opinions on coon hunting?

ORIGINAL: brookcove
I've known plenty of people who go on real hunts (not those silly staged AKC affairs).

all the coon hunters i know do actually hunt. of course they also get their dogs based on whether they are or will make a good hunting dog, and not according to if they have an AKC pedigree or not.

ORIGINAL: brookcove
Working dogs are NOT irrelevant.

I agree.  Certainly, Sequoyah's mother and sister make a huge difference on the cattle ranch where they work.  Even in urban areas, it is a working dog that may be keeping the goose poop off your golf course, or the diseased plants from coming through customs!  Hunting may be distasteful to some, but there are still people who make a living farming and ranching, who need the help of dogs for herding, guarding, and pest control.  But, again, in suburban areas, there are quite a few horse barns with a resident JRT to keep the rats outta the grain...

don't forget the police dogs, the search and rescue dogs, the bomb and drug sniffing dogs, the therapy dogs, the dogs that guide blind people, or the dogs that assist the handicapped.

I never do, mudpuppy, but they are certainly on most peoples' list of the more socially acceptable working dogs.  Just trying to highlight that modern city-dwellers need to understand that the food they buy so neatly wrapped at the stoopidmarket arrived there because of a farmer, and maybe a farmer's dog!

I really think this is going to be a continuing issue in the dog world. The work our dogs were bred to do is increasingly not really relevent anymore and so many people wind up with problems with their dogs for lack of having work for them to do. Most of the organized working dog trials are fairly artifical, including coonhound nite trials. Because of the rules of the trials, hounds are trained to do a pretty different set of tasks than on a freeform hunt. I've read that the same is true in beagling as well.

 
I just don't see how anyone without any real experience, can make a statement like this. All you know is what you have been told or what you have read. There's no real experience to back up your statement, as with some of the other posters.
 
In beagling field trials, the rules are built around what the breed is designed to do. They are put down in a "pack" to find scent, jump game (rabbit), and run it to the gun. It's that simple. The dog that does it the most efficently, wins it's class. Then, you have the hunters that don't trial, but do rabbit hunt. The rules are the same. Find scent, jump game, run it to the gun.
They are NOT trained to do a different set of tasks (not in beagling anyway). Whether hunting or trialing, the only difference is the dogs are being judged in a trial and the game is not killed, but the dog must be able to perform it's duties.
While some may not see the relevence in hunting (whatever the prey may be), there are many, many others that still hunt to put food on the table. Many species are hunted with dogs all over the world. Also, wild boar is STILL being hunting in the old USA today! Along with cougar, bear, deer, etc, etc. Many of these species ARE hunted with dogs as well.
 
In regards to hunters not caring for their dogs properly, while there might be some that still treat them as property, there are many more that provide as much care for their kennel (some may contain 25 dogs) as many of the posters here with 2 or 3 dogs. Alot has been changing in the hunting dog world in the last few years. The level of care, housing, and nutrition is in the forefront of many of the top breeders and trainers in the field. This is trickling down to the basic hunter and trialer, as the breeders are promoting their hounds and their pups, and their stature has earned the respect of others.
 
Now, to prove what can happen to a "dumbed-down" breed, look at the Irish Setters. Beautiful dogs (hunting dogs originally), that went awry because some wanted to make them "pets" without the drive to work. SO SAD!
I can't imagine not hearing beagle-music ever again because some breeders and "pet" owners wanted to take their drive away.
 
As another poster stated, theres quite a difference in "animal rights" and animal welfare. None of the people (hunters or trialers) I know would mistreat their dogs. They all have respect for them and are allowing them their "functionlust"
 
 

Since this topic has branched out a little into modern-day uses of working dogs... A couple of months ago, when discussing my Pit's destructive chewing with a co-worker, she suggested that maybe my dog needs a job.  Since then, a few other people have made the same suggestion.  However, I haven't come up with any good solutions to finding a job for my dog!!  I've come to realize through this forum that her chewing issues are due mainly to her age (8 mos), and I've come to deal with the problem by keeping her in an ex-pen during the day with lots of toys, and giving her lots of bone-chewing time when I'm home.  However, the idea of giving my dog a job is kind of intriguing... most dogs were originally bred for specific purposes, and since most are mainly now pets, I'm sure there's an element of boredom that contributes to a lot of common behavioral problems. 
 
