Mountain cur lab mix puppies for sale

The strong, muscular common American dog Mountain Cur is a skilled hunter dog that was bred especially to ward off tree squirrels and raccoons and even hunting down bears and boars, protecting their master. This wide-headed, folded-eared, strong-jawed, stout-muzzled and black-nosed cur, belonging to the ‘Hound’ group, can even make a great working or water or all-purpose farm dog. This loving and active breed is the first true American purebred, making a good family dog.

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History

The European settlers, who dwelled in the mountainous regions of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia, and later Oklahoma and Arkansas as well, brought the Mountain Cur to America. The primary purpose of keeping these dogs with them was guarding the family and their belongings, as well as for chasing and treeing games.
Keeping these dogs as pets proved to be lucrative for them since these canines not only provided their owners with both fur and meat for personal consumption but also for trade purposes. The settlers continued to breed and sustain them for almost two centuries. But, as an aftermath of the World War II, the inhabitants of these areas had to move away from these areas to find work in factories.
The population of the Mountain Cur began to decline in the course of time, and it became almost rare by the end of the 1940s. However, four Americans – Virginia’s Carl McConnell, Tennessee’s Dewey Ledbetter, and Kentucky’s Woody Huntsman and Hugh Stephens, took the initiative to revive the breed. They founded the Original Mountain Cur Breeders’ Association (OMCBA) in 1956 and set the breed standard for the Mountain Cur. Unfortunately, both Stephen and McConnell had to leave the association because of some controversy regarding the breed standard, and later, founded another organization for the breed – Stephen Stock Mountain Cur Association.
Later, a new breed was developed by two breeders from New York’s Afton – Michael and Marie Bloodgood from the Mountain Cur during the 1980s and ‘90s. This new dog came to be known as the ‘Mountain View Cur’ from the kennel named ‘Mountain View’, which belonged to the Bloodgoods.

Temperament and Behavior

These exceptionally courageous and fierce curs are not vicious, but that, they are pretty extrovert. With a desire to please its master, the over-protective nature of the breed might create a relationship hazard with its family that usually shows up as a behavioral issue when it starts feeling superior to its master in its adulthood. As a guardian dog, it would constantly guard its family, thus prone to attacking strangers and pets, challenging anything unusual, even being ready to sacrifice their life, which is also evident through recorded history. Kennel is good for them, since they are not apartment dogs.

Care

• Exercise

• Grooming

• Health Problems

Training

When it comes to a bold dog like this one, training them to socialize, setting general rules to follow, defining things like dog etiquette and who the pack-leader is become easier if they are trained from the time they are puppies. Pack leader training is urgent for the mountain cur.

Feeding

High energy food for these curs is important. Good quality dry food gives balanced nutrition to the mountain curs which can be mixed with canned food, water or broth. If your pet likes fruits and vegetables, cooked eggs, cottage cheese, it should not sum up to more than 10% of its diet. The puppy must get the best quality puppy food, but limiting “table food” is important, since this might cause vitamin and mineral imbalances, or issues with tooth and bone, resulting in extremely choosy eating habits or obesity.

Interesting Facts

• European settlers first brought these dogs to the mountainous regions of the US for guarding properties and hunting purposes.
• Among the mixes, the mountain cur and lab mix is a much sought-after cross breed.
• Exceptionally, the mountain cur, unlike other hounds, is extremely possessive and protective of its family, which is a characteristic found often in terriers and shepherds.
• A dew claw, acting as its fifth toe, is always present in an original and well-bred mountain cur. This would not merely be a nail, but will be made of bone as well.
• The mountain cur almost became extinct by the 1940s.
• In 1970, the Stephens’ stock mountain cur was identified to be different from the original strains of the mountain curs.
• Around 50% of the total number of mountain curs are born with bob-tails.

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