If you admire the Treeing Walker Coonhound, you can thank a couple of Kentucky’s native sons. Human sons, that is.

The real credit, however, probably belongs to the English Foxhounds who were the foundation sires of the “Virginia Hounds,”  dogs that were eventually developed into the Walker Hound. Some of these dogs were imported by Thomas Walker from Virginia, and several were imported by George Washington in 1770.  It was these dogs who did the heavy lifting, so to speak, with their stud services (life is so hard when you’re a stud dog). The “human sons” referred to earlier were George Washington Maupin and John W. Walker, now credited with the development of this breed. The Walker Hounds they bred and used to hunt raccoons were crossed with a dog named “Tennessee Lead” (said to be stolen). “Lead” didn’t look like much, and certainly nothing like the Virginia strain of English Foxhounds of the day, but he had a lot of drive, a lot of “game,”and a good, clear, mouth.

Treeing Walker Coonhounds were recognized officially as a breed by the United Kennel Club as part of the English Coonhound breed, but at the request of Walker breeders in 1945, the UKC began registering Walkers as a separate breed (first as Walkers, then later as Treeing Walkers). The AKC accepted the breed in 2012.

As for the “black blanketbacks,” description, the term refers to coloring that includes what looks like a black saddle over the back, and a red head.

Image:” A Moment of Disciplined Pleasure” by Susan Smolensky. Support her work here