So, my question is, does anyone have any good ideas of how to keep a dog busy without going so far as to put her into some kind of organized competative sport?  Also, I have considered getting her into agility training, but I don't even know where to begin with that.  Any suggestions?

it sounds like you need to find work that your dog can do when you are home. find something that will stimulate your dog mentally. there are all kinds of treat balls out there and many different recipes for what to put inside them. maybe give something like that a try.

My experience in rescuing a Walker makes me agree with you, Houndlove. A lot of poor conditions exist.

Alisiaj78, your obedience instructor should be able to steer you in a good direction if you are interested in agility. A lot of Pit's do very well with cart work which you may want to explore.

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000
it sounds like you need to find work that your dog can do when you are home. find something that will stimulate your dog mentally. there are all kinds of treat balls out there and many different recipes for what to put inside them. maybe give something like that a try.

 
Well, I give her a stuffed Kong when I'm not home, but when I am home she's either playing with us or chewing on a bone or other edible chew until she's finally sleepy.  But maybe I should look into some more interactive toys.

ORIGINAL: Stacita
Alisiaj78, your obedience instructor should be able to steer you in a good direction if you are interested in agility. A lot of Pit's do very well with cart work which you may want to explore.

 
Any idea when's a good time to start with either of those?  I'm assuming the younger the better, but at this point she still doesn't seem to have enough of an attention span to learn anything too complicated.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart.  Actually I've been reading this board for a while now and this post finally got me to register!  Just a little background on me...I am a female that coonhunts and bearhunts with hounds.  My husband and I have 4 coonhounds - 2 Treeing Walkers and 2 Plott Hounds (hence the name Brindled1).  We are also involved with our local Houndsman club where my husband is the president and I am the secretary.  I also own a dog supply store that I opened 3 years ago.  I sell only healthy foods & treats, supplements, toys, collars, etc.   No by-products and fillers for my dogs!

I guess what upsets me is the generalization that coonhunters don't take care of their dogs, or that hunting with dogs is inhumane.  Unfortunately, there are some coonhunters that don't house or feed their dogs like I would, but there's alot of people that own Shepherds, Labs, Yorkies etc that don't house or feed their dogs well.  Most people that are against hunting with hounds have absolutely no idea what actually goes on.

Alot of my customers will ask me what kinds of dogs I have.  I try to educate people that come into my store about hunting with dogs.  Most are interested and become loyal customers... some do not.  Finding a good hunting dog is hard.  Maybe 1 or 2 of every litter actually has the drive and desire to hunt.  I have placed 2 of my Plotts in pet homes because they didn't make it as hunters.  Those dogs are great pets!  I wouldn't suggest that someone go out and get  a coonhound as a puppy with the intention of making it into a companion animal.  If the puppy has the desire to hunt it will be MISERABLE if it is not allowed to do what it was born to do... to me that is inhumane.

Sorry for the long post... I could keep going for a long time on this subject, but I will spare you all! []

Brindled1,
  
   Great post!!  My husband grew up hunting with and trialing Plott hounds, so I understand where you're coming from.  Today we train and hunt with beagles, there's nothing better than watching a dog do what they were born to do-and love!!    -Stacy

Thanks Sandyvalley!  Normally I don't like barking dogs, but when they're trailing something trying to work it out, then locate and tree, the barking is music to my ears!  I called myself a hunter, but actually I have never shot anything in my life.  I just like to go out into the woods with the dogs and listen to them work.  I enjoy shooting pictures but that's about it! lol  Here's a pic of my Plott  'PR' Pawtuckaway's Daybreak Cruiser when he was just a few months old.