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 hound 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 slip up. I’ll just walk up 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 could be a harsh word.
However, for this method to work, you need to do the opposite when you are, in fact, treeing a raccoon. But always approach them just as calmly at each tree. Walk on a leash and tie them back on. After you find 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, then you’ll need to take a different, more direct approach. This also works on older dogs that need a taper. 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 track became hard to work. These raccoon hounds just need a little reminder sometimes. I recommend that you approach the hound just as mentioned above. After you’ve decided that the tree is empty, find a good switch. You can also use an extra leash if you use just the leather part, don’t hit a raccoon dog with the chain. Give them a few hits and some harsh “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’ll realize that it’s better and easier for everyone if they just try to have the raccoon when they tree. Keep in mind that no dog can be 100% accurate on arboreal raccoons. If your raccoon hounds are consistently treeing raccoons more than 70% of the time, then they are doing very well. I have 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 am a firm believer that almost any raccoon hound can be trained to cut down your slippery trees. So I hope these tips help you as you train your hounds.