LOS SABUESOS BASE INFORMATION

This is the basic information you may want to read before RPing as a Sabueso. Should you bother to continue reading their other lore threads, is simply up to you.

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"Do ya know where you are? Great El Viejo, you're in poor shape. Well, we're the pack of Los Sabuesos. We got food 'n water, but you'll have to come with us or get out, willingly or unwillingly... we don't allow wanderers in our lands."

They were founded many years ago by a hound that even their enemies of El Estrago still look up to; the great El Viejo. A hunting hound who was betrayed by his upwalkers and attacked and betrayed by lobos and coyotes, forcing him to adapt all on his own. He found others like him, and began the pack of Los Sabuesos, placing in a law and way of life we still follow to this day.



The pack is based on establishing a pecking order and dominance, usually. This can often paint a picture in outsiders minds that there is constant bloodshed and unneeded fighting. Although dominance disputes may be more prevalent in food shortages, the pack can generally be peaceful, most pack members (save for a few of the 'lone' or more aggressive types) functioning as though they are blood.
Their behavior can be confusing at times, with some chihuahuas picking a fight over a scrap of meat whilst bear-hunting dogs bark and play cheerfully with the pack's youth. Given that the pack refuses to turn away any kind of dog, these differing personalities will happen, making it hard to really pinpoint a constant and base behavior.
It really depends on the dogs one chooses to surround themselves in. Some dogs make it a goal to be of higher standard and dominance, whilst others will happily share their prey with a hungry chihuahua. While there is often a pecking order (an order in which the dogs eat, receive water, and who gets to sleep where) in place, it can still sometimes be set aside. It's believed that the inconsistency is due only to one's upbringing; a dog who came from a decent or peaceful home of course won't actively seek dominance or worry about their food and water, whereas dogs who grew up on the streets where every day was a fight have it ingrained in them to fight for food and the best pickings.

Whatever path you walk and how you choose to assert yourself will of course be up to you, but one should always keep in mind that at the end of the day, your fellow Sabuesos are all you have in this harsh land..

For more in depth behaviors, you can optionally view here.



The pack really doesn't hold rankings exactly, but there are a few titles. There is the leader, which can be fought for. There may be trusted dogs the leader chooses to surround themselves in who may guard them. There's a regular Sabueso who patrols, hunts, guards, just fulfills any needed duties that they can, sometimes the leader assigns them duties but generally a full pack member will know exactly what they should be doing. There may be dogs who tend to guard Shantyplace more and dogs who tend to hunt more, but there is no title, every dog just contributes in any way they can.
Trainee may be the one other defined rank; a dog who is a little past weaning and is training in the ways of pack life, or a new dog who is training in the ways of pack life.
Some dogs may hold more skill or more dominance than others, but they are all seen as Sabuesos regardless.
One way the pack has titles and ranks is simply through "skins" and "thicks." Skins are thin furred dogs who tend to serve the pack during the day, as they aren't heated up by a thick pelt. A thick serves the pack during the evening, as they have a warm pelt to protect them. This isn't strictly enforced and some thicks will leave during the day or skins during the night if they so please, but it is a general rule of thumb and makes life easier.

Other titles used in the pack include Viejo- a dog who has won many flanks and has the best pickings in the pack, a dominant dog. And a half or half-breed, a title for a dog who is half coyote or half wolf, or simply looks too much like a wolf or coyote, and they are generally treated poorer despite the pack's base code of "there is no blood but Sabueso blood."

Optionally, you can receive more title and hierarchy information on the rankings/hierarchy thread.


The pack mainly dominates the mainland of La Tierra, near the Highway. They patrol this area, around their camp and around the highway each morning and each evening. "Skins" (thin furred dogs) tend to patrol during the day, with "Thicks" (thick furred dogs) patrolling during the evening; an adaption due to the deserts harsh temperatures.
The pack's territory ends at Bed Rocks. Bed Rocks holds the pack's main water source that they bring their old trusty bucket to every morning to refill. Bed Rocks is quite dangerous, though, should one tread too far alone in it, or make too much noise. The pack brings their dead away from camp to an area of flat "bed" rocks, and they rest the dead there for predators to feed on... it keeps them at bay, and away from camp. As you can assume, predators tend to visit these Bed Rocks often, making trips to get water a difficult task sometimes.
In times of desperation, patrols have been known to try and hunt among the further territory of Rabid Ridge. Generally though, going past Bed Rocks is against pack law, and Rabid Ridge holds it's name for a reason.
El Estrago now patrols that area anyhow, making Bed Rocks a defining end to their territory.

Lastly, you may also see Los Sabuesos out and about in the areas surrounding the old Station, should they hear reports of intruders or coyotes they may inspect and defend the area. And you may also see them in Fangoso, a large muddied puddle where the pack likes to train new or young dogs.




Los Sabuesos dwells in an abandoned ranch area known as Shantyplace. The pack sleeps inside the old ranch home, with the more dominant dogs taking the most comfortable and safe spots at the back of the home. The leader sleeps in the front room, and pups and mothers seek safety and shelter beneath the old shanty and behind the stairs. Dogs who aren't yet trusted or who have broken the code, or dogs who simply are sick or injured and want to recover and heal (or die) alone in peace will take to the outside area, among old wood and metal scraps.
A rusty bucket rests in the camp. It's taken every single morning on a mile and a half walk to a nearby clear water spring in Bed Rocks. They receive mostly clean water this way.
To the side of the camp lay a small fenced area known as a Corral, where animals were once herded into. It now serves as an area where pack members may go to to have ''legal'' fights for dominance. Still, they can be quite bloody, and they end only when one dog gives in and submits to the other, or when one can no longer fight (passes out, or even dies). These fights are known as flanks.



