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We Didn't Think We Could Love Again

9/16/2011

19 Comments

 
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We didn’t think we could love again. We didn’t think we could laugh again. It was March, cold and raw, when we lost our beloved Dalmatian, the first dog we’d ever had. We were crazy about him, and miserable without him.
 
We were so sad we couldn’t live another day, it seemed, without a dog. So again, we made the trip to the animal shelter, Buddy Dog Humane Society, in Sudbury, Mass.
 
There, across from the cage where, ten years before, our Dalmatian had stood, gorgeous, noble and proud, waiting for a home, we watched a large, black, white and chestnut-colored pup fold his improbably long legs into the confines of a tiny round bed. We laughed, for the first time in weeks.
 
Some sound other than the furious barking of the shelter dogs attracted his attention. He unfolded his nimble body, stretched impossibly tall, and trotted off to investigate. Back he came, curiosity satisfied, and plopped down again. We laughed.
 
We took him for a walk to test him out. That was the plan, anyway. He took us on a dizzying tour of the shelter’s grounds. We were convinced he was the one. “What mix is he?” we asked, as we put down our deposit. “Actually, we think he’s a purebred Treeing Walker Coonhound,” the shelter worker said.

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“A what?” we asked. We did our homework. I sat biting my nails as I watched videos of these tree-climbing dogs, then called the fence company to replace our four-foot picket fence with a more substantial six-footer.
 
When we went to pick him up, he spooked at a ball of cat hair rolling across the parking lot, then refused to get in the car. The shelter worker managed to coax him in, and knowing the shelter’s rule that I had to take him to the vet within 10 days, we practiced every day. We tried many treats. We had dog friends show him what to do. We climbed in, and out, and in, and out, ourselves. “He’s a hound,” said our neighbor, a Basset hound owner. “What does that mean?” I asked frantically. She just smiled knowingly. “You’ll find out.”
 
We did.

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Lesson #1. Hounds are independent thinkers.
Hounds think a lot. Tucker considers where he wants to go—and doesn’t. Never having walked on a leash, he would simply sit when he had different plans than we did. We called it the Plop o’Doom, because 85 lbs. of stubborn hound are impossible to move. Tempting treats in one’s pocket are a necessity.
 
Lesson # 2. A hound is stealthy.
They’re hunters, so they’re experts at moving without making a sound. Tucker is so quiet, we often think he’s slipped out somehow and gone gallivanting. But no, he’s usually asleep in one of his many favorite spots or simply waiting to be noticed.
 
Lesson #3. A hound is sensitive. At first, Tucker didn’t know the difference between his food and ours. Rather, it was clear he preferred ours. When I sprayed him with water (a technique that would barely quiet our barky Dalmatian) after he tried to eat our dinner, he stood shaking in the hallway. I never did that again.
 
Lesson #4. A hound is gentle and friendly. Where our Dalmatian tended toward fear-aggressiveness, Tucker loves everyone and every dog, especially tiny ones. He can play with the big guys and the little ones. He stands still so toddlers can pet him. Easy!
 
Lesson #5. A hound is smart. Now that Tucker loves the car, we have to spell the word, otherwise we’ll get knocked over as he races to the door. He was easy to train, and possesses several graduation certificates. It seems like he knows what we’re going to do even before we do. He’ll also go get his leash when he’s ready for a walk.
 
Lesson #6. A hound sleeps a lot. Our Dalmatian was always underfoot, begging to go out for a run—three times a day! A coonhound’s job is to hang around until needed, so they’re perfectly willing to wait for a walk. Then, they’d like a good, long one.
 
When admirers used to ask us if we would recommend they adopt a Dalmatian, we would have to tell them no. We were up to the challenge, and loved it, but knew many families wouldn’t have the time or energy to keep up with the exuberant breed.
 
