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How a Weighted Vest Helped Calm My Coonhound

4/14/2021

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By Courtney Heart

A weighted vest has been the most important tool to turn my coonhound’s behavior around and change my life and his for the better. This is the story of Rusty.

I adopted Rusty when he was 6 weeks old. Now 6 years old, he's 3/4 Treeing Walker and 1/4 Bluetick. We have a very calm, quiet home. I’ve raised puppies before but never a hound; and Rusty was a handful. In addition to being a very stubborn puppy, he has always been possessive of his food and toys. Rusty has a very big personality and has always wanted to be in charge of the pack, which includes me, my 9 year old Labrador Retriever Leroy, and my roommate. 
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Rusty was neutered at about 6 months old. I had hoped that would calm him down and make him less bossy and controlling, but it made no difference. At 9 months old, Rusty began showing signs of aggression (growling, snapping) and being overly territorial over practically everything. His resource guarding became excessive, and his anxiety was pretty high sometimes, too.

Rusty just takes his job of being a hound very seriously and is always on patrol. He is very sensitive and intelligent; when you speak to him calmly and gently; he seemingly understands your words and sentences. He’s extremely loyal and a velcro dog. Rusty loves to help, no matter what you’re doing, and will sit by you and protect you as you do your tasks. He’s goofy and submissive most of the time -- all the typical sweet coonhound qualities. It’s just this ONE flaw that he has: too much energy and anxiety, which turns into aggression at times.
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Rusty is guarding the pickup truck owned by Courtney's roommate, while the truck is being worked on.
There were times I doubted I could handle this difficult dog any longer. I walk him as much as I have time and energy for, but I work full-time. So my dogs get my left-over energy, which sometimes isn’t much. My roommate enjoys driving Rusty to the dam near us to walk across it. In all, Rusty gets walked about 5 nights a week for 45 minutes each time.

We live on an acre of fenced yard, so Rusty has plenty of space to sprint and soar around the property and get some of his energy out. I couldn’t live on a smaller property with him; he would go insane, and I know his aggression and anxiety would be much much worse. The size of my yard and the space we have for him to run around really helps. 
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Rusty is relaxing on the patio.
Other than regular exercise, playing, and other typical activities and interactions that wear a dog out, the one thing that has helped most with Rusty's aggression and anxiety is a weighted vest on his nightly walks. I researched this idea for several weeks and even invested in a $110 weighted vest. I ended up returning it, because spending that much money wasn’t necessary for such a simple training tool.

In place of the vest, I looked for a backpack that would be a snug-fit to his body and sit comfortably on him. I found an Arcadia Trail Dog Backpack for only $30 from PetSmart. The improvised vest was our last resort, so once we got it I was super excited to try it.

First he walked for a night with the empty backpack; then we added about 5% of his body weight and later upped it to 7%. You can go up to 10%, but this was enough for Rusty to be worn out but not strained. For weight, I used uncooked lentils in a ziplock bag, one on each side of the backpack. Dry beans or rice would work as well. I put the backpack on him inside the house before getting into the car or leaving the property for a walk. Rusty is kind of a maniac in the car, but the vest helps keep him calmer and in place compared to when he is not wearing it. He loves his backpack now and gets excited when he gets to wear it.

The weighted pack has calmed some of the tendencies in Rusty's DNA that he can’t always control. With Rusty, working on our verbal communication with meaningful eye contact helps a lot, but he still has days where he’s a handful. I try to just accept him for who he is and keep working on his more obnoxious behaviors while enjoying his loving and sensitive coonhound qualities. He’s a nightmare on the leash when cars pass us; that’s our biggest issue right now, but he’s getting better. He’s just so protective and serious about his job that he can’t resist.
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Rusty has many adorable qualities.
If you have a hound, there are some tendencies you might need to accept just like with any dog breed. Give your hound as much exercise as possible and use consistent firm training and commands. Coonhounds can have strong, stubborn personalities; and they might think they know more than you sometimes, Having multiple people in your home who can walk your hound or take them places to get that energy out will help a lot.
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If you decide to try a weighted vest, keep it on them in the car and for any and all outings. Have patience ... it took Rusty until he was 6 to chill out and accept that he is a pet hound and not a hunter. I hope using a weighted vest to exercise high-energy, anxious dogs helps other hound families!
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The opinions expressed in this guest blog are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by Coonhound and Foxhound Companions.
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The Dog They Weren't Gonna Love

