Black Mouth Cur Dog Breed - Facts and Information

Appearance

The Black Mouth Cur is medium sized dog with powerful, athletic and agile body. It makes sense, since these dogs are bred for stamina, so they can work for long periouds of time. The minimum male size is 18 inches and 50 pounds, which is 46 cm and 23 kgs. Females are little bit smaller with minimum height of 16 inches or 41 cm and weight over 35 pounds, which is 16 kgs.

The breed is called Black mouth cur, so you would probably expect that they must have the black muzzle. Well, that is not truth, they can be with or without the black mask. But even though dogs without the black mask are allowed, they are not preffered.

The rest of the body can be in almost any color, most common are shades of red, yellow and fawn, brown and black. It is not ucommon for them to have little white spots around the nose or on the chest or legs. The coat is lying close to the body and it is dense and short.

The medium sized ears are hanging and the tail length can vary a lot, from long, medium, bob tail to even none at all. A lot of times, the black mouth cur have docked tails. Sometimes, the dogs also have webbed feet.

Personality

The Black Mouth Cur is the ultimate working dog. Not only that they have the physical strength, they are also very versatile and adaptable, so they are perfect for almost any kind of work. Their high intelligence and bravery ale another positive character traits.

Because they love the work so much, it is important to give it to them. Without proper exercise they might get stressed or even depressed. And it does not need to be „real“ work like guarding, you can try some dog sports with them. This way, you will not only exhaust them physically, but also mentally.

But they are not only amazing workers. These dogs live to please their owners, which makes them amazing companions as well. When they are around their family, they are totally affectionate, loving and playful. The Black Mouth Curs are good companions for older children, who can actively play with them, but i would always supervise them with small kids.

Because they love their family and owners so much, they are very often protective over them and they can be little bit territorial as well. Their high courage makes them even better protectors. But normally, they are almost never agressive towards other people and strangers.

The high eagerness to please makes them highly trainable, but they are not recommended for novice or first time dog owners. They need consistent trainer, but since this is pretty sensitive dogs, you should not be harsh on them. It is better to keep the training sessions short and frequent, to keep the dogs mind entertain.

Interesting Fact

Do you think its possible to confuse Black Mouth Cur with Labrador Retriever? In the novel Old Yeller, the titular dog is a Black Mouth Cur, but in the movie adaptation from the 1957 it was a Labrador Retriever Mastiff mix who played the Old Yeller.

History

Origin of the Black Mouth Cur is rather unknown, but it is believed that they were developed in the Southern United States, but it is disputed where exactly they are from. Some people believe that they were developed in Mississippi, while other claim that they are from mountains of Tennessee.
They were bred to be all purpose farm dogs and they become quite popular, especially during the 19th century. Later, when the farm dogs were not needed that much anymore, they were used as hunting dogs and of course, as family companions.

The ancestry of the Black Mouth Cur are unknown as well, but they were probably developed from various ancient European and Asian cur-type herding and hunting dogs. They definitely share some similarities with other curs, for example the webbed feet, which are similar to Catahoula Leopard Curs feet.

Health and Grooming

Just like most of the working dogs, that were never victims of overbreeding, this is very healthy dog breed. But of course, even them are prone to some health issues, the most common are skeletal and eye problems, ear infections and epilepsy.

The average lifespan is quite high, especially for dog of this size. It is between 12-17 years.

If you want to keep your dog healthy and happy, regular daily exercising is a must. You must stimulate their body and mind every day. Daily long walks are a must.

The grooming and overall maintenance is very easy, only occassional brush is required to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding, especially during the summer. Other than that you should regularly check their ears for possible infection. Bathing should be done only when its really necessary.