I've always wanted to coon hunt with a dog since I was in 5th grade and read Where the Red Fern Grows, and I have enough free time in my life to get a dog. I've been researching them quite a bit lately and really like the Black Mouth Curs and Blue Lacy Game Dogs.
This would be my first dog that would require actual training so I was wondering if it was very hard to train them to tree coons/squirrels. Also if anyone had any experience with either dogs I mentioned or would recommend any other breeds over them.
I'm looking for a friendly breed that gets along with other animals. I have a saint bernard, chickens, horses and two cats. I think this would be extremely fun, especially because I intend to give it a shot with my bow. Thanks in advance
Coon hounds are bred to kill coons; so you can probably expect to lose some cats or kittens. I have used a dog hunting squirrels back in the 60's; but felt that was too expensive. I've had as much luck still hunting squirrels with a target air rifle. I think Blue Ticks and Red Bones are more common as coon hounds. You might contact a furbuyer and ask if anyone hunts with hounds in his territory. I get the Trapper and Predator Calling magazine and they list some trapping supply companies around the US. You could look in it.
I have done a lot of coon hunting. I hunted with mostly Treeing Walkers, some Blueticks, some Black & Tans, some Redbones and some English.
Check out the United Kennel Club (UKC). They are the largest registrar of conn dogs.
For names of breeders who are more than happy to help you out, check out the Treeing Walker Breeders and Fanciers Association or the Bluetick Breeders of America. Just hunt them down on Google.
For magazines that give you lots of information and I believe have a web presence, check out Full Cry, American Cooner and I believe the UKC Magazine is called Bloodlines. The breeds you are interested in would have more of a presence in Full Cry magazine than the other two. The other two are focused more on the "traditional" coon hound breeds (Treeing Walker, Bluetick, Black & Tan, Redbone, English, Plott).
Hope this helps.
>>>>wondering if it was very hard to train them to tree coons/squirrels<<<
Even for an untrained coonhound it may be impossible for them NOT to tree a coon so that part of the training takes about 5 seconds or however long it takes to let 'em outside.
Not all 'hounds' are or will ever be "coon dogs". Just like all beagles are NOT rabbit dogs. To some it will (but not very often) be a natual occurance. It takes a lot of time and patience to develope a pup into a GOOD tree dog. I coon hunted, rabbit hunted and squirrel hunted with dogs all of my young life. I was also involved in competition coon hunting for a while. I gave it all up in 1984. Hunting with dogs is not for everyone and coon hunting can become a burden more than a fun outing. Another point, a diehard coon hunter DOES NOT want his 'nighttime' tree dog to tree squirrels just as a diehard rabbit hunter DOES NOT want his beagle running deer.
Hunted Bluetics for a long time, had one set of Black and tans. Loved coon hunting with my dad, and later by myself. Wife doesn't like the barking around the house, but she may have to get over it. Not into competition hunting, I prefer a nice slow long trail then a tree. Warning bluetics need to be ran or at least exercised almost daily, they have alot of energy, but they are fun.
Right on Danny.
I sure didn't mean that training a good coon dog was easy. I've just never had a problem with a redbone instinctively going to tree but that doesn't make 'em all good coon dogs.
Flinch: i disagree with your opening statement "coon hounds are trained to kill coons" I have been training dogs my whole life, both for hunting critter and humans, some of my first dogs were coon hounds. I have hunted coons for along time, and have trapped them even longer (most of my trapped critters are either taken w/ the back of a hatchet or a bow cuz i run my line WHILE BOWHUNTING). Coon hounds are trained to tree the coon, not kill it. Now if the coon gets out of the tree, the dogs WILL kill it.
Training a coon dog is rather easy, i think. Get ya a couple fresh coon skins, old ones do work but not as well unless ya add fresh scent, start with an easy trail and progress from there.
I've hunted blueticks and plotts. The disposition of the pup you choose will be a determining factor as to how easy it will be to train and how well it will get along with your other animals. Overall, my experience is that hounds are loveable and fairly easy to handle. Take a look at this web site:
http://www.coonhounds.com/
to be honest i would by an older dog that was already going because after all the money and time you have in a pup to have him not turn out you could already be killing coon with an older already trained dog.. belive me pups are a lot of fun to train but man does it take alot of time..just my .02 cents
If you get a pup be careful and not let him get in a coon fight while he is to young. I have seen some good young dogs ruined by getting bloodied up to soon. I personally like Walkers. IMO they are the fastest breed. I also had three english pups that were good dogs. Some will run deer and you dont want that. Try to go to a field trial or two and get a feel for what you want in a pup. In my experience you need to hunt as many nights as you can. I hunted five nights a week rain sleet or snow.
