Mountain Cur Dog Breed - Facts and Information

Appearance
This is a working dog, specifically bred for treeing and trailing squirells, racoons and other game.
That is why they must be very strong and you can see it on their body. The Mountain Cur is at the first glance very athletic and powerful dog.

The average height is between 16-26 inches which is 40-66 cm and weight between 30-60 pounds, which is 13-28 kg. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

I dont know how about you, but when i look to the eyes of the Mountain Cur, i can see alert but empathetic expression which is full of energy. They have broad head with almond shaped brown eyes and ears set relatively high.

The Mountain Cur has closefitting short doublecoat and you can commonly find them in brown, black, red, yellow and brindle color. They can also have white markings on their chest or head. Interesting fact about the Mountain Cur appearance is, that they can be born with almost any tail length, starting from short bobtail to pretty long tail.


Temperament
Intelligent and protective, those are two words that are fitting the Mountain Cur character perfectly. Not only they are very intelligent, they are also eager to please their owners. If you combine those two temperamental traits together, you have very highly trainable dog breed and indeed, Mountain Curs are capable of learning almost all the commands very quickly.

This breed is very loyal and they really are very protective. At first they start with their loud protective bark, which makes them amazing watchdogs, but there are written records, that many of the Mountain Curs went even further and died while protecting their family from other people or animals. This is definitely not a dog to mess with.

The Mountain Curs are often times reserved with strangers, but dont worry, they are not agressive without a reason and when you show them that the stranger is your friend, they will accept him or her after a while. On the other hand, they are completely devoted and friendly towards their family. They make amazing active family companions.

You should never forget that these dogs were bred for work, which means they want to have some kind of a job in their life. They enjoy regular training sessions or task oriented playtime which will exercise them mentally and physically. Of course, daily longer walks are a must and will always love to run freely in the woods.


History
Mountain Cur was developed in the mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. We can not be sure about the ancestors of the Mountain Cur, but the most accepted theory is, that they are descendants of European Cur-type of a dogs that were brought to American by European settlers about 200 years ago.

So this is relatively young dog breed. Their original purpose was to guard family and of course, as i already mentioned in the begining of the video, hunt. More specificaly treeing and trailing small game like squirrels.

During the Second World War the breed became very rare and few people are crediting for saving the breed, namely Woody Huntsman, Hugh Stephens, Carl McConnell and Dewey Ledbetter. The were first recognized as a breed in 1957.


Health and Grooming

This is usually very healthy dog with amazing lifespan between 14-16 years. If you want them to stay happy and healthy, regular proper exercise is the key. This is very active dog that needs to stretch their legs every day.

It is quite easy to take care for the Mountain Curs coat. They do shed, so ocassional brush to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding is recommended. Just like with all the dogs you should regularly check their ears eyes and nails and clip them or clean them if needed.