George Washington Maupon was not happy.

There are four species of foxes in North America, but only two are native to Kentucky, and one of them, the Red Fox, was particularly elusive in the 1850s. Most hunts ended in a “cold trail,’ and this irritated George to no end.  He had what he thought were the greatest foxhounds around, but none seemed able to run the red fox to ground.  Willing to try something new, he imported English Foxhounds, but results were no different. When he casually complained about it to a local blacksmith, the smithy replied that what Maupon really needed was Tennessee Lead.  Not a type bullet or firearm, “Lead” was a scrawny black and tan hound with a rat tail, and Lead’s “kids” would become the foundation dogs for the Walker family from which the Treeing Walker Coonhound got its name.

Early on, “Treeing Walkers” were registered under the broad breed called the English Fox and Coonhound which included hounds of the day that could be traced back to English Foxhounds.  That changed in the 1930s when the National Coonhunters Association recognized the Treeing Walker.  Years later (1945), the United Kennel Club formed a separate breed originally called “Walkers,” later revised to Treeing Walker.

The breed’s real value was seen in the 1950s with organized night hunts, a form of competitive coon hunting. The Treeing Walker’s spirit, energy, and knack for tracking and treeing raccoons made it the perfect dog for such competition, and by the 1970s, night hunt entries neared 1,000 dogs. Since then, 80% of the hunts have been won by Treeing Walkers which many regard as  ‘the people’s choice’ among all coonhound breeds.

“The Power of the Dog” (1910)  by Maud Earl (1864-1943)