thats pretty much all my friend does and he uses mountain cur dogs, but there are many breeds that work. no one breed is the bestm though many dog owners wil tell you their breed is. no your lab wont tree. Yea id reccomend a tracking collar and reciever as well, cuz it sucks trying to find a dog that dont bark until treed on a slow night. lol it is really fun, but good dogs can be REALLY expensive, unless you buy new and train them yourself. my friends dog is probably worth 3-5 or 6 thousand dollars right now, and id probably have to offer him 8 for him to sell just because that is his best friend. i love going, and go every chance i get. id reccomend hooking up with some local coon hunters and tagging along to learn the basics. then get a dog or pup and maybe eventually start running it with their dogs. who knows but it is really really fun.