Black and Tan Coonhound

The Black and Tan Coonhound is a breed of dog used principally for trailing and treeing raccoon. It's a cross between the Bloodhound, and theBlack and Tan Virginia Foxhound. The Black and Tan Coonhound runs its game entirely by scent. The courage of the Coonhound also make it proficient on the hunt for deer, bear, cougar and other big game, although many US states are restricting the hunting of antlered animals with dogs. The general impression is that of power, agility and alertness, with the ability to cover ground swiftly with powerful rhythmic strides. Each hound has its own distinctive voice which is often recognizable to its owners from great distance.

Appearance

The breed standard for Black and Tan Coonhounds is as follows:

• Eyes are hazel to brown
• Ears are extremely long, wide, and thin, set low and far back on the dog's head, hanging well down the neck.
• Their black and tan markings are similar to the Doberman and the Rottweiler but have key distinguishing differences from these breeds. The most prominent are the long tails and ears, and their loud, baying bark.
• Legs are long in proportion to the body length, muscular and finely modelled.
• The tail is set slightly below the natural line of the back, strongly tapered, and carried at a right angle, when the dog is alert or excited.

• 23 to 27 inches (58 to 69 cm) at the shoulder
• 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) head (back of skull to tip of nose)
• 65 to 130 pounds (29 to 59 kg)
• Males are typically larger and heavier boned than females.

Temperament

Not the prototypical house dog, the Black and Tan Coonhound, nonetheless, makes an exemplary pet. It is mellow, amiable, calm, and unobtrusive indoors. Outdoors, its strong hunting instincts take over, and it can be difficult to turn from a track after it starts trailing. As befitting a dog with its heritage, it is strong, independent, and stubborn. The Black and Tan Coonhound is gentle and tolerant with children, but it may be too independent to satisfy a playful child. It is reserved with strangers. It may bay and howl.

History

The Black and Tan Coonhound is descended from the Talbot hound, found in medieval England after the eleventh century. Its ancestry is then traced through the Bloodhound and the Foxhound to the Virginia Foxhound, commonly called the "black and tan".^[1][2]

In 1945, the Black and Tan became the only one of the six varieties of Coonhound to be recognized in the Hound Group by the American Kennel Club.^[3]The Redbone Coonhound and the Plott Hound have since been recognized in the Miscellaneous Class. The other three varieties of Coonhound are theBluetick Coonhound, the English Coonhound, and the Treeing Walker Coonhound.

Black and Tan Coonhound

Other names	American Black and Tan Coonhound
Country of origin	United States
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