Dog Breed Guide
Treeing Walker Coonhound
Profile
- Size
- Medium - Large
- Country of origin
- United States
- Origin
- 18th - 19th century
- Bred for
- Raccoon hunting
- Height
- male 56 - 69cm (22 - 27in), female 51 - 64cm (20 - 25in)
- Weight
- 23 - 32kg (51 - 71lb)
- Life span
- 12 - 13 years
An American hound with a short tricolor coat of black and tan patches on white, long drop ears and a lean, athletic body. It looks like a larger version of the Beagle.
Its original job is to track a raccoon by scent, chase it up a tree ("treeing" it) and keep barking at the base of the tree to tell the hunter where it is. That is why it has a loud, carrying voice, and when it finds its quarry it lets out a distinctive cry that can be heard from far away.
It is very friendly and gentle with its family and gets along with children and other dogs. Its easygoing nature has earned it the nickname "the People's Choice" in the United States. It needs a great deal of exercise, and once it picks up a scent it gets completely absorbed, so keep it on the leash.
Good to know
The breed was developed for coon hunting, chasing raccoons through the forests of the American South at night. Its ancestor is the English Foxhound, brought to America from England in colonial times.
A great influence on the breed's development was Tennessee Lead, a black and tan dog of unknown origin that was stolen in 1852 and bred with the thief's hounds. His excellent nose and hunting ability are said to have been passed on to today's Treeing Walker Coonhound.
For a long time the breed was registered as a hunting dog with the UKC, another American registry, but it was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club only in 2012, relatively recently. In the American South the tradition of the night hunt, with this dog's voice ringing through the woods, lives on today.