breed when you next judge them in your rings. One thing to note, of the six Coon- hound breeds presently recognized by AKC, all of them are unique both in their ancestry and their nature and characteristics. While all but the Plott have a shared heritage leading all the way back to the Foxhound, the Eng- lish Coonhound is probably the most diverse of all the Coonhound breeds. You will find less consistency from dog to dog. One Hound may be redtick in color and have a square blocky head and be heavy boned and the next may be lighter boned, short eared and “ONE THING TO NOTE, OF THE SIX COONHOUND BREEDS PRESENTLY RECOGNIZED BY AKC, ALL OF THEM ARE UNIQUE
BOTH IN THEIR ANCESTRY AND
THEIR NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS.”
bluetick in color. Learning to appreciate these ticked up Hounds for their unique attributes is what we strive for. Let’s just start at the head and work our way through the dog… As with most Hounds, we want a nice broad head with a kind Hound expres- sion and a square muzzle. The planes of the skull and the muzzle should be parallel. Preference to the darker eye, black nose and to a nice low ear set. Looking at the Hound straight on, ide- ally the ears should set approximately at a level with the corner of the eye. Historically, I will tell you that there are several lines of English Coonhounds
332 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2017
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