The Redbone Coonhound is a sweet-natured, strikingly red American scent hound bred to trail and tree raccoons across rough country. Its defining traits, a powerful nose, a loud bay, and working stamina, are behind almost every training problem owners face. Work with the hound rather than against it and the Redbone is an affectionate, easy housemate. Here are the five mistakes that cause the most trouble, and what to do instead.
1. Expecting off-leash reliability
Once a Redbone's nose locks onto a scent, the rest of the world, including your recall, stops existing. Owners who trust open ground are left calling a dog that is already half a mile down a trail. Treat reliable off-leash freedom as a securely fenced goal, build recall on a long line, and accept that a working nose will always compete with a cue outdoors.
2. Expecting to eliminate the baying
The Redbone was bred to bay loudly at game, and that voice is hardwired, not a behavior problem to be erased. Owners who expect silence are setting themselves up to fail. Manage the baying with exercise, mental work, and a "quiet" cue, but accept that this is a vocal breed; total silence is unrealistic.
3. Underestimating the exercise need
This is a working hound with real stamina, and an under-exercised Redbone turns that energy into destruction and noise. Owners who provide only short strolls are quickly overwhelmed. Give it long daily walks, decompression sniffing time, and a real job for its nose, and the same dog is famously laid-back and easygoing at home. A bored, under-exercised Redbone, by contrast, will howl, chew, and try to follow its nose straight out of the yard.
4. Relying on praise instead of food
Scent hounds are notoriously food-driven and comparatively indifferent to verbal praise, so owners relying on "good boy" alone find the dog unmotivated. Pay competitive wages: use genuinely high-value treats, especially outdoors where the environment competes for attention, and the Redbone engages far more willingly.
5. Providing no nose-work outlet
A scent hound denied the chance to use its nose is a frustrated, under-fulfilled dog. Owners who skip scent enrichment miss the easiest way to satisfy the breed. Build in nose work, tracking, and find-it games, and you get a calmer, happier, more focused Redbone.
What works with Redbones
Treat off-leash as a fenced-only goal, manage the baying realistically, meet the real exercise needs, motivate with food, and feed the nose with scent work. The throughline is honoring a working scent hound: respect the nose and the voice, give both an outlet, and the Redbone Coonhound is a sweet, mellow, devoted companion.
TailorPup's Redbone plan uses food-based motivation, includes a barking protocol, builds nose work in, and treats off-leash as a fenced-only goal.
Start your Redbone Coonhound's plan free at tailorpup.com →
Related: How to Train a Redbone Coonhound · Recall Training · Barking Solutions