Blackmouth cur pup

[Saoirse]

We are considering adopting a blackmouth cur puppy from an animal shelter. We have a huge fenced yard, one dog and two cats.
Are any of you familiar with this breed? I hear they are good dogs, but we have never had a cur.

The pups look almost exactly like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmouth_Cur

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We had a few come into the vet's office where I use to work part time. They are an American creation that seem similar to a pit bull but have a hound cross in them somewhere in the background. The only thing that I especially noticed about them were their intensity in prey drive. Kind of like a JRT on strength steroids, but a lot less hyper. I would make sure he got along well with the cats before I left them alone together. They have a strong focus like a hound with some prey drive like a pit.

[Saoirse]

I trained our hound not to chase the cats. Since the cur pup is only 3 months old, he is young enough to learn. The fact that there is some hound mixed in is comforting. Hounds are always such great dogs. Pits can be excellent pets, too. They are both such loyal breeds.
We are still thinking about this because it is a big commitment.
The pups and their mom were horribly neglected --- worms, open sores, mange --- but the shelter has nursed them back to health. Very good natured animals considering their past.
Thanks for the great advice, as always!

[harvester]

I have one I adopted from the hs two years ago. Hes an ok dog. Nothing truly exciting about him, very houndish in character, sleeps most of the time. Ive never had a problem with him and my animals, he adopted my baby goats last year and doesnt pay any attention to cats. He does have a problem with my horses if they try to challenge the fence, but I dont have a problem with that at all. He has begun teaching himself to herd the horses, he helps me put them back into the pasture or barnyard after ive let them out into the yard to mow my lawn. Hes getting pretty good at it. Hes great with my kid too and likes to ever sooooo slooowwwwllllyyyyy crawl up in my husbands lap. Ya know, the slower ya go chances are a human will not notice a 85 lb dog crawling up in your lap ;D
Oh yea, one big thing I noticed right off with him, He is extremely tender hearted. Even a mean look at him will make him think you are mad at him and he will sulk for days! However, when i found him in the hs he was 5 wks old, by the time they finally got around to business he was 4 months old. I thought potty training would be a big problem, it took one time, only once. And all I did was raise my voice at him and shake my finger at him and put him outside. He was so heartbroken he never did it again. But it took 2 days of talking to him like a baby and holding him in my lap for cuddles untill he finally realized I didnt hate him.

[Saoirse]

Wow, Harvester! What a cute story.... yes, your dog sounds very much like a hound. So sweet...and lucky, too... he sounds like he found a great home.

We decided to adopt the cur and he should be ready to come home tomorrow. I can't say enough nice things about the shelter. The pup was horribly neglected and now he is healthy and full of life! The adoption fee is reasonable and includes 1 year of vet care.
Thank you Harvester (and Momma to 7 children) for the great advice!

[harvester]

Good luck with him!
Here is a little tip for you about curs.
If its tan with a black mouth its a black mouth cur.
If its brindle with a black mouth its a tennesee treeing hound.
If its white with black spots its a catahoula hound.
All the same dog, just different colors. :)

[farmboy]

Ok Blackmouth curs (bmc) are NOT pit hound crosses. Curs in general were developed as the pioneers settled the appilacians and southeastern america. They were developed to do anything and everything. This means hunting coon, bear, wild boar, herding cattle, and guarding the farm. Now originally they were just mutts but have been bred for many generations as purebreds. There are many breeds of cur and they are not just different colors. Each breed of cur has been bred for certain characteristics and all have different breed standards. You can have BMCs that are brindle and mountain curs that are yellow and that have a black mouth. Curs are very willing to please and they do have a tendency to sulk when scolded. This makes them very easy to train. I doubt any dog you get from a shelter will be a cur. Most will just e a lab mix. If you want to learn more these sites have some good info.
http://www.southernheritagekennels.com/
http://www.sqdog.com/

[Saoirse]

I doubt if he is a pure bred cur, but sure does look like one. In all probability he is a mix. He comes from a very poor, secluded rural area where there are a lot of people from the Southeastern US living. The guy that had him gave up the dogs because he did not have the money to care for them.

The skin on the pup's face is wrinkly, but not overly so like a bloodhound. His body, legs and tail strongly resemble the curs in your links. The mother is on the premises and she resembles some of the curs in the photos.

When he gets home, I will post a couple photos.
Thank you for the information!

[harvester]

In my area getting pure bred cur from the pound isnt unusual. There are several cur breeders here and one of them doesnt take the best care of their dogs. The pound gets them when they find them roaming the streets. Getting pure breds in the pound of any breed isnt unusual. It all depends on what is being bred in your area, here, curs are a dime a dozen.

[fancyfowl]

I have wanted a BM cur but always kept redbones and Black & Tans. I know some curs who are very good tree dogs and some are really good on squirrel. Myb hounds are all gone now so looking for a good cur and mebe a feist. Did see a litter for feist x curs a few months back but they went awfyll fast before I could decide.

[CarolAnn]

Saoirse,
The dog in the picture looks just like the first dog I ever had: half boxer and half german shepherd! He was very smart, gentle and tolerant to me as an mischevious three year old and a great friend to me until I was 8, when my folks had him put down because he killed the neighbor's cat.

All I bring to the discussion is - whatever the breed, trained right, I believe almost any dog will do what you want him to do. If my childhood friend had been trained not to kill cats, he was smart enough to learn it and obey. We just weren't smart enough to train him.

[MissouriFree]

I have one I adopted from the hs two years ago. Hes an ok dog. Nothing truly exciting about him, very houndish in character, sleeps most of the time. Ive never had a problem with him and my animals, he adopted my baby goats last year and doesnt pay any attention to cats. He does have a problem with my horses if they try to challenge the fence, but I dont have a problem with that at all. He has begun teaching himself to herd the horses, he helps me put them back into the pasture or barnyard after ive let them out into the yard to mow my lawn. Hes getting pretty good at it. Hes great with my kid too and likes to ever sooooo slooowwwwllllyyyyy crawl up in my husbands lap. Ya know, the slower ya go chances are a human will not notice a 85 lb dog crawling up in your lap ;D
Oh yea, one big thing I noticed right off with him, He is extremely tender hearted. Even a mean look at him will make him think you are mad at him and he will sulk for days! However, when i found him in the hs he was 5 wks old, by the time they finally got around to business he was 4 months old. I thought potty training would be a big problem, it took one time, only once. And all I did was raise my voice at him and shake my finger at him and put him outside. He was so heartbroken he never did it again. But it took 2 days of talking to him like a baby and holding him in my lap for cuddles untill he finally realized I didnt hate him.

I am going to get one in the future when I am in the woods. Hearing your tale how can you find a better dog ? I want get a red alabama BMC.

Beside this breed was " Ole Yellar"

Saiorse,

how is going ? and where that Pic ?