By Marilyn Swan

I recently had to put my 11-year-old Walker Coonhound, Daisy, to rest. She developed a very aggressive form of lymphoma which took her quickly. Needless to say, I was devastated and could not imagine finding another such loving companion. I had rescued her as a 5-year-old.

A good friend found this beautiful saying and showed it to me.

You can shed tears because they are gone,
or you can smile because they lived.

You can close you eyes and pray they will come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all that they left for you.

Your heart can be empty because you can't see them,
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember only that they are gone,
or you can cherish their memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind and feel empty,
or you can do what they would want...
​
SMILE, open your heart, love... and go on.
(Anonymous)

I certainly allowed myself time to grieve but this saying helped me pick up the phone and call a rescue that had listed a dog on Petfinder, Dixie. I am now in a trial adoption with a lovely English Coonhound/ Foxhound mix. She is very frightened now, but I am committed to working with her. Dixie's owner died in March 2020 and she had been in the shelter since then.

I keep this saying on my desk and certainly need to read it often to "get a grip" when I'm missing Daisy. I thought it's positive encouragement might help others.

​Editor's Note: Marilyn wrote a blog post about Daisy's thunderphobia several years ago. You can read it here.

by Emily S. Plishner

Coyotes are  becoming increasingly common throughout North America, and have been implicated in attacks on both pets and people. While a single coyote is unlikely to attack a dog as big as a coonhound or foxhound for food, they will attack for territorial reasons, or to protect a recent kill, or to protect their young. They will also run a hound off carrion or a treed coon. And hounds and coyotes are close enough kin to interbreed, so a hound or coyote bitch in heat can provoke aggressive behavior between males of either species vying for her attention. 
 
Coyote hunters often use foxhounds to trail coyotes, and sometimes use coonhounds as well. Some hounds will hunt coyotes instinctively, others fear them instinctively, but most coonhounds and foxhounds are afraid of coyotes only at night. One of my hounds isn’t the least bit afraid of coyotes and sings to them when he hears them at night to warn them off. My other hound will come running back to me if we are out coon hunting at night and he encounters a coyote--unless his larger, louder, and braver brother is there to protect him. 

While most coonhounds and foxhounds can take an individual coyote if it comes to an out-and-out fight, coyotes usually travel in small packs, and can be quite crafty about luring a hound into a situation where it will be outnumbered. And, coyotes in some parts of the continent are considerably larger than others--the coyotes in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada are much bigger than those out west, with scientists claiming they have some wolf DNA in the mix. 

Coon hunters frequently run into coyotes in the woods at night. The coyotes will sometimes come into coonhounds barking up a tree in order to steal their quarry, and can be quite aggressive about it. Coyotes are much bolder at night than during the day. At night, the best defense is light. If you have a flashlight, shine it right in the coyote's eyes. If you are at home, switch on all the lights in the yard if you hear coyotes yipping nearby. 

My hounds wear collars with bright LED lights at night. Each dog has a different color light on. That tends to keep the coyotes at a distance, and helps passing cars see them too. The LEDs cost around $20 each and are available at hunting supply stores. They slip right on the dog's existing collar. Most have settings for continuous or flashing lights. I usually keep them on flashing because the batteries last longer that way.
 
Coyotes are much less brave during the day. If a coyote comes at you or your dog during the day, shout at it and throw the nearest large stick or rock toward it. In most cases, it will run off. If it doesn't run off, it is probably guarding its young (most common in early summer) or a large meal stashed nearby. Retreat slowly without looking away. 

Occasionally, a coyote will actually bite a hound. Be very careful about reaching in to intervene. Usually, your best bet is to grab a convenient branch as a weapon--one long enough to  keep you out of biting range. Thrash at the coyote with the stick. With luck, the coyote will clamp onto the stick momentarily giving your dog a chance to get away. If you are carrying firearms, be very circumspect about firing into a fight--its very easy to hit the wrong animal. Coyote hunters with hounds prefer to avoid shooting at anything less than point blank. 

Coyotes usually travel in packs. They are smart enough to send out scouts. If you see one coyote, there are probably others nearby. Sometimes coyotes will lure a dog back to the pack and overwhelming force. Do NOT let your pet hound chase any coyote. Coyotes are tough! 

Coyotes tend to live in underground burrows, usually with multiple entrances and exits. There will often be bones scattered about outside the burrow left over from previous meals. Coyote dung looks like that of a medium-size dog, but is usually packed with fur remnants, typically cottontail rabbits or other small mammals. I’ve found coyote dens on a college campus and other places surprisingly near frequent human activity. Be alert for signs of coyotes in the area where you are walking. 

While coyotes generally view hounds as competitors or threats, be aware that much smaller dogs will be viewed as meals.  If you also have small dogs in your home, make sure that they are indoors or well attended when outdoors if you have coyotes in your area.  Even in urban areas, letting your small dog out for one last potty pass at night can be fatal, particularly if you live near one of the creek beds that coyotes use as nighttime highways.

