Blue Tick Hounds...We got one!

[Chicky Joy]

We just got a 4 year old female Blue Tick Hound. She's very affectionate and lovable. She looks great but she's so skinny. We just got her yesterday and it seems that someone ran her too much without feeding her, poor thing. She'll be well-fed and happy with us though. We thought we were going to get a pup but I'm glad we got an older dog, though I may want a pup down the road. I think I'm going to fall in love with this breed. My husband has always wanted a coon dog and since the darn coons have begun to come around after our chickens it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a few less of them around.

The only problem is that she's been trained to chase Bobcats and Mountain Lions and of course it is in her nature to go after domestic cats as well. We have three cats that love to play outdoors so the dog will need her own kennel to keep everyone safe. On the plus side she responded very promptly when I told her "NO" each time she barked and lunged at our cats today. I'm hoping she'll learn not to try and eat our pet cats. Any one have any experience with this?

 

[ibpboo]

I think if you keep watching and keep preventing her from chasing your cats, eventually they do learn that they are part of the family. Blue tick hound, cool!! My dad had one when I was young. Good luck!!

 

[Chicky Joy]

Yes, I'm hoping that she will learn the difference between her fellow family pets and wild critters. Most of the animals she has been trained to hunt are not on the island where we live. She's primarily been a bear hunting dog and we have none of those. She'll only be hunting coons and perhaps a rabbit or two.

So far I really do like her a lot. She has a great temperment and with some TLC she'll have some meat back on her bones and be a happy healthy member of our managerie.

 

[speckledhen]

Please post pics of her! I love hounds.

 

[Chicky Joy]

I'll take a pic tomorrow but you'll have to bear in mind what I said about someone running her too much without feeding her. The poor baby is skin and bones but believe me, she'll never be this skinny again. We don't treat our dogs that way, or any of our other animals for that matter.

 

[newchickenfamily]

Awww! Congrats! Our neighbor has a blue tick hound also (Hank). He's a great dog. I LOVE to hear his low and very deep howl when sirens go by. That's the only time I ever hear him! We have a Beagle. She's a complete nut, but is very sweet! Enjoy your newest family member!

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

Cool my grampa raises Red ticks they are awesome dogs!

 

[Chicky Joy]

Here's our newest addition, Angel. The poor girl is so skinny, but not for long! It is a bit chilly out today so I brought her inside for a while. She's napping in the sunshine coming through the living room window.

 

[lockedhearts]

I raised Blue Ticks, Many Many years ago. I had one that became a total couch potato, her name was Fred (short for Fredrica) she became useless as a hunting dog beacuse she barked all the way to the woods and would lose her voice..... LOL
She was the sweetest and we kept her and raised puppies off of her.
They do have the chase instinct, but with time and discilpine I bet you can teach her to be good.
Fred was such a great dog and an awesome watch dog too.

 

[roosmom]

Chicky Joy, I loved the blue tick mix we had.
My daughter is going thru something similar. She disciplines the dog whenever he makes a move towards the cat. The cat also disciplines him. She has been at it for three weeks and he is 100% better. He was in the field the other day and killed a cat. The cat was so mangy and sickly, my daughter couldnt believe the cat was even alive. She has since, heard and saw at least 6 other cats. They will not let her get near them. She thinks they are all feral. One the other hand, the dog ran after the cat and stopped dead in his tracks when he realized it was her kitty. lol
Good luck.