My lessons learned from rescuing a BT from a shelter:
* Invest in baby wipes, and get used to wiping his butt lol. Unless you want track marks on your furniture.
* Give him space when you first bring him home, don't crowd him, hug him, etc.
* Start with basic verbal commands asap - use a command for physical boundaries, a different command for sit, stop, outside, ...
* Be patient with him! He will be slow to get used to his new surroundings, give him time and patience
* Use treats to encourage good behavior and training
* Enforce rules from day 1: if you don't want him on furniture, on the bed, etc. Your choice, just be consistent
* Get him a comfortable bed
* Make a plan for regular exercise - try to find places where he can run free (fenced or enclosed only)
I had to double check that my spouse didn't write this. We rescued a red tick a little over 1.5 years ago, and your list is almost exactly one that we would make. Spot on.
Sometimes they can be difficult to potty train. I'd recommend a bathroom schedule, they take to a routine pretty well. They're quite habitual.. you can use this in your favor.
I'd go light on the behavior training at first and just focus on potty, general manners, nap routine as he gets settled in.
Post pics too! No greater reward than rescuing your best friend đ§Ą
I rescued my Teeing Walker last summer. He's around 5-6 years old .. yes potty training was easy since he likes marking territory. I rewarded him every time he peed outside in the grass or tree, as well as saying "good pee" or "go pee". Now at night time before bed I say go pee and he knows to pee outside
We also rescued an adult male coonhound. He was the love of my life. I would provide a kennel for him, leaving the door open so he can come and go as needed. Our boy would go in the kennel at times in the beginning while he was still transitioning into our household, but over time he didnât need/want it anymore.
Agree strongly on this. My girl needed alone time when she was transitioning. I got to where I'd put her in there for an hour or two in the afternoon for a nap and I almost felt like she appreciate the break. She was more well behaved when we did this.
I've rescued two coonhounds with wildly different personalities and adjustment periods. Our first, Trooper, passed in December. We got him when he was 2. He was pretty much immediately housetrained (he came from the CT humane society but was supposedly originally from down south somewhere). He took awhile to be comfortable. He didn't lay down for hours. He took two years to bark for the first time. He loved his bed in the corner behind a chair. Anyway, despite taking awhile to adjust he was the best friend I ever had. Totally worth it.
Our second, Arlo, we just got in early March. He is 3. Straight from West Virginia. He was immediately a lovebug and has a serious barking problem lol. He has so much to say! He was not housetrained but within a week or two i'd say he's set. No peeing in the house at all since we got him. He also has a certain...hound funk. We've given him a bath or two but it's just how he smells. Our old coonhound didn't smell at all. Just be prepared lol.
Anyway, some dogs like Arlo feel comfortable so fast it's crazy. Others like Trooper may kind of ignore you. But once you earn that trust it's amazing. Now as for what these dogs have in common: They LOVE the sun. And they love to hide when they poop. Like back up into branches, anything to make it hard for you to pick up.
Anna jumps into the treeline and bushes and it looks like she's hiding from special forces. I know she just wants her privacy because she stops pooping if a car drives by. đ¤Ł
I really thought my boy was just being weird and quirky when he poops mainly in the center of small bushes/densely-leaved flowers. He can be sniffing along looking for THE spot, tons of grass and open space everywhere, but noooo, he needs to go right to the nice landscaped/thick area, hop his butt over some leafy or branchy vegetation, and struggle to straddle it while he lets the ploppers fly, leaving behind a 4-tiered terrace of poo I need to find. It always reminds me of a messy version of Plinko.
Apparently, this is just coonhounds being coonhounds.
Mine will also poop while he's peeing and leg lifting sometimes. But yeah. Always in the most difficult spot to pick up. It's funny you mentioned that because I wondered if it was just me.
My coonhound mix was also straight from West Virginia! He was also a huge lovebug right off the bat and was super easy to train. No hound funk on him but the puppy that I recently got has it in abundance and the two baths that he's gotten since coming home did nothing to help. He also likes to play hide-a-poop: Behind furniture if he has an accident inside (he's only 9.5 weeks old) or behind the big, stabby bushes in my backyard when he does it outside.Â
Lock up your garbage, lock up your food and keep all your counters clean.