11/7/2020

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By Leslie Lenz

My Goldendoodle, Tucker, had just turned 10 when I started thinking about training my next  service dog. I had promised myself that I was going to get a rescue this time because I was retired and would have more time to deal with “issues” that could come up with a rescue dog. I was also nearing 60 and a puppy’s worth of energy was out of the question! About this time my friend, Holly, a life-long dog lover, was trying to fill a hole in her dog pack left by Rosie, a beautiful Treeing Walker Coonhound. I got a call from Anna Nirva, looking for a reference for Holly to adopt. After letting Anna know that any dog going into Holly’s pack would have a  better life than I do, we got to talking about my search for my next dog. Anna spent some time telling me about all the great traits coonhounds have and I told her that when she found the right dog for me she should let me know. I should have given Anna a lot more credit for not  letting a “hot one” go! 
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Meanwhile, I was having a hard time at home convincing, The Ladies, my three caretakers (I’m pretty seriously physically disabled, hence the service dog), that it was “time”. They  remembered vividly raising the last puppy, who was a holy terror 'til he was almost three, and  were having trouble embracing the idea of a new dog. I heard several choruses of “I won’t love a new dog” and “he’s not ready to abdicate”. They put a lot of effort into being loyal to Tucker.
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Ella's post on Facebook.
PictureElla on Anna's porch.
Fast forward a few weeks to the beginning of October, my  search of the local rescues wasn’t offering anything I felt was  right for our house. The phone rang one night, it was Anna calling to say she was fostering a young coonhound mix that  she was hoping could meet my needs. She sent me a picture  of “Ellery” that night. Her bright little face, definitely evident ribs and Anna’s assurance that she got along with cats, (yes, we have three of those, too!), just about clinched the deal. Now to be introduced. 

I don’t know as much about Ellery as I’d like to, but I do know she spent a lot of time in kennels and shelters after being found on the side of a highway in North Carolina. She spent about a week in the county shelter before she was pulled out and put into a kennel for two weeks. Then she started her trip to Wisconsin, which included overnight stays at shelters and vets along the way. She had her first vaccinations, flea baths, and was spayed en route. There were strangers poking, prodding and crating her along with very long hours of driving. Finally, she made it to Anna’s house near Tomah, Wisconsin, approximately six weeks later.

Once I heard her story, I wanted to meet her ASAP to determine if she was done with the stop gap”ness” of her life or if I was going to help find her a permanent home. 

I had spoken to Anna about setting up a meeting the following weekend but she was going  camping for the weekend and Ellery was going to Chasing Daylight Animal Shelter for the weekend. Being in a wheelchair has its challenges; transportation is one of them. Tomah, WI, is a two and a half hour drive from my house in Milwaukee. Coordinating me, my wheelchair, someone to drive, Tucker, and Anna with Ellery was darn near impossible. Luckily, I have a few very close friends who are willing to “go the distance” (pun intended) for me, so a drive into the  country during fall colors sounded like fun to them.

I called Chasing Daylight to find out their Sunday hours, and was told to call them when I got there and the Director would come and open the place up if it was closed. Now that’s dedicated! They also made introducing two completely unknown dogs to each other sound like a piece of cake! And they would do it!  That whole Sunday was just about perfect. The weather was gloriously sunny and warm, the drive was easy, and my friend’s husband was also available to come along.

We arrived shortly before closing time, so my friend and I went in to meet Ellery while her husband waited in the van with Tucker. Dogs don’t always like me because of the wheelchair and some are really put off by the smell of prosthetics, so I was a little nervous. Ellery was released in the room and immediately started sniffing the huge pile of dog food bags. A short time later she noticed us and came over. She sniffed my friend first, then started in on my wheelchair, then me. She walked her front legs right up my legs and proceeded to kiss me everywhere she could reach. She was completely intent on sniffing every inch of me. She seemed to be relaxed and frankly, a lot happier than I expected.

Next hurdle, the face to face dog meet. One of the workers went out to the van to get Tucker for a walk around the grounds. About halfway along the path, another person came out with Ellery to join them and off they went.

Next thing I knew I was signing a check for far less than I thought it would be and I now owned two dogs! On our way home my friend asked why I was grinning. Had I forgotten I still had to convince the caretakers to accept Ellery? I told her that the sheer fact that I again shared my life with two dogs was enough to make me smile. 

