Choosing a coonhound is a fairly important decision, as each breed has different characteristics, even though essentially, they’re all good-natured, they will all trail a scent, tree a raccoon or other animal, and let their handler know where they are by baying melodically once their quarry is cornered.

All coonhounds need good leadership, gentle correction to any undesirable behavior, and time spent on consistent training.  They also must be able to exhibit natural hunting behavior and get enough exercise that they don’t become high-strung and frustrated, as this boredom may cause them to be destructive.  Both good training and enough exercise and work are very important and if you cannot provide both, then you should consider another type of dog for your needs.

Different Breeds of Coon Hounds to Consider:

• Black and Tan Coon Hounds
• The American Leopard
• The American English
• Blueticks
• Redbones
• Plotts
• The Treeing Walker
• Curs and Feists

Once the decision to get a coonhound has been made, you need to think about which breed will best hunt the type of quarry you hunt, in what conditions, has the kind of temperament that best fits in with your lifestyle, how dedicated you are to being consistent in your training, and many other things you might not have considered until you think about the traits that make each coonhound it’s own breed.  Below are just some considerations you should be thinking about, and suggestions of coonhounds to fit your needs.

Which Coon Dog Should I Choose?

Things to consider:

If you’d like to compete in field trials, you’re likely to want one of the fast, hot-nosed breeds, such as the Treeing Walker coonhound, or the American English coonhound.  However, the American English coonhound does not do as well in intense heat, so if you live somewhere that will be very hot when you’re out hunting, the Treeing Walker coonhound may be the best choice of the two.

If you’d like to hunt huge ferocious game, you’re likely to want a Plott coonhound or an American Leopard hound. While the other coonhounds are commonly described as fearless, the Plott coonhound is particularly aggressive when cornering large game, and the American Leopard hound is very good at holding large game for long periods of time, without getting injured, due to quick sidestepping movements and staring down their quarry.

Some hunters will prefer that their coonhound goes and does it’s job of tracking and treeing, while others will value a closer relationship with their coonhound on the hunt.  The Plott coonhound will still be responsive during the hunt, while the Black and Tan coonhound steadily follows a trail without commands and will let a hunter know when he’s treed the raccoon.  A Bluetick coonhound will call throughout the hunt, letting the hunter know what stage of pursuing the game he is at.

If you have other pets, or small children, maybe a baby on the way, then you do not want a Redbone coonhound, at least not until he’s over two years old.  This is because they mature very slowly and are likely to be boisterous rowdy puppies, even when they’re bodies look like adult dogs, they can play rough without realizing.

A Feist might be more appropriate, particularly as they’re extremely protective.  They’re also small, and if you like to hunt small game, perhaps with children accompanying, then the Feist is a good choice, and able to get down rabbit holes as well as chase squirrels.

These are just a few examples of the kinds of situations you should think about when choosing a coonhound.  Your coonhound must be able to fit well into your life, not just your hunting, as they need to be a part of the pack, and in the case of getting a single dog, that pack is your family.

The term ‘cross-bred’ when referring to coonhounds in particular is a little misleading as the coonhound has been originally cross-bred with various breeds. They are each now a pure breed recognized in their own right, however many years of cross breeding hounds, coonhounds and foxhounds have produced today’s coonhounds recognized by kennel clubs. There are two types of cross-bred coon hound.

Coonhound to coonhound crosses are the result of two different breeds of coonhound breeding, for example a Treeing Walker coonhound with a Black and Tan coonhound. These ‘mixed’ coonhounds can be expected to display usual coonhound characteristics, as many have the same qualities. However, certain traits may be diluted, or expressed more strongly.

A very simplified example of this might be that the very hot-nosed, fast paced Treeing Walker coonhound’s offspring are less hot-nosed, and rather slower, when their other parent is the Black and Tan. Another example here would be that the offspring of the Black and Tan coonhound, who gain weight easily might be more naturally lean, when the other parent is a Treeing Walker.

An English coonhound may father less stubborn offspring, if the other parent is a Plott coonhound, as they are eager to please. Largely, any coonhound/coonhound cross-bred offspring are still going to be great trackers, with brilliant noses, and a wonderful call when they have treed their quarry.