Attacking a pack member outside of Shantyplace is against the law, even if it was in the nature of a flank. Pack members must fight in the Corral, and any fights that start outside of it will be demanded to be held off until they go into the corral to continue. Flanks can be bloody, and end only when a dog can no longer fight (unconscious or even dead) or when one submits and gives in to the other.
(OOC note: you're welcome to find pack members to flank to earn some dominance, but you should ask OOCly first and then see the flanks channel of the discord and it's pinned messages if you and your opponent want to hold a vote for the RP to look at instead of decide on who should win the flank beforehand. You can schedule a time for the flank under this channel too, so others can watch. This is optional.
Flanks are especially important in settling a leader, the leader is picked through the act of flanking only and can be taken over any time in a flank.

For in depth information on flanks you can also just see this thread



- BLOOD BROTHERS - When a dog is weaned and a little time has passed, they are given an older dog to teach and train them. Sometimes this dog has already been picked by the parents, sometimes the young one is free to pick, however it happens, the dog must be mentored. Additionally, new dogs are also trained. There is no set time a dog must train for; their mentor decides on when they are ready. When a mentor and a new/young dog find each other, they establish a new bond known as a Blood Brother/Sister bond. They will bite each other's paws and rub the blood from their pads together, a symbolic, short and sweet ceremony and tradition that is a mutual agreement and understanding between the two. The mentor agrees that they will, as long as the two live, always be there for them even past their training. The young or new one agrees that they will always seek to gain knowledge and guidance from them. Every single dog in the pack has a blood brother, be it their mate, their mother, or a complete stranger. Should a dog break the law and face El Acabado, a (higher, mentoring) blood brother will have final say on whether the dog is killed or exiled. If a higher blood brother dies, then the leader rank becomes the blood brother of the dog/s that the now-deceased-dog trained and had a bond with. So even if their brother/sister dies, every dog always has one by law, even if it's just the leader. A blood brother who is training another in a pair is known as a mentoring blood brother, and a blood brother who is receiving the training is known as a training blood brother. One can be both, of course, if they have gone through training and now train their own.
(ooc note: you can find a blood brother to train you or to train by asking around or using the adoptions-seeking channel in the discord, they're fun and provide more RP plot for your character. You aren't required to, and can say your character's blood brother passed away.)

- EL ACABADO - A judgement ceremony where the pack gathers around a dog who has severely broken the rules and the leader lists their crimes committed. Their blood brother will step forward and will decide if they should be killed or exiled. If their mentoring blood brother is dead, the leader will decide if they are killed or exiled. The leader may order death by attack of the pack, in which the pack all lunges and kills them. Or death by throat-crushing, in which the leader will singlehandedly crush their throat before the pack. It can be brutal, but it is extremely rare, only one or two have happened in the last several years.

- THE RITE/THE MARKING - When a mentor decides their blood brother is ready to be accepted fully into the pack, they shall inform the leader. The next time the leader sees the dog that has been training long and hard, they will walk forward and attack them, quickly pinning them (if needed, another large dog may help) and holding them down. The leader will say "Do you swear to protect and serve the pack of Los Sabuesos and to follow the law of El Viejo?" Hopefully, the trainee shall answer yes. At this point, the leader will pick a part of the body to brutally bite. They are aiming to scar them, but never fatally wound them. This scar and wound is not allowed to be healed or tended to, and is known as the Mark of a Sabueso. Every accepted Sabueso has one, even if it's hard to see under their thick fur, or if it's on the inside of their leg or underbelly. All dogs in the pack are marked, at any size. After their marking, the leader will stand over them and say something like "You are a Sabueso now. Should you betray or dessert your pack, it will cost you your life." The rite is then over.

- EL AULLIDO - When the pack gathers on El Viejo hill (a hill where it's said El Viejo is buried) to have a feast and discuss new births and life in the pack, new members, and to mourn recent deaths. El Aullido is held on the night of a full moon and ends when the sun rises with the pack barking and howling in unison. Most of the night is spent simply socializing and being out and about with fellow pack members.

- DEATH OF A PACK MEMBER - Should a pack member unfortunately pass, their body will be taken to Bed Rocks and rested on a flat rock bed. After the pack has gathered and the body is rested on a rock, the pack will say in unison (with the leader starting it) "My heart lay with El Viejo, for my brother/sister stopped fighting last night/this morning/today." Pack members may choose to attend a ''funeral'' sort of thing for the pack member, where the leader and or their loved ones may speak about the fallen pack member after the saying is said. Once all is said and done, the body is left there. Some pack members stay behind a little longer, but it's encouraged that they don't. Bodies are left in this area for a reason, predators come to feed on them. Although this is gruesome, it helps keep desert predators fed rather than them tracking and seeking out live pack members to eat. The pack sees this as a way for a pack member to serve their pack one last time, to serve them even in death...

Now you know plenty about the pack of Los Sabuesos. If you choose to read the rest of their lore in other threads, you're welcome to. But it's not required, as you'll learn plenty of it through simply role playing and interacting with other peoples characters. We hope you enjoy your time among the pack.