Mountain Cur?

B

BostonBanker

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This is my first time posting here, so please forgive any errors:)

Does anybody own (or know) any Mountain Curs? I adopted a dog in February who was listed as a "purebred mountain cur". Now, I've read countless breed books and taught a few years of obedience classes, so I've seen a bunch of breeds, but I'd never heard of this. I always thought "cur" just meant mutt. So, imagine my surprise when I find that not only is it a real UKC breed, but my dog actually looks like one (or like some of them, anyway).

This is by far the most charming dog I've ever known, and ridiculously easy to train - far more so than their hound ancestery would suggest. Is this at all normal for the breed? I don't know how to post pictures here, but if anyone has enough experience to determine if she may, in fact, be a mountain cur, I could e-mail pics. I'd love to find any information I can.

Thanks for any help!
 
F

filarotten

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I don't know a lot about Mountain Curs. Nice looking dog, btw.

Gempress has a Black Mouth Cur by the name of Zeus. Wonderful dog. I wonder if they are related in the cur family? If she sees this, she will probably post...but she is offline right now.
 
L

LabBreeder

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Mountain Cur is a type of working dog used for treeing and trailing game; mainly squirrel and raccoon, but also large game. It is a member of the Hound group and is one of several varieties of cur. They can also be used as water dogs. Mainly bred in Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, it has been registered with the United Kennel Club since 1998. The Mountain Cur Breeder's Association was formed in 1957.
Appearance
Coat: Heavy, medium short.
Color: Black, black and brindle, yellow and can have white points.
Head: Broad square with top being a flat plane between the high set ears.
Eyes:Dark brown, expressive.
Ears:Short to medium with a high set and tightly controlled.
Muzzle: Heavy with wide nares. Teeth form a scissor like bite.
Body: Stocky, muscular, square and slightly longer than the tail which can be docked but long enough to form a handle for show. Some pups are born with a bobbed tail.
Legs: Straight, medium long, muscular capable of speed.
Feet: Oval shaped, muscled with feline-like pads. Can have back dew claws.

The Mountain Cur is intelligent, easily trained, and neither vicious nor shy. They can be suitable as companion animals and guard dogs.
 
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Gempress

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OOOH! I can't believe I missed this post earlier! My dog Zeus is a blackmouth cur. Nice to see another cur owner on the board! *happy dance* I feel much less lonely now!

I've heard of mountain curs, but I sadly don't know that much about them specifically. I do know that curs in general are slightly different from normal hounds. They were actually bred for silent tracking, so they aren't as vocal as scenthounds. My Zeus, for example, is pretty much a silent dog. He's probably barked only 2-3 times during the entire time I've had him. Curs also use both sight and scent when hunting.

Curs in general are not always reliable off-leash. At the first hint of scent or sight, they can be gone like a rocket and tend to "zone out" on you. They also have a high prey drive towards small animals, and will not always be all right with smaller animals like cats or cage pets. Zeus once tried to jump off the side of a 15-foot bridge to get at a raccoon he saw on the bottom of the ravine. It scared years off my life.

Curs are also more a multi-purpose dog than "normal" hounds. For example, there are many blackmouth cur lines that are used strictly for herding instead of hunting.

But identifying a true cur can be difficult. Curs are very much a working dog, and are still judged mainly on working ability. Therefore, the appearance of a cur can vary greatly from region to region and from line to line. But as a result of this diversity, you see a wide variety of mixed breeds accidentally classified as curs.

Your dog does look like a mountain cur. But before making a final determination, I'd do a little research. See how common mountain curs are in your area. If you live in a large city, or there are no local breeders, or nobody has ever even seen a mountain cur before, it's more likely that your dog is a mixed breed that just happens to look like a mountain cur.

Overall, I am just thrilled with my cur. He is the sweetest, most well-mannered dog I've ever owned. He's quiet, cuddly and has absolutely no food aggression. While Zeus clownish at times, he is usually a very dignified dog, especially in public. He's a big favorite at the vet's office. Zeus does have a bit of a *cough* shallow learning curve (it took him a week to learn "sit"), but he tries so hard at his obedience training that he doesn't disappoint me. My little 2-year-old niece can do anything to him: crawl on him, take his food, and on one memorable occassion, managed to stick Mr. Potato-Head parts into his nostrils. :eek:

Good luck with your little cur dog! He's adorable, and I have such a soft spot for the "backwoodsy" breeds.
 
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B

BostonBanker

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Thanks for all the replies, and Gempress especially for all the info!

I'm up here in Vermont, where nobody, myself included, has even heard of curs. Meg, however, travelled up here to be placed from rural West Virginia. Not sure what the "cur status" is down there, but from the bit of information I've found, their numbers seem to go up as you go south. My poor dog is going to have an identity crisis, as she's listed as a different breed everywhere. Pit mix, Cattle dog mix, mountain cur...who knows?

She's mostly wonderful off leash. I manage a horse farm, and she spends the day loose there, either helping me turn out, playing with any of the four or five other dogs that spend time there, or diligently watching the muskrat hole near the pond;) She's very respectful of the barn cats, but does enjoy chasing bunnies!

We are in week 12 of our agility training, and she is having a blast. I'd love to get her into competition eventually.

Gempress - How did you come to own your cur? Did you seek one out? Do you hunt or anything with him? I'm also hoping to try tracking with Meg. Unfortunately, the one seminar I've found is the day of my friend's wedding - and I'm handling the (canine) ringbearer:D
 
G

Gempress

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You're very welcome for all the info! Sorry I don't know more about mountain curs specifically, but I've never seen them in my area.

It's good to hear that she's reliable off-leash. I don't ever trust Zeus off-leash. He has very long legs and can be gone in flash. It's rather embarassing: he is wonderful in more advanced obedience, but still won't always come when called. :rolleyes:

Gempress - How did you come to own your cur? Did you seek one out?
Click to expand...
Zeus is a bit of an odd story. He was listed in Petfinder.com as a "mastiff mix", and my husband and I were looking for a giant breed. I went to see him and knew right away he didn't have any mastiff in him, but I fell in love and adopted him.

I thought he was a mutt until I took him to the vet for his first checkup. Ironically, my vet is also the vet for two blackmouth cur breeders in the area. He knew what Zeus was right away.

Blackmouth curs are considered rare, but are relatively common in the area of rural Texas where I live. My husband's former boss has a blackmouth cur that he hunts with on a regular basis. I'm not a hunter, and I've never hunted or anything with Zeus, but the idea does intrigue me. But I'm sure I'll give it a try someday.
 
W

wildwings811

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My husbands uncle also has curs and Black mouth curs he just got a very cute brindle and white female pup I don't know much about them but he usually buys his in Tenn or Kentucky and he uses them to hunt squirels
 
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