Gretchen

Post three about my lovely Brooklyn Adventures! Meet Gretchen, the three year old Coonhound!

I got to speak with David, Gretchen's owner, about this beautiful and distinct breed. Gretchen is a cross between an English Foxhound and American Foxhound. Coonhounds are a type of scent hound, and a member of the hound group.

What really stuck out to me about Gretchen, besides how strikingly beautiful she is, was her incredibly unique bark while romping around chasing the other dogs. Coonhounds actually have a deep, "baying" bark they make while hunting (check out youtube to see what Im talking about!).

It's actually really cool how they help hunters. Generally, hunters do not chase their quarry along with the hounds, unlike organized foxhunting, but wait and listen to the distinctive baying to determine if prey has been treed. Then, when the hunter catches up with their hunting companion, the prey is trapped in the tree for the hunter to capture.

David adopted Gretchen from a show in Chelsea, Manhattan about five months ago. Many different shelters brought dogs in, but what set Gretchen apart to David was how calm she was, while all of the other dogs were barking like crazy. Apparently, her backstory was that she had originally come from North Carolina, and had actually gave birth to a litter of puppies.

David and his family fostered her for a few months to make sure she was a good fit.

While I took pictures of her though, she did get a little nervous from the sounds my camera made, and I learned she has a little fear of certain noises:

"Any sound—like I opened a soda can last night, and she like Scooby-Doo'ed—she totally freaks out."

Besides the fear of sounds, David said she's really great. She gets along well with people and other dogs, and David brings Gretchen to the park a few times a week. She's so well behaved that he even brings her to his office almost every day!

His family also owns a cat, which apparently needed a little time to warm up to Gretchen:

"We have a cat, and at first the cat was just totally—still the boss, and she would swat her, you know, she wouldn't mess with her at all. It's the only animal she's afraid of—is a silly cat! But now they're starting to get lovey, you know, rub up against each other—the cat's warmed up to her."

I had a lot of fun snapping pics of Gretchen, she was really engaged with the other dogs at the park. When I asked David if she liked playing catch, she said only if other dogs are involved:

"She grabs the ball and won't give it back. She tries to get the other dogs attention…that's her goal. She will go get it and won't give it back. She will pick one up just to show the dogs, and try to get them chasing her."

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Name: Gretchen

Fun Fact: David takes her to upstate NY, by the Woodstock area, and she LOVES it!

Tricks: She knows sit while at home, and David's working on her leash manners!