In the history of the early colonies of America, one of the favored sports was hunting the coon and this sport led to the development of breeds of dogs that were used specifically for this purpose. Nearly all the hounds were firstly bred from English Foxhound stock. In the rugged country of the eastern colonies, the dogs served a different purpose than the original Foxhounds, which were bred to run long distances over relatively "easy" landscapes and gently rolling hills. In the colonies the dogs were meant to be able to traverse hilly rough gullies and deep ravines on the long chases after the coon. In some instances the hounds developed in the United States were also used to hunt bear and larger game. The typical baying voice of the Foxhound still served a useful purpose, since the dogs would often run far ahead of the hunters and needed to be heard when they were on scent. In the selection for breeding, hounds which would give voice when the coon was "treed" became divergent from those who would give voice when the hound was on the chase. Consequently there are those coon hounds known as ''Treeing hounds" versus those who are denoted to be "Coonhounds".

Three members of the coonhound family in America are specifically noted for their treeing instinct, the Redbone, the Black and Tan and the Walker. All other "treeing" hounds are generally lumped together under the term "English" Coonhounds. In general an English Coonhound denotes a tall and leggy animal, thinly boned and built for the chase. Usually considered "hot nosed" (a term meaning a dog that will be fast on the chase as opposed to cold nosed which is a slower running hound) the hounds are generally red tick in color. The "blue tick" hound is not always a colder nosed dog but this is more often the case. The English Coonhound is usually heavily ticked, red tick being of course the red ticking on a basically white background. Other colors can be blue tick, white/red, white/black, white/lemon or brindle. The voice should be a melodious bay and the dog should give voice when it trees the coon, running silently until this occurs. When coon hunting with this type of treeing hound, it is a common practice to release the dog and then simply wait until one hears the baying voice, which can be heard for many miles on a hot summer night. Once the dog gives voice, the hunter merely has to follow the sound as the dogs will remain at the foot of the tree as long as the coon is there.

The English coonhound and in general all of the coonhounds, are bred from the original Fox hounds. They are enthusiastic about hunting and always have a melodious voice when on the hunt. Often each individual "voice" is distinguishable to the owner of a pack of hounds. The Coonhounds, like the Foxhounds, are gentle and affectionate dogs, enjoying the companionship of humans and also contented to be a pack animal or a kennel dog, as long as they have the companionship of either humans or other dogs they are quite happy. When they are introduced into a household, they make a fine pet, gentlemanly and undemanding, easy to train and considerate.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Dogs