Alfie is NOT a hunter! Yes, he trees cats, opossums, and raccoons, but he is terrified of loud noises. Here are some attributes of the Coonhound to determine if Alfie is right for you and your family:
Is
A Coonhound The Dog For You?
by
Ruth Clark © 1996
This
account of the experience of coonhound ownership is primarily written
for city and suburban people who think they want a coonhound. The
first part is pretty negative. When you get a good mix of hound and
people, the results are marvelous!
I
think I really wrote this for the people who nodded their heads while
I told them what to do, and then returned the dogs 3 months later:
He
digs!
The
neighbors have threatened to shoot her!
He
barks all the time!
IS
A COONHOUND THE DOG FOR YOU?
Coonhounds
are not for everyone. While they are loving, gentle, and good with
small children, they do have some distinct drawbacks.
A
common misconception about Coonhounds is that they are very
laid-back, and will lie around most of the time, doing nothing. This
couldn’t be further from the truth. Coonhounds are very high
energy dogs. IF YOU
CANNOT COMMIT YOURSELF TO PROVIDING A LOT OF EXERCISE FOR THE DOG,
YOU DON’T WANT A COONHOUND.
(Once trained, they make excellent jogging partners.)
They
are bored easily, and must have things to keep them occupied. They
also are very people-oriented, and like to be doing something with
you. Bored hounds will find a way to occupy themselves. You will
probably not enjoy the results, which can range from climbing fences
and getting into the neighbor’s garbage, to the complete
destruction of your sofa or your landscaping. Some will also become
boredom barkers, causing your neighbors to hate you. IF
YOU DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO DO SOMETHING FUN WITH YOUR DOG EVERY
DAY, YOU DON’T WANT A COONHOUND.
I
do not adopt Coonhounds out to homes where they will be left alone
while the owner works. There are breeds that, once trained, can
tolerate this perfectly well. They are not Coonhounds!
All
dogs are pack animals, and want to be part of a group. Coonhounds
are more so than most. To leave one entirely alone is cruelty.
The
few Coonhounds I know that have been left alone all day rapidly
became either escape artists, major diggers, or boredom barkers. IF
YOU WOULD NEED TO LEAVE YOUR DOG HOME ALONE ALL DAY, YOU DON’T WANT
A COONHOUND. If
they have another dog for company, they’re all right, but
everything I said about boredom applies – multiplied!
Speaking
of barking, Coonhounds are loud. That’s LOUD. !!!!LOUD!!!!
Even the few hounds that have normal dog voices are loud. And if
you happen to get one with a good old-fashioned bawl mouth, rest
assured that your neighbors will know.
Greyhounds
were bred to run, and you can see it in their build. A retriever pup
will bring you things all day long. A Coonhound is bred to bark (or
bawl, chop, bugle, squall, etc.), so that the hunter, at night, can
find the tree the ‘coon has climbed.
LOUD!!!!!!!!!!
Think
of the noisiest dog you ever lived near, the one you wanted to kill.
If you compare that noise to a regular automobile horn, a Coonhound
is like the air-horn on an eighteen-wheeler truck. I like the
Coonhounds varied voices; some of my neighbors do, and some don’t.
(Understatement.) Individual hounds vary widely in the amount they
bark, but they are always loud! IF
YOU, OR YOUR NEIGHBORS, WANT PEACE AND QUIET, YOU DON’T WANT A
COONHOUND.
Coonhounds
must
be kept from roaming. They are first and foremost hunting dogs, and
will go hunting on the faintest excuse. The trouble they can get
into if not confined is immense; two of my houndsmen friends learned
the hard way when their hounds (in two separate incidents) were shot
by ranchers for molesting stock. Others have died from drinking some
neighbor’s used anti-freeze, and being hit by cars.
They
can also be escape artists, digging under and/or climbing over
fences. They can learn to open gates. Since they are very hardy and
tolerant of pain, the invisible fence will NOT work. They must have
at least a six-foot fence, and may require further measures to keep
them from digging or climbing out. IF
YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO DO THE WORK INVOLVED IN KEEPING A HOUND IN,
YOU DON’T WANT A COONHOUND.
Coonhounds
are enthusiastic, affectionate dogs, who have the reputation of being
very difficult to train. It is not hard if you go about it right,
but the common methods of training are not right for Coonhounds. Due
to their affectionate nature, if you don’t train your hound, you
will have a monster on your hands – jumping up, knocking you over
to lick your face, etc. Also, walking an untrained hound on leash
can be painful; they are very strong, and will drag you all over.
(And, of course, they must be kept on leash – see above.) IF
YOU’RE NOT PREPARED TO SPEND TIME AND MONEY TRAINING YOUR DOG, YOU
DON’T WANT A COONHOUND.
Coonhounds chase cats, and may kill them. I don’t
recommend combining the two unless you are prepared to watch
constantly, until the hound understands that kitties are off-limits.
I close off my bedroom with the old-fashioned kind of baby-gate, so
that my cats can slip through the holes and be safe from my hounds.
I also suspect that, if my cats were not kept indoors at all times,
the dogs would have killed them. Outdoor cats are fair game.
–A
Coonhound that was picked up by Animal Control running loose is
probably a hunting dog, and is probably not housebroken. They are
easily housebroken by the crate-training method, and much, much more
difficult to housebreak by any other method.
--Coonhounds
grow at normal speed, but are very slow-maturing. They aren’t
really grown-ups until they’re about two and a half.
–The
larger, deep-chested ones are subject to bowel-torsion.
–Rabies
vaccinations must be kept up-to-date; hounds are hunters and will
hunt all their lives. Mine catch more mice than my cats.
So
what are their GOOD points?
They are usually very good with children, even toddlers. (No dog
should ever be left alone with a young child; children sometimes
don’t know when they are inflicting pain, and every dog has its
limit. And children need to be taught how to behave around dogs –
they are not toys!) Coonhounds love children, usually, and can make
wonderful companions for lonely ones. That’s why they’re the
heroes of so many dog stories!
They
are very affectionate, and can take all the petting you can dish out.
They like to be talked to. At the same time, they are usually not
very demanding, and are content to lie at your feet. (You may trip
over them frequently.)
Coonhounds
are very intelligent, and have inventive minds. I enjoy watching
them figuring things out. You may have heard someone say they had a
hound who was dumb as a stick; that dog was smart enough to fool his
owner into thinking he was untrainable!
Although
they have a lot of energy, they also have relaxed and tolerant
attitudes. Once trained, you can take them anywhere, and they will
usually be fine, not to mention charming the socks off people.
They
have very expressive faces, and body language. They like to
communicate. This is another reason to train your hound – until
they learn some manners, they communicate by jumping up, putting
their noses in inappropriate places, etc.
They
make good watchdogs, because they will raise the roof when a stranger
approaches your house. At the same time, since they are
people-lovers, they don’t have the protection instincts of some
other breeds, and rarely bite. (Any dog will bite if provoked far
enough.)
Note:
Colorado (and in many other states) legal precedent says that a
beware of dog sign means the owner knows the dog is vicious, leaving
the owner vulnerable to lawsuits. To protect ourselves from dog-bite
lawsuits, we legally savvy dog owners post no trespassing signs.
Check the legal precedents in your state!
They
are paradoxical; they will put up with a good deal of pain, if they
are doing something they want to do, and are also very sensitive.
They get their feelings hurt easily. When they are unhappy, they are
miserable. Mine, in spite of being trained, still have me wrapped
around their dewclaws. (That’s the closest thing they have to a
little finger.)