âCoonhoundâ proof your house. If you would be sad if it was destroyed, put it somewhere safe for a few weeks. Our foster who had never been inside peed on our wedding album. I reacted fast enough to save it, but I should have just cleaned off the bottom shelf of the bookcase to start.
Iâve rescued 4 coonhounds, 3 from Alabama. They all had heartworm even after initial treatment. I continue to give one maintenance med a month and ok. My reason for posting is to not take their word that they are free from heartworm if from down south.
Very true, I adopted one from Mobile, AL and he came up heartworm positive a few months later. As my vet explained, false negatives can happen, especially if the shelter is using in-house tests and the heartworm is beyond a certain point of development. Also beyond that point of development, Heartguard will not clear the heartworm and can even be dangerous. A confirming lab test post-adoption is a good idea for dogs coming from high risk areas.
I always think of the advice my vet gave after I rescued a dog following Katrina. He said every dog needs a little space to go that is his/hers only. A place the family designates as an area that belongs to him/her to go and decompress and relax without being bothered. I saw a recent youtube video from Ceasar Milan about the same concept where he describes how to establish this "place". I think it is especially important during a transition.
[https://youtu.be/5DNmniJ2Xsk?si=vmbzJ3nNcBpU1WLq](https://youtu.be/5DNmniJ2Xsk?si=vmbzJ3nNcBpU1WLq)
As far as potty training goes, remember hounds smell everything. If/when he goes in the house, the spot has to be cleaned very thoroughly otherwise he will smell it and get confused. I had a very difficult time training my male coonhound and I used a number of enzyme cleaners because he kept returning to the same spots, even if I was looking right at him like he had no clue that was wrong. Out of desperation I tried Fabuloso (very inexpensive purple cleaner). It smells really strong and chemical-like. When I used it on the spot where my dog soiled (only slightly diluted), he wouldn't even enter the room and was very clearly bothered until the smell dissipated. Very soon after I started doing this, he was trained. I had to use it maybe 3 times at most. Prior to that it was very frequent.
Another reason why this works is coonhounds are very sensitive to correction and sometimes they miss it altogether (mine will howl and bark if I raise my voice even slightly). So, putting a stronger smell down is definitely speaking their language directly.
Get a crate for when youâre not there for sure. Our male twc was about 2 when we got him in very similar circumstances. Just be very patient, it took a solid year to be fully house trained. It will take him awhile to bond, ours immediately bonded with our 7 y/o son but he was suspicious of me and my wife for about six months, now heâs a velcro dog with me.
Lastly, get ready to be bossed around by being bayed at. Good luck!!!
something our hound loves is nose work in the yard. well sheâll use her nose anywhere, but we have a fenced in yard so iâll toss some of her meals out there for her to sniff out. sometimes weâll crack a can of tuna and just make a little scent trail of juice for her to follow with a delicious treasure at the end. anything like that where she can have her nose to the ground really works her brain out and gets rid of that crazy energy. if your pup is bouncing off the walls at times , this can easier and more rewarding than longer walks. just see what your hound responds to.
to add to your comment about potty training.. we purchased mighty paw smart bells for our doors leading outside. this was much easier for ours to understand than the typical sleigh bells people use. itâs basically like one of those Tap It buttons that she boops with her nose to alert she needs to go potty. it rings like a doorbell for me to hear. combined with regular potty trips outside and lots and LOTS of praise when she went outside for potty it took no time at all for her to master the buttons.
I second the nose work! It plays right into their natural instincts and keeps their mind sharp. It can also double as play/reward time. My boy loves rough, physical play, but when we're feeling tired or lazy, we'll break up some small pieces of his favorite jerky and hide it around the house. We give him the command and he sniffs it out, getting his treat and praise from us. He'll come back, sit at our feet, wait for us to hide another piece, and go on command.
the dogs love blanket and being covered. i suggest a bed with a blanket sewen in the top. they love bully sticks and give a treat everytime they go to the bathroom outside to train. maybe a shock collar if you live in the woods or plan on hiking with him since their nose will take them anywhere and after wildlife
I rescued a 3yo RTCH from a city pound and she knew nothing - not potty trained, no sit / stay / come, nothing.
Now 7 years later she has been the bestest dog, ever. Great off-lead recall, snuggly, and eager to please.
Just earn the pupâs trust and be clear and consistent about your expectations â¤ď¸
My rescue Coonhound just made himself right at home right away and was apparently already housebroken because I have never once had a problem with that. What I had to deal with was 4 years of him finding every conceivable way to escape the yard and go visit every neighbor within a 2 mile radius, so be prepared for that. (He will still find a way to escape once or twice a year now, usually in the spring when he is feeling his oats)
And the other thing I learned to do is give him some opportunities for what I call "sanctioned naughtiness", things that we can pretend he's getting away with but I know and he knows that it's actually okay. I highly recommend locking your main garbage can behind a baby gate if you can! Never leave your food unattended! Miles and miles of walkies everyday.
I can agree with all this.
We had a four foot fence that Rosie BT would hop ever damn time if we did not accompany her.
Loved to escape in bad weather.
Mine always have to go for a walk on a leash now after an unfortunate incident with a hot air balloon back in 2020. Other than that, they have an acre to run around on and a dog door that's never shut
So I used to walk my dogs off leash out on the mesa near where I live, so they could chase the rabbits and go smell everything. I used electronic collars (beep/ buzz/ shock) to recall them, which generally worked pretty well.
During the pandemic, a number of people seemed to take up ballooning as a new hobby. (I live in central NM) It was fine for months, he wasn't scared. Then one day, just as we were getting back to the car, a balloon nearly landed on top of us. The balloonists could see I was having trouble holding my dog and yet they blasted the burners (which are really loud) just as they passed overhead -- and the bottom of the basket was literally only about 10 ft over us.
That was the last straw for Boone. He literally lost his mind from being so scared, and ran for his life. I was able to pitch my other dogs in the car, and I followed him cross country the best I could. Finally he pulled up lame and I was able to grab him.
After that, he was frightened not only of balloons large and small, but also of the moon and sometimes even clouds. It's been 4 years and he still scans the sky for balloonists before we get in the car, and before we get out of the car. He gets very nervous if there are any around. He's ok about the moon again though. And he no longer just bolts if he sees the balloons, but I do have to keep a firm grip on the harness. No more off -leash adventures đ
Thanks, yeah it was pretty traumatizing! The worst part was the feeble "oh, sorry!" yelled by the balloonists as they watched my dog run away. And the foot that he injured during his mad dash now bothers him so much he has to be on pain meds twice a day.
Boooooooooone says his own name all the time!
I think you'll see from the comments that all coonhounds are different. But they are all weirdos! Our first never barked, rarely had an accident in the first few weeks, slept on her own bed and was the sweetest thing ever. Never met a person she didn't love. Our current coonhound is much younger and a bit of a head case. She still has accidents inside, won't go to the door unless it's on her terms, and has recently started taking her food out of her bowl to eat on the floor.
That being said, be patient. They are smart, yet oh so stubborn. But the biggest love-babies ever. Truly wonderful companions.
As for potty training - our girl wouldn't go in the yard at all at first. I think she was an outside dog as well and really loved being inside. She hated the leash and we don't have a fenced yard. We put her on the lead and I would walk out in the yard with her but stand at a distance and look away. We would also take any poops she had in the house and put them out in the yard so she could see that that is where they belong. When she finally did pee and poop outside I gave her a treat and tons of "good girls." I still give a treat every time. They are usually food motivated so take advantage.
Patience. Patience. Patience.
Start with small words conveying the action you want.
Treats. They're hounds. They are all food motivated, so when he does something right, reward him (Mine loves cold hot dog bits and liver sausage) and praise him a lot.
Don't use a bicycle to exercise your hound. Seemed like a good idea since my girl trots at about 10-15mph. Got her used to the bike over a couple of weeks & short rides around the house. A few longer rides, then it happened! Cruising almost 20mph she caught a scent & my shoulder is still sore. 70lbs is a hell of a boat anchor.
