Treeing is a method of
hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...
where
dogs are used to force animals that naturally climb up into trees, where they can be assessed or shot by hunters. The idiomatic phrase "''
Barking up the wrong tree''" comes from this practice.
Description
The treeing technique uses
dogs to force naturally climbing animals into trees, where they can be assessed or shot by
hunter
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
s. Treeing enables hunters to see the quarry and decide if the prey should be killed, and if so with a cleaner kill, or spared.
For example, females with youths may be left untouched,
or quarry may be observed or tagged for research.
Use
Hunting
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.
This method of hunting is also used for
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
and
black bear.
The dogs are trained to
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
, 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.
Blackmouth Cur use this method. Traditionally, the dogs were followed on foot by hunters listening to their barks, although some hunters now use
radio direction finding equipment to follow the pack.
Research
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.
Law
Treeing is illegal in several US states, including:
* Oregon
* Washington State
* New Mexico
* Montana
* California, since January 1st 2013, Governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
signed a bill banning hunting of bears,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IU ...
s with hound.
Natural spaces law enforcement officers urged hunters or outdoor enthusiasts to call police and report any suspicious activity they witness.
References
See also
{{Wiktionary, left=yes
Hunting dogs
*
Hunting methods
Dog training and behavior