Original Mountain Cur

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Original Mountain Cur is the oldest pure breed dog of United States of America. Forebears of the Mountain Curs were the dogs brought by European settlers. This is a versatile breed that is used as a hunting (treeing dog), protection, watch and general farm dog as well as water dog. It belongs to Hound group of dogs.

"Cur" is a rather derogatory term that means "useless". A dog branded as cur is thought to be of low value. Despite the name, the Mountain Cur has played a very important role to the existence of the pioneers in the Southern Mountains with its exceptional hunting abilities and all round versatility. This dog can tree and trail squirrels, raccoons and other small game but their main hunting ground is wild boar and bear. This dog will assist in the hunt of bear and boar by baying.

This is a rugged, rustic and short-coated breed with slightly longer than tall body. A broad and square head with flat skull starts-off this breed and leads to moderately length and broad muzzle. Square nose comes with well opened nostrils. Large size and set well apart eyes have light to dark brown colour. High set, wide based and short to medium length ears are dropped. The moderate length, well muscled neck gradually widens from the nape and blends smoothly into the shoulders. Square body has broad, strong and moderate length back, slightly arched loin and well filled chest with well sprung ribs. Medium length, naturally bobbed tails is set low. This short-coated breed has double coat with outer coat being short and smooth or rough in texture and inner coat being short, dense and soft. The color of the medium short heavy coat varies from brindle, black and brindle, dark brown, black and yellow. White markings enhance the attractive appearance of this dog.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by UKC.

Color

The Mountain Cur dog comes in black, black brindle, blue, brown, yellow and blond. White markings are acceptable if not present for more than one third of body colour.

Coat

This dog has a double coat of short to medium length. Topcoat is short and rough or smooth in texture while the undercoat is short, dense and soft to touch. In rough coated dogs, the tail is feathered.

Personality

The Mountain Cur is loyal, loving and courageous breed that is not intimidated by large game. It is a very brave and devoted breed that will protect its master and family at all costs. Though loving and intelligent, this dog is not a submissive and easy-going and as such, requires a firm and confident owner. With its strong desire to please its master, it can be trained with positive reinforcement methods by an assertive and authoritative trainer. This breed is instinctively suspicious of strangers and will make very good watchdog. It generally gets along well with other dogs in the family. Early socialization and training will make this dog friendly to other people when no threat is sensed. The Mountain Cur dog makes a good addition in the family with older children who can display themselves as this dogs' packleaders.

Care

As with most short-coated dogs, grooming needs are low for this breed. Once a week brushing of its coat will keep the coat clean. Nail clipping and ears cleaning should be done regularly.

Training

This dog will benefit from obedience training as it sometimes can be over protective due to its high protective instincts. Early age socialization will not diminish its protective instincts, rather it will train the dog to be friendly when no threat is sensed. This breed requires a firm and experienced trainer.

Activity

As a versatile working dog, the Mountain Cur is accustomed to either hunting, guarding or doing farm work. This breed will become bored and consequently destructive if not given some task to perform. Hunting dogs would fulfill their exercise needs during hunting but dogs that are solely kept as family pets will need lots of exercise and a large open space to run and play. This breed is not recommended for apartment dwellers.