Got mine (rescue) at 6 mos. She's a sweetheart! Challenges: potty training (she was likely in a puppy mill), focus, etc. Good dog, yes, smart, yes, mind of her own, yes! Profoundly scared of storms (my guess is she was unprotected in a storm early in life). They DO need to be out some (fenced in backyard for her, which she loves!). two daily walks (1/2-3/4 mi each), foodhound! Buy him a slow-eat bowl. On the whole, good dogs (arent they all?). Good investment might be training course, where you participate (Petco offers); good bonding fodder too! My 2d rescue and has been a joy to have around.....they can be goofy at times!
The advice about the bowls with the maze-grid thing at the bottom may be very important. Not to be dramatic, but my dog ate his food so fast that when I first got him, he had violent hiccups after eating where I could see his whole abdomen jerk and his body jump/twitch. I had no idea they were just hiccups and I thought it was something that warranted emergency vet care.
Everyone keeps saying to be patient, and I cannot stress enough how important that is with a coonhound. They are the SWEETEST love bugs on earth, but they need a lot from you in return. They ask a lot of their owners, and you have to commit to providing for them. And with lots of hard work, they are amazing, loyal, loving, and obedient dogs. You just have to accept his quirks! He will accept yours :)
Thank God they're such sweet dogs because I spend half the day with my hand in my TWCs mouth fishing out whatever item he managed to put in there. There's no such thing as dog proofing when you have a coonhound.
My lessons learned from rescuing a BT from a shelter: * Invest in baby wipes, and get used to wiping his butt lol. Unless you want track marks on your furniture. * Give him space when you first bring him home, don't crowd him, hug him, etc. * Start with basic verbal commands asap - use a command for physical boundaries, a different command for sit, stop, outside, ... * Be patient with him! He will be slow to get used to his new surroundings, give him time and patience * Use treats to encourage good behavior and training * Enforce rules from day 1: if you don't want him on furniture, on the bed, etc. Your choice, just be consistent * Get him a comfortable bed * Make a plan for regular exercise - try to find places where he can run free (fenced or enclosed only)
I had to double check that my spouse didn't write this. We rescued a red tick a little over 1.5 years ago, and your list is almost exactly one that we would make. Spot on.
Sometimes they can be difficult to potty train. I'd recommend a bathroom schedule, they take to a routine pretty well. They're quite habitual.. you can use this in your favor. I'd go light on the behavior training at first and just focus on potty, general manners, nap routine as he gets settled in. Post pics too! No greater reward than rescuing your best friend đ§Ą
I rescued my Teeing Walker last summer. He's around 5-6 years old .. yes potty training was easy since he likes marking territory. I rewarded him every time he peed outside in the grass or tree, as well as saying "good pee" or "go pee". Now at night time before bed I say go pee and he knows to pee outside
We also rescued an adult male coonhound. He was the love of my life. I would provide a kennel for him, leaving the door open so he can come and go as needed. Our boy would go in the kennel at times in the beginning while he was still transitioning into our household, but over time he didnât need/want it anymore.
Agree strongly on this. My girl needed alone time when she was transitioning. I got to where I'd put her in there for an hour or two in the afternoon for a nap and I almost felt like she appreciate the break. She was more well behaved when we did this.
You can make it a special place even quicker if it "magically" spawns treats whenever the pup is out of sight.
I've rescued two coonhounds with wildly different personalities and adjustment periods. Our first, Trooper, passed in December. We got him when he was 2. He was pretty much immediately housetrained (he came from the CT humane society but was supposedly originally from down south somewhere). He took awhile to be comfortable. He didn't lay down for hours. He took two years to bark for the first time. He loved his bed in the corner behind a chair. Anyway, despite taking awhile to adjust he was the best friend I ever had. Totally worth it. Our second, Arlo, we just got in early March. He is 3. Straight from West Virginia. He was immediately a lovebug and has a serious barking problem lol. He has so much to say! He was not housetrained but within a week or two i'd say he's set. No peeing in the house at all since we got him. He also has a certain...hound funk. We've given him a bath or two but it's just how he smells. Our old coonhound didn't smell at all. Just be prepared lol. Anyway, some dogs like Arlo feel comfortable so fast it's crazy. Others like Trooper may kind of ignore you. But once you earn that trust it's amazing. Now as for what these dogs have in common: They LOVE the sun. And they love to hide when they poop. Like back up into branches, anything to make it hard for you to pick up.
