The Bluetick Coonhound is an American scenthound bred to trail and tree raccoons and other game at night, often for hours, over rough country, working independently and a long way from the hunter. Every defining trait comes from that job. The 'bluetick' name describes the dense black mottling (ticking) on a white coat that reads as blue; a large male stands up to ~27 inches and 80 pounds, females smaller and lighter — sleek and racy, never heavy. What the breed actually is, beneath the affectionate, droopy-eared charm: a relentless, cold-nosed tracking machine with an extreme prey drive and one of the loudest, most carrying voices in dogdom — a baying, bawling 'bawl mouth' that is musical to a coon hunter and a serious problem in a suburban backyard. Blueticks are devoted, sweet, and affectionate with their family, generally good-natured with children and other hounds, and notably stubborn to train because they were bred to follow their nose and ignore the handler. Who the Bluetick Coonhound is right for: a hunter, or an active rural/exurban owner with a securely fenced yard, tolerant or distant neighbors, time for 60-90+ minutes of daily exercise, and patience for slow, reward-based, scent-respecting training. Who it is wrong for: apartment dwellers, close-neighbor suburbs, owners who want off-leash reliability, or anyone who keeps cats, rabbits, or chickens loose. The voice and the nose are not flaws to train away — they are the breed. Decide whether your living situation can absorb both before you fall for the ears.
Life Span
11–12 years
Weight
20–36 kg
Height
53–69 cm
moderate
Exercise
moderate
Grooming
moderate
Shedding
Yes
Good with Kids
Yes
Good with Pets
Friendly
Apartment
The Bluetick Coonhound is a distinctly American breed, developed in the United States — with strong roots in Louisiana and the broader South — primarily from the English Foxhound, the 'Grand Bleu de Gascogne' (a French scenthound prized for cold-nose tracking), and other foxhound and coonhound stock. It was bred for one purpose: trailing and treeing raccoon (and game such as boar, bobcat, and bear) at night, holding the quarry up a tree by voice …
Bluetick Coonhound dog breed portrait
The Bluetick Coonhound belongs to the Hound Group.
The average lifespan of a Bluetick Coonhound is 11 to 12 years.
Bluetick Coonhound dogs are valued for their smart, devoted, tenacious nature.
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Bluetick care is built around three realities: the nose, the voice, and the deep chest. Exercise: 60-90+ minutes of vigorous daily activity, ideally including scent work, long tracking walks, or a real job. This is a stamina hound; a bored, under-exercised Bluetick bays for hours and becomes destructive. They do not free-range safely — a Bluetick on a scent goes deaf to recall and travels miles. Containment: a securely fenced yard (they trail and roam) and a leash anywhere unfenced are non-negotiable. Off-leash recall is unreliable by design in a dog bred to follow a track regardless of the handler. Voice management: accept that this breed is loud and vocal. Manage it with exercise and engagement, not by expecting silence — and factor neighbor proximity into the decision before adoption, not after. Ears: long, heavy, low-set ears trap moisture and debris and infect easily. Check and clean weekly, and after every wet outing — chronic otitis is the breed's most common recurring vet cost. Weight and feeding: keep ribs easily felt. As a deep-chested breed they are bloat-prone — feed two or more measured meals daily rather than one large meal, avoid heavy exercise right around feeding, and use a slow-feeder if the dog gulps. Decision rule: a sudden distended/hard abdomen, unproductive retching, restlessness, and pacing is a bloat (GDV) emergency — go to an emergency vet immediately, not in the morning; with gastric torsion, delay measured in hours can be fatal.
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Bluetick Coonhound Care Guide
## Bluetick Coonhound Care Overview This Bluetick Coonhound care guide gives owners a practical...
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