The Treeing Walker Coonhound grew out of Virginia and Kentucky foxhound lines in the 1700s and 1800s, developed to trail a raccoon and hold it up a tree. The United Kennel Club recognized it as its own breed in 1945, and the AKC followed in 2012. Walkers are lean, short-coated hounds with a glossy tricolor coat, long ears and soft, pleading eyes.
On a scent they're fast, tireless and loud, with a ringing bay, yet many are gentle and happy on the couch at home. In Tucson the short coat is easy to keep up, but the desert adds its own chores: dawn exercise in the hot months, a check of paws and ears after trail outings, and a fence that keeps a nose-driven hound from following a trail. Dogs vary, and some Walkers are calmer than others.