A cross between a coonhound and a different type of dog, such as a different type of hound or a retriever for example, could result in an absolutely delightful dog. There is also a risk that an undesirable genetic combination may be expressed and the animal is more predisposed to illness.

However, most often this is not the case, and in fact the offspring of two different types of dogs may be very hardy and resistant to disease and infection. This is an example of ‘hybrid-vigor’, where the effect of higher genetic diversity between the two breeds is less likely to show weaknesses, whether in the look of the dog or the basic health of the dog.

Some real examples of these cross-bred coonhounds include the Boxer/Black and Tan coonhound cross, the Golden Labrador/Treeing Walker coonhound cross, the Beagle and Bluetick coonhound cross, and Husky/Black and Tan coonhound cross, but there are an immense amount possibilities of combinations.

• The Boxer/Black and Tan coonhound cross looked like a Black and Tan in form, but had the Boxer tan coloring. He was also more eager to please, and so responded well walking on the leash.

• A Labrador/Treeing Walker coonhound cross exhibited enormous amounts of energy and extreme happiness at greeting people, likely a combination of the two working dogs’ high energy levels and the Labrador’s easy affection for everyone.

• The Beagle and Bluetick coonhound cross-breed was the result of two very vocal dogs and she would even call and bay while chasing birds around the garden, and very loudly too. She could also tree a raccoon with the best of them, even though her shorter legs slowed her down a bit.

• The Husky and Black and Tan coonhound cross was apparently so adorable that people asked where they could get one – a mostly black Husky with slightly droopy ears who had an even colder nose – referred to as the ‘frozen’ nose.

Cross-bred coonhounds can be wonderful, but they may have some unexpected and undesirable traits that may not be good for the family who adopts one, or the dog itself. However, remembering how gentle and calm a well-exercised coonhound can be and how well they fit into the family home, may be enough to convince someone to give a cross-bred coonhound a home.

It is said that a dog is a man’s best friend. There is a lot of evidence, both historical and present, that supports this fact.

Dogs were among the earliest animals to be domesticated. At first they were mostly used to pull sleighs and other transportation devices. With time however, they became more of companions. Today, there are various types of dog breeds depending on various factors. There are those dogs that have been bred to have certain physical features while some dogs have been bred to fulfill certain roles. In this article we look at the basics of canine breeding and what it all entails.

Natural Breeding Vs Canine Breeding

Dogs are naturally meant to breed without any human intervention whatsoever. This is referred to as naturals breeding and natural selection determines the kind of offspring that will result from the breeding.

Canine breeding on the other hand is a case where someone intentionally causes the mating action so as to get offspring with desired qualities. Canine breeding is usually necessary when certain qualities and physical features are required. As simple as it sounds, canine breeding is no easy task and requires quite some knowledge in dog genetics and health.

History of Canine Breeding

When dogs were first domesticated, humans used them mostly for transport and hunting. Over time, they realized that different dogs had different characteristics. This led to a situation where canines with unfavorable characteristics were starved or killed and the good canines fed and strengthened. The desired characteristics in a canine depended on the intended use of the dog. For instance there were various dog types depending on their tasks. There were;

• Sighthounds that operated best using sight.
• Scenthounds that were known for their ability to track smells.
• Hunting dogs that were used in hunting expeditions.
• Livestock dogs that were used by grazers to help in the grazing and management of large herds of livestock.

With time, better methods of breeding were used and today the practice of canine breeding requires a lot of knowledge and skill.

How it’s done

What basically happens is that the breeder looks for a dog with certain favorable characteristics. This hound is then mated with another one with another set of characteristics. The intention is to produce an offspring that is much better than the parents. Some people have set up businesses to produce puppies of various breeds and sell them to people. There are also organizations that cater of dog breeds and require new breeds to be registered.

Effects

The most dangerous effect of canine breeding is the inheritance of unfavorable characteristics or defects. A dog may have some recessive genes that only become dominant in the offspring. Some dogs suffer from eye diseases, heart problems and deafness due to inheritance of genetic defects from the parents. To prevent this, there are organizations that work to educate breeders on the basics of breeding and provide extensive information on various breeding defects. These organizations also recommend that only qualified breeders should be allowed to breed canines.