these comments would have been shared with the world as well as the all too common statement, “That judge is on my DNS list.” Max would also ask me if I had ever been to the World Show and suggested that I do so as a means of learning more about the show side of the sport as well as the dogs. This advice has always stayed with me and makes more sense to me with every weekend trip. I would follow that advice and began attending the shows at all the major Treeing Walker events. It was eye-opening in many ways and it would allow me to me new people and to lay a foundation of knowledge for my future breeding plans. The Treeing Walker is first and fore- most of performance breed. From its foundation in the Kentucky Foxhounds forward it has been bred for speed and endurance. As a raccoon treeing hound, it is challenged by no other breed in excellence. When judging I observe these hounds from the moment they enter the show ring until my mind is made up. As they enter the ring I look for an athlete. We use the term athlete all too often when describing hounds but in the case of the Treeing Walker it is most appropriate. The Treeing Walker is a tight made hound, just off square, well muscled with the look of speed. Not the racy look of the Whippet but with a look that says I cover large amounts of ground quickly. We have a saying when describing the Treeing Walker, it is a go yonder, get deep and get treed type of Coonhound. When evaluating the breed picture this in your mind. It is dark. You are standing in the edge of a freshly harvested corn- field and the tree line is 200 yds away. You point your Treeing Walker towards the woods and unleash it. It leaves in a dead sprint. In a few seconds it is to the tree line. It opens soon on track, trails for while longer and suddenly locates and trees straight away in the woods where you cast. A quick look at your watch shows that a total of 30 seconds has elapsed and a glance at your Gar- min tracker will show that the dog is 800 yds away. That is the type of animal you are judging. This is a dog that was released, found a track and trailed that track to completion a ½ mile away in about 30 seconds. That is the athlete I am trying to describe. As the handlers stack the Treeing Walker you should see a dog with its
“THE TREEING WALKER IS FIRST AND FOREMOST OF PERRFORMANCE BREED.”
326 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2017
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