A common problem when training raccoon hounds today is making trees that are empty. However, I am going to give you some tips that I have used to prevent raccoon dogs from wrinkling. For beginners, you need to know your raccoon dog. What I mean is that you need to know how your bloodhound will react to punishment.

If you have a shy raccoon hound, proceed with caution. With raccoon dogs that have this type of personality, I will usually completely ignore them when they slither. I’ll just walk to the tree and put them on the leash without saying a word. Then I’ll look in the tree for a raccoon. If it’s obvious the tree is slippery, I’ll just untie the dog and walk away from the tree. The biggest scolding I’ll give this dog might be a harsh word.

However, for this method to work, you need to do the opposite when they do, in fact, tree a raccoon. But always approach them just as calmly at each tree. Walk on the leash and tie them back on. After finding a raccoon, you can untie the dog, but keep it on a leash and let it go back to the tree. Once they’re back in the tree, pet them and use an encouraging tone to let them know you’re praising them.

If you have a headstrong raccoon hound type of hound then you will need to take a different, more direct approach. This also works on older dogs that need a tune-up. In my experience, young raccoon hunters will often try to be “lazy” and might look for an easy way out, such as stopping because the trail has become difficult to work. These raccoon hounds just need a little reminder sometimes. I recommend that you approach the hound as mentioned above. After you’ve decided the tree is empty, find a good switch. You can also use an extra leash if you use only the leather part, don’t hit a raccoon dog with the chain. Give them a few hits and some stern no’s and then immediately move them away from the tree and throw them again.

For this method to be effective, you need to turn them into a raccoon. You want to be able to praise them. Eventually they will realize that it is better and easier for everyone if they only try to have the raccoon when they tree up. Keep in mind that no dog can be 100% accurate on tree raccoons. If your raccoon hounds are consistently treeing raccoons more than 70% of the time, then they are doing just fine. I’ve had some raccoon hounds that literally seemed to never lose a raccoon, while others were close to fifty percent or worse.

I should also mention that bloodlines also tend to influence slippery arborescence. I’ve been lucky enough to own a few of both, so I can speak from experience. However, I strongly believe that almost any raccoon hound can be trained to reduce your slippery trees. So I hope these tips help you while you train your bloodhounds.