Coonhound beginner

[RyeGuy74]

I've always wanted to get a coonhound and get into hunting with them so I was just wondering if hunting with hounds is one of those things you have to be raised up doing or if it is something with time anyone could do it? Also from everything I've read online about different hounds it seems they are all pretty much the same as far as energy level and being kind of stubborn. Is there a breed that would be better for a beginner like me? I've owned dogs all of my life, just never a coonhound

 

[JTHOMP]

I’ve never been a dog hunter until I bought my cur a couple months ago. It definitely helps if you know a person or two you can ask for advice. I think anyone can get into it as long as you’re committed to the dog.

As for breeds I’m not an expert. But I can say what another coon hunted has told me. He use to run blue ticks back when there was more woods to hunt. They’re a breed you cut loose and they ain’t stopping until the tree. He now hunts American leopard hounds. Not going to run out of the country, and have a better handle on them then other hounds. His older dog now can be hot on a tree and in 1 command leave the tree and go straight to the truck. But I’m sure a lot of that has to do with a lifetime of running hounds too.

 

[mevertsen]

I have some mix breed hounds which I use for lions.

Have you ever had JUST ONE tater chip? Neither have I.

For hunting, I like at least two dogs, even when coon hunting. A boar coon can ruin a single hound's day.

I was never around them growing up. I got into them 15 years ago.

Prepare the following...

Ling nights looking for a dog. A GPS system will (and has for me) cuts the search time down tremendously.

Vet bills. If your check book is fat, they will find a way to make it thin.

You need a good dog box. Either build one or find a good one.

I prefer my dogs outside. ALL THE TIME. My wife insisted on house training our last pup and he is kind of a pain in certain ways.

Exercise. These things are not a tool or machine or a lap dog. They are a working dog. They need to run. EVERY DAY. when you are tired and sick and don't feel like it, they need to run. I have 2 acres so i can let them out of their kennels now and they can get in a mile or better each day. Otherwise find an old farm road to run them down.

Stubborn? No... I have seen more stubborn dogs. They are all dogs. They have a purpose and need to fulfill that purpose. If you are getting two for coon hunting, you need to hunt them. You can't let a dog set in a kennel 6 days a week and then turn it loose in the coon woods and expect it to perform.

They train like a dog. But the commands for me are simple. Come. Down. Sit. Load. Kennel. Thats it. No tricks. Nothing crazy. Keep it simple.

My suggestion...

Find a breeder. Prepare to spend 3 to 5k. Go hunt for a night and buy a good broke dog and an older puppy that has been in the field. I have easily $40k in truck repairs, dog food, vet bills, taxidermy, and etc over the last 15 years. Just related to my dogs.

Have fun with the disease.

ETA... just talked to my wife. She laughed at $40k. Maybe $50-60? I have had several $3k vet years for single dog.

 

[Tikka06]

A bunch of my buddies have ran coon dogs pretty much our entire lives. Get a good set of tracking collars, a dog box for the truck, a lightweight 22, some dog leads, and a bright high quality headlamp with a spot and flood setting. Then get you a couple of dogs, preferably finished dogs already hunting. You will eventually settle on a breed. Some guys run plots, some blue ticks, some walkers. I would run walkers probably from my experience but that is a personal choice. Good luck. It’s addictive and expensive.

 

[Pagosa]

You definitely can start fresh with hounds, but you will need patience and lots of time training and hunting, and good place with lots of game.
I grew up into a family in NE Oklahoma that were coonhunters and I had a couple hounds while growing up and we ran coons and bobcats, and they would tree off game like squirrels and groundhogs.
At 39 I got a walker from western Oregon that most guys would have gotten rid of, she has a good nose/very fast, but is silent on track, and will not necessarily bark on tree unless she can see the quarry. I would give her a 3 out of 10 on hunting. Two years later I got a American Leopard Hound from a local hunter, and he is a little slower on track, medium nose, very high hunting drive, never lied on tree. He is a top notch little dog, but recently he developed some serious health problems.
Since moving to Montana I haven’t found anyone that wanted to hunt with me, so I hunt alone and just use the two dogs. I personally like buying pups from successful hunters (not breeders) within your local area. Go hunting with them before you buy a pup. Lots of houndsmen are bullshitters and will sell you a cull. I would never sell a broke/finished hound for any amount of money, even 5k, I have way more time and money in a 3 year old hound than 5k.
Like mentioned above they need to be ran and hunted to some degree every day. I would recommend living in a rural area with no close neighbors if you want hounds. Good luck in your search.

 

[RyeGuy74]

I have some mix breed hounds which I use for lions.

Have you ever had JUST ONE tater chip? Neither have I.

For hunting, I like at least two dogs, even when coon hunting. A boar coon can ruin a single hound's day.

I was never around them growing up. I got into them 15 years ago.

Prepare the following...

Ling nights looking for a dog. A GPS system will (and has for me) cuts the search time down tremendously.

