Silent on Track, Dog Not Struck in Catches Coon

Coonhound Advisor

September 15, 2016

Source: Allen Gingerich

As published in August 2016 Coonhound Bloodlines

Dog Not Struck in Catches Coon

Q: Last weekend we ran into a situation that Ive never seen happen before. We had a four-dog cast. Dogs A, B and C are declared struck, in that order, and trailing away from us. While we were standing there listening to the dogs trailing, Dog D comes in to the cast with a coon in his mouth. It was obvious that he had killed it because the coon was still warm. The question we had was how should Dog D have been scored when he was never declared struck? Matter of fact, he had never opened at all.

A: That is a unique situation that you dont see happen very often. Under normal circumstances (struck in), Dog D would receive his strike points plussed. In this case, however, the dog was not declared struck so he has no strike points to plus, therefore you would simply do nothing, in terms of any scoring, and recast the dog again. The dog has to open and be declared struck before it is eligible for any points.

Silent on Track

Q: As the judge of a two-dog cast, we had a situation where the other handlers dog never made a bark on the ground all night long. He was dead silent, in my opinion. Heres how it went. On the first track, my dog struck and trailed for a good way. Eventually, he located on a tree and began treeing. The other dog, Ill refer to as Dog B for verification purposes, also started treeing. The handler struck and treed Dog B in the same breath. He actually declared Dog B treed before I did, so he was awarded first tree. We went in and scored the tree. We did not find a coon on this big leafy tree, so we both agreed to circle the points.

The second drop was basically a carbon copy of the first one. Dog A struck a track and trailed it a good distance and located the tree. Dog B struck and treed in the same breath again. A coon was seen and points plussed. On the third turn loose we, again, had basically the same scenario as the first two drops except that this time Dog A shut out Dog B on tree. I called Dog A treed before Dog B ever opened on the tree. When Dog B did open, he was treeing again, and was declared struck and treed in the same breath once again. This was now the third track that Dog B had not opened a lick on the ground. This was a den tree with no coon seen so the points were circled. At this point we only had about 40 minutes left in the hunt.

After scoring that tree, I told the other handler that his dog had not made a bark on the ground yet and that, per my understanding of Rule 6 (e), he has met the criteria of being continuously silent on track and that the dog is scratched for being silent. The handler questioned my call. Obviously, we had a one-to-one vote so we headed back to the Master of Hounds for a ruling.

The ruling was that because it was a one-to-one vote, and there were only two handlers in the cast, the points on that third tree are deleted. Please provide some clarification as Im still confused after going through the rulebook. Also, not that it matters at this point, but we did both go back out and hunt the last 40 minutes without a bark from either dog.

A: The topic of silent dogs, for a couple reasons, is one that I would personally rather shy away from, to be quite frank about it. Its a topic that has been debated for years and years and will likely continue to always be debatable due to the wording under Rule 6 (e). The word continuously in that rule is generally the culprit that opens the door for debates. In researching this topic youll find that in years past it has been suggested, in this very column, that a dog that had not opened on track on three separate occasions, where the other hounds did, would meet the criteria of being continuously silent. Later, another advisor suggested that continuously should be interpreted as meaning throughout the whole hunt. Since then, UKC has not gone on record to suggest one way or the other.

The one thing Im confident in going on record to say is, most any coon hunter who has a fair amount of experience and hound sense does not need two hours to make a sound determination on whether a hound is silent on track or not. Especially not in areas where you can tree a couple coons in that amount of time. Quite frankly, its the silly arguments coming from handlers who are hunting a silent dog that creates the bigger problem, and why the rule is being ignored sometimes. That said, Im not leaning one way or the other (three separate tracks or not until after the whole two hours). Instead, we will support any judges decision that is deemed sound and reasonable, when it comes to determining continuously silent on track.

Considering this is a rule change year, UKC would be open to any proposals that would make Rule 6 (e) better clarified and or easier for judges to enforce. I do know that theres some that would like to see the rule be eliminated entirely. That idea recently had me reading through each of the seven coonhound breed standards again to refresh my memory what each one suggests, when it comes to trailing and or opening on trail. The only two breeds that do not clearly suggest open trailing are the English and Redbone breeds. One uses good hound bawl, and the other sweet voice. Regardless, Im fairly confident that both are referring to trailing as well. Something to think about when considering eliminating or, better, clarifying the rule, I would think.

Finally, in answer to the question, theres not a rule to support deleting those points on that tree. The scoring of the tree and the issue of the dog being silent are two entirely different things. Based on the scenario provided, the ruling should have reflected whether or not the dog met the criteria of being continuously silent or not. What makes your situation a bit unique is the fact that there were only two handlers in the cast and no judgement calls could be overturned. Even then the rules do not provide any exceptions. If the club had any concerns regarding a judge for this cast, then it may have been a good idea to assign a non-hunting judge to the cast. Regardless, theres two options: 1) accept the call made by the judge; or 2) give Dog B further benefit of the doubt and give him the whole two hours to open on trail.