Looking for facts on leorard curs

[dirtydan]

I've been very intrigued by this breed for awhile and it seems like it's impossible to get cold hard facts about the breed. Different people will tell you different things about where they originated and what their ancestry is. Does anyone really even know? You hear from some that they are descended from colonial spanish dogs and some have confused them with catahoulas and some people tell you that they have hound crossed into them. What is the story behind McDuffy lines and Meeks lines and other lineages. Do any of these breeders know the purity of their lineage and how far back can they trace it. When are the earliest records of these dogs catching game in the U.S? Can anyone prove that their line of leopards doesn't have hound or doesn't have catahoula bred into it. It is known that the two breeds(cats and leps) weren't very well distinguished from eachother and many were bred together for years in the south by people not knowing the difference. Catahoula should have a top set ear and a leopard cur a drop ear like a hound? Is this true? I see lots of people with drop eared mearle dogs they call catahoula and I've seen people with top set eared mearle dogs they called leopard curs. Are there any standards to the breeds? I know I have lots more questions just can't remember them right now. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Daniel Cornelius

[halfbreed]

dan the catahoulas and leapord hound as it's called now are so similar it's real hard to tell em apart . i've raised cats for a while now and just bought a leapord hound pup . only differance is the pup looks like my cat /walker crosses lol . i figure they started out as the same dog in the beginning and for reasons of old the cat line was bred for more stock and herding traits and the leapord hounds was bred more for the fur huntin trade . and i'm sure it was by adding hound in the catahoulas or adding cur into the leapord hounds to get the results that was needed in the line of dogs at the time . in them days dogs worked and according to whatever kinda work was needed was how they was bred . this will probably upset a few folks and it is just my oppinion as how i see it beeing aruond both lines for a while . the lepord curs in the early 70's was impossible to tell from the catahoula by apperance alone . but like the plott is starting to be bred to look like a hound . hell some of the leapord hounds probably carrying some of the old plott's lep blood in em lol

[Machias]

I can tell you the McDuffie line of Leopard Curs are nothing like catahoulas in appearance, personality or performance. They are also nothing like alot of the UKC Leopard Hounds you're seeing now in appearance, personality or performance. Look at all the different lines out there, I'm sure you can find one that pleases you and your hunting style. Good luck in your search.

[halfbreed]

i agree with you machias . that is now i thought the question was about where the two lines split in the beginning and the history of the dogs . you know like there are a line of stub tailed catahoulas that the nalc won't register anymore and there is a stub tailed line of leapord hounds that are accepted . and before the dogs were registred and we're being bred as leapord curs without hardley any distinction as to being a cat or a lep they was all just leapord spotted cur dogs and then they was split into stock dogs on one side and fur dogs on the other .

[lepcur]

Color and courage are the only 2 similarities between the cats and the leps. This is a fairly new breed of dogs and I don't think anyone knows what went into the making of these dogs, at least not in the begining. Mike