Vet bills. If your check book is fat, they will find a way to make it thin.

You need a good dog box. Either build one or find a good one.

I prefer my dogs outside. ALL THE TIME. My wife insisted on house training our last pup and he is kind of a pain in certain ways.

Exercise. These things are not a tool or machine or a lap dog. They are a working dog. They need to run. EVERY DAY. when you are tired and sick and don't feel like it, they need to run. I have 2 acres so i can let them out of their kennels now and they can get in a mile or better each day. Otherwise find an old farm road to run them down.

Stubborn? No... I have seen more stubborn dogs. They are all dogs. They have a purpose and need to fulfill that purpose. If you are getting two for coon hunting, you need to hunt them. You can't let a dog set in a kennel 6 days a week and then turn it loose in the coon woods and expect it to perform.

They train like a dog. But the commands for me are simple. Come. Down. Sit. Load. Kennel. Thats it. No tricks. Nothing crazy. Keep it simple.

My suggestion...

Find a breeder. Prepare to spend 3 to 5k. Go hunt for a night and buy a good broke dog and an older puppy that has been in the field. I have easily $40k in truck repairs, dog food, vet bills, taxidermy, and etc over the last 15 years. Just related to my dogs.

Have fun with the disease.

ETA... just talked to my wife. She laughed at $40k. Maybe $50-60? I have had several $3k vet years for single dog.

What causes the vet bill to be 3k/year?

 

[Pahoundsman]

When a hound catches a varmit on the ground sh*t gets real!

 

[mevertsen]

What causes the vet bill to be 3k/year?

6 to 8 dogs. Normal vet bills, check ups, etc. Spleen removal for one dog was $1400 (best lion dog i have ever had, RIP post below) . Same dog tore open her abdomen 2 months later. That was $1800 to fix. That was a very expensive year. One event earlier this year was $650 plus over 100 miles each way to the vet. One dog i had $5k into over his life due to some weird ear infection.

 

[mevertsen]

I k ow it seems crazy to spend that much on vet bills. But good dogs are gold. They don't come easy. The more you put into a dog (time, energy, love and care), the more they see the good in you and will lay their life out for you. Vet bills are a small price to pay for a good companion.

I have one dog that is not a great hunter. But she is there all the time and she will seek me out til she can't walk to find me. She has gone up and down mountains multiple times in a day to track me out after the hunting is done. You cant buy that and you can't replace it.

 

[jacobheller]

I started hunting with hounds at the age of 21, took me a year to get my own puppy and since then its been off to the races. Some people say to start with an older hound and a puppy, but i started my redbone off on my own. I did have people around to run him with, but i try to keep to myself while running raccoon, we run bobcat too and that's when we all get together to spend the day chasing dogs.

 

[2rocky]

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to hunt with a Plott breeder who ran lions and bears on Forest Service land that his home bordered. I saw first hand how it consumed his life. He had nothing else he enjoyed doing. I think knowing someone like that is the way for somebody to get into the sport. It allows you to have one dog and use their well trainded pack to help teach your dog good manners, and be a good example of staying off trash game etc. Their old gear is still good enough for you (like e-collars or dog boxes). They know where you can get on a good trail for an easy first coon for your dog. Plus they like having a youngster who will wade the creek to retrieve a treed coon in the winter...

I'd find a mentor first in your local area.

 

[Bluedog]

Some excellent advise in this thread.
Thanks fellas
Bluedog

 

[Blevins1997]

My papaw and dad coon hunted but got out of yet years before I was born. When I was young I started to take a lot of interest in hound hunting. So to answer your first question no you don’t have to be born into it. I suggest saving the money and buying a good hound to start. You could get a pup but it’s not best in my personal opinion to learn together. You will learn so much each time you go if your hunting a finished dog and also have a lot better outcome. I suggest a good Garmin tracking system and hit the woods. Don’t worry about dog breeds. There’s good and bad in every breed. Find a good one, trial him and go from there. I love English hounds and have 3 but the first hound I ever owned is a walker I still own. Feel free the message me any questions. Hound hunting is a dying sport I wish people would take up interest in.

 

[Danderson]

I've always wanted to get a coonhound and get into hunting with them so I was just wondering if hunting with hounds is one of those things you have to be raised up doing or if it is something with time anyone could do it? Also from everything I've read online about different hounds it seems they are all pretty much the same as far as energy level and being kind of stubborn. Is there a breed that would be better for a beginner like me? I've owned dogs all of my life, just never a coonhound

If it is something you haven’t really ever done the best thing to do is find a few hunters in your area and go with them to see if that’s what is up your alley. If it is and you decide to get a dog try to find an older broke dog that is already trained to start out with. I have raised a lot of young dogs. I can tell you for sure that you will have a lot more fun just going out and treeing coons to start with rather than trying to train a pup.

 

[Danderson]

Also I’m speaking from a coon hunters perspective. From what I know about lion and bear hunting with hounds(which is very little) is it is more expensive than just coonhunting.