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Define What A Cur Dog Is

How's this for a challenge? The folks at Webster's Dictionary are entertaining the idea of fixing the definition of Cur in the dictionary. It currently defines a Cur as "a mangy mutt" "a mongrel or inferior dog". Whoa! Can't have that.

Webster's has asked for a "CONCISE description of uniting characteristics of these dogs." That's pretty tough when you think about it. Uniting characteristics. I'm assuming that would include physical, temperment and performance characteristics.

The question is, how would you summarize all the cur breeds into one concise description? That's your challenge for the weekend. Any input would be appreciated.

about yeah tall with 4 legs 2 ears and a nose and mouth kinda resembles a dog.......................................................................................................................................................................................................lol couldnt resist

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ANTHONY R SMITH

a type of dog used for pursueing various game, not tall but with a med. build strong looking..born with docked tail [but not always as such] loyal but also agressive when pursuing game ..

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ANTHONY R SMITH

Bob Tail

The bob tail doesn't really fit as a lot of the cur's are born with a natural long tail then it is docked when they are puppies.

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L.H. & Curt Ladner Blackmouth Curs in Michigan

That's a tough one. It's kind of like asking what a hound is. It is a very broad answer. A hound is everything from rabbit dogs to coon dogs, bear dogs, cat dogs. It's everything from Walkers to Blueticks to beagles.
In short order I would say a cur is a breed of dog used for trailing, treeing, and/or baying game.

Ed

I have always taken offence to the meaning of the word "cur" that is found in dictionaries, as a "mangy mutt" or "a mongrel or inferior dog". So once a year I send an email to the "new word" department at Merriam-Webster Dictionary, explaining to them, what a "cur" dog is...a "type" of purebred dog. I started doing this approx 6 years ago and every year they have replied to my requests to review the word, however none of the replies have been favourable for one reason or another until now.
I received a response from them the other day, that sounds promising that they may reconsider the word "cur" for revision in the future. It will still have the meaning of a "mangy mutt" because it is used thus in many places, but they will also look at giving the word an additional meaning. They would like a "CONCISE description of uniting characteristics of these dogs."

That's when I went to the UKC and ask their opinion and Todd put the question up here.

Here is the email I received back from Merriam-Webster:

"Thank you for your inquiry. We will review the entry for "cur" to see if an additional meaning is warranted. We typically follow the AKC in terms of breeds, so until the AKC accepts one or more of these dog types as a breed, we would have to consider a handling different than our standard "any of a breed of...". A likely alternative might be "a type of dog....that is sometimes considered to comprise one or more breeds."
If you want to send a CONCISE description of the uniting characteristics of these dogs, I will add that to our files for review when this entry is considered for revision.
Thank you for writing."

So, after looking through the UKC site I decided the best route to take was to print off all the standards for the 6 recognized Cur breeds. I've gone through them all and highlighted key points. I think it will work out fine, there are really quite a lot of "uniting characteristics" that the Webster people are looking for. We don't need to focus on appearance...all hounds look different and terriers look different....etc.

I'll try to write something up this weekend and post it here for opinions.

Thanks

my def- a hound terrier mix that has been bred for hunting and catching game for the survival of applatchin* inhabitants and the surrounding areas. the cur is a sight and scent hunting canine that will generally track or catch any kind of game unless trained to do otherwise.usually a medium sized dog that can be born with a full half nu or no tail. they make a great family dog and are excelent hunters.

just my opnion maybe it can help

__________________
****TREE PREACHER KENNELS****
Proud Home of:
'PR' STAMPERS INDIAN SUMMER(ruby)
'PR' STAMPERS JETHRO BODEIN
'PR' STAMPERS DieHard DUKE

[QUOTE]Originally posted by redog
my def- a hound terrier mix that has been bred for hunting and catching game for the survival of applatchin* inhabitants and the surrounding areas. the cur is a sight and scent hunting canine that will generally track or catch any kind of game unless trained to do otherwise.usually a medium sized dog that can be born with a full half nu or no tail. they make a great family dog and are excelent hunters.

just my opnion maybe it can help [/QUOTE
thats pretty good redog

__________________
TEAM " DOG RIVER ENGLISH "
OWNERS-HATTON AND JOHNSON
GOD,FAMILY,FRIENDS AND BLUE

Full Tail

The Blackmouth Cur and the Leopard Cur are born with a full tail Redog.

