Treeing Walker Coonhound

Friendly with people, very vocal, single-minded on scent.
A Treeing Walker Coonhound
Photo: Jay Gorman
Adult weight
23–32 kg
50–70 lb
Lifespan
12–13 yrs
Class · Field
also Sport

What it's like

The Treeing Walker Coonhound is a lean, muscular, athletic hound with soft, drooping ears and a gentle expression. The coat is short, smooth and glossy, most often tricoloured in white, black and tan. In temperament it is friendly and even-natured with people, but it is also energetic, persistent and very vocal, and it follows a scent with real single-mindedness.

Day to day
Activity
Needs lots of exercise
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Size and growth

A Treeing Walker Coonhound is a large dog, about the weight of a grown Golden Retriever. It is one of the lightest large breeds.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Treeing Walker Coonhound puppy is already as heavy as a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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0102030402m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
4.9–6.9 kg 10.8–15.2 lb
5.5–7.6 kg 12.1–16.8 lb
3 months
7.3–10.2 kg 16.1–22.5 lb
7.7–10.8 kg 17.0–23.8 lb
4 months
10.6–14.8 kg 23.4–32.6 lb
11.1–15.5 kg 24.5–34.2 lb
5 months
13.6–19.0 kg 30.0–41.9 lb
14.0–19.6 kg 30.9–43.2 lb
6 months
16.2–22.7 kg 35.7–50.0 lb
16.4–23.0 kg 36.2–50.7 lb
7 months
18.2–25.5 kg 40.1–56.2 lb
18.2–25.4 kg 40.1–56.0 lb
8 months
19.6–27.4 kg 43.2–60.4 lb
19.4–27.2 kg 42.8–60.0 lb
9 months
20.6–28.8 kg 45.4–63.5 lb
20.3–28.5 kg 44.8–62.8 lb
10 months
21.2–29.7 kg 46.7–65.5 lb
21.0–29.4 kg 46.3–64.8 lb
11 months
21.7–30.4 kg 47.8–67.0 lb
21.4–30.0 kg 47.2–66.1 lb
12 months
22.0–30.8 kg 48.5–67.9 lb
21.7–30.4 kg 47.8–67.0 lb
15 months
22.6–31.6 kg 49.8–69.7 lb
22.4–31.4 kg 49.4–69.2 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Treeing Walker Coonhounds live yet. The 12–13 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Treeing Walker Coonhound goes back partly to English hounds imported in 1742 by Thomas Walker of Albemarle County, Virginia, through the Walker foxhound that Kentucky breeders George Washington Maupin and John W. Walker developed. In the 19th century it was crossed with Tennessee Lead, a dog of unknown breeding that the UKC says was stolen. The UKC has registered it separately since 1945, at breeders' request7.

The Treeing Walker Coonhound became a distinct breed in the American South, where coon hunters wanted a fast, keen-nosed hound that would find and tree its quarry quickly. For years it was grouped with the English Coonhound before its breeders sought separate recognition. The American Kennel Club admitted it to full recognition only in the early twenty-first century, long after it had become a fixture of hunting in the United States. It was bred to work at night, following the scent of a raccoon, driving it up a tree and staying at the base, baying, until the hunter arrives. Its voice is part of the job: hounds may have a clear, ringing bugle or a short, rapid chop, and the bark often changes at the tree, so hunters can follow the chase from a distance. The breed is widely used in organised night hunts held as competitions.

Breed standard

No FCI standard covers it; its group here is AKC Hound group.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Treeing Walker Coonhound figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a large breed is most likely at the later end.

Compare with related

Bluetick Coonhound
Hound · Large
Dalmatian
Scent hounds · Medium
Redbone Coonhound
Hound · Medium
Plott Hound
Hound · Medium
Or compare the Treeing Walker Coonhound with any breed you choose
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Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·