What Breed of Coonhound do You Have?

A few comments to clear up some of your misconceptions regarding coonhounds.

They are not 'raccoon dogs'. They are coonhounds. It's part of their breed name. I didn't ask who hunted with them. I asked who owns them. There are many, many coonhounds in pet only homes.

That being said, we do hunt with our coonhounds. We breed using some of the top bloodlines in the country for both conformation shows and nite hunt titles. Because of this, I feel qualified to clear up more falsehoods.

1 - Coonhounds are not trained to kill the raccoons. They are trained to find the scent, follow the trail and hold them at bay; normally by treeing them i.e. keeping them up a tree, but this can also mean keeping them in a den, hollowed log, etc. The dogs are trained to hold the raccoon in this position until the hunter arrives to either pull the dog off the raccoon after a good praise to the dog or dispatch the raccoon.

2 - Raccoons are hunted for various reasons; for their fur (now going at around $25 a pelt), for pest control purposes (they can be mean, dirty and carry serious diseases) and yes, for FOOD.

3 - A good number of raccoons these dogs hunt are NOT killed or injured. Many are hunted during training or maintaining of hunting dogs ability to hunt and for nite hunts. At a sanctioned nite hunt you are not allowed to have a gun on the premises let alone to actually shoot the raccoons. You will be thrown from the hunt and banished from the hunt club should you break that rule and have so much as a gun in your vehicle on the property.

4 - It is illegal to hunt raccoons or to train your dogs during the season when mama raccoons are still nursing their kitten raccoons. The hunters who break this law are NOT considered hunters in my book. They are poachers. Please do NOT lump us together. A real hunter would never do this. Yes, sometimes the mama's have their kittens in off season so accidents can happen but a true hunter would be absolutely devastated to find they had done this.

5 - I have done wildlife rehab off/on for more than 15 yrs. I have raised not one raccoon kitten but COUNTLESS. NONE of which were victims of my families hunting. (I also do dog and horse rescue as well. I'm not heartless.)

6 - There is no torture or scaring of 'helpless' creatures. Heck, raccoons kill coonhounds QUITE commonly. Mostly by drowning and raccoons have been known to plan out these attacks on the dogs. They are incredibly intelligent.

7 - Irregardless of their name, coonhounds are used for hunting more than just raccoons. They are used to hunt coyotes, bear, bobcat, cougar and more. If they can be trained to follow the scent, they can be used for hunting it.

Just wanting to be clear. You were not stating facts but, rather, common misconceptions.

As for us and our pack of 13 coonhounds... we hunt regularly and haven't killed (or harmed!) a raccoon in years. We, however, do grow special corn fields for them and protect their environment. We also monitor the health of the local raccoon populations. And I know for fact that we are not unusual as coonhound fanciers.

Sound like pretty awesome parents. LOL
Welcome to mylot, David.;-)

Tell these folks something about your favorite dogs here and what you think about coonhounds in general.

For the record, 'Daveyrave' is my 20 yr old son.:)