z")
> [@](#): > > The purpose of branding livestock is to readily identify animals and groups of animals. Yes, specifically, the group of animals that belongs to one rancher vs. the group of animals that belongs to another. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/12 "2012-11-10T03:24:42Z")
I was hoping there might be some hound guys on here. The dog in question looks like a fox hound. They run them in competition chasing game in large packs and judge them by the position they are in, the sound they are making, style of running etc. Large numbers would help identify a dog in a large pack as the dogs are quite aways from the handlers while they are running. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/13 "2012-11-10T09:12:50Z")
The fact that one dog found with a big number on it is considered newsworthy suggests to me that it’s not a common practice, among hunters or anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/14 "2012-11-10T14:18:17Z")
Hunting is big in PA - and I’ve never known a hunter who does this. As mentioned, I’ve seen ear tattoos, but never a brand. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/15 "2012-11-10T18:54:55Z")
I once found a hunting dog with a tattoo in her ear. She was older and had obvious tumors and no one came to claim her; I am inclined to think she was deliberately abandoned because she was aging and had an expensive medical condition, but of course it’s difficult to be sure in this specific case. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-hunters-brand-their-hunting-dogs/640497/16 "2012-11-10T22:46:36Z")
I had an older cousin who ear tattooed his hounds.