living with a walker coonhound

[4pointhunter]

just got a walker he is 7 weeks old, he is living in the house with us and sleeping in a crate in our bedroom i am a shift worker at a mill so my girlfriend has been training him when i am gone, and i take over when i get home, so sleep has been hard to come by, i am looking for some advice on kennel training and housebreaking!!
we are also wondering about leaving him home alone, is he gonna bark the whole time he is left in the crate? we live in a new subdivision so neigbors are kinda close.
does anyone else keep a walker as a pet and have any tips ?
will things get better as he get older?
we have a pug and 2 cats in the house also will they continue to get along?
and will he still be a good hunting dog living with cats?
thanks

[Steelheadfreak]

Well my Catahoula has finally settled down a bit when it comes to us going to bed. We put him in his kennal at about 10:30/11pm and he finally sleeps through the night till 6am. he is a hair over 3 months. Just be patient and keep a shedule as far as the kennal thing goes. He will learn that he isint in jail forever when you put him in. He will however protest for a few weeks every time he is jailed. One word of advice is get that cage out of the bedroom........NOW! No dog should sleep in the same room as you at night. He will become a "mommas boy" in no time. When he cries, let him cry. Just be sure he does his business before you put him down. At 7 weeks, you should be putting him out to do that business about every hour to hour-n-half durring the day. Then at about 2 am again, then at 5am............lol. Just be patient and he will learn.

Its tuff to leave a pup of only 7 weeks for any length of time. I wouldnt leave mine in his kennal for more than a few hours durring the day. If you have too, get a bigger kennal. One he can move or play in at least. Put chewies and toys in to keep him occupied. He will prob crap himself a few times but that will pass as well. We can now leave our pup for up to 3 to 4 hours alone and free in the house before he goes nuts and destroys something........lol

[ex bc guide]

its a hound dog bottom line, they are not easy to train they are stubborn dogs and usually have the drive to hunt,so having cats and a hound dog is not a good combo,you may get lucky and not have this problem,it also depends on what you want this dog to do.

[Barracuda]

I am with Mike on this. The hound and cat thing could mean issues . I dont think i would like a sleeping crate in the bedroom . it is young and it is just gonna take some time and Physical investment to get it to be housetrained and liveable . (it will never be a low maintainance dog) .

[houndogger]

Once he starts treeing or killing your house cat head for the bush. Dump him out on the first fresh cougar track you find and bingo you are in buisness! That is what they are breed to do.

[4pointhunter]

thanks for the info i am hopeing he will grow up with these cats and think of them as roomates but still hate all other cats
and yeah i am still thinking of the best place for him to sleep, we put him in the bedroom so we can tell him to laydown as he is getting used to the crate and not have to run up and down the stairs all the time, because as soon as we are out of sight he wines and barks.
i am thinking the best answer will be moveing the crate and getting a bark collar.

[mapguy]

had a bark collar on a dog it left a serious hole

[Steelheadfreak]

Let him whine and bark in the kennal. It will stop eventually.

[ex bc guide]

Bark collars should not be left on for long periods of time or they will create a raw spot on the dogs neck causing you greif, as far as trying to get you hound to get along with the cat........Will not happen!! these dogs are meant to hunt cats, great family pets also,they do need tons of running time as well.Remember hounds are stubborn so letting him whine and bark in the kennel will not stop on its own! Get yourself a squirt bottle and give him a spray and tell him quiet when he does this.

[Barracuda]

I will be interested in hearing how this all works out for you . The only hounds i have heard of that ignore cat are bear dogs or coon dogs that have been broke off the house cat but even then they couldnt be trusted. I have used the collar as a training aid but it is a controlled situation (dont just put it on and leave) and it is not left on the animal. Welcome to the world of tracking collars, lost dogs frustraition and hopefully reward