History - Page 1

Your history needs to be up dated. It is not correct

• Foxhound, which evolved from the Virginia Hounds, that descended from the earliest English Foxhounds that were brought to America. 

  The Treeing Walker is a fast, hot-nosed, sensible hunter, with a clear, ringing bugle voice or a steady, clear chop with changeover at the tree.

• Today the Treeing Walker retains the same color and similar conformation to the Walker Foxhound and is occasionally described as a trailing hound with treeing instinct. 

• It locates its quarry quickly and has superb endurance and treeing ability. 

• Originally classified as an English Coonhound, its breeders broke away from the English version in 1945 and bred to retain the qualities they desired.

• Known to range widely, it may leave the original track if it picks up a stronger scent. Extremely competitive because of its speed, the Treeing Walker's reputation grew as night-hunts achieved popularity.

? Question: How could anything, ever, be known as an "English Coonhound" (in any genuine sense), when the English do not have, and have never had, 'Coonhounds' of any description, whether Kennel Club recognised or not. Not having racoons here, either, you understand !  The American canine community's imagination beggars belief.  'Australian' Shepherds from California, e.g.; and now "English" coonhounds.  Pah !  Must be very confusing in their isolated little world.

FYI, my sources say there have been less than a dozen Coonhounds set foot in the UK (all from the US, I believe) in all the years I can remember - afraid that, old as I am, I do not go back to '45 - and I had hands on one of them (a Black & Tan) in about 1974.

Having grown up in coon hound and fox hound country I can testify that both coon hound and fox hound groupies are among the biggest liars on the planet. They are universally disliked. Both fox hunting and coon hunting are now seen as inhumane excuses for grown men to drink and let their idiot dogs trespass on others property. Hunting deer with dogs is the only use of dogs that is more universally disliked.

That might be true, BooBoo, but I wouldn't know, LOL. The bloke I chatted to who brought that one dog I met over here seemed likeable enough ! I don't suppose the OP is lying, I bet there WERE some hounds being called "English" - I just wanted to point out how ridiculous that was.

Nothing wrong with the dogs .. they can be good dogs however training them to chase and or tree animals is a use that is no longer in demand. Most Labs don'T retreive ducks. Dog breeds must adjust to their new environment. Field trial labs are not all that good for a lot of jobs. Beagles are better than many other hounds for a lot of jobs. The same is true for most breeds including the GSD .. there is no one dog or type of dog that does every task better than all others. The humans have more of a problem adjusting to reality than the dogs.

Strictly speaking our Foxhound packs have outlived their purpose, except in single 'couples', since the Hunting Ban here. Apart from those hunts which take place 'under the radar' of course. There are those who maintain that "hunting people" are often not very nice, because of their thirst for Foxhounds (or Beagle packs) running down and tearing apart small furries. But often the Hunts are as much supported by ordinary people who have lost chickens etc to foxes and feel they are vermin. While I can sympathise with those to an extent, I really never have felt able to support the whole triumphalist pomp & circumstance and 'hunting pink' coats rituals stuff that went with it. Foxhounds do not, it is said, make good pets, living singly or only as two or three dogs in a family environment; but all I have met have seemed very sweet-natured towards people. So you may be right.