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Leslie and Ella, going home!
Back on the home front, I decided to change Ellery’s name to involve the caretakers in an important decision and help them bond with her. Ellery just seemed a little too formal and one syllable too long. I had read somewhere that dog names should be as short as possible to help them differentiate their name from others.  We wanted something as close to Ellery as possible, because we didn’t know how long it had been her name and she had been through so many changes in recent weeks. We decided on Ella. We started by calling Ella .....ry for the first week, then Ellahhh.....ry the next week and, finally, Ella. She seemed perfectly fine with the change.

Actually she seemed perfectly fine with everything after Tucker told her in no uncertain terms, shortly after walking in the door the first time, that every tennis ball in the house was HIS. From that point on she seemed comfortable.

We gave her a few weeks to relax and get to know us, our schedule, the people who take care of me, my family, their dogs, the cats, the neighborhood, the neighborhood dogs and the weather, before we started her formal training.

I should have filmed her reaction to the first snow! It was priceless! I think I can safely say she still hates snow and anything else that gets her feet wet (read: rain). She has developed an 18 hour bladder when it’s rainy; her idea, not mine!

This last year has been slightly different for us because, somehow, I managed to literally break my neck. I’ve been sleeping in a recliner since and Ella sleeps either under the footrest or behind the backrest. She was never trained for this.

When we’re out and about together she automatically puts herself between me and other people we don’t know. She was never trained to do this.

She meets people at our door with hackles raised, a solid WOOF!, sniffing out their intent. She was never trained to do this.

Somehow, Ella has made  herself into my guard dog.​

She sits and waits patiently while I fumble with putting the collar over her head because I don’t have the finger dexterity to operate a clip, then she waits again while I take it off!
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Leslie, Tucker and Ella taking a walk.
I've always trained my own service dogs from puppyhood on. I always thought they bonded with me and coped with my physical differences because they never knew any other way. Ella was about a year old when she came to me. She most certainly had  plenty of experience with people without disabilities, yet she accepts that I have to do things differently. Turns out they do it naturally as a part of loving you. ​

Almost exactly four years later Ella is a great dog. Absolutely the most laid back, quiet, loyal, protective, happy girl. I think she really likes her life. She was a very boney 33 lbs when she moved in. Now she is a muscular 69 lbs. She gets about an hour to hour and a half long walk most days, but if the weather doesn’t cooperate, she’s happy sharing the couch with two cats.
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Ella and friend snoozing.
It took quite a while train her to get the lady that lives upstairs, but we didn’t realize that she was petrified of the cat that lives there because that one hissed at her at the top of the stairs. So we spent some time “retraining“ both of them with special treats together. She’s very protective of me and if her favorite cat manages to escape outside all I have to say is, “go find Gizee” and she does!  

She’s welcomed with treats at the pharmacy and gets a “pet stop” at up to 6 departments in our local big box store. The local Burger King and McDonalds welcome her by name. My caretakers and my family fight over who gets her when I go on vacations. 

This morning, after accidentally pinching Ella’s toes, I heard my caretaker say, “Oh, Ella, I’m  so sorry. You know how much I love you. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Last night I heard another  caretaker say, “Ella, to think, you were the dog I wasn’t gonna love! What was I thinking?”.  When you have a dog, love just multiplies.
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An evocative picture of Ella from her vet clinic in North Carolina.
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Seven, the Rescued “Police Dog”

9/28/2013

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By Officer Katie Zaimis

There she was, excitedly leaning against the door of her cage at the animal shelter. With trusting brown eyes, a white-tipped tail, and those floppy, spotted ears, she was the most adorable puppy I had ever seen. I had seen her for the first time a few nights prior in the hallway of the police station, on an early morning after my shift. I had not been able to forget about the 8-week-old abuse victim ever since. The officers who witnessed the incident had apparently seized the pit bull/beagle mix from her owner, and the puppy was going to be kept at the shelter until the court hearing. I didn’t know yet if she would be put up for adoption or returned to her owner, but I knew how much I wanted to keep her.

My husband Alex and I both love dogs, but we live in a small townhome without an accessible backyard. We had previously agreed that we wanted at least one dog but had decided to wait until we moved into a larger home. Now, a sweet little face and wagging tail were quickly convincing me to reconsider. Over the next month, I visited the puppy almost every day. I brought her treats and toys, clipped her nails, and took her for walks. Her name at the time was “Princess,” but she had not been treated as one. I decided that I wanted to name her Seven of Nine after a character from Star Trek: Voyager (the character on the show was also “rescued!”)

Animals are a special kind of victim—they can’t tell anyone that they are hurting, or seek help for themselves. It was a stressful month knowing that Seven might eventually have to go back to her owner. She would not likely get another chance to be saved.

