Treeing Tennessee Brindle puppies

About the Treeing Tennessee Brindle

The Treeing Tennessee Brindle is an American hunting dog developed from brindle coloured curs in the Appalachian and Ozark hill country, bred to trail game and hold it at the base of a tree while the hunter catches up. It is a medium, athletic dog with a short smooth brindle coat, drop ears and a loud, carrying voice. Temperament is friendly and companionable with its own people, rated top of the scale with other dogs, and independent in the way of any dog that works out of sight of its handler.

Needs are moderate but real: daily walks, room to run in a fenced space, and scent games to occupy the nose. The coat wants a weekly brush with a soft bristle brush or hound glove, and the drop ears want checking for wax and debris. The barking rating is the highest on the scale, and a treeing dog is meant to be heard a long way off, so this is not a breed for shared walls. Rated three out of five with children, it does well with supervision. The usual error is expecting reliable off lead recall.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Treeing Tennessee Brindle puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A medium breed puppy at eight weeks is a manageable armful that will not stay that way. Most of the growth happens between now and six months, so buy for the adult dog where you can. Expect moderate energy, in short bursts separated by long naps. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Hip dysplasia, screened by hip evaluation of breeding stock
• Ear infections in the drop ears, found on regular ear checks
• Inherited eye disease, picked up by an ophthalmologist evaluation

From Treeing Tennessee Brindle breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/treeing-tennessee-brindle/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Your Treeing Tennessee Brindle puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Medium for a Treeing Tennessee Brindle.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 13.6 to 22.7 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Other medium breeds

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