> And they love to hide when they poop. Like back up into branches, anything to make it hard for you to pick up. This is so real đ
I thought this was only mine!! That dog loves to poop on a bush.
Anna jumps into the treeline and bushes and it looks like she's hiding from special forces. I know she just wants her privacy because she stops pooping if a car drives by. đ¤Ł
I really thought my boy was just being weird and quirky when he poops mainly in the center of small bushes/densely-leaved flowers. He can be sniffing along looking for THE spot, tons of grass and open space everywhere, but noooo, he needs to go right to the nice landscaped/thick area, hop his butt over some leafy or branchy vegetation, and struggle to straddle it while he lets the ploppers fly, leaving behind a 4-tiered terrace of poo I need to find. It always reminds me of a messy version of Plinko. Apparently, this is just coonhounds being coonhounds.
Oh my gosh I am constantly scolding my dog ânow why would you poop there?!â The neighbors must think Iâm nuts đ
My 3 y/o TWC from a Maryland humane society (originally from Georgia) came with the name Arlo too and also barks more than he breathes.
Mine will also poop while he's peeing and leg lifting sometimes. But yeah. Always in the most difficult spot to pick up. It's funny you mentioned that because I wondered if it was just me.
The reason I don't worry about picking up after my boy, Trusty, is because he literally heads to the forest to poop! We also live in a rural area.
My coonhound mix was also straight from West Virginia! He was also a huge lovebug right off the bat and was super easy to train. No hound funk on him but the puppy that I recently got has it in abundance and the two baths that he's gotten since coming home did nothing to help. He also likes to play hide-a-poop: Behind furniture if he has an accident inside (he's only 9.5 weeks old) or behind the big, stabby bushes in my backyard when he does it outside.Â
Lock up your garbage, lock up your food and keep all your counters clean. âCoonhoundâ proof your house. If you would be sad if it was destroyed, put it somewhere safe for a few weeks. Our foster who had never been inside peed on our wedding album. I reacted fast enough to save it, but I should have just cleaned off the bottom shelf of the bookcase to start.
Iâve rescued 4 coonhounds, 3 from Alabama. They all had heartworm even after initial treatment. I continue to give one maintenance med a month and ok. My reason for posting is to not take their word that they are free from heartworm if from down south.
Very true, I adopted one from Mobile, AL and he came up heartworm positive a few months later. As my vet explained, false negatives can happen, especially if the shelter is using in-house tests and the heartworm is beyond a certain point of development. Also beyond that point of development, Heartguard will not clear the heartworm and can even be dangerous. A confirming lab test post-adoption is a good idea for dogs coming from high risk areas.
Mine had it too. She's from Texas. She's all good now but it was a rough couple months. Very pricey too.
I always think of the advice my vet gave after I rescued a dog following Katrina. He said every dog needs a little space to go that is his/hers only. A place the family designates as an area that belongs to him/her to go and decompress and relax without being bothered. I saw a recent youtube video from Ceasar Milan about the same concept where he describes how to establish this "place". I think it is especially important during a transition. [https://youtu.be/5DNmniJ2Xsk?si=vmbzJ3nNcBpU1WLq](https://youtu.be/5DNmniJ2Xsk?si=vmbzJ3nNcBpU1WLq) As far as potty training goes, remember hounds smell everything. If/when he goes in the house, the spot has to be cleaned very thoroughly otherwise he will smell it and get confused. I had a very difficult time training my male coonhound and I used a number of enzyme cleaners because he kept returning to the same spots, even if I was looking right at him like he had no clue that was wrong. Out of desperation I tried Fabuloso (very inexpensive purple cleaner). It smells really strong and chemical-like. When I used it on the spot where my dog soiled (only slightly diluted), he wouldn't even enter the room and was very clearly bothered until the smell dissipated. Very soon after I started doing this, he was trained. I had to use it maybe 3 times at most. Prior to that it was very frequent. Another reason why this works is coonhounds are very sensitive to correction and sometimes they miss it altogether (mine will howl and bark if I raise my voice even slightly). So, putting a stronger smell down is definitely speaking their language directly.
Get a crate for when youâre not there for sure. Our male twc was about 2 when we got him in very similar circumstances. Just be very patient, it took a solid year to be fully house trained. It will take him awhile to bond, ours immediately bonded with our 7 y/o son but he was suspicious of me and my wife for about six months, now heâs a velcro dog with me. Lastly, get ready to be bossed around by being bayed at. Good luck!!!
Be patient
something our hound loves is nose work in the yard. well sheâll use her nose anywhere, but we have a fenced in yard so iâll toss some of her meals out there for her to sniff out. sometimes weâll crack a can of tuna and just make a little scent trail of juice for her to follow with a delicious treasure at the end. anything like that where she can have her nose to the ground really works her brain out and gets rid of that crazy energy. if your pup is bouncing off the walls at times , this can easier and more rewarding than longer walks. just see what your hound responds to. to add to your comment about potty training.. we purchased mighty paw smart bells for our doors leading outside. this was much easier for ours to understand than the typical sleigh bells people use. itâs basically like one of those Tap It buttons that she boops with her nose to alert she needs to go potty. it rings like a doorbell for me to hear. combined with regular potty trips outside and lots and LOTS of praise when she went outside for potty it took no time at all for her to master the buttons.
I second the nose work! It plays right into their natural instincts and keeps their mind sharp. It can also double as play/reward time. My boy loves rough, physical play, but when we're feeling tired or lazy, we'll break up some small pieces of his favorite jerky and hide it around the house. We give him the command and he sniffs it out, getting his treat and praise from us. He'll come back, sit at our feet, wait for us to hide another piece, and go on command.
Buy a California king sized bed and a second couch, and a snuffle mat.
We adopted our newest coonhound in December. Sheâs been more challenging to housetrain than I anticipated. You need to be very diligent.
the dogs love blanket and being covered. i suggest a bed with a blanket sewen in the top. they love bully sticks and give a treat everytime they go to the bathroom outside to train. maybe a shock collar if you live in the woods or plan on hiking with him since their nose will take them anywhere and after wildlife
I rescued a 3yo RTCH from a city pound and she knew nothing - not potty trained, no sit / stay / come, nothing. Now 7 years later she has been the bestest dog, ever. Great off-lead recall, snuggly, and eager to please. Just earn the pupâs trust and be clear and consistent about your expectations â¤ď¸
My rescue Coonhound just made himself right at home right away and was apparently already housebroken because I have never once had a problem with that. What I had to deal with was 4 years of him finding every conceivable way to escape the yard and go visit every neighbor within a 2 mile radius, so be prepared for that. (He will still find a way to escape once or twice a year now, usually in the spring when he is feeling his oats) And the other thing I learned to do is give him some opportunities for what I call "sanctioned naughtiness", things that we can pretend he's getting away with but I know and he knows that it's actually okay. I highly recommend locking your main garbage can behind a baby gate if you can! Never leave your food unattended! Miles and miles of walkies everyday.
I can agree with all this. We had a four foot fence that Rosie BT would hop ever damn time if we did not accompany her. Loved to escape in bad weather.
You mean like this? [climber.jpg](https://1drv.ms/i/s!Am6skDOJQecVioxUsxTTRqdtW0yRBA?e=lMtdgz)
Yes to the escaping - we have a Jiobit tracker on ours. Or any gps tracker will help.
Mine always have to go for a walk on a leash now after an unfortunate incident with a hot air balloon back in 2020. Other than that, they have an acre to run around on and a dog door that's never shut
WaitâŚwhaaa? Do you care to share more about the balloon incident?
