Guest Blog by Brianne Charbonneau

It all started back in fall of 2007, in Denver, Colorado. My roommates decided that it was time we got a four-legged friend. One roommate had her heart set on a basset hound and the other on a Dalmatian. I had been dog-deprived for two years and knew I needed something, but retained an open mind about what kind of dog. Together, we decided we wanted a rescue dog. 

We came across a couple of great rescue organizations and heard of a Dalmatian at a shelter near us. We made the drive over, but no Dalmatian. So, we looked at other dogs for over two hours. The last stop was in the sick dog ward. There she was--a beautiful dog. But she was emaciated.

Something about her was so amazing, but my other roommates were not so keen. I waited for hours at the shelter to meet her and it was the best thing I ever did.
The first question out of my mouth was, "Why is she so skinny?" The shelter person told me, “People starve them to make them hunt.”

[Editor’s comment: Coonhounds hunt just fine even if they are well fed. There are lots of reasons coonhounds come into shelters emaciated—most frequently, because they have gotten lost while hunting and haven’t eaten for several days. However, many coonhounds are not allowed to hunt on a full stomach because that can result in bloat, a potentially fatal problem, and an all-day or all-night hunt can burn off five pounds from a 65-pound coonhound easily. Of course, some hunters do abuse their dogs. On the other hand, many very poor coon hunters take better care of their hounds than they do of themselves. Shelters often perpetuate a lot of myths about coonhounds and coon hunters that make it hard to find pet homes them. Coonhound Companions was formed to help correct that problem.]

I decided to put the skinny Bluetick on a 24-hour hold to allow me to research the breed, since I had never even heard of coonhounds.

[Coonhound Companions wishes more potential adopters would do their homework like this!]

Long story short, I adopted her. If I hadn't put her on the 24-hour hold, she wouldn't have been there the next day. People at that shelter believed coonhounds to be "undesirable" and put them down faster than, say, a Lab. They warned me that they are stupid dogs that are not good for much. [For more info on the breed, see 1 ]

[Ridiculous myth! No wonder that shelter’s coonhounds weren’t getting adopted!]

My Sadie Mae is not stupid and has proven her intelligence over and over again to me. 

Sadie seemed a little bored, so I started to train her at home, in Denver, to give her something to keep her busy.

[Engaging coonhounds in mental work often keeps them out of mischief. Bored coonhounds have good imaginations and can engage in naughty behavior!]

Sadie was always able to pick something up after about the third time seeing it done. So, my roommates and I decided that we needed to expand her knowledge. I saw something on Animal Planet showing off dogs doing amazing things, so I decided to teach her myself. She loved to play tug, so we started off with tugging on the dishtowel and then progressed to opening the cupboard. The fridge was a greater temptation for Sadie since tasty food was so close to the front. After losing a couple of hot dogs and some chicken, we decided that the teaching her to open the fridge on her own was not the best idea!

By now, Sadie May has been trained in commands for service dogs and she will open cupboards on her own when she is hungry.

[Not uncommon, even for untrained coonhounds. Childproof latches may prove necessary in some cases!]

She opens cupboards and the fridge with a towel.  She has mastered removing socks from your feet without causing pain. She is also trained to match the speed of the person walking with her (never pulling). She will walk next to a wheelchair and match its speed. Sadie has been trained for Touch, so when I put a Post-it in front of her nose, she will touch it with her nose. I can then put the Post-it on a light switch and she will turn it off or on. She will pick some things up on command, but doesn’t like to do this with metal objects. She also knows: Back, Brace, Take It, Drop It, Leave It, Ask (she will touch you with her paw for an object instead of howling or jumping), Fix It (to get leash untangled from feet), Boundary (not allowed outside a certain area). I got most of my ideas from a website 2.

