Cool stuff and very interesting. Thanks. I've mostly lived in Western PA, where wild patches are more pleasant, though we have our share of jaggers, as we call them. Must be quite a contrast from NYC!
One question.
"They can be trusted not to get on the trail of a rabbit or coon."
Are they specifically primed for coyote on this hunt or is coyote all they do?
As puppies they are allowed to chase anything their little old heart desires, just to get them use to the idea of hunting. At the age of about 6-8 months they start being admonished from chasing anything other than coyote. After that If a dog leaves a coyote track to chase a deer or rabbit they are severely admonished. If by the age of 1-1/2 years they are still not "rabbit broken" they are usually shot.
The Older Hunters have a real thing about blood lines and breeding. "Ain't nuthin worse than a worthless rabbit chasin dog," is a phrase you might hear often around a campfire. They will use very definite methods to eliminate a bloodline they do not want perpetuated. The sale or giving away of such a dog might, they believe, find it's way back to their pack if allowed to live.
I brought my NYC bride to Texas to meet all the family. I had told her about Jumping cactus. She thought it one of my Texas tall tales. So one of the first things on her list was to see this B.S. about jumping cactus. The bush of course does not jump as much as explodes when disturbed. I found a perticularly healthy looking bush, Shook it little and some of the leaves flew as far as ten feet in all directions. She just looked and said, "you are not bringing back any of that to NY."