justpiddlin76
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Dwight, IL
Posts: 143 |
hunting vs. herding
I do not think the Catahoula should be in the herding group either. I believe they are first and foremost a hunting dog that can herd, somewhat. I would definately not classify the many Cats that I have seen work as herding dogs though. They may bunch and catch, but herd, I don't think so. They are a bay dog and some of them are still pretty good at it, but many folks have been breeding them for their color recently and as usual these jag bags have screwed up another breed.
Now, as far as a Catahoula being a tree dog, what a joke. Barking at a bear that another dog trailed and treed for you and you can see it is not a treedog. Treeing on a cage coon in somebody's back yard does not make the dog a treedog. It is pretty sad though that there are folks, in all breeds of dogs, that consider this to be and indication of the dogs locating and treeing ability. I have even had Catahouls folks tell me that of course their dogs were tree dogs, we have said amount of tree champions in our kennel. I don't know how to respond to people like this. I really don't know what to say to them. I just usually choose to stay quiet, unlike me for sure, but I don't like talking to fence posts.
My experiences with the Catahoulas have been pretty good. I have owned about 6 of them and shot only 5 of the 6 and that is a pretty good average for me when it comes to any breed of dog, any breed of dog. The one that made it turned into a real nice yard dog for somebody down in LA. Rebel was smart as a whip and sometimes he would even go hunting, but never and I mean never would he even think about being a treedog. He would bark at a cage coon as hard as any Walker dog I have owned but that was the extent of his treeing. I would also bet if set down on a fairly hot bear track, WOW he would have ate it up. I liked him a whole lot and we were buddies. His littermates were junk, either ill natured idiots or no athletic ability at all. Most of the ones though besides the ones that I have personally owned that I have seen were top notch, jam up "HOG DOGS". To call them a tree dog or a herding dog in my opinion are both equally comical.
Dan Edwards
I need to add this. I believe that the Catahoula deserves as much to be in the scenthound category as much as any cur dog, just dont go throwin around the treedog BS. I cannot believe that the Leopard Cur is under the "curdog" category either though to be quite honest. It is very obvious to me and many others that they are about as far away from a "curdog" as a Walker hound.
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Dan Edwards
Last edited by justpiddlin76 on 04-04-2007 at 07:42 PM
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03-30-2007 09:17 PM
You dont see Dan McDounough, Randy Oller or John Wick hunting Catahoulas do you, so theres got to be a reason for that. They are in the herding group cause thats what they were orginaly bred for Herding, not hunting. Leopard Curs were bred by the southern Native Americans from the hunting dogs that Desoto brought from Spain when he was exploring the new world to hunt for food. I wish that link to the page that Randy wrote about the differances between Catahoulas and Leopards was still working.