She proved herself so smart at home that I decided we should train in AKC-style obedience and agility. The first class we took was Intermediate Obedience, and then we took three progressively difficult levels of Agility. The instructor, in Michigan, where we live now, runs the number one and two AKC-Agility Corgis in the U.S., and competes in everything with her dogs. She took one look at Sadie and almost died laughing. I still remember her words: "She will never live up to your expectations."

[It's not just shelter people that have misconceptions about coonhounds. A lot of trainers do too!]

That stung, but Sadie and I proved her wrong. Sadie was the first in her class for everything--the first with off-leash heel, the first for off-leash recall, the first coonhound to take agility training off-leash outdoors with this trainer and with the AKC club I train with.
She doesn't get to open doors at our current residence out of fear she'll get a hold of the peanut butter jar.

Sadie’s agility career came to an end suddenly at the age of three-and-a-half, when we learned that she suffers from a back problem, calcification of the backbones.  [This is a problem common in dachshunds, bassets, and other “dwarf” breeds 3.]  Our vet called it Spondylosis deformans. It is also known as “bridging” or “calcifying“ of the backbones. It may be a genetic issue, although it can also be caused by trauma. 4  It can either remain stable or it can progressively get worse. These days, Sadie is not allowed to jump anything over 16 inches and has been on joint medicine. One day she may be paralyzed from this disease, but we take it a day, week, month, and year at a time. We do x-rays every year and there hasn’t yet been any change. Hang the expense. Her well-being comes first for me.

Many say that coonhounds should not be off leash. That may be true for the majority of coonhounds, but not for all. I have owned Sadie five years now and she has been off leash for three-and-a-half years and HAS NEVER, EVER run off or disobeyed a “Come” command in her life. Although she is not a hunter in the traditional manner (when she ran into a raccoon once, she ran the other way!), she has taken up hunting on her own. Her prey of choice? Mice!

Sadie is stubborn when it comes to sleeping in a comfy bed and will chase off her brother the Mountain Cur (another rescue) [often used for squirrel hunting 5 ].

She wakes me up at 5 a.m. for breakfast every single day. She hates snow, rain or any other precipitation.

My Sadie Mae is not overly lovey and doesn’t play much with toys. Yet she is my best friend, and my snuggle buddy whenever it’s cold. She loves to sleep, eat, and hunt mice--and not always in that order. She is the best dog I have ever owned or even known.

Coonhounds see into your soul and love you with all they have. I was lucky enough to find a coonhound, my Sadie Mae. Even though I added a mountain cur to our family, I will always have at least one coonhound. I need one to complete my soul.

Footnotes
1 http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/Breeds/BLUETICKCOONHOUNDRevisedJanuary12011 or http://www.Bluetickbreedersofamerica.com/
2 http://www.poodleglue.com/poodleglue/commands_for_service_dogs.html  
3 http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CalcifiedDiscs.htm
4 http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/musculoskeletal/c_multi_spondylosis_deformans or http://www.dogstuff.info/spondylosis_deformans_lanting.html or
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_61/61mast.htm
5  http://www.omcba.com/  

__ I had always wanted a bluetick coonhound and when I met the Hildenbrands of Pontiac, IL and bought "Cry Baby" from them, it was a dream come true. I had no idea of how that decision would change my life.

Jeb's first years with me we just did basic obedience necessary for a CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certificate and mantrailing (a type of canine search and rescue, typically done by bloodhounds). We traveled around the US and attended well over 30 seminars in trailing, cadaver, and some obedience. I met people that didn't set limits on Jeb because of his breed. This was the beginning of my journey as a professional trainer.

_ When Blueticks became eligible to compete in American Kennel Club obedience competition in January 2004, we were in the ring that month and earned our CD. A CD is the Companion Dog title given by the American Kennel Club after a dog and handler pass a test three times with a minimum score of 170 points out of 200. The exercises in the test include heeling on leash, heeling in a figure eight pattern on leash, a stand stay while the judge touches the dog, heeling off leash, calling your dog to come from across the ring, a 1 minute sit stay with the handler across the ring from the dog and a 3 minute down stay with the handler across the ring from the dog.

