How to Get a Good Coon Dog If you want a good coon dog, don’t look for a fancy breed or a big nose or a brother to the best coonhound in the county. What you want is a dog that can prove himself before you buy. You’re going to pay between $100 and $500, so you might as well get one that’s trained. Breeding isn’t everything, but most good coon dogs are black-and-tan coonhounds, Plott hounds, blue ticks, or any combination thereof. As one veteran coon hunter puts it, “It’s in the dog hisself whether he’s any good or not.”