Mabel was given to me as a puppy by Paul Pivec & Stef DeVries in 1994. She came from a litter out of their female Credit River Cody and a local stud dog named Porcupine Valley Rebel.

Mabel began treeing with other dogs at 3 months of age and shortly after that was trailing and treeing by herself. At 5 months old she would hunt deep, split tree and hold pressure. At 6 months, she was more powerful than any dog I had owned before. I knew that I was going to the world hunt with this dog.

Everything about Mabel was spectacular, including her flaws. Until about the age of 2, this dog was a constant challenge. It seemed that she would pick up a new quirk every time I turned around. I called her "Unstable Mabel" and it was no joke. First I noticed that she was always hunting deep by herself and never coming back. Then she stopped going with other dogs who were trailing or treeing. Even worse she began to leave her own trees if other dogs came into her. She ran fox, skunk, coyote, treed house cats and possum. (No deer, but the reason for this is another story.) More than once I thought about getting rid of Mabel, but she was always able to turn right around and do something sensational that made me forget those dreadful nights.


Mabel, treed a mile away and across a swamp.
This photo was taken on the night of 4/8/2003,
her 9th birthday

While training Mabel, every night I "had a plan"  for getting ahead and teaching this dog, but rarely did things go my way. It was like fate would take control and keep me from getting the upper hand on Mabel. Even a "sure thing"  would somehow be turned upside down when Mabel was involved. I remember when I was having trouble with Mabel running fox. I took her to the fox pen with my shock collar one night to break her. She started a track and I was waiting for her to warm it up before I shocked her. To my surprise, and everyone else's, she never did heat up the track. Instead she sat down and treed a coon in the middle of the fox pen.

By the age of 2, Mabel was having fewer "bad" nights. One will still creep in occasionally, but they do for almost all dogs. Looking back, I think most of her problems were caused by my hunting her like a "big" dog before she was mature. I did go to the world hunt with Mabel and things went pretty well. I might have made it all the way if it hadn't been for that armadillo. (They don't live up here, so I never had a chance to break her.)

 I've hunted with a lot of coonhounds over the years. I woudn't neccesarily say Mabel is the best I've encountered, but by far, she is my favorite. Now she is an old dog, but I can still take her out and enjoy her style more than ever. She isn't perfect, but for the most part she gets out fast and trees coons. 

Of course, not everybody appreciates her hunting style, especially people who are used to walking with their dogs. She goes deep a LOT. It certainly took me some time to adjust. I finally learned just to wait by the truck until she is treed and then figure out the easiest way to get to her. Once I had this down, I could enjoy myself instead of worrying about how to keep up with her. Most nights out with Mabel (even her bad ones) are exciting.

In my case, a coonhound isn't just a tool for hunting. They become members of the houshold & it is important that I like them. She is a quirky bitch, but Mabel has turned out to be one of my all time favorite pets. As a companion, Mabel is definately a dog that I had to give some time to grow on me. She doesn't display many of the traditional qualities I think of when looking for a canine companion. Her personality is more reminiscent of a cats, independant, manipulative and neither loyal or affectionate. Still I like her and enjoy her company. It's really because she is so smart & it is really interesting to watch in action. She is a master of getting her own way & she is always tricking the other dogs and even me into doing her bidding. I sure have had a lot of fun watching Mabel in action.

I recorded Mabel bawling the other day. I'd recommend you take the time to do this if you have and old dog you like. It's so easy to do & the memories will just come back in a flood when replayed. 

Listen to Mabel