Catahoula Cur

The Catahoula Cur breed of dogs is native to North America, and its namesake lies in the Catahoula Parish in Louisiana in North America. Also known as the Catahoula Hound or the Catahoula Leopard Hound, it is the only breed of dog — apart from Native American breeds — to occupy the North American territory for the longest time.

Legend has it that these dogs were descendants of Mastiffs or Greyhounds, which were introduced in Louisiana for the first time in the 16th century by Hernando De Soto. Another theory says that Native Americans used to breed these dogs with red wolves; but DNA research does not support this. Many recent researches, which were done by examining the remnants of primitive dogs from archeological sites across the US, have implied that these dogs have genetics comparable to that of Asian/European household dogs.

French colonizers who came to Louisiana in the 19th century, brought along with them the Beauceron, a kind of herding dog found in France. They described the native dogs that they saw there as unusual, and being used by the Natives for hunting purposes in marshes. Therefore, another theory of the Catahoula’s origin is that the Beauceron and the red wolf (the ‘unusual’ dogs that the French saw) were bred to produce it.

This dog was made the ‘official state dog of Louisiana’ in 1979 by Governor Edwin Edwards, due their long history and significance in the area. The breed’s weight is between 50-90 lbs and around 20-26” in height. They have just one uniform coat, but with a variety of colors. The texture of the coat is too just as varied.

Catahoulas have heterochromia, which means that the same eye contains both, the colored and the glass portions. These are also called marbled eyes, and are blue-white or blue in color. Those with two marble or cracked glass eyes are often assumed to be possessing twin glass eyes. A glass eye might have a duskier section in it. Cracked eyes may be one color or another or both, in equal or varying proportion. A streak or spot of another color might also be present. If the eyes are gray in color, that usually indicates that they are cracked, and are made of the colors blue and green, making them appear grayish. Brown, green, or amber are the other colors that the eyes might be of. The Catahoula have no fixed eye color. These dogs’ tails can be described as whip-like and long, and are very long in length, often reaching beneath their legs. They might have a bobtail – a tail which reaches the penultimate vertebra – which is rare, but not unusual.

Known to be very intelligent and highly energetic and hardworking, the Catahoula Leopard dog needs to be kept busy in the form of several stressful exercises. This also keeps them in good spirits. Enthusiastic about their work, and being well built, makes them ideal for doing any kind of work, for instance hunting, shepherding, guarding, etc. Of late, they have also been known to help the police in rescue or protection work. They are also great in a family atmosphere with children around, making them favorites at home.