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L.H. & Curt Ladner Blackmouth Curs in Michigan

Stephens also I believe

redog

That is just it, right there. A houndxterrier mixed dog that has been bred for several generations now for hunting all types of critters unless trained otherwise. Tail, no tail, bawl, chop, and whatever else don't really matter, but that is a good definition.

.

that can be born with a full, half, nub or no tail
i have seen them all

__________________
****TREE PREACHER KENNELS****
Proud Home of:
'PR' STAMPERS INDIAN SUMMER(ruby)
'PR' STAMPERS JETHRO BODEIN
'PR' STAMPERS DieHard DUKE

?

loyalty should also be concidered when defining the cur.
maybe Treeing cur or gaming cur should be used instead of just cur cause they are tree dogs kinda like Treeing walker
just tryin to help the breed thanks.

__________________
****TREE PREACHER KENNELS****
Proud Home of:
'PR' STAMPERS INDIAN SUMMER(ruby)
'PR' STAMPERS JETHRO BODEIN
'PR' STAMPERS DieHard DUKE

quote:

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Originally posted by redog
my def- a hound terrier mix that has been bred for hunting and catching game for the survival of applatchin* inhabitants and the surrounding areas. the cur is a sight and scent hunting canine that will generally track or catch any kind of game unless trained to do otherwise.usually a medium sized dog that can be born with a full half nu or no tail. they make a great family dog and are excelent hunters.

just my opnion maybe it can help

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Pine Hill Kennels
Loyd McIntire

cur dogs

Hey bud, get your head out of the clouds. I am not trying to insult you even though it may come off that way, but wake up to the reality of things. There ain't no dogs got brought over here by some poor German, English, Irish, Scotish, or any other nationality or ethnic group for that matter except maybe some of the explorers and such, maybe. I would say the definition of a shorter eared type hound most likely a hound/terrier cross of some sorts is pretty fitting. I would be willing to bet that it would be hard to find a set of papers anywhere on a cur dog that could even go back 5 generations without some BS in them. Heck, for that matter, most likely even all the hound breeds.

It is a stocky, rugged, working dog with a somewhat generic appearance. It is smooth or rough with a soft fine undercoat. Colors include, yellow, brindle, black, brindle & black, often with white points. Very stocky, wide, and muscular with a strong wide head and the short, higher set ear. Cat like feet, and legs that are strong and well-muscled, set for speed. The chest is deep and the back is straight. Toughness and courage to confront any animal they encounter. They have a strong desire to please their master. Very protective of the property and family. It can handle anything from squirrels and raccoons to bears, boar, and herding cattle. Usually silent on the trail, very good guard dogs, Trailing ability varies with strains, but they have enough nose to follow game, bay game or herd cattle and many carry treeing ability.

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www.treetimekennels.com

I like mountain man's except for where he states "Usually silent on trail". I think the leopards , stephens, Treeing brindles, and some of your mt. curs are open? As for colors he left out leopard spotted? All in all pretty nice. Some thought went into it for sure!

Re: cur dogs

quote:

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Originally posted by justpiddlin76
Hey bud, get your head out of the clouds. I am not trying to insult you even though it may come off that way, but wake up to the reality of things. There ain't no dogs got brought over here by some poor German, English, Irish, Scotish, or any other nationality or ethnic group for that matter except maybe some of the explorers and such, maybe. I would say the definition of a shorter eared type hound most likely a hound/terrier cross of some sorts is pretty fitting. I would be willing to bet that it would be hard to find a set of papers anywhere on a cur dog that could even go back 5 generations without some BS in them. Heck, for that matter, most likely even all the hound breeds.

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Pine Hill Kennels
Loyd McIntire

cur dogs

I have read all that mumble jumble BS also Mr. Loyd. I know what you are referring to, but I just don't buy it. I thought it was neat at one time and believed it, but then I just took a hard look at the reality of things and I can't see how I could have ever believed that history.

General History of Cur Type Dogs

Ever thang that is a liveing breathing walking thang< has a History. For the one don"t belive in the history Of the CUR or Mt.Cur, Look up the english word (NOUN) AND SEE WHAT IT SAYS.


