UKC Forums UKC Website :: Hunting Ops :: All-Breed Sports :: Registration :: UKC Online Store
Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences Registration is free! Calendar Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Home  
UKC Forums : Powered by vBulletin version 2.3.0 UKC Forums > Departments > UKC Curs and Feists > 16,000 acres, and a few Blackmouth Curs
  Last Thread   Next Thread
Author
Thread Post New Thread    Post A Reply
fdm
Banned

Registered: Jun 2009
Location:
Posts: 180

16,000 acres, and a few Blackmouth Curs

Our experience with blackmouth curs began in the late 1990's. My father began looking around for a type of dog that could withstand many hours of working the long, hot summer days in the southern region of California's San Joaquin Valley. We run 350 cow/calf pairs on 16,000 acres, and were hoping to find something that could compliment our Border Collie/McNabb cross dogs. Dogs have been used in my family since the beginning of our sixth generation outfit. Up until the time my father ran across blackmouth curs in the Full Cry Magazine, we had never used anything other than Border Collies, McNabbs and a few Kelpies, and had been quite content with them. But, as human nature would have it, curiosity killed the cat and we wound up with two dogs from the southern United States. After a couple of years we decided that line was not what we wanted and began searching for other breeders throughout the country and wound up with someone in the New England States. Our first pup from there came cross-country in a U-Haul van and the rest is history-we were sold on Blackmouths!


Most of our ranch is only accessible by horseback and rough, tough, cow hunting dogs really work to our advantage. We have found them able to "wind" and track cattle that run off and hide in canyons or chaparral brush. This has truly enhanced our ability to gather this kind of cattle. Much of the time spent gathering is just getting to them. I let my dogs hunt them up, and stay with the bunch of cattle until I am able to reach them, or until they bring them into ground that is more accessible by horseback. By this time, the dogs have a handle on the cattle and I can drive them anywhere I choose and if they try to run off again I will send the dogs and let them windmill, circling while barking, until they stop running off. I run 2-3 dogs at a time when doing this, when they start tiring, they seem to take turns watching the herd for a minute or two while the others rest up, very neat to watch them work together as a team! They really put the whoa to those old broncy cows! They demand respect and the cows figure that out in fairly short order. I like my dogs to go to the head of cattle and keep them bunched up, not single one or two out causing a big wreck. They need to have bite and know when to apply it, as well as the ability to dominate the cattle. I do not put alot of handle on my dogs as I have found that dogs who depend on you for every move cannot get the job done when you are not in sight of them guiding them through the process.

Blackmouths are also good on yearling cattle. I will only take one dog while working with them, as two dogs tend to be overpowering and want to work too much. The only disadvantage to this situation is they bark a lot.

Here in our part of the country the region is very rocky, arid and prone to drought. Foxtails are a huge problem, as I'm sure they are for most ranchers in California. They get embedded in between toes of long haired dogs, causing sores, which can create serious health problems and expensive vet bills. I've seen Border Collies barely make it back home after a days' work due to cut up pads. The Blackmouths are shorthaired, tight toed and taller than most working dogs. I have yet to experience any of these problems with them. Their deep chest and large lung capacity allow for longer time in between watering, making our day more productive.


The lines we have found that work best for us are the Weatherford's Ben, Rathke's Reno and Bullet lines. Most working breeders' stock goes back to those dogs. Weatherford's Ben had the most titles of any blackmouth cur ever: world champion hog catch dog, world champion cow dog, world bench champion, hall of famer, and to date has produced the only world champion other than himself. He has produced many other hall of fame dogs and is the nation's number one all time producing stud dog for this breed. In working shape, Weatherford's Ben weighed 65 pounds and produced offspring with heart, intelligence, drive and desire. He was known to have a slobbering glaze-eyed focus on bay, to work the front-end lead, with the intelligence to listen. He has been placed on 24 hour old tracks, trailed them for 6 miles, bayed and settled the herd to be penned. There are over 40 litters of Weatherford's Ben with pups in 40+ states. He has had a profound impact on the blackmouth cur breed! Rathke's Reno is a direct son of Weatherford's Ben. Bullet is a son of Rathke's Reno.


The typical blackmouth is tan with a black mask. They can also be red, red yellow, fawn, golden or dark yellow, yellow, light yellow, sandy yellow, to buckskin. There are some that have a red to pink coloring in the mask area, considered pale markings. Males generally weigh between 55-115 pounds, females 45-85 pounds. Males average 18-28 inches in height at the shoulders, females 16-26 inches. Their head should have a wide, flat dome with their nose and muzzle square, heavy and broad. They should have a broad, deep, heavily muscled chest with strong, well-muscled legs and strong, tight, rounded toes with well-developed pads.

Their neck and back should be well muscled and strong with a straight backbone that is slightly arched for speed. The tail can be naturally bobbed or long in length. Their coat is coarse to fine, never woolly or long. A life expectancy of 15-16 years of age is not uncommon. Blackmouths tend to be one of the healthier of dog breeds with few overall health problems. They require alot of attention and prefer daily exercise. They are great with kids and good protectors of their home and territory. The more time you spend with one the closer the bond between you grows. They love people and want to be with you all the time, wherever you are.

In closing, do so some research and find the breed of dog that fits your personality, wants and needs, as each individual situation is different. I can honestly say our lives here on the ranch have been greatly enriched with the blackmouth cur breed.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Old Post 11-08-2010 09:35 PM
fdm is offline Click Here to See the Profile for fdm Click here to Send fdm a Private Message Find more posts by fdm Add fdm to your buddy list Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
Cur Hunter
Banned

Registered: Jul 2003
Location:
Posts: 354

Have you ever checked on copyrights to all that stuff you cut & paste?

__________________
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Old Post 11-08-2010 11:29 PM
Cur Hunter is offline Click Here to See the Profile for Cur Hunter Click here to Send Cur Hunter a Private Message Find more posts by Cur Hunter Add Cur Hunter to your buddy list Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
fdm
Banned

Registered: Jun 2009
Location:
Posts: 180

Cur Hunter, You read to much of my stuff, you will go blind. Now if these bubbas think I have a 16,000 acre ranch, what can I say.

Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

Old Post 11-08-2010 11:59 PM
fdm is offline Click Here to See the Profile for fdm Click here to Send fdm a Private Message Find more posts by fdm Add fdm to your buddy list Edit/Delete Message Reply w/Quote
All times are GMT. The time now is 11:25 AM. Post New Thread    Post A Reply
  Last Thread   Next Thread
Show Printable Version | Email this Page | Subscribe to this Thread


Forum Jump:
 

Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is OFF
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
 
< Contact Us - United Kennel Club >

Copyright 2003-2020, United Kennel Club
Powered by: vBulletin Version 2.3.0
(vBulletin courtesy Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.)