Black Mouth Cur

Originating in South Eastern USA, the medium-size hunting and guard dog Black Mouth Cur is a breed of companion dogs that would do anything for its master. With their broad chest, square muzzle, low-hanging ears, the coat color of their same-litter siblings might appear in varied colors, born with big webbed feet like the Catahoulas. The puppies can be born with a long to short, or even docked, tail.

Black Mouth Cur Pictures

History

These old American inhabitants have their origin debated to be either hailing from the Tennessee Mountains, or else, the Mississippi regions. Although never trained as retrievers, these herding hunters would move from place to place with their masters, hunting down rats, raccoons, squirrels, and even bears and boars.

Temperament and Behavior

If trained from puppy days, this cur would make a great family dog and go well with children and other dogs/pets. However, with their old guard dog instinct of protecting the master from intruders and perils, they are naturally territorial. By virtue of their loyalty and courage, this intelligent and kind dog is ready to even die for his owner, and love to live with him rather than in kennels. This breed also loves flock guarding, especially for horses, and are ready to act as guard dogs from a tender age of 6 months.

Care

• Exercise

• Grooming

• Health Problems

Lots of exercise and a play and runtime with its family members in a wide (but enclosed) yard every day should meet with both their instincts of herding and hunting, as also of roaming and exploring, the instinct for which they feel very confined living an apartment life. Vigorous exercise keeps them physically and mentally fit.

With a moderate-shedding short coat, the BMC hardly needs a trimming, but only a mild grooming from time to time including a daily hard-bristle brushing, checking their inner ears for possible infections, and extremely occasional bathing only if they are really dirty, are enough for them to be groomed.

Otherwise a healthy and hardy breed, recorded evidence of a few common health disorders including entropion, ectropion, sprained muscles or torn ligaments (for their exhibition of too much of energy), Ear infections, Demodicosis/Demodectic Mange/Demodex Mange, Hip Dysplasia, Elbow Dysplasia, Cataracts, Epilepsy and PRA might affect the dog’s health in general.

Training

Prior to training your Black Mouth Cur, allow it to bond well with you for which it might take a few weeks. Be firm yet gentle while training your pet as these sensitive dogs are unable to withstand yelling and spanking, but can pick up things very easily owing to their smart nature. It is even essential to keep the training sessions short as this breed tends to get bored easily and are not comfortable with repetitive activities.

Socialise them from an early age by exposing them to varied experiences, different kinds of noises as well as people of varying traits. Occasionally  arrange for puppy parties so that your pet gets exposure to other canines and learns to interact as well as play with them. However, even when it is social enough, it is recommended not to leave your Black Mouth Cur with non canine pets, owing to its high preying instincts.

You can impart agility training to these intelligent dogs. Make sure by then they are able to take simple commands such as ” Come”, ” Stop”, “Stay”, Lie and so on. After this you can teach them jumping through tires or hurdles, walking over the teeter board or even crawling through tunnels. Do not forget to reward him with praises and treats every time he achieves his goal.

Feeding

The diet chart and the quantity of everyday food for the black mouth curs is the same like other curs of the same size. However, a good quality dry dog food is also recommended. Divide the meal into two equal halves for two main meals.

Interesting Facts

• The black-muzzled variety of these dogs is usually preferred and sought for, and any other variation in color (tan/same as the coat color) is considered a fault.
• Although this is basically a purebred dog, in the recent times, black mouth cur mixes have also been introduced by the breeders like the black mouth cur-pitbull mix, the black mouth cur-lab mix etc.
• A black mouth cur named ‘Old Yeller’ is the protagonist in the 1956 children’s novel of the same name written by Fred Gipson.
• The AKC group has categorized this breed as ‘Rare’.