Dan Geddings: What makes a champion

Posted

A friend told me recently that he had lost his best coon hound. Jermaine said that she was chasing a ringtail that went toward a highway, and before he could get there, a car hit her. She was a young dog, but an up-and-coming champion.

Now, you may wonder - what makes a champion, and how can a champion be trained? It starts with the bloodline. Good dogs are bred to good dogs over the years. Bloodlines of champions are recognized for their potential to produce future champions.

Coon hunters live for the thrill of the hunt. They know the excitement of the chase and the satisfaction of a "treed" coon. They take a special kind of pride in their dogs and spare no expense in the pursuit of their sport.

You've crawled through the briars and been slapped in the face by unseen branches.

The cold dark night surrounds you, and millions of stars twinkle through the tree limbs overhead. The woods are silent except for the soft murmur of a nearby brook. All your senses are on full alert, and your ears strain for the sound.

There! A single "bawl" from one of your most promising hounds. Then another and another. The swampland begins to vibrate with the excitement and music of the hunt. The baying increases and moves along through the timber. A "strike" has been made on the trail of a raccoon, and the hunt is on. A good dog must be paired with a good hunter to become a champion. Good hunters love their sport. They don't mind the briars and the brambles. It's never too cold or too hot. The desire also flows through our genes. We too are natural born hunters.

Hunting dogs live for the hunt just like their owners do. It is the desire that drives them. Desire that flows through their genes. They have a primeval urge to pursue the game. Owners must find that desire in themselves and their hounds.

Hunters will take their young dogs out and hunt them to get an idea of how good that particular dog might be. They want a dog that can hunt and find a coon on its own. One that will trail and tree a coon regardless of what any other dogs in a pack might do. It is the hunter who must be able to recognize potential in a hound.

I've had good dogs - great dogs, and all I had to do was hunt them. A great dog will do the things that you like instinctively. It is in their nature to do those things. Your training may require some positive re-enforcement in the form of rewards for good behavior, or some degree of punishment for bad behavior. But our contribution is usually minimal.

What is the best breed to produce a champion? Coon dogs come in a variety of breeds, and I don't think any one breed dominates the others. There are Blueticks, Redticks and Plots. Some of the more common are Black and Tan, Redbone and Treeing Walker. There are others. Any could be a champion.

To make a champion get the best bloodline that you can afford, and hunt as much as you can. But, not too much. Most trainers want to work a dog often, but always leave it wanting more. Do the same for yourself. Hunt as much as you can, but not so much that you get burned out.

A champion is the product of a team. It is a hound with great potential in its bloodline and a trainer or hunter that can recognize greatness and manage that potential. Lady luck plays a part too. Sometimes all the cards fall in your favor. Sometimes, not so much.

Email Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.