When the court hearing came around, I was relieved to find out that the owner had decided to sign the puppy over to the county. I went to the shelter and filled out the adoption paperwork that same day. Seven was finally ours, and would have a loving home for the rest of her life.
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Having had zero experience at raising puppies, I relied heavily on advice from friends and Internet research.  One thing I never expected was the constant biting during the teething process.  I came to realize that a dog’s natural reaction to touch is defensive, and they need to be taught to view humans as non-threatening.  This must have been especially difficult for a pup already injured by a human at such a young age.  Seven used to latch onto hands, arms, shoelaces, pants legs—pretty much anything that she could sink her razor sharp puppy teeth into.  With a lot of time, patience, and the occasional band-aid, we slowly taught Seven bite inhibition.  Ignoring bad behavior and praising good behavior goes a long way when training a pup.  I would yelp like a puppy and let my arm go limp if she bit me, and turn my head away and ignore her if she was pulling at my pant leg or shoelace.  We gave her chew toys, Nylabones, a Kong ball (I like to freeze it with peanut butter inside), and even pieces of ice.  I used to pet her while feeding her treats so that she was too distracted to start chewing on my hands.  It took time, but this type of training proved to be extremely effective and resulted in a much gentler puppy!

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House training is another challenge, even more so when it is raining outside.  Seven hates the rain so much that we got her a tiny raincoat for when she needs to go out during inclement weather.  I took her for a walk one day to allow her to do her business, when she suddenly decided she did not want to walk home.  I found myself walking down the side of the road holding a puppy in a raincoat, and an umbrella over both of us.  I could not imagine what passersby must have been thinking!
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Anyone who has ever trained a hound knows how willful they can be.  Training is a challenge, but it can be very rewarding if done properly.  Hound breeds are extremely intelligent and can learn new things very quickly.  At five months, Seven already had a decent repertoire of tricks memorized.  She learned how to sit, shake hands, high five, and low crawl.  If I told her to “twist” she would spin around in a circle.  Our latest trick is my favorite—I point my finger at her and say “bang bang!” and she rolls onto her back with her paws in the air. 

At six months old, Seven has started baying and chasing squirrels.  Her beagle side is definitely asserting itself.  Our walks require a bit of patience since she wants to investigate everything along the way.  She seems to enjoy tracking and sniffs the ground with her nose down, tail up.  She began doing this while she was still at the shelter, but her senses seem to have developed more now.  She is a hunting dog at heart, but such a loyal and wonderful companion.
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Seven has a ton of energy and we make sure she gets plenty of exercise to match it.  She runs with larger dogs at the park and gets several walks a day.  She seems to operate in short bursts—she will run and play for an hour, but then nap for the rest of the afternoon.  We play fetch games with her squeaky ball and Alex throws Frisbees with her at the dog park.  Once she has had her exercise, Seven loves to be held and prefers to use any nearby human as a pillow.  She even sleeps in our bed at night.

For all the challenges of owning a puppy, the rewards are tenfold.  We look forward to a lifetime of adventures with our sweet Seven of Nine!

Editor's Note: Beagles are "cousins" to coonhounds and foxhounds and we thought our readers would enjoy reading this engaging first-person account and excellent photographs! Our organization does encourage adoption of hound mixes.
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Tips on Adopting a Foxhound

2/7/2013

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By Beth Gyorgy

I am the very proud owner of two foxhounds, Corporal and Walden, and I help rescue foxhounds from shelters around the South. I rode with a mounted foxhunt in Virginia for eight years. Six of the hunt’s litters were born at my place. I adopted one of the hunt’s retiring hounds, Corporal.
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CORPORAL is a retired male foxhound who hunted for six years with a central Virginia foxhunt. In this photo he is 7 years old, weighing 90 lbs. The term for his coat coloring is white with lemon (light brown) spots. Corporal adjusted very quickly to his new pack and to being a pet.
My other foxhound, Walden, was the runt from one of their litters, and never hunted.
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WALDEN is a female foxhound, 7 years old in this photo. This is her favorite couch, though she has the choice of several. She is a tricolor foxhound with both red (the term for brown) and blue (the term for black) ticking (the term for small spots).
If you are considering adopting a foxhound, you will probably want to know about the breed, and also about some quirks specific to hounds that have hunted.  Not all hunting foxhounds hunt foxes with a mounted hunt—some are used for hunting foxes on foot, or coyotes, or, where it’s allowed, deer. What I have to say about hunting hounds comes from my experience hunting on horseback following a pack of formally trained hounds in the traditional organized sport you’ve seen pictures of.

