KENAI
Redbone Coonhound

The breeds · tree dog · coonhound

AKC Hound · UKC Scenthound

Redbone Coonhound.

UKC: 'coon hunting specialists' that are also proficient in trailing and treeing bear, cougar and bobcat; natural treeing instinct. AKC standard: 'Hunted from swamplands to mountains, the Redbone is surefooted and swift, even on the most difficult terrain', with 'excellent cold nose'; temperament: even-tempered at home 'but an aggressive hunter'. Showsight (2022): 'a surefooted, aggressive, cold-nosed hunter that excels at hunting difficult terrain'. AKC history (2021): by mid-century 'favored among hunters who wanted a partner to be all business when it came to treeing the game'; Whitney and Underwood (1952): 'One seldom finds a Redbone that potters.' Vetstreet: may be the most laid-back of the coonhounds and as much house dog as hunting dog..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
45–70LBWeight, all linesbreed 45 to 70 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 22 to 27 in · bitches 21 to 26 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC and UKC DISAGREE on the female maximum (26 vs 25); both shown, low/high span both. AKC breed page header also reads 21-26 inches.

Weight

45 to 70 lb

Breed clubAKC

Only number is the AKC breed-page header, not sex-split; neither standard states a weight. The Showsight page repeats it and is not independent.

Coat

UKC: typical short, close, glossy hound coat. AKC: short, smooth, coarse enough to provide protection. Color: solid red preferred; UKC: small amount of white on brisket or feet not objectionable; AKC: dark muzzle and a small amount of white on brisket and feet permissible; faults: white beyond the toes, more white on brisket than an open hand covers, white stockings. UKC: any other color disqualifies.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC and AKC Coat and Color.

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Short, close, glossy hound coat (UKC); short, smooth, coarse enough for protection (AKC).

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

Derived from the standard's coat description (short, smooth, dense = 4). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Energy

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Playfulness 3; Trainability 3; Barking Level 4; Adaptability 4; Affectionate With Family 5; Good With Other Dogs 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3. Vetstreet: loves to hunt and will go off on his own given half a chance; needs a securely fenced yard.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are the registry's own scoring, not C-BARQ. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Grooming load

2 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5; Shedding Level 3. Vetstreet: flashy dark-red short smooth coat; regular nail trimming, ear cleaning, tooth brushing.

Breed clubAKC

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

UKC: 'coon hunting specialists' that are also proficient in trailing and treeing bear, cougar and bobcat; natural treeing instinct. AKC standard: 'Hunted from swamplands to mountains, the Redbone is surefooted and swift, even on the most difficult terrain', with 'excellent cold nose'; temperament: even-tempered at home 'but an aggressive hunter'. Showsight (2022): 'a surefooted, aggressive, cold-nosed hunter that excels at hunting difficult terrain'. AKC history (2021): by mid-century 'favored among hunters who wanted a partner to be all business when it came to treeing the game'; Whitney and Underwood (1952): 'One seldom finds a Redbone that potters.' Vetstreet: may be the most laid-back of the coonhounds and as much house dog as hunting dog.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC History and Characteristics; AKC General Appearance and Temperament; others editorial. All agree on an aggressive, determined cold-nosed hunter. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

UKC: raccoon ('coon hunting specialists'). Vetstreet: main quarry is raccoons. Showsight (2022) and AKC history: raccoon.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC History. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

UKC: proficient in trailing and treeing bear, cougar and bobcat; 'often times, when used on big game, Redbones are hunted in packs.' Vetstreet: can also track bigger game. AKC history (2021): prized for raccoon or cougar treeing; a handler also reports success in search-and-rescue and cadaver work (cold trails). UKC also says: excellent water dogs.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC History. Registry-stated big-game use is a rare explicit statement among coonhound standards. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Range

AKC: 'surefooted and swift, even on the most difficult terrain'; UKC: 'well-balanced and agile, making him adaptable to various types of hunting and terrain'. No source states a distance or class.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Descriptive only; not a range class. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

UKC: 'sweet' voice; natural treeing instinct. AKC standard: 'excellent cold nose'. Showsight (2022): 'The Redbone's voice is a bawl on both track and tree.' AKC history (2021): very cold nose able to pick up a trail days or even weeks old; Redbone Coonhound Association of America president: 'extremely accurate, less likely to be fooled by the raccoon's tricks'; 'never-say-die intensity about treeing'. Vetstreet: sweet, musical voice that carries; a cold-nosed dog, good at following an old trail.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC and AKC quoted; the bawl mouth statement is Showsight only (the UKC standard says only 'sweet voice' and does not name chop or bawl). Open trailer, voiced on track. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

UKC (2023 Coonhound Rulebook, Nite Hunt Honor Rules): strike points 100/75/50/25 and tree points 125/75/50/25 in order of call; a dog must open and be heard opening when declared struck or treed, and a dog not opening on trail must be declared struck before a tree call counts; points are plus only when a raccoon is seen at the tree during shining time; babbling (opens three times or is struck where no track is evident) is minused; scratched at 400 minus points, for fighting, or for failing to attempt to hunt within any 15 consecutive scorecard minutes. UKC field trial: heats of up to four dogs on a laid scent drag to a caged raccoon or hide up a tree, Line and Tree winners advance to finals (5 points per heat win, 10 for Grand Final Line, 15 for Grand Final Tree). UKC bench show is judged on the breed standard; spayed and neutered dogs may compete in all UKC licensed coonhound events. Showsight (2022): a cast is up to four dogs; AKC nite hunts run 60, 90 or 120 minutes; AKC coonhound field trial heats give 15 minutes to work the track and come treed. Breed voice for calling: bawl on track and tree (Showsight).

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2023

UKC rulebook read in full text (pdftotext) Oct 8 2026; Showsight read through the Internet Archive copy. AKC Raccoon Hound Event regulations themselves were not reachable (akc.org/sports/coonhound-events returned 404); the AKC points come from the Showsight article only. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Water work

UKC: 'excellent water dogs'. UKC runs separate coonhound water races (swim after a lure across a pond).

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC Characteristics. Single source.

Cold water

2 of 5 · Short, smooth coat, no undercoat described (UKC, AKC); the UKC standard nonetheless calls the breed 'excellent water dogs', which this scale does not capture.

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

Derived: short single coat, no undercoat described in either standard (scale 1-5). No measured data.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

24.6% · OFA: 24.6% dysplastic (mild 11.9, moderate 12.7, severe 0.0), n = 126 evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026. Normal 74.6% (excellent 10.3, good 48.4, fair 15.9).

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA data service. Breeding-stock skew applies: OFA evaluations are submitted by breeders and owners, so the figure underestimates the whole population. n is small (126); no elbow row published.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 4; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Redbone Coonhound yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 5 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Redbone, Red Bone Coonhound

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your redbone coonhound, on the record.

Log the days, the miles and the birds, and the KENAI app keeps the dog’s story beside the breed’s. Free to start.

Get the app