The Black Mouth Cur Dogs have wide blunt heads, medium ears that don’t stick up, and loud clear voices. These dogs have strong, well-built muscles and are heavy in size (male 55-65 lbs. And females 35-45 lbs.) Black Mouth Cur mind well, and are easy to train. They are very fast and at times they have caught squirrels and coons before treeing. Having a lot of grit, these dogs have no fear of other animals. The dogs are silent on the trail with a hard-ringing chop at the tree. After treeing, these dogs will stay at the tree. Having strong back legs enables these dogs to run on back legs while timbering a squirrel.
The Black Mouth seldom loose a squirrel when it goes from tree to tree. They trail, wind, and watch for game. Treeing comes natural for this breed of curs on squirrels and coons. They have been bred from good tree dogs for many years. They are good natured, friendly, and love children. These dogs are very protective of their master. They make excellent watch Mouth Curs and will bark at strangers but will stop barking on command. I hunt these dogs single, or together, makes or females.
Dew claws or the color of the dog does not have anything to do with the ability to tree. I am just giving you a brief description of my dogs to familiarize you with their appearance. Breeding the dogs for a certain color will not give them the ability to tree. Which would you rather have, a dog that is bred for a specific color or a dog that is a little different in color but has the ability to make a real food tree dog? All of my dogs, from the lightest yellow in color to the darkest yellow in color, are bred for their abilities to become excellent tree dogs.
Many breeds of Black Mouth Curs were used but the most common seems to have been the Black Mouth Cur dog. He served well because he combined the talents of many different types of Black Mouth Cur.
What was a dog’s life like in Great Grandfather’s day? Well, let’s look at some of his duties. First, he was a protector and guardian for the family and its possessions; chickens, pigs, children and women. He was expected to keep wolves, but cats, foxes, and such away from livestock. He was expected to give his life if necessary to protect children and family from man or beast. The man of the house looked to the dog for first warning in the form of a bark if a strange man or animal approached. He was a hunting dog for the man or animal approached. Hecould trail a bear or deer as well as a razor back hog; tree a squirrel or a wild coon. As a stock dog, his duties were just as varied– herding sheep, penning cattle or catching a hog. The pioneer’s dog had to be a big, strong and tough to stand up to the hard life he lived. He might be called upon to catch a bear, throw a bull or hold a small pig. In addition to all this, he had to be gentle, too, because he was also a playmate for the children of the family. If pups came along, they were a valuable product because they could be sold or traded for needed goods especially if they came from a good stock of proven dogs. Yes it was a hard life in Great Grandfather’s day for man and dog, but the dog proved to be a faithful friend to our pioneer parents.
On September 3, 1914 when Sol Ladner was killed on Alligator Creek, he had his dog with him. After the shooting, his body was left alone for several hours. When friends returned to pick up his body was left alone for several hours. When friends returned to pick up his body, it had come a big rain. They found Sol’s dog lying right beside him. When they approached, the dog growled and bared his teeth, refusing to allow anyone to come near the body. Rather than shoot the dog, some went to get Marion Beall and the dog allowed Marion to move the body, probably because the dog knew Marion. Sol and Marion lived only about one mile apart at the time. When Tom Beall died on September 22, 1922, his body was prepared and placed in his casket at his home. Every time Tom’s old dog could catch the door open he would go in and lie down underneath the casket. Some of the family would come by, see him and put him outdoors. The dog never protested but would lie quietly by the door and at first chance, back inside he would go.
Black Mouth Cur Training
The Black Mouth Cur should be a breed of tree dogs like my breed of dogs. Get a squirrel or coon alive, if possible, if not, use a dead one. Hold it up to the dog, shake it around, and let the dog get the scent of it. Using a string, drag the coon or squirrel on the ground and up a tree. The dog should not see you do this. Turn the dog loose and let him trail to the tree where you have tied the coon or squirrel up in the tree. You should step back from the tree, pulling the string up and down, let him tree it, but don’t burn him out.
You may also use this method with a hide. If the hide is dry, it is best to wet it. After you have worked with your pup this way a few times, take him to the woods where there is plenty of game. Try to find a small tree with leaves and shake it. While shaking the tree, bark like a squirrel or squall like a coon. This should make the dog start smelling and looking up the tree. In most cases, the dog probably will start treeing after this. Don’t rush a young dog at the tree; stay a distance back until he barks a few times. Then go to the tree and encourage him to continue barking. These methods are just for building the pup up and getting him interested in treeing. I have taken some of my young dogs out of the pen and had them to tree by themselves the first time in the woods.
Another method that will drive a dog treeing crazy is to make a run about. This should be made of hardware cloth, 15 to 20 feet long, and about 10 feet round. Tie it up in the tree, high enough the dog can’t reach it. Put a squirrel or coon in it and run it back and forth, but don’t do this too much because it may cause him to want to tree by sight only. Hunting a young dog with a trained dog is good, but don’t do this too much because the young dog will start depending on the trained dog to do the treeing. These dogs have natural ability to tree, its bred in them.
The you Black Mouth Cur Puppies start handling and teaching your pup the easier he will be to train. Don’t put him or her in a pen and forget until he is almost grown. At 3 months old you should start teaching your pup to lead and to come to you. Shoot a small caliber gun once or twice, at a little distance away from him. I do not have any trouble with my dogs being afraid of a gun, but all of these things mentioned are important so that he will be ready when he starts treeing.
The Black Mouth Curs are not bad to start fights with other dogs. If you plan to hunt your dog with other dogs, begin young, around the age of 7—8 months old. Be careful not to expose your young dog to another dog that shows aggression and would possibly want to fight. My dogs won’t bother with snakes in the woods while hunting. But if a snake comes around your home, this dog will kill it. My curs are very loyal and protective of their territory.
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