Mountain Cur

History

The Mountain Cur is a working dog bred to tree and trail small game like squirrels and raccoons, and also to hunt and bay larger animals such as bear and wild boar. It serves as an all-purpose farm dog and can work as a water dog.

Classified within the Hound group, it is one of several cur varieties. The breed was developed mainly in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, and has been registered with the United Kennel Club since 1998, later gaining recognition from the American Kennel Club, the National Kennel Club, and the Continental Kennel Club. The Mountain Cur Breeders' Association formed in 1957.

European settlers brought the Mountain Cur to America nearly two hundred years ago, using it in the mountains of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and later Arkansas and Oklahoma, to guard property and chase game. These dogs helped provide meat and pelts for trade or personal use, making them valuable on the frontier. During World War II, many breeding families moved to factory jobs, and by the late 1940s the breed had become rare. Four men—Hugh Stephens and Woody Huntsman of Kentucky, Carl McConnell of Virginia, and Dewey Ledbetter of Tennessee—are credited with saving it and establishing the breed standard.

In 1956 they founded the Original Mountain Cur Breeders' Association. A later dispute over the standard led Stephens and McConnell to leave and form the Stephen Stock Mountain Cur Association. Frontiersman Daniel Boone bred and raised Mountain Curs, relying on them for protection and hunting while blazing trails through the Appalachians, reportedly carrying pups in protective baskets. In the 1980s and 1990s, Michael and Marie Bloodgood of Afton, New York, developed the Mountain View Cur from the Mountain Cur.

Description

Mountain Curs are short-coated dogs which come in blue, black, yellow, brown, or brindle coloration. Some individuals will also show white markings on the face or chest. Weight is usually between 30 and 60 pounds, and height is 18–26 inches for males and 16–24 inches for females. They are intelligent, easily trained, and neither vicious nor shy.

They are known to try to please their humans and are able to get along well with children and other pets. Since these curs were bred to work, if deprived of the opportunity to hunt, guard, or work around a farm, they will sometimes grow anxious and bored. However, when they have a job to do, they are generally happy and obedient. Mountain Curs can live up to 14–16 years, and there are no reported breed-specific health issues.