Mountain Cur

The Mountain Cur is an American working dog bred to trail and tree small game such as squirrels and raccoons. It is also used to hunt and bay big game like bear and wild boar, works as an all-purpose farm dog, and can serve as a water dog. It is one of several varieties of cur, which are counted among the hounds, and is bred mainly in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

History

The ancestors of the Mountain Cur came from Europe nearly two hundred years ago with the settlers of the mountains of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and later Arkansas and Oklahoma. The dogs guarded home and family and chased and treed game, which gave the settlers meat and pelts to use or trade. That made them valuable on the frontier. Daniel Boone is said to have bred and raised Mountain Curs, relied on them on his travels through the Appalachians, and even carried pups along in baskets.

During World War II many of the families who bred the dogs left the countryside for factory work, and by the end of the 1940s the breed was becoming rare. Four men are credited with saving it and setting its standard: Hugh Stephens and Woody Huntsman of Kentucky, Carl McConnell of Virginia and Dewey Ledbetter of Tennessee. They founded the Original Mountain Cur Breeders’ Association in the 1950s. A dispute over the standard soon led Stephens and McConnell to leave and found the Stephens Stock Mountain Cur Association.

The United Kennel Club has registered the Mountain Cur since 1998, and it has since been recognised by the American Kennel Club, the National Kennel Club and the Continental Kennel Club.

In the 1980s and 1990s Michael and Marie Bloodgood of Afton, New York, developed the Mountain View Cur from the Mountain Cur.

Appearance

Mountain Curs are short-coated dogs in blue, black, yellow, brown or brindle. Some have white markings on the face or chest. They usually weigh 14 to 27 kg (30 to 60 lb). Males stand 46 to 66 cm (18 to 26 in) tall and females 41 to 61 cm (16 to 24 in).

Temperament

Mountain Curs are intelligent and easily trained, neither vicious nor shy. They like to please their people and can get along well with children and other pets. They were bred to work, and one with nothing to hunt, guard or do around a farm may grow bored and anxious. Given a job, they are generally happy and obedient.

Care and health

Mountain Curs can live 14 to 16 years, and no breed-specific health problems have been reported.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.