Now, when people ask about our hound—and they do, Walker hounds are known mainly to hunters in the Northeast—we enthusiastically can recommend the breed. Tucker barely sheds. He’s extremely quiet—no barking, and his throaty bay and his antics make everyone laugh. We laugh all the time now, with our goofy, sweet, lovable hound.
 
by Lisa Rogers
Guest Blogger
dreamsdudog@yahoo.com


19 Comments
Jennifer Darby
9/16/2011 05:18:27 am

What a beautiful boy, he's very lucky to have such a wonderful new family. He looks almost identical to our dog, Charles, who we were told is a TWC/Beagle mix. I only believe the beagle part due to the ticking, like your boy but from what I can tell purebred TWC's have no ticking. Does anyone know if that is the case?

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James
4/22/2019 10:54:41 am

TWCs are tri-colored dogs without ticking. The coonhound colors with ticking are Bluetick Hounds and Redtick Hounds. Redticks are sometimes called English Coonhounds or American English Coonhounds. All are handsome and wonderful dogs.

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Jerry Dunham link
9/16/2011 09:58:24 am

Light ticking is not uncommon on Treeing Walkers. It's frowned on in conformation showing, but it doesn't disqualify.

I'd be interested in seeing pictures of your Charles.

--
Jerry Dunham
Tejas Coonhound Rescue

Reply
Lisa Rogers link
9/16/2011 01:53:58 pm

His vaccination certificate from the vet in South Carolina (where he's from) identifies him as a Walker Foxhound. I figure they know their hounds down there...also, he's gigantically tall, but of course we can't know for sure. I still don't understand the difference between Walker foxhounds and Walker coonhounds--Jerry, can you explain?

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Judy Mintz link
9/17/2011 06:36:59 am

What a wonderful story. Your dogs are very lucky to have had such a loving family. When my cats tell me they're ready for a dog, I'll look for a hound like Tucker.

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Emily Plishner
9/26/2011 07:59:30 am

Lisa
Its very hard to tell foxhounds from coonhounds! The primary difference is behavioral--coonhounds chase their quarry up a tree; foxhounds chase quarry that doesn't usually climb. However, the original coonhounds were selected from foxhounds that would trace quarry that climbs trees. Some lines of foxhounds are taller and lankier than coonhounds,built for speed. Most foxhounds have slightly shorter ears than most coonhounds. Some color combinations are more common in foxhounds than in coonhounds, and vice versa. However, there is a huge overlap, and if you don't know the dogs background, the best you can do is an educated guess.

Judy
While most coonhounds can be trained to get along with the family cat, but their natural instinct is to hunt cats, so please think your introduction strategy over carefully and be prepared to supervise their interactions at first. The cat will need to be mostly an idoor cat, and will need a place to retreat to indoors, safe from the hound.

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Mary Beth
9/29/2011 03:04:46 am

Awww, I'm in love with him already and I haven't even met him! I'm so glad you've got a wonderful new family member!

Judy, I like to introduce dogs to cats when the dog is under 9 months of age or else adopt a dog that is already trained to be good with cats if its over 9 months of age. That age is kind of the closure of ability to modify prey behaviors. So, if the puppy practiced chasing and attacking cats until it was 9 months old, then it will probably be very difficult to modify that behavior in the adult. If the adult dog practiced behaving around cats all through puppyhood, then it should continue to be good.
Blaze had to behave around my adult cat after I got him around 5 months of age and he did well. The old cat passed away and I recently brought a kitten home. It was a challenge, but his puppy training came through and he's learned to not chase the wild and crazy kitten.

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Penni Lowery
10/23/2011 11:53:25 am

Your 6 lessons are very insightful. You described my TWC perfectly. Your Tucker is very handsome and I can tell he hit the dog lottery when he found you. Thank you for making him part of your family and for spreading the word about the "woderfulness" of this breed.