That same year we earned our CDX. The CDX is the Companion Dog Excellent title given by the American Kennel Club when a dog and handler pass a test three times earning minimum scores of 170 out of 200 points. This test is called the Open class. The dog is taken off leash as soon as he enters the ring. There is a heel off leash and heel in a figure eight exercise. The dog must retrieve a dumbbell thrown by the handler across the ring on the ground and over a jump. And the dog must go over a broad jump. The sit and down stay exercises are much harder since the handlers must leave the ring and go out of sight.

After a break while we focused on canine search and rescue work, we returned to obedience competition two years later to earn a title in the advanced class called Utility. In April 2006 we earned our UD (Utility Dog) title. In the Utility class the dog has to execute some very difficult exercises. The running joke of obedience competitors is to call it the "Futility class". Jeb had to complete an off leash heeling (NOI) . A good friend tells me I trained an hour just about every day. I was working hard because by then I believe I realized we could finish the OTCH. Hard to believe when I never thought I'd care about precision nor did I think I had the dog to do it. BUT....I learned that it takes hard work and good solid training -- not necessarily some "perfect" dog. It's work....and yes money to travel and enter shows. The more I pushed Jeb, the more we learned and accomplished together and the more fun we had. I had to constantly balance the "have to" and "fun to" of obedience. With Jeb there were a lot of times it was more about the "have to."

_Back to 2006. We traveled to Long Beach, CA for our first NOI experience. The National Obedience Invitational is held once a year. Dogs who have competed at the highest levels and earned the best scores for their breeds are invited to come compete. Only the best of the best get to come. It was so fun to see so many people I knew and had met at shows. It was wonderful to see all the wonderful dogs. I remember walking in the room that first day and it felt like you could cut the tension with a knife! Very nerve wracking even if you were just there for the experience of it all. Jeb did quite nicely. My goal was to have no NQs (non-qualifying scores or errors) and we didn't. He was quite clean in his performance. That first day was EXHAUSTING! I felt like I was about 90 years old! We were ranked 18th after the first day. I will say that we would have made it to day two even without the only 4 per group count (only the top four dogs in each group get to go to the next round, i.e. sporting group, herding group, hound group, toy group, non-sporting group, working group, terrier group). Jeb was in the top 32 of 95 or so dogs.

On to day 2 of the NOI. I remember hoping to at least maybe win one round. The 2nd day works much like the NCAA Basketball tournament. There are 32 dogs and you are in brackets based on your rank. If I remember correctly, my first round I was up against the dog ranked #15. A sheltie? We won that first round and I was thrilled! I didn't care what happened from there. :) On to round two - another sheltie, this one ranked #3. Jeb was so tired. He lost 12-15 points on no sits. However, the sheltie NQ'd an exercise and lost 20-30 points. We managed to win the 2nd round! I couldn't believe it. (I didn't see the sheltie perform, so I was surprised).

_ By now we were down to 8 dogs. I had someone helping me and they were taking me so seriously, I remember thinking I'd better do so too and at least try to look like I belonged at that level. So I sat by Jeb's crate, kept him quiet, got some water in him (with chicken broth in it to get him to drink some). I played my iPod and visualized success. I wanted to at least look good out there. I was up against a border collie -- nice dog. I had no idea there were so many people in the stands -- so many people watching that I felt should have been out there instead of me. But...I was totally focused on Jeb and doing my mental management, so I just did my thing.

Jeb performed beautifully! He did all his sits; he was just wonderful! I was so proud! The applause was HUGE and it was so heartwarming. It was also adorable when Jeb realized all those people were watching -- he looked over and tilted his head at the crowd. It was a great moment. When we came back in with the other team to find out who won, I gave no thought that it would be us. When they went to shake our hands the crowd went CRAZY!!!!! I was STUNNED! We had just made the final four which meant we would be on the podium. I was honestly so stunned I didn't feel much at all. I was done, too. I went in two more times to find out if we'd run off for 3rd/4th or for 1st/2nd. I was done. I just went through the
motions. I was exhausted and happy to be where I was. I lost to Bridget Carlson. I sent Jeb over the wrong jump, but I didn't care. I was oblivious and floating around in a stupor. So I would run off for 3rd/4th. In hindsight, I wish I'd tried, but I was so floored. Jeb did a no sit on a pivot so we were 4th.

