Best known for their hunting skills, Coonhounds are also known for capturing the heart of everyone they meet. In fact, these breeds are so loved that they even get to celebrate their own pets– Dog Day Coon!
What, where and when is Coon Dog Day?
People who are devoted to Coon Dog gather in the city center Saluda, North Carolina per year on Saturday after July 4 for a day filled with small town fun.
The event includes live music, dancing, fun 5K races/runs, a parade in which Coonhounds and their pet parents are the pride and a dog show hosted by the American Kennel Club Licensing. Using an artificial raccoon, the Coonhounds also got the chance to show off their flying talents in a tree-planting competition.
Saluda located about 35 miles southeast of Asheville, North Carolina.
Interesting facts about Coonhounds
To celebrate Coon Dog Day, we found out a few fun facts about Coonhounds:
There are six breeds officially recognized as hunting dogs:
- Black and Tan Coonhound
- Bluetick Coonhound
- English Coonhound
- Hound conspiracy
- red bone hound
- Treeing Walker Coonhound
A phrase first used by author James Kirke Paulding in his 1832 novel West Lake!“barking the wrong tree” refers to a hound being fooled by a sly raccoon into thinking its target is in a tree, when in fact it has escaped.
Movie fans and Fidos may remember the dog graveyard scene in the romantic comedy Reese Witherspoon dear home Alabama. Recreated for the big screen, the only Coonhound cemetery in the world to exist. Since 1937, faithful purebred Coonhounds have been laid to rest at Key Underwood Coondog Memorial Cemetery in Colbert County, Alabama.
Dubbed the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin recorded “Pete, the Best Coon Dog in the State of Tennessee.”
Long live the Coonhound! The average lifespan of the six varieties is:
- Black and Tan Coonhound: 10 – 12 years
- Redbone Coonhound: 11 – 12 years
- Bluetick Coonhound: 11 – 12 years
- American English Coonhound: 11 – 12 years old
- Treeing Walker Coonhound: 12 – 13 years
- Plott Hound: 12-14 years
Black and Tan Coonhound Trivia
George Washington, the father of our country, was the adoptive parent of Black and Tan hounds named Drunkard, Taster, Tipler and Tipsy.
You’ve heard? At 13.38 inches, the ears of a Black and Tan Coonhound named Lou have entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2022 for the longest ears on a dog (alive)!
Outside the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg, Missouri, stands a statue of a black and tan hound. The sculpture is a tribute to the Old Drum, a beloved dog that was killed in 1869 for a crime he didn’t commit. Shot by a neighbor whose sheep died from a dog attack, Old Drum’s pet parents went all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court to exonerate their deceased four-legged friend.
Quiz about Bluetick Coonhound
Did you know that the official state dog of Tennessee is the Bluetick Coonhound?
Since 1953, the University of Tennessee’s mascot has been the Bluetick Coonhound, with each dog taking on the role and name of its predecessors, Smokey. In 2019, the university honored the first 10 Smokeys with statues that resemble them, each standing guard in a different area of the campus, which Fidos fans can find with help from Fidos fans. help from online maps. (Smokey XI, son of Smokey X, assumes the role of mascot in 2022.)
A Bluetick Coonhound named Princess played a key supporting role in the music video for Blake Shelton’s performance of Ol’ Red, a song about outwitting a Bloodhound hunting down runaway prisoners.
In the song “Red Dirt Girl” by Emmylou Harris, a Bluetick Coonhound named Gideon is the son of the song’s protagonist, Lillian. Dog and country music fans may also hear mentions of the breed in the songs “Church Bells” by Carrie Underwood and “I Love My Country” by the Florida Georgia Line.
In the Disney adaptation barbarian Samsequel author Fred Gipson Old Yellergenuine tail wagger depicted by Bluetick Coonhound.
Although the breed is of French origin, the Bluetick is an American breed, native to Louisiana.
Interesting facts about American English Coonhound
The breed was once called the English Fox and Coonhound, the Redtick Coonhound and the English Coonhound.
Although the breed’s history has been intertwined with that of the United States since Colonial times, the American English Coonhound was not officially recognized by the American Kennel Club until 2011.
Savvy people feel that the American English Coonhound is the fastest of the six hunting dog breeds.
Puzzle about Redbone Coonhound
DogTipper’s Irie is part of the Redbone Coonhound, a blend of pure joy and love whose impact still affects our lives on a daily basis.
Novel Where the red fern grows introduced the Redbone Coonhound to generations of young animal-loving children. Wilson Rawls’ 1961 children’s book tells the story of a boy named Billy and his loyal raccoon hunting friends, Old Dan and Little Ann. Fans of the novel can visit the life-size bronze trilogy statue, which stands outside the Public Library in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
1974 film adaptation of Where the red fern grows is set in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which hosts the annual Redbone Coonhound during the Red Fern Festival.
The “Redbone” in the Redbone Coonhound is a nod to Peter Redbone, a Tennessee breeder who was one of the people who helped develop the breed.
Puzzle about Plott Hound
The Plott Hound was declared the official state dog of North Carolina in 1989! In honor of the breed’s prominent place, in 2017 a statue of the Plott Hound – created by sculptor Todd Frahm – was unveiled in a small park in the town of Hazelwood.
The breed is so loved by people in Canton, North Carolina that the town holds a four-day festival called PlottToberfest! Hosted by a direct descendant of Henry Plott, the fall celebration of both the breed and the German heritage of many of the area’s residents including numerous Plott Hound competition events has been approved by UKC Global
The Plott Hound is the only hunting dog that is not related to the foxhound.
Treeing Walker Coonhound
The breed is fondly referred to as the “People’s Choice” due to the Treeing Walker Coonhound’s propensity to win hunting competitions.
The “walker” in the Treeing Walker Coonhound is a nod to Thomas Walker from Virginia, who played a key role in the breed’s development.
The hunt for the breed’s origins in America sends dog lovers back to the 1800s and a stolen hound named Tennessee Lead. The Treeing Walker Coonhound’s four-legged father in America is remembered with a historic landmark on the Livingston Freeway in Monroe, Tennessee. Placed by the Tennessee Historical Commission, the plaque reads: “Recently in November 1852, a black and tan hound was stolen by a horse dealer from a deer chase, and brought to the County. Madison, Kentucky, sold to George Washington Maupin. There, as the Tennessee Leader, he became the cornerstone of all Walker, Trigg, and Goodman foxhounds.
American Leopard Hound Trivia
The breed was not officially recognized by the United Kennel Club until 2008.
The American Leopard Hound is also known as the Leopard Cur.
The American Leopard Hound is not yet recognized by the American Kennel Club.
Through a Coonhound
If you’re pondering the prospect of becoming a Coonhound pet parent, you might find your new canine friend at a breed-specific rescue.
Visit AKC Coonhounds’ rescue page for a list of some breed-specific rescues across the United States and Coonhound Rescue Network on Facebook for shelter Coonhounds in urgent need of a permanent home.
Other sources for rescuing Coonhounds include:
