The Modern Day Blue Tick Coonhound

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, February 2014 issue.

The Modern Day Blue Tick Coonhound

The modern-day Bluetick Coonhound traces its origins to an importation of Grand Bleu de Gascognes from the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington in 1785. These French Hounds were crossed with Washington’s hounds, which descended from hounds brought to America in 1650 by Robert Brooke. One Grand Bleu owned by George Washington was recorded as giving birth to 15 puppies, and Washington likened their musical voices to the “bells of Moscow.” The Grand Bleu was too slow on the trail to please the American hunter, but when bred to American hounds, it increased their cold-trailing ability and endurance. At the beginning of the 20th century, all hounds of Bluetick, Redtick, and Walker type were lumped into a group known as English Coonhounds. It is thought this was because they still resembled their heavy-boned English ancestors and were recognized by UKC as one breed, English Fox and Coon Hounds.

The Bluetick breeders of the day, proud of their larger, cold-nosed, and resolute, if slower, hounds, wanted to keep their old style of hunting. Fearing this “faster is better” trend, the Bluetick breeders of the 1940s pulled away from the English Coonhound. These breeders officially broke away in 1945 and established the Bluetick Coonhound breed. There is a common misconception that the coonhound breeds have been separated by color alone. This is farthest from the truth. The currently recognized coonhound breeds have been bred to make the most of the individual hunting style. Now that the Bluetick has been recognized by AKC, there is a trend toward rewarding smaller hounds. It seems that there is some confusion in the choice of wording in the general appearance description in the standard.

General Appearance:

“The Bluetick should have the appearance of a speedy and well-muscled hound. He never appears clumsy or overly chunky in build. He has a neat, compact body, a glossy coat and clear, keen eyes. In motion, he carries his head and tail well up. Please remember that “speedy” is relative, and “racy” has a different meaning altogether. The Bluetick may be considered more “speedy” than a Bloodhound, but rarely more “speedy” than a Treeing Walker or English Coonhound. “Racy” would better describe the whippet-like hound. The bone and substance of the Bluetick must be considered relative to hunting style.

The farther a hound is from the game, the colder the trail, therefore a cold-nosed hound has the ability to find and work an older track. But working an older trail takes time, and a dog that is determined and strong-willed. Cold-nosed hounds typically have heavier heads with a prominent stop, longer ears with no erectile tissue, and deeper flews, which help them hold scent. They also tend to have heavier bone and carry more substance. To put it into perspective, some examples of cold-nosed hounds that we all know are Bloodhounds and Black and Tan Coonhounds. The body shows depth of chest, allowing for plenty of lung space. The body is either square or slightly longer than tall. The strong, well-muscled back with the topline gently sloping down from the withers to the hips gives the hound a strong base to move through the woods methodically, trailing the game and treeing it at the end of the track. The tail, attached slightly below the level of the back with a half-moon curve, is used as a rudder for balance when trailing or swimming.

To allow these hounds to work hard cold trails, the legs must be correctly angled with well-developed muscle at the shoulder and hip to stifle for strong reach and drive. The shoulders should be clean and gently sloping, and the hips are not quite as wide as the ribcage. The foreleg length is approximately one-half the height at the withers. Tight, rounded feet with thick, tough pads under slightly sloping pasterns finish the “running gear.” So the entire package together makes the Bluetick Coonhound we breeders and hunters strive for. Those of us who follow these grand hounds in the woods love the entire hound from the toes to the nose and the huge, beautiful voice in between. Pleasure hunters who prefer Blueticks tend to be in less of a hurry than others, enjoying time listening to the song the Bluetick sings.

Very laid back and happy to be around people, they take their time and consistently get the game they are trailing. Many will start a fire, turn the dogs loose, and just listen until the coon is treed. I have been involved with the Bluetick Coonhound for close to 20 years. They are by far my favorite of the six coonhound breeds. I did spend 2005 traveling on the circuit hunting in the Purina Outstanding Coonhound of the Year race with my Plott, but my heart will always follow the King of the Coonhounds, the Bluetick Coonhound.