Mountain Cur Dog Breed: What You Need to Know

mountain cur

Well-known as a working dog with a big personality and a lot of bravery, many people know that the Mountain Cur is not the kind of dog you want to mess with. It’s also not the type of dog you want to bring into your home if you have never worked with a dog in the past. These are dogs that are used to living in the wild and working to fight off large wild cats; partly where they get their name. They are very brave dogs, and the Mountain Cur is not the breed that you want to bring home if you are not a bold, alpha personality. This is not an easy dog. However, it’s a beautiful dog that can be made into a wonderful pet when trained correctly and taught firm boundaries with consistency.

The Mountain Cur is a lovely dog, but it’s not the dog for everyone. If you have never had one of these dogs before, we are not saying you should not get one; we are only saying you should get to know the breed before you make a decision that could become disastrous without proper knowledge and information at your disposal. With all dog breeds, we always recommend that you educate yourself as to what you can expect in terms of a breed’s personality, it’s temperament, it’s health and what kind of lifestyle a dog leads. The same is true of the Mountain Cur, and we like to think we can give you the information you need right here.

Personality and Temperament

The Mountain Cur is strong, capable and able. It is not a meek dog, nor is it a submissive dog. In fact, this is a courageous dog with a lot of dauntless features. However, the Mountain Cur is also a breed that is fiercely protective. It will do whatever it takes to keep safe the people that it loves the most, and it can be a little too protective at times. That’s why the master of this dog has to make sure this breed knows without a doubt that he or she is the master, and not the dog. The Mountain Cur might be brave and bold, and not a meek pet, but it’s a very loyal pet. It’s one that loves to please its master and will do what it takes to ensure that master is pleased in every way.

The Mountain Cur is not easily threatened, but it will stand up to another animal that is in its way or attempting to show its dominance. It’s a wonderful guard dog as it will not allow anyone or anything to come close without its permission. A hunting dog all the way, this is a breed that will stand up to a bear, a wild cat, an alligator or anything that it perceives as a threat; it will not back down or give up a fight if it means that its family might face potential trouble. That’s what a Mountain Cur is all about. This is a breed that does well with kids, but you probably do not want to have it around small babies.

Lifestyle and Expectation

What can you expect when you live with a Mountain Cur? At this point, you likely expect that you will live with a mean dog that will eat the FedEx man if he rings the doorbell, but it’s not true. This is a nice dog when it is properly socialized and trained, but it does need a pack leader and that has to be you. This is a breed that typically lives around 14 years, some not so long and some a few years longer. It’s not a huge dog, but it is a bigger dog. Most Mountain Cur dogs stand around 26 inches tall and weigh as much as 60 pounds. Males are typically larger than females, but you do have to be careful you do not feed the Mountain Cur too much or risk a dog with weight issues that can be very dangerous to his or her health in a myriad of other manners.

The Mountain Cur is a very active dog. He is not the kind of dog that will do well living in a small home or apartment without a yard. He wants to live in a house with a big yard and plenty of work. Because the Mountain Cur is an intelligent breed, it needs a job. It needs a task every single day or it will become bored and destructive. This means your job is to find your dog a job such as something to guard, something to hunt or something to protect. It needs to exercise regularly – often, every day. For this reason, a yard with a fence is necessary if you’re going to own a Mountain Cur.

The good news is that the Mountain Cur is easy to groom. Its short coat sheds, but not too much if you are able to brush it weekly to remove the dead hair into a brush rather than onto your furniture and clothing. It’s a fairly healthy breed, too, so you can expect to have this dog in your life for a long time as there are no breed-specific health concerns to worry you.

Breed History

The first Mountain Cur dogs came over from Europe and were mated with native Curs. They were given the name Mountain Cur because they settled with the first settlers in the country and many of those people lived in the mountains. They were a brave lot that would protect their families from the wild animals, namely the bears and the wild cats that lived in the mountains, and that’s probably why they were so brave. However, they did very well living anywhere with dangerous living conditions, including swampy areas. The breed is one that goes a long way back, and it’s seeing a more upbeat popularity growing in many portions of the United States, which is exciting to those who have them and are willing to breed the Mountain Cur for families and those in need of a sturdy working dog.

Photo by Getty Images

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