General History of Cur Type Dogs
The "cur" dog is one of the few working breeds that originates in the United States. They come from different lines, and breed types. While all have a common origination from the southern part of the US, they have similar but distinctively different hunting styles, traits, and separate origins. Most of the breeds of cur dogs date back to pioneer times, and were used to help put food on the table, and also served as a guardian to alert the family to the approach of strangers. Cur dogs played a huge role in producing game for the table, both hunting and rounding up semi-wild livestock that were "free ranging". A dog's working ability was of paramount importance, and had to provide above and beyond what he cost his family in feed. There are many short references to this type of dog in American literature but the exact history and make up of most of these "Cur Dogs" is vague due to the fact that most of it is verbal, and was not recorded on paper.

It is believed that the Cur came from Europe along with the people who came to America seeking new opportunities. It has been established through family history and research that Spanish Explorers brought the bob-tailed curs to the South. Hernando de Soto brought bob-tail curs to drive hogs and provide protection against wild animals, while he explored the South and discovered the Mississippi River.

Until World War II, the Curs were still an economic asset to the mountain people. Many of these mountain people bought food, clothes, and other necessities with money from furs caught by their dogs. Then came the War and the industrial way of life to the south, making jobs other than farmin available. As more mountain people became factory workers the Curs became scarce after the late 1940's.

However the Cur was not totally forgotten. Four men have been credited with saving and codifying the Mt. Cur standard, and saving the breed from extinction, even though most Mt. Curs bloodlines carry very little if any of the blood of the old pioneer Mt. Curs. These men were Hugh Stephens of Kentucky, Woody Huntsman of Kentucky, Dewey Ledbetter of Tennessee, and Carl McConnell of Virginia.

These men were the founders of the Original Mountain Cur Breeders' Association. Soon after, controversy over the breed standard caused Hugh Stephen and Carl McConnell to leave the OMCBA and they founded the Stephen Stock Mt. Cur Association (Registering long-tailed little black and white dogs).

Later the Tennessee Treeing Brindle Association (Registering any long-tailed brindle dogs), and the Kemmer Stock Breeders Association, who registers any and all OMCBA registered dogs.

The Mountain View Cur Breeders, selected only the very best certified tree dogs out of a certain pure Mt. Cur bloodline. This is why they are known as the "thoroughbreds" of the cur dog world. No other Mt. Cur strain has even been bred under standards as strict as theirs.





[edit] Breed Development and History
The was developed by Michael and Marie Bloodgood, now of Bonnieville, Kentucky. In 1987 the Mountain View Cur Kennel was formed in Afton, New York, where the breed was subsequently developed. Mr. and Mrs. Bloodgood obtained their first pair of yellow Mt. Cur pups in 1973. They turned out to be good tree dogs but lacked the nose to be great tree dogs, so they were sold and replaced with hounds.

After owning, raising, and training some outstanding coon hounds under the Black River Kennel name for over 20 years and finding it harder and harder to find hounds that handled well, They tried to locate some good curs that could keep up with, but would handle better than the hounds of that time.

The search for curs that could fit this bill, proved to be a difficult and challenging task. No expense was spared to locate and purchase curs from the best stock. Mr. and Mrs. Bloodgood tried 56 Mt. Curs originally, only finding 6 that were considered to be top tree dogs. It was found that 4 of the 6 were of a certain ancestry. When checking records, they found that half of the 56 Mt. Curs tried were of the same breeding (of the Kemmer Stock Cur Variety).

The decision was made to concentre on these 4 registered Original Mt. Curs, three females and one young male, all of which were related. One female was culled later because she produced ill tempered male pups, and another female because her pups lacked intelligence and ability, leaving one exceptional female (Mtn. View Dance) and one exceptional male ( Mtn. View Gold Nugget) for the foundation stock of the Mountain View Cur Breed. This selectivity resulted in 2 out of 56 OMCBA registered, or 2 out of 28 Kemmer bred curs meeting the Bloodgood standard. Later an outstanding male cousin to Mtn. View Gold Nugget (Mtn. View Buckshot) and an outstanding female (Mtn. View KY Lady) was added to the breeding program. Most of the IPDBA registered dogs today carry these dogs in their blood lines. A few other select Mt Curs have been added over the years under the same strict standards.

In 1992 the Kemmer Stock Breeders Association Registry was started, and in an effort to keep the line pure as possible, Mountain View Curs were orignally registered with this registry. When the KSBA began they started with all pure Kemmer bred Mt. Curs. However, due to a desire for stricter standards among the founders of the breed, and realizing that the Mountain View Cur's quality was unique from most other KSBA registered dogs Mr. Bloodgood and eleven dedicated breeders resigned from the KSBA. These eleven founders felt that they should register their dogs as a separate breed and with a registry that would certify tree dogs before they would be used for breeding, and would assure that no other stock could be registered in the breed.

