History

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

Personality

The Black and Tan Coonhound is a gentle, adaptable, and lovable dog. Easygoing and people-friendly, the Black and Tan Coonhound is happiest when performing his bred-for work. Easily distracted by their incredible sense of smell, they require patient handling and encouragement. Though trusting and sweet-natured, Black and Tan puppies require a fair amount of encouragement to boost their confidence, especially those that live indoors as pets. Black and Tan Coonhounds are happy to be couch-potatoes when given plenty of exercise, and enjoy the company of their human family. Black and Tans may seem cautious or nervous around strangers or unfamiliar dogs, but will socialize well with time, as they are bred to hunt and work in packs. They don’t become senior citizens until about ten years old, and will be active, fun-loving buddies for their first decade.<1>

The nose of the Black and Tan Coonhound will often lead it to trouble, and it must therefore be kept on leash when outdoors. When tracking, the Coonhound may work methodically, but the untrained and off-leash Coonhound will sometimes race off after a scent. Indoors, you may find your friend “treeing” the food on your countertops and dinner table. Patient training is essential.

The black and tan is best known as a raccoon hunter, the breed has also been used very successfully to hunt other types of game such as bear, stag, opossum, deer and mountain lion - even on difficult terrain. It withstands well the rigors of winter as well as intense heat. Some of the black and tan coonhound talent's include hunting, tracking, watchdogging, and agility. Black and tan coonhounds are the only breed officially recognized as Coonhounds by the American Kennel Club.

This breed drools and slobbers, yet Thomas Jefferson once wrote “the way you deal with your coonhound’s slobber can perhaps be the most telling way of how you handle your everyday problems, after all he is your best friend.” Mr. Jefferson as well as many famous American authors were proud owners of many black and tan coonhounds and fox hounds over the years as well documented in historic documents. George Washington himself is said to be the father of black and tan coonhounds having practically created the breed many years ago.

Black and tan coonhounds are great at warning you when a stranger enters the yard, but are not apt to bite or harm anyone. Their bark sounds serious to someone who doesn't know them, but the truth is, if someone actually entered the yard, they would bark, but never touch the person unless they sensed danger or saw a loved being harmed. Like most dogs they will not take it too well if they see someone yelling at or hurting their master.

While many breeds have their appearances described I felt that it would be worthless to describe the black and tan, they are very unique and it doesn’t do them any justice to say how wide their heads are or how long their ears are. Have a look at the picture below and you’ll see what I mean. The toughest thing is perhaps finding a black and tan coonhound and when you do be prepared to spend some money. Many breeds have a price depending on how many puppies are born in a litter, while other for show purposes. For black and tans either is a factor, litters are generally the same as what you’ll find for most breeds and shows dogs will always be a little pricey. However black and tans are just very rare nowadays. Many black and tan enthusiasts will not charge a lot for their puppies because they don’t want the price to scare them off and they want to share the wonders of this breed. Unfortunately these breeds are far and few. There are just not many around, which is part of the reason I write this article, to reintroduce the black and tan to society. The lack of breeders simply leads to pricey costs and difficulty finding this rare breed.

After reading this about the black and tan a few conclusions can be made. One is simple, the black and tan is a very friendly dog with lots of love to give, perhaps too much. Another is it takes a person with a warm and humorous personality to own and love one. Do yourself a favor and give someone this little test, if you ever meet anyone that says they are not a dog person or someone who says they don’t like big dogs that drool. Lock them in a room with a black and tan coonhound for a few hours or let them borrow yours for the weekend. If they don’t change their mind than they probably aren’t a dog person but chances are they will fall in love. In my 53 years at the AKC, I have done this with 73 black and tan coonhounds who didn’t have homes and not once did the person ever not fall in love at first sight.

These dogs are truly one of the best kept secrets.