American English Coonhound are
sociable, sweet, mellow they are also in the hound group.
HEIGHT:
24-26 inches (male)
23-25 inches (female).
WEIGHT:
45-65 pounds.
LIFE EXPECTANCY:
11-12 years.
Coat type: smooth.
Coat length: short.
Standard colors: Red and white ticked, blue and white ticked, tri-colored with ticking, red and white, white and black.
General Appearance: Renowned for speed and endurance, the American English Coonhound
has a strong but racy body, a deep chest with plenty of lung room, a strong back, broad loin and well-defined musculature. A balanced, powerful dog with no exaggerated parts, the American English possesses the grace and attitude of a well-conditioned athlete.
Size, Proportion, Substance: Size-Height-Males-24 to 26 inches at the withers. Females-23 to 25 inches at the withers. Proportion-Measuring from the breast bone to the rear of the thigh and the withers to the ground, the length should be equal or slightly longer than the height measurement. Slightly off square. Substance-Weight in proportion to height so the dog appears capable of an all night hunt.
Head: The head is broad and of moderate length. Expression-Kind, houndy. Eyes-Dark brown pigmentation, wide apart. Fault: Drooping lids. Ears-Hung rather low, reaching nearly at the end of the nose when drawn out. Fine texture, soft to the touch. Faults: Flat, stiff to the touch cocked. Skull-Very slightly domed, broad between the ears. Fault: Narrow skull. Stop-Prominent. Muzzle-Rather square, well proportioned in width with the skull. Flews covering the lower jaw from the side view. Planes-The stop forms a right angle with the upper line of the muzzle. A line from occiput to brow is a little above, and parallel to a line from eye to nose. Nose-Black. Faults: Pink or white pigmentation. Bite-Scissors bite with upper incisors fitting closely over the lower. Disqualifications: Undershot or overshot.
Neck, Topline, Body: Neck-Muscular, moderate length, fits smoothly into the shoulders and rising with a slight taper to the skull. Carriage-Moderate, reaching slightly forward in the trot. Faults: Neck carried overly high or low. Thickness at shoulders. Topline-Slightly higher at withers than at hips. Strong. Chest- Should reach to the elbow. Shows considerable depth rather than excessive width, allowing optimum lung space. Ribs-Well-sprung with good depth, tapering gradually to floating ribs. Underline and Tuck up-Tight and smooth without exaggeration. Fault: Sagging underline. Back-Muscular, blending well with the neck when the head is held alertly. Fault: Roached. Loin-Broad, well muscled. Tail-Set high, carried gaily but not hooked over back. Medium length, slight brush. Faults: Plume or rat tail.
Forequarters: Shoulders and Angulation-Clean, gradually sloped down from the withers to the point of shoulder, muscular, balanced with body, showing freedom of movement and strength. Fault: Protruding shoulders. Forelegs-Straight from side or front view, well boned, set well apart, muscular. Pastern-Strong and straight. Feet-Set directly under leg, round, catlike, well-padded, strong arch over toes. Nails-Strong.
Hindquarters: Angulation-in balance with the forequarters. Legs-Strong, straight when viewed from the rear. Thigh-muscular without being coarse.
Coat: Hard, protective hair. Medium length.
Color: Red and white ticked, blue and white ticked, tri-colored with ticking, red and white, white and black. Disqualifications: Tri-colored with no ticking, solid color with less than 10 percent ticking, any brindle color.
Gait: Effortless trot, with reach and drive, with tail moving side to side. Gives impression of great endurance. Head carried up, but not perpendicular. Expression is alert.
Temperament: Pleasant, alert, confident and sociable with humans and dogs. An avid hunter.
Faults: Shyness or timidity.
Disqualifications: Undershot, overshot, tri-colored with no ticking, solid color with less than 10 percent ticking, any brindle color.
About the Breed:
These sleek and racy, lean but muscular hounds work dusk to dawn in pursuit of the wily raccoon. The sight of the American English Coonhound tearing through the moonlit woods, all sinew and determination, bawling their lusty night music, is coon-hunter heaven. Standing as high as 26 inches at the shoulder, American English Coonhounds are deep-chested, sweet-faced athletes beloved by sportsmen for their speed and endurance. Stretched tightly across the athletic frame is a medium-length coat of various patterns, some with ticking. The head is broad with a domed skull, with soft, low-hung ears and dark-brown eyes that glow with warmth and kindness. American English Coonhounds are mellow when off duty but tenacious and stubborn in pursuit of their ring-tailed prey. Their work drive and energy, the patience it takes to train them for things other than coon hunting, and their loud, ringing bark can make the breed a bad fit as house pets for novice owners. Some passionate fans of American English Coonhounds feel that without a sporting outlet for this breed's houndy virtues, you're simply wasting a good dog.
History:
The American English Coonhound is American by birth, English by ancestry. They're one of six AKC coonhound breeds that frontiersmen devised to specialize on trailing and treeing North America's perfect source of food, fat, and fur: the raccoon. It's said that the American English Coonhound are descended from English Foxhounds brought to America in the early 1800s. Foxhunting had been a popular pastime in Great Britain's southern colonies in America since the late 1600s. George Washington maintained an avid interest in English-style horse-and-hound foxhunts even as he commanded the army that would deprive England of its American colonies. Importations of English Foxhounds during America's formative years refreshed the gene pool used by Colonial breeders to create America's coonhound breeds.
Backwoods breeders crossed foxhounds with other breeds to create the American English, once known as the English Fox and Coonhound, as it could hunt foxes by day and raccoons by night. As the breed came to specialize on nocturnal raccoon hunts, it acquired its current name. (The breed was also known for a time as the Redtick Coonhound and, simply, the English Coonhound.) Since Colonial times, the American English has been immensely popular among the tight fraternity of coon hunters. 'If I couldn't have an English hound,' a veteran cooner tells says, 'I'd give up hunting.' Today's American English is considered by some experts as the fastest of the coonhound breeds.