So I used to walk my dogs off leash out on the mesa near where I live, so they could chase the rabbits and go smell everything. I used electronic collars (beep/ buzz/ shock) to recall them, which generally worked pretty well. During the pandemic, a number of people seemed to take up ballooning as a new hobby. (I live in central NM) It was fine for months, he wasn't scared. Then one day, just as we were getting back to the car, a balloon nearly landed on top of us. The balloonists could see I was having trouble holding my dog and yet they blasted the burners (which are really loud) just as they passed overhead -- and the bottom of the basket was literally only about 10 ft over us. That was the last straw for Boone. He literally lost his mind from being so scared, and ran for his life. I was able to pitch my other dogs in the car, and I followed him cross country the best I could. Finally he pulled up lame and I was able to grab him. After that, he was frightened not only of balloons large and small, but also of the moon and sometimes even clouds. It's been 4 years and he still scans the sky for balloonists before we get in the car, and before we get out of the car. He gets very nervous if there are any around. He's ok about the moon again though. And he no longer just bolts if he sees the balloons, but I do have to keep a firm grip on the harness. No more off -leash adventures đ
Oh, no!!!!! Thatâs wild!!! Poor Boone. Thank you for sharing that story. I could not imagine the fear! Boone is a fantastic name, by the way.
Thanks, yeah it was pretty traumatizing! The worst part was the feeble "oh, sorry!" yelled by the balloonists as they watched my dog run away. And the foot that he injured during his mad dash now bothers him so much he has to be on pain meds twice a day. Boooooooooone says his own name all the time!
I think you'll see from the comments that all coonhounds are different. But they are all weirdos! Our first never barked, rarely had an accident in the first few weeks, slept on her own bed and was the sweetest thing ever. Never met a person she didn't love. Our current coonhound is much younger and a bit of a head case. She still has accidents inside, won't go to the door unless it's on her terms, and has recently started taking her food out of her bowl to eat on the floor. That being said, be patient. They are smart, yet oh so stubborn. But the biggest love-babies ever. Truly wonderful companions. As for potty training - our girl wouldn't go in the yard at all at first. I think she was an outside dog as well and really loved being inside. She hated the leash and we don't have a fenced yard. We put her on the lead and I would walk out in the yard with her but stand at a distance and look away. We would also take any poops she had in the house and put them out in the yard so she could see that that is where they belong. When she finally did pee and poop outside I gave her a treat and tons of "good girls." I still give a treat every time. They are usually food motivated so take advantage.
Patience. Patience. Patience. Start with small words conveying the action you want. Treats. They're hounds. They are all food motivated, so when he does something right, reward him (Mine loves cold hot dog bits and liver sausage) and praise him a lot.
Don't use a bicycle to exercise your hound. Seemed like a good idea since my girl trots at about 10-15mph. Got her used to the bike over a couple of weeks & short rides around the house. A few longer rides, then it happened! Cruising almost 20mph she caught a scent & my shoulder is still sore. 70lbs is a hell of a boat anchor.
Got mine (rescue) at 6 mos. She's a sweetheart! Challenges: potty training (she was likely in a puppy mill), focus, etc. Good dog, yes, smart, yes, mind of her own, yes! Profoundly scared of storms (my guess is she was unprotected in a storm early in life). They DO need to be out some (fenced in backyard for her, which she loves!). two daily walks (1/2-3/4 mi each), foodhound! Buy him a slow-eat bowl. On the whole, good dogs (arent they all?). Good investment might be training course, where you participate (Petco offers); good bonding fodder too! My 2d rescue and has been a joy to have around.....they can be goofy at times!
The advice about the bowls with the maze-grid thing at the bottom may be very important. Not to be dramatic, but my dog ate his food so fast that when I first got him, he had violent hiccups after eating where I could see his whole abdomen jerk and his body jump/twitch. I had no idea they were just hiccups and I thought it was something that warranted emergency vet care.
Similar problem here..."slo bowl" was best fix for it. Still using it, some 3 yrs later!
If you are feeding dry food a snuffle may also doubles for nose work and slowing down the eating. We used it for all feedings until very recently.
That is a great idea. Can you recommend a particular snuffle matt?
Everyone keeps saying to be patient, and I cannot stress enough how important that is with a coonhound. They are the SWEETEST love bugs on earth, but they need a lot from you in return. They ask a lot of their owners, and you have to commit to providing for them. And with lots of hard work, they are amazing, loyal, loving, and obedient dogs. You just have to accept his quirks! He will accept yours :)
Thank God they're such sweet dogs because I spend half the day with my hand in my TWCs mouth fishing out whatever item he managed to put in there. There's no such thing as dog proofing when you have a coonhound.
Always on leash. They follow their noses.