Black Mouth Cur

quietstar · #1 05/07/10, 05:33 PM

Black Mouth Cur is a breed I've rediscovered in my study of the "Big Thicket" of Texas during the late 1800's. A lot of the settlers came from Alabama and all had great affection for this breed.

Can anyone share opinions and facts about this breed? My need is for a homestead dog that can range the property and protect chickens, rabbits, and a couple of goats. Thanks for sharing any solid experience you have or know about. Thanks...Glen

Pops2 · #2 05/08/10, 12:34 AM

intense hard working breed, will not lay around like a lab or whatever. not usually stranger friendly so hard to steal & not easy to trespass on it's property. very much focused on it's family so neighbor kids playing too rough could get bit. but if you spank your child in front of one so could you. not a good choice unless you have experience w/ hard, stubborn breeds. total PITA if it doesn't have a real job.

Sully · #3 05/08/10, 09:22 AM

'Ol Yeller was a Back Mouth Texas Cur.
We had a Catahoula Leopard. Another Cur breed. Sally was a very smart, teachable dog. Our friends had a American bulldog Mastiff male that looked like he'd eat you, but was a big goof.
Sally tolerated his roughhousing unless he got too close to my wife.
He bumped her one time and that 40lb Cur had that 150lb mutt down on his back by his throat.

If I wasn't an Australian Sheperd man, I'd have another Mt. Cur.

TedH71 · #4 05/08/10, 10:44 AM

Sully,

Old Yeller technically was the red phase of the blue lacy breed. I should know. The author of that book grew up in Marble Falls where the headquarters of the blue lacy breed was developed. I also have a dog that is the red phase of the blue lacy breed and he looks more like a yellow dog. Turns out the red phase can range from dark red to bright yellow.

www.nationallacydog.org/

With that being said, I had a blackmouth cur I got from a breeder. That dog didn't want to work for a living and was the dumbest cur dog I had ever had and that's saying a lot for a guy who used to have catahoulas....I had the dog rehomed when he was promptly stolen by someone else. I would consider getting back into blackmouth curs provided the parents hunted. I have a friend who has a saddleback blackmouth cur which is extremely rare. Basically a blackmouth cur with a black "saddle" markings on the back. His family has been breeding that bloodline for over 100 years. I have also seen brindle blackmouth curs..love the brindling. Yes, they can be house pets but require some exercise when they're pups or they chew your place up.

cur huntin' kid · #5 05/08/10, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TedH71

Sully,

Old Yeller technically was the red phase of the blue lacy breed. I should know. The author of that book grew up in Marble Falls where the headquarters of the blue lacy breed was developed.

When the book Old Yeller was written there were no blue lacy's and blackmouths. They were all just a bunch of cur dogs. This story was about a dog that Fred Gipson's Grandparents had. It was just an old stray cur dog, so there is no telling what was in the dog. Then the dog in the movie was a lab most likely mastiff mix.
I do not have any personal experience with blackmouths but I love my mountain cur and treeing cur. I have hunted with a lot of nice dogs over the last few years now, mostly mountain curs. Only one dog that I have known is aggressive, and she is only aggressive of strangers and would protect the house and her owner with her life. Most of them are very friendly, a few a standoffish with strangers but thats it. I would trust my mountain cur female with my 3 year old nephew. She has also showed an interest in herding, but is a little rough on sheep and goats. I do know someone that has a mountain cur that runs the property and he has chickens running loose. The dog sometimes helps him gather them up for the night too.

TedH71 · #6 05/08/10, 09:56 PM

I've considered getting a mountain cur but they're quite rare in Kansas. Anyone know of a breeder in Oklahoma?

Pops2 · #7 05/09/10, 01:02 AM

haven't read the book but in the movie when the girl elisabeth is giving travis a pup off old yeller she says you can hold it up by the scruff and it doesn't fuss & her daddy said that means it's a good one. travis opens the pups mouth and says the mouth is black and thats what matters. if those lines come straight from the book ( the movie does hold close to the book i'm told) then it would indicate yeller is a blackmouth cur.

Sully · #8 05/09/10, 09:46 AM

I don't remember where I heard 'Ol Yeller was a Black Mouth Cur, so I can't back it up. Hope I didn't start an argument. Not my intention.
Disney probably used whatever the trainer had.

Curs are usually known for being rough and tumble scrappers ready to grab a wild hog. Sally was for the most part very gentle, though I never asked her to brush out anything bigger than a stray cat.

Again, in my opinion, great dogs.

Pops2 · #9 05/09/10, 10:07 PM

disney used a mutt from the pound.

quietstar · #10 05/25/10, 08:04 PM

You guys didn't let me down in my search for real, down to earth information on the historic Black Mouth Cur. It's clear that size will vary for Black Mouths from different lines. Colors run from Brindle, Black, Red that includes a neat Dun color. I've heard of one dog that was white and accepted as being true to the breed.

The Kid was way off on the breed history. Black Mouth Curs have been a prized in texas since before the war of Northern Agression began. Most seemed to come with new settlers from region of Alabama and matched the same breed colors of today. I think I will look for a prime young pair. Thanks for your help...Glen

TedH71 · #11 05/25/10, 11:04 PM

Let me know if you were able to get a dog...and how it goes.

horsepoor21 · #12 05/26/10, 03:52 AM

We got a black mouth cur puppy a few months ago .LOVE this dog ! He is the most loyal dog I have ever owned . He's always right there by my side when I'm doing chores , so far really good with all the livestock and poultry .

Excellent with the children as well ! Standoffish with strangers but warms up to them . Can't wait for him to grow up , think I'll feel very safe with him around .

Pops2 · #13 05/26/10, 11:18 AM

Glen
keep in mind all the curs start from the same base which is the old british curs. it's what was added along the way that developed new lines & breeds (for example the french "cur," the beauceron was mixed w/ the anglo curs to develop the catahoula). so if you look hard enough you can find what you're looking for in any breed. also kid isn't too far off, back in the day two dogs of similar type that did the same job well would be bred. since they originate in the same area BMCs & catahoulas have shared a lot of blood back & forth. back in the day wasn't actually that long ago. also a lot of "breed history" is BS made up by the people who started the registries a hundred years or more after the founding breeder(s) passed on. also some BMC registries don't recognize any color except variations of yellow and consider other colors a sign of crossbreeding. in fact Ladner lines are the only lines that COMMONLY come in colors other than yellow.
Ted
there are a bunch of Mt cur breeders in MO.

quietstar · #14 05/30/10, 06:14 PM

Thanks for more breed history and I want as much as I can get. I Think these dogs are exactly where my search has been leading me. I wasn't putting the "Kid" down, and found his personal experience with the breed helpful. The comment I responded to was that "there were no Black Mouth Curs known before the "Old Yeller" book was written" I have many collected accounts from long dead individuals in the late 1800's about their special "Black Mouth Cur" dogs. Of course the Old Yeller book wasn't written until after 1950.

What I find so neat is that the special traits and personality reported by todays owners reflects those recorded a hundred and thirty years ago. I'm really happy for Amy and her pup. Thanks to everyone again for your help and input...Glen