I was so proud of that dog. He was so exhausted, but he did everything I asked of him. The one round where I really focused and raised the bar, he rose to the occasion. What a wonderful boy. The rest of the day I was literally numb. It was the greatest thing ever and thanks to hard training and some luck -- we have our medal and crystal eagle for our third runner-up NOI finish. A true Cinderella story if you ask me.

Paula McCollum

OTCH UUD Smokin' Bullet Jebediah Blue UDX3 VER Bh (NAPWDA Cadaver/SAR Area/Obed)

This August 5th was Olivia’s Adoption Day. The day we took hold of her leash and walked her into our home. Her birthday and age is only an educated guess. She was one or two years old when she was picked up as a stray in Round Rock, suburb of Austin, Texas and brought to Town Lake Animal Center (TLAC).  In 2007, TLAC had a three day hold policy, Olivia was given her three days, waiting for an owner to claim her, after that she was scheduled to undergo euthanasia. The first photo I have of our Olivia was taken of her in her cage at the shelter, she was sitting next to a pail of water looking up at  the camera. She was given the required shots, an ID number and a small chance to live.

Lucky for her, the staff thought she was a sweet girl and alerted one of the rescue volunteers. These volunteers have taken on the unenviable task of visiting the dog shelter to look for dogs that they can “pull” and bring into a foster program. Many of the dogs won’t be saved and this is their last chance. Olivia’s road to life started with Coonhound Companions member Jerry Dunham. Coonhounds are one of the many breeds that he helps save.

He knows his hounds and was surprised that he had missed her on his recent visit, but when he approached her cage he could see why. She was curled up in a tight ball at the back of cage. He said “she looked liked she had given up”. To this day, when Olivia feels stressed, I find her in her bed, curled so tight that I can’t lift her paw. We call it her “coonhound lockdown” time.

Many phone calls and juggling of schedules later he found a foster home for her. He was allowed to pull her under the auspices of The Texas Alaskan Malamute Rescue. Our little underweight, scared black and tan coonhound went to Lynn, who fosters Mals but found room in her busy life and home for Olivia.

I later found out that the very pink slippers that can be seen on Olivia’s Pet Finder page were Lynn’s.

Olivia went from a being a hungry, injured stray, surviving on the streets by herself to being given a second chance and what may have been her very first name ever, “Scout”.

She was put up for adoption on Pet Finder and the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue’s site, I first saw her picture there.

Lynn was the first to notice that Olivia was showing signs of being very sick and alerted Jerry. He contacted a local vet that would do pro-bono work of rescue dogs to see if she would take a look at Olivia. “Scout's” survival was in question.  She came out of the shelter with a nasty kennel cough that quickly turned into double pneumonia.  It was touch and go for several days, but she pulled through and we are grateful to vets like Dr. Culp that donate their time to rescue dogs.

Before adopting Olivia I wanted to know more about her. My dogs had always been six to eight weeks old when I got them and I wanted to know what I could expect with a full grown dog. Jerry answered every question I emailed him and if he didn’t know, he put me in contact with someone that did. This was my first experience adopting a dog and I had some trepidation, but I had made the decision to “walk the talk” and adopt a dog from a shelter. The commitment and support of these rescue workers sharing their stories about coonhound behavior, and what I could expect when I brought her into our home sealed the deal for us. I said yes. We’ll take her!

Foster mom Lynn, says good bye to a now healthy Scott!

