Hello Ray, My name is Dustin, and I am from the NorthEastern United States. Maine to be exact. Here we use all different type of hound dogs for Coon, Black Bear, and Bobcat hunting. My freinds use mostly English hound dogs, due to the fact that they are a great all around hound dog. They have good noses on them and are just the right amount of aggressive. If you get a dog that is too aggressive than theres a good chance they will not make it through too many Bear hunts. Black and Tans are another good hound, but are very stubborn dogs. Plot hounds have a good nose but are very aggressive hound dog. We have found English hounds to be the right mix for hunting bear or coon in our area.