Rare breeds of dogs

I found some info on coonhounds for you. If you want a dog who... ~Is medium to large and about as athletic as you can get! ~Is energetic and loves to hunt and work outdoors ~When well-exercised, is easygoing and laid-back indoors ~Is good-natured with people and other dogs A Coonhound may be right for you. If you don't want to deal with... ~Vigorous exercise requirements ~Rowdiness and exuberant jumping, especially when young ~Destructiveness when bored or not exercised enough ~Strong instincts to chase other living creatures that run ~"Selective deafness" whenever his tremendous nose and exploratory instincts send him running after adventure ~Stubbornness ~LOUD baying ~Shedding and a houndy odor A Coonhound may not be right for you. They are only about the size of a Black Lab. Heres some info on the Puli~ The Puli is a medium sized, active dog with a distinctive appearance. He wears a corded coat, and with his tail carried curled tightly over his back, it’s sometimes hard to tell if he’s coming or going. He is extremely active, intelligent, and manipulative. He is happy and playful to an advanced age. His origin is Hungary, where he was a hardy sheep herding dog and superb companion to his shepherd. He is a square, compact dog with a very short loin, but he may appear longer as a teen ager, due to changes in outline as the corded coat develops, and between coats of different density and texture. Below is a pic of a Puli.

A coonhound is a type of scent hound and a member of the hound group. Coonhounds are an American style of hunting dog that was developed for the unique quarry and working conditions found in the United States. In the colonial period, foxhounds were imported for the popular sport of foxhunting. Various breeds of foxhounds and other hunting hounds were brought in from England, Ireland, and France, making up the intitial composition of the dogs that were later to be called Virginia Hounds. Foxhounds were found to be ineadequate for hunting animals that didn't "go to ground", but instead took to the treetops to escape, such as raccoons, opossums, bobcats and even larger prey like cougars and bears. They were often confused or unable to hold the scent when this occurred, and would mill about. Treeing dogs were developed, chosen for a keen sense of smell, the ability to track, chase and corner any manner of animal independent of human commands, and, most importantly, to follow an animal both on the ground and when they take to the trees. A good coonhound will bark and keep their prey treed until the hunter arrive. Bloodhounds specifically were added to many coonhound lines to enhance their ability to track. Some dogs have webbed toes to deal with the rivers and swamps so common in their hunting grounds. Coonhounds can hunt individually, or as a pack. Generally, hunters don't chase their quarry along with the hounds, unlike organized foxhunting, but wait and listen to the distinctive baying to determine if a raccoon or other animal has been treed. Besides raccoons, coonhounds are excellent at handling all manner of prey if trained properly. Besides hunting, COonhounds are wonderful family dogs that are known to be good with children. They also make good watchdogs with an impressive, loud bark. There are several individual breeds of Coonhound: 1. American English Coonhound 2. English Coonhound 3. Black and Tan Coonhound 4. Bluetick Coonhound 5. English Coonhound 6. Plott Hound 7. Redbone Coonhound 8. Treeing Walker Coonhound

My grandpa raised "coonhounds." They are actually bloodhounds. He hunted raccoons with them. They are the dogs you often see in prison movies trailing the escaped convict. They are big dogs but not bigger than a great dane, at least his weren't. I think the one with the dreadlocks is called a Puli. It a Hungarian breed used for herding sheep.

I've more than heard of them. I own many. My husband and I are 3rd generation fanciers of coonhounds. His Dad raised the treeing walkers (tri colored like beagle) and we raise American Black and Tan's and Redbones. We also train them to hunt and show in AKC and UKC sanctioned shows. Coonhounds are scent hounds. Traditionally bred to hunt raccoons but they can be trained to hunt anything they can smell. They are NOT anywhere near as big as a great dane. I did own an English male who was about 85-90 lbs and that is HUGE for a coonhound but he was more body muscle mass than height as well. Our average females are about 45lbs and males about 10 lbs heavier. However, the AKC style black/tans is different than that of the UKC style black/tan. AKC black and tans are much larger. Males perhaps in the 60 - 75lb range. There are different breeds with dreadlocks. The two most known are the Puli (herder) and the Komondor (livestock guardian). Pulis are on the shorter side while Koms are quite large. Similar to a Great Pyrenees. I have photos and videos of our dogs if anyone would like to see them: http://www.ironwoodkennel.com