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Nancy from NW PA
12/21/2011 01:21:00 am

How very true ... our sweet Sadie Sue died from bladder cancer this past beginning of November ... we wanted to wait till spring to get another but 8 days later a 5 month blue tick dropped into our lap full of energy and lots of fun.

Reply
Leslie
3/13/2012 01:34:49 pm

I so enjoyed your story....especially because we had and do have such similar experiences with our Walker Betsy. We tried out a portable electric fence system once and she accidentally got shocked. So sad, but she was so sensitive for over a week that my husband had to carry this 90 pounder across the street to go to the bathroom - what a site that was. When we first adopted her, she would also plop down in the yard and refuse to walk! Two years later she is the love of our large family....she is a saint with our kids and a friend to our 3 kitties too.

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Anna link
3/14/2012 04:41:57 am

Leslie, I loved hearing how your husband carried Betsy across the street for a week to potty because she was scared by the electric fence. Bless you both for being patient with her fears and helping her to overcome them. BTW, I have a friend who adopted a lovely TWC girl from the shelter where I volunteer and this girl Layla also will park her butt in the grass and refuse to walk at times. But she walked willingly all around a "Bark in the Park" event last summer and charmed the kids with her calm ways, sweet, plaintive expression and huge dark eyes.

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Ann
11/21/2012 06:08:27 am

What a wonderful story. I also have a TWC rescue. Took 6 months to get her comfortable getting in and out of the car. Another 1.5 yrs to be able to leave her alone in the house.(severe seperation anxiety). She is such a beautiful girl. Can't imagine not having a coonhound again in the future. Some people tell me she is a bluetick, but she is the same colour as your Tucker but with a dark band over her eyes and more ticking on her white areas. Thanks for sharing your story.

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Lisa link
1/30/2013 11:05:02 am

Ann, I agree--these dogs are the best! I would have many more if only I had enough beds (people beds, I mean!). They are the most endearing animals. Did you see that this year Treeing Walker Coonhounds will be competing in the Westminster Kennel dog show?

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Ann
10/13/2013 07:44:34 am

Hi Lisa:
I didn't get he info in time for the Westminster show and I missed it. Darn. Anyway, I'm sure they will be competing again and I will make sure I don't miss it again. My Lucy has had a rough time grieving for my mum who passed Dec. 23. They were very close. She shared my mums bed during the day for naps but won't come on mine since her loss. I wonder if she thinks I will go away if she shares. Anyway, she is still the wonderful darling I adopted and I will treasure her for many years to come.

Karen
4/7/2013 01:02:51 pm

Lisa- Wonderful and well written story. We lost our beautiful lemon and white foxhound on 2/1/13 to cancer. She also a rescue and very scared and nervous when I first got her but with some time and patience she blossomed into the fabulous dog I know she could be; she was the love of my life. Later she won my husband over too who was not originally a dog person but he could not resist those enormous eyes and a face that in typical Hound fashion, was capable of expressing every emotion and thought and as you say; Hounds think a LOT and are very emotional. Now we are ready for a new furry love and we have found a rescue organization that has two very sweet what we think are TWC's -those big brown eyes, big soft velvet ears, beautiful strong and loving. Thank you for that article and helping to educate people on these wonderful dogs; Hounds will be your best friend and the best thing that ever happened to you if you let them in to your life.

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Lisa
10/23/2013 01:45:19 pm

Hi Karen,
Thanks for the kind words. So sorry about your dear hound. What loving creatures these dogs are! I hope you have new loves in your TWCs--two!

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text to voice mp3 link
12/12/2013 12:56:31 pm

It was something to see when it was up though. Nice single, hope he makes it.

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James
4/22/2019 10:56:20 am

Great article! Shelters throught all parts of the south are chock full of wonderful coonhounds of all colors and sizes! They need heroes! Go get one, and change your life and theirs!

Reply
Lisa Rogers link
6/6/2020 07:03:51 pm

Thank you so much! Coonhounds are just fabulous family members and are totally irresistible!

Reply



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