Hunting Dog Breeds

Coondogs

Black & Tan Coonhound

The Black & Tan is one of the many tracking breeds that was developed in the south of the United States. The breed can trace its immediate ancestry to the American Foxhound and the Virginia Foxhound of colonial days, with probably the introduction of some Bloodhound stock. This latter would explain not only the coloration of the Black & Tan, but its tendency toward being larger boned than other breeds, its long ears and its famous cold nose.

Blue-tick Coonhound

It is most likely that the Blue-tick is principally descended from the quick foxhounds of England with some introduction of the blood of various French hounds which were used for hunting big game. The French dogs were known as being very cold nosed. George Washington received five such French hounds from General Lafayette.Blue-ticks were originally registered with U.K.C. as English. In 1946, at the request of the Blue-tick fanciers, U.K.C. began registering Blueticks as a seperate Breed.

Red tick (English) Coonhound

A person could almost say that the history of the English Coonhound is the history or all coonhounds - and they wouldn't be too far wrong. With the exception of the Plott Hound, all the U.K.C. breeds of coonhounds have a common ancestry that is deeply rooted in the English Foxhound. The English was first registered by U.K.C. in 1905, under the name English Fox & Coonhound. In those days the dogs were used much more on fox than they are today.

Plott Hound

Of the six breeds of U.K.C. registered Coonhounds, only the Plott Hound doesn't trace its ancestry to the foxhound, and of the breeds, we can be most certain of the Plott's heritage and the men most responsible for its development. The ancestors of today's Plott were used for boar hunting in Germany many years ago. Jonathon Plott left his native Germany many years ago and came to this country in 1750. He brought a few wild boar hounds with him. These dogs had been bred for generations for their stamina and gameness. Plott and his family settled in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Redbone Coonhound

Years ago most coon hunters who owned a red dog of unknown ancestry, but proven ability in tracking and treeing raccoons, called their dog a "Redbone". Then a few serious breeders who were devoted both to the breed and the sport began a campaign of selective breeding to produce a hound with the necessary characteristics to make a superior coonhound and which would breed true to type in color and conformation. The foundation stock of the modern day Redbone came from George L. Birdsong of Georgia, who was a noted foxhunter and breeder. He obtained the pack of Dr. Thomas Henry in the 1840's.

Treeing Walker Coonhound

The Treeing Walker was developed from certain strains of English Walker Foxhounds. The credit for the development of the Walker Foxhound goes to two men - George Washington Maupin and John W. Walker. Both men were from Kentucky. Before that time Thomas Walker of Albermarle County, Virginia, imported hounds from England in 1742. George Washington, who was an avid fox hunter, also imported several hounds from England in 1770. These dogs became the foundation strains for the "Virginia Hounds", which were developed into the Walker hound.