We had a cur when we ran coon in the 80's . She was fast on track , quiet on track but didn't bark tree . You will however not find a tuffer dog in a fight. My dad bought a 1500.00 dollar red bone that was older (reads trained) that just wouldn't tree a coon to save herself but she barked alot. He got a 150.00 dollar pup and he is one of the best dogs we have hunted with , takes some training but good dog in the end.Not all dogs will hunt but some just have a natural nack for it. good luck
A friend of mine hunts English, i have gone out with him and helped handle his dogs on a couple occasions. They never acted mean towards me. Of course they weren't as nice to a coon :scared: I think they make good dogs.
We don't have alot of coons in Utah but we chase a few along with alot of cats and bears. After learning the hard way I would suggest finding and latching on to an experienced houndsman in your area. Go out alot with other guys and see if it's for you. If you like it, pay good money and get a good dog that's ready to go or buy a pup from a guy that's willing to take you out and let your pup learn from his older dogs. Like others have mentioned above hounds can be annoying to keep at your house and they are a little thick headed about basic obedience. The curs can be easier to train but most don't open on track which isn't much fun. The song of the hound is what it's all about. Me and my brother have had walkers, black and tans and blueticks. I don't think the breed is as important as how much time and experience you can give to your dog. I have a good friend that puts alot of fur up the tree and does it with a bunch of ex-pet hounddogs. Honestly his two best dogs were given to him by people who tried to have them as inside pets for 3 years and they had not been hunted with at all. After learning the basics and running with his experienced dogs they were good to go. PM me if you want some old Full Cry magazines and more info. Mike
I hope you get the best dog in the world then come to WV and thin out the population. They kill more turkeys and grouse while they are still in the eggs than we can imagine. They get in the cat food and fight with my Jack Russel almost every night, BUT there is not enough property here to hunt them with dogs. I keep a box trap busy and give them to coon hunters that need then for training proposes. Good luck :)
I used to coon hunt ALOTTTTT when I was a teen, my dad got me started to keep me out of trouble. We had alot of fun. Like some said all hounds are not created equal some take to it quick and some don't. And if you want to make training easy you need to hunt a pup with a older trained dog,other wise the pup doesn't really know what you expect from him. To have a good hunter you have to hunt alotttt, then the pup may make a hunter and maybe not . GOOD LUCK
:D :thumbsup: :D
cant tell ya much about running coon hounds. I run and raise beagles. If you want to chase squirels get a fiest..jmo
G
i used to coon hunt years ago, now i squirrel hunt with dogs. i use treeing feist. they are smaller dogs(under 30#) if you want a dog to tree both squirrel and coon i would go with a mountain cur. go to "squirrel dog central" and you can find a lot of info on differant dogs. i plan on taking my recurve squirrel hunting some this fall and winter.
b-dog
I said something before this, but I disremember now. :bigsmyl:
My mountain cur/treeing walker mix would tree squirrels in the day time and coons at night.
alot of good info here..ive done a good share of chasing coons.. and ran with some top notch dogs.. walkers and blueticks.. the best ive ever seen was a walker...It is not a bad idea to pick up an adult dog that is already trained.. that would be the easiest route.. if you get a pup try to run him with a good experienced hound and hopefully catch on..it can be hit or miss... some learn quick and some will get on a deer track and be gone..you can spend alot of time looking for your dog so you might want to look into one of those tracking collars..If i was just starting i'd look for a young dog that had some experience..... good luck and bring a compass with ya..cause everything looks different in the dark.....
Get up with someone that has a couple of hounds. Tell him what you have in mind and he might like to have some company...and pay for his gas or big bag of dog food.
A bag of dog food is a lot cheaper.than gas.
Shock collars USED RIGHT... :thumbsup: will help break them from trash.(off game)..
I really appreciate the info from everyone on here. I found a particular strain of Black Mouth Cur that is bred specifically for treeing coons and squirrels. L.H. Ladners BMC's. I'll be giving him a call and hopefully within a few months I'll have posted some pics of some trad killed treed coon/squirrel. Once again thx for all the info everyone.