My current work with Coonhound Companions is my way of “paying it forward” - repaying the support and help I received, and continue to receive, for my Olivia from the dog rescue community. Many coonhound owners have begun to share their coonhound stories on our Coonhound Companions Facebook Page, and follow our Long Ears Blog on our CoonhoundCompanions.com website.

 Anyone can help save a life by simply going to www.coonhoundcompanions.com, click on Poster & More and download the free PDF’s of posters and promotion kits. Pass the link onto a friend, your local shelter or rescue group. Every “like”, comment, and download is helping save a coonhound life and better the understanding of this oft-misunderstood breed.

The life I helped save was Olivia’s. On August 5, 2006 my husband and I met the transport driver Norm, in our local park. We signed some paper work and took her leash from him.  My life changed immediately. I was once considered the consummate dog person, but I soon discovered that I knew little about how to handle this neglected, fearful canine.

Olivia: “The Cautious Canine”.

What’s going to be title of Olivia’s Story, part two?  “She Exhausts Me.”

Really, a coonhound?  As a performance dog?  Aren’t they solely hunting dogs?  Aren’t they stinky, stubborn, untrainable and have only one thing on their minds (finding raccoons)?

I’m here to tell you that that just ain’t so!  While all breeds were bred with certain characteristics and traits in mind, most breeds can serve many different purposes.  This idea has gotten so popular that many national breed clubs offer versatility awards to showcase the wide variety of talents of their breed.  As society changes, our beloved companions adapt and change alongside us.  The only trait that doesn’t change is the love of a dog for its owner.

What I will share with you is a not a secret and not magic.  If you want to compete in any event with a “different” breed of dog, you need to learn what’s typical for that dog and learn how to adapt your training to the type of dog you’re running.  Just like people, dogs do not all learn new things by one cookie-cutter secret training method.  Some people are right-brained, some left-brained, some detail oriented, some instinctive.  Some dogs are keenly intelligent, some dumber than a box of rocks, some anxious, some bold, some like ten million repetitions, others like to be shown once then they’ve “got it” so don’t drill it.

I’ve trained 3 coonhounds to be therapy dogs, compete in agility, obedience and tracking.  I’ve entered treeing contests and shows, watched a couple hunts, and thought about trying dock jumping with a coonhound just for a lark.

The most important part of competing with a dog is to remember that training and competing is essentially about building a bond between you and your dog.  The dog doesn't understand the rules of competition.  What they do love is the time spent with you training and succeeding at whatever you choose to try.

My Treeing Walker Coonhound is willing to try anything for me.  He desperately does not like to be corrected, but he’s full of mischief and joy when he’s right.  He cannot take any pressure, so I have to be very conscious of my nervous Nellie actions at competition.  He’s also maturing very slowly.  While friends are hopping in to the competition ring with young pups, I’m finding that at 2½ years of age, he’s barely ready to keep up that level of focus long enough to compete.  I’m positive he’s got a bright future ahead of him as long as I’m patient with his training.

And I’m not alone.  Look to the American Kennel Club performance records and you’ll find Redbone Coonhounds with their Master Agility Championships.  You’ll also find a pair of Bluetick Coonhounds who have earned their Obedience Trial Championships including perfect scores of 200 out of 200 and High in Trial wins over all the other breeds competing.  
Coonhounds just wanna have fun and they’re willing to try just about anything!  Keep your training sessions short and fair to the dog.  Keep distractions to a minimum when teaching a new skill.  And pick something you’ll both enjoy, and I can guarantee they’ll make you laugh and smile.

My big ole hound dog has ears the size of Texas and a melody to his music that makes my heart sing.  He’s my lap dog at night.  My faithful protector at my side.  And my buddy during our fun weekends in the competition ring.  As of April 2011, he now has earned his Canine Good Citizen, his Therapy Dog, one leg of three needed towards an American Kennel Club Novice Fast Agility title and one leg of three needed towards an American Kennel Club Novice Obedience title.  I hope you’ll be there to cheer us on when we compete again!

~Mary Beth Hall