Bluetick coonhound
The Bluetick Coonhound comes from Louisiana, developed from English Foxhounds, French hounds and curs, and takes its name from the dense black ticking over a white coat that reads as blue at distance.
It is the mascot of the University of Tennessee.
It stands 53 to 69 centimetres, weighs 20 to 36 kilograms and lives eleven to twelve years. It is a cold-nosed hound, meaning it can follow an older, fainter trail than most, and it works slowly and thoroughly rather than fast. It is friendly and sociable with people, determined to the point of obsession on a trail, and extremely loud — the bawl is the breed's calling card.
- Origin
- Louisiana, United States
- Size
- 53–69 cm; 20–36 kg
- Lifespan
- 11–12 years
- Coat
- Short, densely ticked black on white
- Voice
- Loud and continuous; a cold-nosed trailing hound
- Health
- Hip dysplasia, ear infections, bloat, cataracts
Related: American English coonhound · Black and tan coonhound
2 bluetick coonhound photos, newest first
Living with a bluetick coonhound
The noise is not trainable away. A Bluetick bays at what it smells and hears, and it is a genuine obstacle to keeping one in a built-up area.
They need an hour or more of hard exercise daily plus scent work. Nosework and tracking are the substitutes for hunting.
Once on a scent they are effectively deaf to recall, and they will follow it for miles. Secure fencing is essential.
Ears need weekly cleaning. Learn the signs of bloat, since this is a deep-chested breed.
They are affectionate, sociable and good with children and other dogs, which is why they keep being chosen by households that then cannot meet their needs. Ask for hip scores and eye testing.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual dogs vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
Worth reading alongside this
- A rabbit that stops eating is an emergency
- The kitchen scale that catches illness early
- Bloat: the emergency that kills in hours
- The health tests to ask a breeder for
- Deafness, and the coat colours that cause it
- Hip and elbow dysplasia, and how to read a score
- Ear infections, and why they keep coming back
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