Dog breeds :
Catahoula Cur / Catahoula Leopard Dog / Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog
Blue Catahoula leopard dog
General
Its general appearance substantiates its affirmed hound ancestry. As a stock animal, its excels at rounding up and driving unruly cattle and pigs.
Characteristics
The short, single coat is colored in a merle or black/tan pattern. Some coats can be course, but most are short and tight. Color is an especially notable feature in this herder: eye color and coat color working in a very complementary and expressive way. The skull is broad and flat. The legs are solid and strong boned. The deep chest provides for good heart and lung capacity.
Temperament
The Catahoula Leopard Dog is loving with their family and all people they know well and reserved with strangers (this would include strange children). They need to make up to a person, not a person make up to them. Of course there are temperaments on both sides of this, but this is for the average dog. They mature right around 2 and it is as if a light goes on and they say to themselves "I am an adult now and I need to act grown up." This breed's reservation with strangers should not be noticed in a pup, but will show as the dog matures. Although affectionate with his master, the Catahoula is not recommended for the casual pet owner who is uninterested in allowing the dog to function in his intended capacity. For the right owner, this is a protective yet dominating canine.
History
Named after the Parish of Catahoula, Louisiana, its precise ancestry is not known. It is, however, highly valued for herding semi-wild cattle and pigs found in the region.
Origin
The Catahoula Leopard Dog is the believed to be the result of crosses between the Spanish Mastiff-type war dogs and the generic-type Indian curs that roamed the American South. The state of Louisiana is cited as the point of origin, particularly the area of Catahoula. In 1979, the breed was designated the state dog of Louisiana. The Catahoula was named after a Parish in Northeastern Louisiana and after the mottled spots on its coat. At one time this breed was used to round up feral pigs and cattle -- livestock that had escaped, and was living in woods and swamps. (More accurately, it would pick fights with, and then be chased by the pigs.) Hunters sometimes used the Catahoula to trail and tree raccoons, but this dominant breed is more at home acting the thug with obstinate boars. This dog is used particularly on the difficult task of driving and rounding hogs and unruly cattle.
Utilization
-
Classification
Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossians and Swiss Mountain- and Cattledogs
Size
Medium
Height
Males: 22 to 26 inches (56-58 cm.) Females: 20 to 24 (51-61 cm.)
Weight
55-80 pounds (16-37 kg)
Grooming
Moderate
Excercise
Considerable
Activity
High
Locality
Country
Health
Prone to hip dysplasia and deafness. Along with the deafness (both ears or just one) this breed can have eye problems (tunnel vision, eye won't open all the way, pupil is abnormal, etc.). As a breed they are relatively free of a lot of diseases.
Main
menu: