Walkers are often described as brave, tenacious, and loyal. For active families who can give this dog the mental stimulation and activity they need every day, they make a great family pet. Well-socialized Walkers tend to get along well with children and other dogs. They are also highly affectionate with their families.

They do have a high prey drive. So, if your home includes other small animals, it’s important to properly train and socialize your Walker with them. They tend to do best with pets in the family they have been raised with, and will still retain that urge to chase animals and things outside of the family.

Treeing Walker Coonhounds are initially wary of strangers. They are protective and may not appreciate strangers who approach their family members. Walkers will ark to alert you. Well-socialized Walkers tend to warm up to strangers once introduced. They may retain most of their affection for their favorite humans, but they are usually relatively open to making new friends, provided they are not a threat.

Walkers have a unique communication ability. As hunting assistants, they will emit different-pitched barks to communicate different events. They will make a howling sound when they are tracking and a choppy bark when they have treed their targeted prey. At home, they will use different sounds to indicate different events that their owners will recognize: “I’ve found something,” “There’s a stranger at the door,” or “Let’s go for a walk!” You may not be able to stop the instinctual barking, but you can socialize your Walker and work to train your dog to stop barking to keep it from getting out of hand.

The Treeing Walker Coonhound is highly adaptive to physically and mentally challenging environments, but that’s about it. Overall, they are a moderately adaptable dog breed. They should not be housed in an apartment or in a backyard for extended periods of time. They are adaptable to travel, but at some point, you’ll have to stop the car and have a vigorous frisbee throw or chasing game with them.

A Walker’s short coat is surprisingly insulating in cold weather as long as they are in motion and generating their own heat. They love attention and interaction with their humans, which means they do not like to be left alone for long periods of time. They also enjoy the activity of competing and tend to respect and feel secure with routines. Unless working as a hunting dog with you or in a securely fenced area, it’s best not to let this dog off-leash as they are known to pursue interesting scents or chase things.

The Treeing Walker Coonhound is a very sturdy dog breed with no predominant health issues. Potential health concerns to be aware of can include eye anomalies and hip dysplasia. Good breeding practices and the health of the parents make a big difference in the health of Treeing Walker Coonhound puppies.

Reputable breeders will screen their dogs to make sure their dogs are healthy and they are not passing preventable issues to puppies. Make sure you talk to the breeder about the health and genetic history of both parents. You can also ask about any health tests or clearances that have been done. The National Treeing Walker Coonhound Association recommends a hip evaluation, an ophthalmologist evaluation, and a thyroid evaluation.

The fact that a Treeing Walker Coonhound can be trained as an expert hunting companion attests to their intelligence and eagerness to please their owners. However, they possess an innate willfulness that is as strong as their hunting drive, which may make training difficult for novice dog owners.

Walkers need firm (but not heavy-handed) and consistent training in order to behave properly and respond faithfully to commands. Training and obedience classes can go a long way in making a first-time or less experienced dog owner more confident and help them provide the fun and entertaining training sessions a Walker needs.

As with all dog breeds, the Walker is lovable and endearing for its special qualities. Yet, this dog is really only suitable as a companion for the active individual or family. People looking for features in a family pet that include anything but activity that is on the intense side should not own a Treeing Walker Coonhound.

An important caveat for the Walker owner relates to this dog’s bark. Walkers have a series of barks, which announce various messages. These sounds can be piercing and, to some, highly irritating. Those sensitive to potentially excessive barking, or just the high volume of a hound dog’s booming bark, should avoid taking a Walker home.

Treeing Walker Coonhounds have short, smooth coats. A Walker dog coat type tends to be easy to groom. A quick, weekly brushing and an occasional bath are all that is required to keep a Walker coat looking great. They are average shedders.

A hound glove or grooming glove is an essential dog grooming brush to have on hand. You can also wipe this dog down with a damp towel to keep their coat clean between baths. Their large, hound ears require extra attention, as they are susceptible to infection and parasites. Their long ears, which are often close to the ground, should be inspected and cleaned regularly to prevent infection.

In addition to these grooming tasks, you will also want to trim your dog’s nails once or twice monthly, or more often as needed if they aren’t wearing down enough naturally. Also, it’s important to brush their teeth every day and get cleanings at the vet when needed. Good dental care for your dog early and consistently throughout your dog’s life is important for preventing dental diseases later in life.

The Walker is a high-energy dog breed and a runner, first and foremost. They are impressively fast and agile with a gutsy physical delivery when in “hunting mode”. In this regard, they are not adaptable to environments that fail to provide some level of intense, physical challenge. A good home for a Walker involves rigorous daily exercise and at least some periodic, physically exerting activity like a good hike or running game.

Overall, Walkers crave activity that is physically and mentally challenging. If a Treeing Walker Coonhound is bored or poorly exercised, they will develop mischievous and unhealthy habits like chewing, digging, and excessive barking. It’s also important to keep activities low-impact until puppies are finished growing to avoid damaging developing bones and joints.

Fully-grown Treeing Walker Coonhounds stand 20-27 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh 50-70 pounds on average. Females tend to be 20-25 inches tall, while males tend to be 22-27 inches tall.

Treeing Walker Coonhounds generally live for 12-13 years on average.

One of the facts about Treeing Walker Coonhounds is that this dog breed has a unique ability to hunt at night since they were bred to hunt the nocturnal raccoon.