Most pet hounds will not need flea medications.  Hounds have short coats, and if they only pick up a few fleas, you can usually see them and pick them off by hand.  However, most vets sell flea preventives, recommend them, and profit from selling them. In some warm climates, they may be necessary.  Also, if you keep a large pack of  hounds, don’t look each individual hound over frequently, bring them to places where a lot of dogs congregate like shows, dog parks, or veterinary offices, or live in a climate that doesn’t get below freezing often, you may find these prevention products are worthwhile, with caution.  Also, hunting hounds that come in contact with freshly killed wildlife are very susceptible to fleas leaving kills that are beginning to cool off.

Even though my two redbones do go to dog parks, field trials, etc., they rarely have fleas.  If I notice them scratching, or I get a flea bite myself, the first thing I do is go over them with a flea comb. These are fine-toothed combs available at any pet supply store for a few bucks.  Some are plastic, some metal.

Fleas are most likely to congregate around the anus and genitals, under the collar, in folds of skin, and on the belly.  Check the entire dog for fleas by running the comb through the fur.  Disturbed fleas are apt to hop — sometimes several feet, so do this outside or in a confined area, like the bathroom.  If you can handle the comb with a thumb free to trap the flea against the comb’s teeth, it is less likely to get away.  Fleas have hard shells which make them difficult to kill.  I crush them against a hard surface with the flat side of a fingernail or cut them with a knife against a hard surface.  Some people just toss them into a bucket of sudsy water, then flush them down the toilet. Check the dog several days in a row, then check again two weeks later—flea eggs take about two weeks to hatch out.  In addition to live fleas, the comb is apt to scrape loose flea droppings and flakes of dry dog skin.  Flea droppings are brown or black, about the size of pepper flakes.  There may be flea eggs mixed in with these, so makes sure you clean these off the floor and comb when done. 

The itchy reaction to flea bites is allergic, so if you are having trouble getting the irritated area around flea bites to heal, either on you or the dog, sometimes an antihistamine dose can jump start the process.  Over-the-counter antihistamines such as Benadryl (generic name: diphenhydramine) are cheap and readily available at pharmacies for humans.  The correct dose for dogs is twice the correct dose for humans. The capsules come in 25 mg. or 50 mg.  doses.  For dogs, 1 mg./lb. every four hours is the usual dose. Round up—if the dog weighs 60 lbs., its O.K. to give it 75 mg. of diphenhydramine.  The only side effects are drowsiness and a slight increase in thirst.  Some dogs are sensitive to flea preventives.  Treeing Walkers and other hounds with large white patches and pink skin, pads, or noses tend to have more skin sensitivities to everything than those with darker coats and pads.  Beyond fleas, other things that may cause rashes and irritations: road salt,  general wear and tear from ice or rough surfaces such as concrete sidewalks, weeds, cleaning chemicals, fire retardants in bedding, pine needles, food allergies, etc.  Any hound can have reactions to flea preventives, which are usually nerve toxins. Most hounds are able to tolerate the amount of nerve toxin needed to bump off fleas, but a dog with organ damage or an otherwise compromised immune system may be less tolerant.  For topical applications, reactions may include fur loss and redness in the area of application.  Humans can have reactions to topical flea meds on dogs as well, so think twice before using these on hounds that will be in contact with small children, pregnant women, the elderly, and humans with compromised immune systems.  Products that are ingested by the dog may be a better choice in such homes.  More severe cases of bad reactions to flea prevention meds or flea remedies (powders, dips, spays, oral medications) can result in symptoms of liver or nerve damage, including shaking or palsies, obsessive licking or scratching, severe lethargy, and sudden weight loss.  Any dog showing those symptoms should be taken to the vet immediately.  If the flea product was topical, the dog should be wiped off with a damp cloth as soon as the bad reaction is noticed.  Hounds sensitive to flea preparations can often use herbal flea collars available at health food stores.  Many, but not all, of these are based on the herb pennyroyal, a member of the mint family.   These are only somewhat effective, and make the dog smell like toothpaste.  However, pennyroyal can be a heart stimulant, so don’t use one of these on a dog with heart issues or a dog that is hyperactive to begin with.  Other essential oils used in herbal flea collars include citrus oils, cedar oil, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil.  You can find recipes for homemade herbal flea collars online.
 
Ingested flea meds and poor quality food can also cause skin irritations. The most common food allergy in dogs is corn, which is used as a filler in most of the cheaper brands of dog food. All dog food sold in the U.S. is labeled with the ingredients in order of importance.  If corn is among the first few ingredients listed, you may be better off switching to a different brand.  The first few ingredients  listed should all be animal-based — meat and meat by-products.  Often times there are locally produced brands that are fairly cheap and use minimal corn and other grains.  

The white furred/pink skinned hounds tend to be more sensitive to cleaning chemicals, fragrances, and dry skin from excessive bathing.  Any of those could trigger a skin problem.  If the dog is showing symptoms, check its environment for potential irritants and give the dog one wipe down with a damp cloth to remove the potential contact-irritant, then give it some time to recover.  You don't want to be switching foods constantly because you'll never figure out what food is the issue unless you are very systematic about it.  Change one thing at a time at several week intervals.  On the whole, coonhounds and foxhounds  are pretty healthy and can tolerate most foods pretty well, but all the commercial foods are full of foreign-made nutritional supplements that vary in quality over time.  A high quality food can have a bad batch and a cheap food can be just fine--but none of them remain consistently formulated.

 
Disclaimer:  The publisher is not a veterinarian, and these are based on her own experiences