Bluetick Coonhound

My personal favorite, as I own one, the bluetick coonhound is thought to have originated in Louisiana, though I’ve heard it argued that the breed comes from Tennessee. Still, the AKC says the genetic origins trace back to the man himself, George Washington. A friend of Washington’s, Marquis de Lafayette(that name certainly tracks in Louisiana), gifted Washington a couple of French staghounds, which I believe are now extinct. These were mixed with other hound breeds to develop the ability to track a cold trail, otherwise known as having a “cold nose”, mainly to hunt raccoons, hence the term “coonhound”. Their droopy ears might make them seem goofy, but make no mistake, coonhounds are intelligent and know how to solve problems.

The bluetick is identified by the large and small spots on his fur coat that appear to be blue, also known as “ticking”. With the appropriate training, your average bluetick can learn basic commands and maybe even some more. But even more than that, he would love to learn how to hunt. They should learn to track from a young age, if the owner plans on teaching them. As with all scenthounds, they need exercise daily, so a long walk would do. But the owner should be an experienced walker because blueticks can be stubborn when they catch a scent. This breed can be loud and loves to sing to signal to their people they’ve found something, so ideally the owner should own property with a large yard where their pup can explore and bay to their heart’s content. Despite their loud bark and their potential to be large, blueticks are not guard dogs and shouldn’t be used as such.