Dogs

Treeing

Treeing is a method of hunting where dogs are used to force animals that naturally climb up into trees, where they can be shot by hunters. Particularly used with coonhunting, treeing dogs are selected for the instinct to not cease barking at an animal after it has escaped into a tree. The linguistic idiom, "Barking up the wrong tree" comes from this practice.

This method of hunting is also used for cougar and black bear. The dogs are trained to harass but not directly attack the quarry, however it is not unheard of for the quarry to kill some of the dogs or for the dogs to kill the quarry. Usually the quarry will climb a tree to escape the dogs after a period of chase and harassment. Traditionally the dogs were followed on foot by hunters listening to their barks, however some hunters now use radio direction finding equipment to follow the pack.

Treeing is also sometimes performed without the intention of killing the quarry for scientific purposes (such as radio-tagging) or recreational purposes. It is especially useful for cougars, which are notoriously stealthy and difficult to capture without the aid of dogs.

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