Hounds can be wonderful companions, very affectionate and amusing. They are particularly emotional—it’s easy to hurt their feelings. Many are opinionated. They may be couch potatoes for extended periods of time, punctuated by bursts of energy. Until taught otherwise, they are natural counter surfers. I’ve been around when some miscreants “hunted” down a hunt’s Christmas feast and wiped it out!  Others I know ate entire lasagna that had been grabbed off the kitchen counter. They are also very hardy. I have had vets tell me that hounds can physically withstand medical conditions that would kill another breed of dog.

If hunting hounds are scared or unruly it is not because they have hunted. While a few hunting hounds are poorly socialized and may have been ignored or mistreated, most individual hunters and the majority of mounted foxhunts’ huntsmen love their hounds and take excellent care of them. The hunters and huntsmen who abuse their hounds are in the distinct minority.  In my experience of mounted hunts’ foxhounds, the dogs are personable and extremely well trained. And here in the mountains of rural Virginia I personally know several individual hunters who hunt several hounds, including foxhounds. Their dogs are in beautiful shape and very friendly.

Foxhounds are very attuned to people, as anyone who has worked and/or hunted with a foxhunting pack knows. The leader of the pack is the huntsman, who leads the hounds while out hunting and who gives the hounds their orders and provides discipline and direction using a series of voice commands and calls on the hunting horn.

Even the poorly socialized hounds that occasionally make their way into pet homes can usually be trained, with enough patience and discipline, and blossom as pets. Rescues and shelters will already have begun this process of socialization but it still requires fine-tuning when the dogs are adopted and enter a home.

When meeting a hound with an unknown temperament for the first time, be patient.  The hound will usually take some time learning to trust you. Just in case it has had an abusive past, don’t make any fast, threatening movements; don’t make any attempt to pat or touch the hound’s head or otherwise move at them from above. Some hounds are “head-shy,” meaning they aren’t used to being patted on the head, either because they were abused or it’s just a new experience. Squat down and let the hound approach you, avoid eye contact initially, and stick your hand out for the hound to sniff. Be extra-gentle and considerate of the hound. Observe how it reacts carefully, and try to understand why he or she is reacting the way it is and what experiences may have caused this.

Foxhounds should have exercise as often as possible. I run with my two foxhounds every day. I call them my pace cars and they are quite beautiful when they run. They also get exercise on our small farm. Exercise is very important for these dogs, who often run long distances while hunting—in my hunt hound’s case, 30 or more miles every day he hunted.

As far as retired hunting foxhounds go, I cannot stress it enough: Hounds must have respect for their owner (pack leader). Just like a child, they will not obey rules if they are not provided with discipline and structure. This takes consistency, of course, and sometimes some guts. With my retired hunting foxhound, a male who weighs 90 pounds, I had a confrontation early on. He tested my resolve. In response, I got him down on his side and sat on him. I stayed alert for any attempt to bite and removed the threat, closing his mouth tightly, and continued sitting on him until he gave in. Now he knows

There are certainly other ways to reinforce rules, which any knowledgeable shelter director or good dog trainer would know, but this was the method I used. I had seen the director of the shelter I volunteer at use it and it worked for her. To make sure that he remembers that I am boss, I have him wait for about 30 seconds every night before I allow him to go up the stairs to his crate for the night. I convey the message with a foxhunting voice command, “Get behind,” then I say “okay” and up he goes. In foxhunting, this is one of the voice commands that the huntsman uses to teach the hound that the huntsman is the leader.

Neither of my foxhounds has ever threatened to bite—though they have growled a few times—nor have I ever known of any foxhounds actually biting someone. The director of the animal shelter where I volunteer has advised me not to reprimand any dog for growling, because a growling dog is warning you before biting, and you don’t want it to skip that step when it is scared or displeased.
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THESE ARE SOME OF THE MALE FOXHOUNDS from a pack of about 40 hounds hunted by the central Virginia foxhunt from which Corporal retired (he’s the third hound from the left in the front). Each kennel run (there are four) has a bench which provides a resting area up off the kennel floor. After a hunt the hounds pile on top of one another on the bench and fall sound asleep.

