KENAI
Treeing Walker Coonhound

The breeds · tree dog · coonhound

AKC Hound · UKC Scenthound

Treeing Walker Coonhound.

UKC: Raccoon hound that runs and trees 'a variety of game on varying kinds of terrain'; 'excellent trailing, hunting and treeing instinct and ability'. AKC standard: 'tracking and treeing wild raccoons'; the breed is called 'the people's choice' among coonhounds and its competitive spirit makes it an ideal choice for competitive coonhound events. Showsight (2022): 'a quick, hot-nosed, sensible hunter' popular with competitive and pleasure hunters. Vetstreet: 'On the trail, this is a dog that hustles. He'll find a track, push it and get to the tree before all the other dogs.' Dominates coonhound field events..

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.
50–70LBWeight, all linesbreed 50 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 20 to 25 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC and UKC agree.

Weight

50 to 70 lb

Breed clubAKC

The only number is the AKC breed-page header, which does not split by sex. Neither standard states a weight. The Showsight page repeats the AKC figure and is not independent.

Coat

UKC: smooth, glossy and fine, yet dense enough for protection; a close, hard hound coat. AKC: smooth hair, glossy and short, yet dense enough for protection, close and hard; fault: too short, thin or soft. Color (both): tri-color (white, black, tan) preferred, white predominant with black spots and tan trim, or black predominant with white markings and tan trim (saddle or blanket back); white with tan or black spots accepted; any other combination penalized in the show ring.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC Coat and Color; AKC Coat and Color. Standards agree.

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 · Smooth, glossy, fine, dense, close hard hound coat; no undercoat mentioned (UKC, AKC standards).

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 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Playfulness 4; Trainability 5; Barking Level 4; Adaptability 4; Affectionate With Family 5; Good With Other Dogs 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 3. Vetstreet: more gung-ho than some other coonhounds; with a strong desire to hunt it will go off on its own if not given an outlet.

Breed clubAKC

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

Grooming load

1 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 1 of 5; Shedding Level 3. Vetstreet: smooth easy-care tricolor coat that needs only weekly brushing with a rubber curry; prone to ear infections.

Breed clubAKC

AKC band and Vetstreet are non-independent in effect (both light grooming). 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: Raccoon hound that runs and trees 'a variety of game on varying kinds of terrain'; 'excellent trailing, hunting and treeing instinct and ability'. AKC standard: 'tracking and treeing wild raccoons'; the breed is called 'the people's choice' among coonhounds and its competitive spirit makes it an ideal choice for competitive coonhound events. Showsight (2022): 'a quick, hot-nosed, sensible hunter' popular with competitive and pleasure hunters. Vetstreet: 'On the trail, this is a dog that hustles. He'll find a track, push it and get to the tree before all the other dogs.' Dominates coonhound field events.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC General Appearance and Characteristics; AKC Characteristics; Showsight and Vetstreet are editorial. Agree: raccoon trailing and treeing specialist, strong in competition. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

AKC standard: wild raccoons. UKC: 'a variety of game'. AKC Expert Advice (2026): bred to track raccoons and chase them up trees; keen nose, speed and endurance make an excellent hunter even at night.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC Characteristics: 'tracking and treeing wild raccoons in their natural haunts'. UKC names no species. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Also used on

AKC Expert Advice (2026): can hunt larger prey that hide in trees, such as bobcats, cougars and small bears, alone or cooperating with a pack. UKC and AKC standards name no other game.

EditorialKatherine Ripley, 2026

Single editorial source (AKC Expert Advice, not the standard). Neither registry standard lists big game. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Range

Showsight (2022): 'a wide-ranging, endurance hunter, well suited for just about any type of hunting terrain'. UKC standard: 'capable of great endurance'.

EditorialMichelle Zimmerman, 2022

Single editorial source for 'wide-ranging'; no source gives a distance. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

UKC: 'Voice is preferably a clear, ringing bugle or a steady, clear chop. Noticeable change in voice at tree.' Excellent trailing, hunting and treeing instinct. AKC Expert Advice: bugle-like sound while tracking so the handler can follow, then a short choppy bark when the animal is treed. Showsight (2022): strike/trail bark is typically a melodious bawl, a long drawn-out bugling voice heard at a distance, although some lines have a chop mouth; at the tree it may chop or bawl, often at a markedly different pitch than on track. Hot-nosed: favors fresh scent (AKC Expert Advice: will abandon an older trail for a fresher one, resulting in more catches). Vetstreet: voice is deep and carrying.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC Characteristics quoted. Open trailer in the cast sense: voice on the track is how the handler calls strike. The locate-at-tree behavior is covered by the 'noticeable change in voice at tree' wording; no source describes a separate locate bark for this breed. 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 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).

Cold water

2 of 5 · Smooth, close, hard short coat (UKC, AKC standards); the breed is trained on night land trails, not water retrieving (UKC runs separate coonhound water races).

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

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

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; 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 1; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; 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 Treeing Walker 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. 6 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Treeing Walker, TWC, Walker

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