Cur - Curs and Cur Breeds

Curs and Cur Breeds

The term "Cur" can be used to describe a dog of questionable, uncertain or otherwise dubious breeding - essentially, a mongrel or mutt.

However, the term "Cur" can also refer a special type of pure bred dog. Cur used in this sense is also a type of hunting and all-purpose dog developed in rural areas of several colonial regions including Australia, South Africa and the United States. The terms "Cur" and "Cur-dog" can be used interchangeably and are used to describe this type of dog, although it does not describe a specific breed. Unlike the true mutt which is random-bred with no human involvement, the curs' breeding is intentionally planned by people, in some cases employing strategic, thoughtful and sophisticated husbandry requiring deep pedigree knowledge and understanding. With the notable exception of the United Kennel Club in the U.S., breeds of cur are usually not recognized by major show registries, so selection for certain looks hasn't been a main factor in their development. They are normally selected mainly for hunting or working abilities and many breeds of cur are also known for stock driving and/or herding abilities. Consequently, many cur breeds have written appearance standards that are relatively "loose" or "flexible". The resultant diversity in appearance within these breeds can present a challenge in judging conformation exhibitions of cur breeds. Cur breeders assert that their breeding selections' focus on working mentality and physical ability results in the cur breeds tending to be genetically sound and healthy.

Regardless of the country they are developed in, cur breeds tend to be descended from European dogs brought over to a far-away country which is in the process of settlement by immigrants, and then often mixed with native dogs. Quintessential examples of this phenomena include the Bull Arab in Australia, the Rhodesian Ridgeback in southern Africa and the Black Mouth Cur Dog in North America.

A related variety of breeds are the feists, small terrier-like dogs bred in the same areas of the United States for hunting small animals and keeping vermin out of farms. The feist breeds are slightly more unified in appearance than the curs, presumably because they were developed solely for working purposes.

Cur breeds include:

• Blackmouth Cur
• Blue Lacy
• Bull Arab
• Camus Cur
• Canadian Cur
• Catahoula Cur
• Feist
• Florida/Cracker Cur
• Henderson Cur
• Kemmer Stock Cur
• Kemmer Stock Hybrid Squirrel Dog
• Kemmer Feist
• Leopard Cur
• Mountain Cur
• Mountain View Cur
• Parnell's Carolina Cur
• Rhodesian Ridgeback
• Southern Blackmouth Cur
• Stephens Cur
• Tennessee Treeing Brindle
• Treeing Cur