A word on hunting commands for foxhounds. The huntsman of the hunt that I rode with gave commands in a gruff, strong voice. He sometimes gave them rather arbitrarily just to reinforce discipline and the pecking order of the pack. The actual words used vary among huntsmen, but the ones our huntsman used include:

Leave it.  This tells the hound to stop investigating whatever he is interested in at the moment, usually something he is sniffing or trying to pick up with his mouth. 
Get behind. (Given while pushing your body toward the hound.) This tells the hound to step back (from the gate, stairs, door, etc.), and let the huntsman lead the way.
Hold back.  This tells the hound to stop, or wait for the huntsman to catch up when the dog is out front.
Kennel up. This tells the hound to get in its crate, a vehicle, or other enclosed space.

Foxhounds do well with another dog/pack member who will show the hound the ropes in his or her new home and provide a good role model. As puppies, hounds are taught how to hunt with the pack by being coupled (their collars are connected with a link between them) to a more experienced hound. New hound owners can take advantage of this. The new foxhound in the family will quite naturally follow the cues from the dogs currently in the household. Unfortunately, the foxhound will be just as eager to imitate the existing pack’s bad habits as their good habits, so watch closely and intervene before the foxhound mimics your long-time dogs’ annoying quirks!

If your new foxhound is not yet house trained, a long-time resident can make that task almost automatic. I don’t even remember house-training either of my foxhounds. They each joined our existing pack and learned very quickly. They are naturally clean in their home environment and this helps in their training. My retired hunting foxhound was almost instantaneously crate-trained, too. Like so many dogs, he loves the close, cozy, safe environment of a crate.

Fences are a necessity. Most hounds will leave any non-fenced area, wandering off, chasing a deer, or picking up another line of scent that extends out beyond the yard. I have an invisible fence which both of my hounds respect. I do check on them often, even with them behind this fence. I don’t want one of them stolen by a deer hunter, especially during hunting season. And I never leave them in the fenced area all day while I am occupied inside, which is a recipe for disaster. Also, invisible fences don’t keep out wild animals or neighbors’ pets.

I also will not let my retired foxhound run loose, for his own safety. I would worry about him getting hit on the road, lost, or shot. We live in a rural area where it is legal to shoot any dog molesting livestock. And there’s always the chance that some no-good could take a shot illegally

Leashes are a must. If my retired foxhound gets on a line of scent while we’re running I stop running immediately. He’s quite large so I have had instances where I have had to let go of the leash because I am going to have a crash or I’ve already tumbled to the ground. I’ve learned to hold on tight, walk, and sometimes a command in a gruff, loud voice will slow the hound down or break him or her off the scent. My foxhound responds to the words, “leave it,” because if he started chasing deer out hunting that’s what he heard. And it works!

Speaking of leashes, a really handy training technique using one is called “umbilical cord” training. A new foxhound owner brings the hound home and keeps the leash on the hound and hooked to the owner himself or herself or, at a minimum within grabbing range. This should be done for a week or so. It allows the owner to correct the hound immediately when the hound does something wrong.

And a word on cats. It has been my experience and that of our county shelter director that not all hounds will chase and/or harm or kill cats. Here, again, the owner must be the boss. The owner needs to show the hound that the cat belongs to the owner; the cat is the owner’s “possession.” The leash worn by the hound for a while after it’s been brought to its new home (and when it is first introduced to the cat) can be grabbed quickly and used to “check” him or her (a sudden, short tug, not dragging the dog away from the cat). Voice is very important here—gruff, loud, insistent. For a good while, watch the situation until you trust there is a decent chance that a relative peace between the animals exists.
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Photo by Justortitri - some rights reserved.
My foxhounds are the pride and joy of my life. I fell in love with the breed when I was foxhunting and continue to rescue foxhounds from kill shelters in the South and to find homes for foxhounds retiring from my previous foxhunt. Adopting a foxhound has been one of my life’s most rewarding experiences. No doubt it could be the same for anyone adopting one of these wonderful creatures.
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Sadie Mae, Bluetick of My Soul

4/3/2012

17 Comments

 
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.
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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!]

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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.

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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 ].

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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/  


17 Comments

Jeb's Story

1/26/2012

13 Comments

 
__ 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.

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Senior coonhound Jeb enjoying a hike in the mountains
_ 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."


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Jeb and his target after competing in search and rescue
_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).


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Jeb successfully clearing a hurdle
_ 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)


13 Comments

Olivia’s Story Part One: Her Road to Rescue and Her Human Helpers Along the Way

8/26/2011

6 Comments

 
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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.


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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.


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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.


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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!


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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.

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 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.”



6 Comments

"Lotsa Talent" ... What does that mean?

6/12/2011

10 Comments

 
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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

10 Comments

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