In April of 1995 the American Squirrel and Night Hunters Assoc. was chosen to hold the registry. The name Mountain View Cur was chosen for two reasons. One was that founders knew of the great reputation of Mountain View Kennel, it being well known in the cur dog world. The second reason was that Mrs. Kemmer asked that their name not be used.

Because of policy changes in the ASANHA to register non-proven tree dogs, the Breed Advisors felt that the Mountain View Curs should have their own registry with its own policies. Therefore, in the fall of 1996, the Mountain View Cur Registry was formed as a subsidiary of the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance (All breed Registry). A few years later the Mountain View Cur Registry was changed to the Mountain View Cur Association and all dog owners desiring to be in this registry registered ther animals and agreed to adhere to the same strict policies in the International Progressive Dog Breeders' Alliance 'IPDBA' registry. IPDBA now recognizes over 500 breeds of dogs.

The Mountain View Cur is a breed, a pure breed, no longer a family line or stock within a breed, but a separate breed that will stay pure.

The breed motto is to breed for Quality not Quantity, on Ability not Myth.





[edit] Breed Standards
COLOR: Blond, Yellow, Red, Brindle, Black, Brindle & Black, and Black & Brindle, often with white points.

HEAD: Dome flat, wide between eyes, heavy muzzle, short to medium ears set high with control, eyes preferred dark, prominent, and expressive. Neck strong and muscular.

BODY: Deep chested, back straight and strong, coat smooth or rough with a soft fine undercoat.

TAIL: Natural bob or docked preferred. Docking should leave enough tail to have a handle when grown.

FEET: Cat paw type, strong and well muscled, set for speed. No dew-claws on hind feet. Pups born with them, should have them removed.

LEGS: Straight, muscular, set for speed.

VOICE: Semi-open trailing preferred on big game and coon. Silent trailing preferred on squirrel, with a good clear tree bark that can be heard a long distance.

HEIGHT: Males at shoulders: 20-26 inches, average being 23 inches. Females at shoulders: 18-24 inches, average being 21 inches.

WEIGHT: In proportion to height and body structure. Not over 60 pounds and not under 30 pounds. Males being heavier than the females. Ideal weight being 45 pounds.

CHARACTERISTICS: Strong treeing and hunting instinct, cold nose for winding ability but will swing out with head held high and drift or cut a track in an effort to catch the game and will tree game that has left no trail. Easily discouraged from unwanted game. Courageous fighters on dangerous game. They have a strong desire to please their master. When bred to like they will produce a high percentage of “Natural” tree dogs.

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Glen Gillenwater
Walton,WV 304-541-8027
Ever time I tree it reminds me he was hang on a carved out tree.(JESUS)
http://glen25286.tripod.com/gillenwatersblackamptankennel/

funny stuff

I laughed real hard when I read some of that stuff. I like the parts about the history being vague or what they really meant to say was "made up". I also like the part about how none of the modern day cur dogs really have any of the old blood in them. What sealed the deal though was the passage about the Mountain View Cur and their strict breeding program. That sure was the kicker for me.

quote:

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Originally posted by coondogedog
I'm not aware of any Terrier in the Mt. Cur breed.

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__________________
Mick McLaughlin
Thunder Road Kennels
Augusta,Ks
Cell 316-518-0596

Outbred-inbred

Mick that was rough. Pretty funny though...Terry A.

The Defination - Here It Is

I've heard back from the Webster people, here are the definations they have come up with -

If the committee accepts the UKC as a registry in this one case (remember they only use AKC breeds) this could be the definition -

CUR - A member of any of several breeds of hunting and working
dogs originating in rural parts of the Southern United States and
developed by the early American Settlers; known for their multi-purpose uses of hunting, stock dog, and family guardian.

OR

If they do not accept the UKC as a registry, they will leave out the wording of "breed" and it may look like this -

Cur – a type of dog originating in rural parts of the Southern United States and developed by the early American Settlers; known for their multi-purpose uses of hunting, stock dog, and family guardian.

OR

They may not accept it at all as a purebred of breed or type until a Cur breed is recognized by the AKC.
I told the gentleman it was my own presonal opinion that if they have to be recognized by the AKC then I would rather they remain a "mangey mutt" for all time!!

All this has to go to the revision committee now, which could still take years to get done.

Thanks everyone.

How about ......TREEDAWG!!!!
Hopm