Another Coonhound Question....

[sillysally]

I didn't want to hijack the blue tick thread, so I made myself a new one

I've always had an interest in coonhounds, but recently my friend rented some land next to a guy that breeds various types of hounds-he's had black and tans, walkers, redbones, beagles, and plotts out at his place--they are all kennel and/or tether kept dogs. These dogs bark like CRAZY. There are times when they will bark for hours while we are there. There is one individual that we have nicknamed "The Water Torture Dog" because his bark is so steady, consistent, and constant that it's like Chinese water torture.

Since experiencing this, DH says no hounds ever. However, in our situation we have 2 other dogs and live in town with a fenced yard. Any dog we had would be a house dog--going outside for recreation, exercise and potty but living inside with us.

For those that have lived with hounds/coonhounds, what is the noise level like? Are they normally constant barkers or are the above mentioned coonhounds just loud due to their living situation? Also, what kind of coonhounds would do best for someone who has never had a hound before?

[drmom777]

I have only lived with the one coonhound in the house. He only howls if there is something to howl about. He has different howls for what he sees as friend or foe.

He is only left alone for a few hours at a time and on an irregular basis. During these times he mostly sleeps. I don't know if he would become a nuisance howler if lest alone regularly. As it stands he is quite popular in the neighborhood and I have taught him to howl on command to keep up with requests.

[sparks19]

I"m with drmom on this one. We have a bluetick coonhound and while YES she IS a barker... she doesn't just bark non stop. She stays outside most of the afternoon and barks only a small portion of the time... unless there is a critter within her sight.

Right now I am up in canada and Brian is working all day so the dogs are left alone all day which is WAY out of the norm. but as far as he can tell there is no barking to be had. they aren't barking when he leaves and nothing is disturbed when he comes home.... for the most part they just take advantage of the opportunity to sleep in the bed.

So yes... Belle bays... but not at nothing and not just non stop. She barks when there is somethig to bark at... otherwise she just hangs out outside and even lays down and snoozes in the sunlight.

[Zoom]

No no no! You're supposed to say "they're horribly loud, all the time and they smell like elephants" or some such rubbish.

Because otherwise I've got no real good reason not to look into them further myself and once I do that...oh dear.

[Kayota]

Originally Posted by Zoom

No no no! You're supposed to say "they're horribly loud, all the time and they smell like elephants" or some such rubbish.

Because otherwise I've got no real good reason not to look into them further myself and once I do that...oh dear.

Lol! There are a lot of people in my mom's town that keep their "huntin' dogs!" outside, so they make noise. But only when I walk past with another dog... Which is every day. Haha. Also Sally, I love your name because I call Sophie "Silly Sophie" lol

[Shamus]

Most hounds are very social, so when they are barking it usually is a social aspect for them. " come here, come here, come here," I have found that hounds who are tied up all the time, bark more. I believe that a well socialized hound is less likely to do nonsense barking, meaning anything that moves or intrigues them is less likely to be barked at. Growing up in the city we had at any given time 3 working hounds in our back yard, running free range. ( Ticked my Grama off when they would get into her flower beds) Starting from a pup we discouraged any barking, and for the most part we were successful. Keep in mind that we used these hounds for hunting deer, and a hound that doesn't tongue would have been useless to us. The dogs would learn that back yard and house were no place for barking, however the woods were fair game. Usually we would have a mature experienced hound around to help the pups both with hunting and backyard etiquette.
I think the way to owning a good hound, is never let them get too bored, lots of exercise, and tons of love, which i guess in a nut shell is good for most breeds. I have personally witnessed several hounds that were not socialized, left to their own devices, become very destructive dogs, who bark and jump up all the time.

[Sweet72947]

They are likely barking because they are bored.

Bob, a bluetick coonhound at FOHA, actually hardly ever barks/bays. He usually only does so if he wants to get your attention. Cassidy, a treeing walker coonhound at FOHA, barks quite a bit when people are around, because she wants them to play with her. But when people arent' around she just lays down and chills out. She has "full speed" and "off". No other settings.

I have two, Bo my beagle, and Katie my beagle/basset hound mix. Neither one of them are extremely vocal or loud, and when I tell them "Quiet", the howling quits immediately. Bo only howls when he is super excited, like when we are going somewhere, when it's dinner time, or when he's outside playing. Katie is the same way, but is a little quieter and doesn't bark at dinner time.

My guys are *extremely* social, and thrive on human interaction and attention. They both want to be with me constantly, and love just going where I go. If left alone outside all the time, I know they'd be bored to death.

And contrary to some popular belief, they aren't dumb. But can be hard-headed. But I don't find Bo either one of those things. I've been working with him lately so I can do AKC Rally with him, and he has picked up stuff so quickly. Heeling, sitting, turning, staying, ect. with hardly any trouble at all. I taught him sit, stay, come, rollover, and "up" (stand on his hind feet) all in less than a week.

I love my hounds. Katie was my first hound ever, and she's just an absolute sweetheart. I adore her, she's such a snuggle bunny. Bo was my second, and I was hooked on hounds after that. I'll always have at least one hound in the house in the future. Life would seem so dull without an occasional "AROOOOOOOOO" coming from the living room.

[-bogart-]

and the only time she ever howls is when one of the babaies are crying and then she just howls and howls until the babies are calmed. i find it hilarious and sweet.

i say go for it , hounds come in all sizes , mine is a beagle and chihuahua mix , 15 lbs and about 12 inches tall. great appartment size.

[Pops2]

Sally
before suggesting a breed or breeder of hounds to a newbie, i would ask these questions & their answers would lead to about 20-50 more.
do you plan to hunt the hound? if not why? if so, what do you plan to hunt? do you want to hunt for meat/furs, pleasure/sport, competition or some combination of them? what size acreage do you have to hunt on? are you prepared to spend the money to acquire the skills & gear needed to maintain the highest degree of safety for your hound?