# That dog's a cur. Yep.



## Alexandria610

Ha, yeah, really? So here goes my little bit of an interesting story...

So I took Alex to the pet store today to get a little training in (currently working on her sit/stay and her down/stay), and of course I had a woman have to point out her immense knowledge of MY dog's mixture.

Here's how our conversation went:

Woman: "She's a mix, right?"
Me: "Yes"
Woman: "She's not a full shepherd, right?"
Me: "No, she's a mix."
Woman: "I thought so. She's got cur in her. Yep, she's a cur."
Me: "No. She's a GSD Siberian Husky mix."
Woman: "Well she's not a full shepherd. I've had two pure shepherds in the past. She's got cur in her. You can tell by her face."
Me: "Ah. Well, she's got no cur in her. She's a GSD Siberian Husky mix."
Woman: "Oh, yeah, I guess I can see the husky in her face. I mean, her nose is somewhat long and slender isn't it? Are you sure she isn't mostly cur?"
Me: "No."

-End of Conversation-

WTF. I mean, ok, I get that certain breeds can be thrown in the mix when looking at my mixed breed and trying to figure it out for yourself.......but......cur? For those of you that don't know what a cur dog looks like, here's an example of a standard-looking cur (there are a few distinctions between 'breeds' but they all look very similar):










My cousin's immediate family has owned Florida Cracker Curs/Florida Cow Dogs for several generations, and I'm pretty sure I'd know if my dog had any bit of cur in her. She's neither short-haired, colored similar to any type of cur, has flopped ears, a short, round head, or a small, stout body. Pretty sure she's not got a drop of cur blood.

This is what I've always been told she's mixed with:

Siberian Husky










Sable GSD










And this is my baby, as most of you have seen:










Really......do you see any cur? I mean...they're both dogs, I guess, but......any other resemblence? Maybe I'm just REALLY bad at guessing breeds. People anger me.


----------



## KZoppa

have you read the thread about what do people say your dog is? people are stupid. and thats putting it nicely. Riley is a border collie/GSD mix. i've been told by a few people he looks like he has chihuahua in him.... so very much not.


----------



## paulag1955

I didn't even know there was a dog that actually had "cur" in its name. I thought it was just a synonym for mongrel, so that shows what I know (or don't know).


----------



## JakodaCD OA

I also think it has alot to do with Alex's color People see that color and even when it is a purebred, they ask what they are, what mix is it? 

GSD's are supposed to look like rin tin tin))


----------



## Alexandria610

paulag1955 said:


> I didn't even know there was a dog that actually had "cur" in its name. I thought it was just a synonym for mongrel, so that shows what I know (or don't know).


 
LOL. Well technically they aren't a breed, persay (not recognized by the AKC), but people are breeding them like they are. It's similar to the 'pit bull' situation. Sure, there are Amstaffs, American Bulldogs, etc. but not an actual 'pit bull' breed (or not that I'm aware of).

I'd always seen them as 'mutts' not an actual breed, just as you say. There isn't THAT big of a standard on them, which is probably why they haven't been considered a breed on their own. The only ones that actually resemble anything with a standard are the Black Mouth Cur Dogs and the Catahoula Leopard Dog - but even those seem to range drastically.

Here's a site that better explains the 'breeds':
Cur Dog Breeds and Types, Curs

I'm not a huge fan of them. To me, they look like you took a beagle, lab, and pit bull and threw them together in an odd mix and called it a breed. Most of them are tough little boogers, though - cute as puppies but UGLY as adults. But again, that's just my opinion. The ones from FL are known to be cattle dogs and hunt boars to keep them away from the cattle. That's what my cousin keeps them for, too.


----------



## paulag1955

Alexandria610 said:


> LOL. Well technically they aren't a breed, persay (not recognized by the AKC)...I'd always seen them as 'mutts' not an actual breed, just as you say.


At least I wasn't that far off base!


----------



## MicheleMarie

looking more closely now i think i wouldhave to say a poodle x Dauschhund mix. You ever see a picture of a daschund?? the reseblance is uncanny.


----------



## Stevenzachsmom

I think the best thing to do in these situations is to make something up. Create a "new" rare exotic breed. Then, make up an imaginary kennel, from an imaginary country. It will provide know-it-all people with hours of quality Google time.


----------



## Castlemaid

"Curs" seem to be popular in the Southern parts of the States? Never in a million years would anyone think or suggest that any mixed breed dog here has any Cur in it. 

Though I have to say, I love how you posted that pic of the Husky, followed by the pic of the sable GSD, followed by Alex's picture. I didn't see it before, but after seeing the two other pics, you can see the features of the husky and GSD perfectly blended in Alex's picture.


----------



## vomlittlehaus

Alex looks pure sable GSD to me. My sable pups have the light eyebrows as well. You can get lots of variation with the sable coloring.


----------



## Good_Karma

I'm with Paula, I thought cur was just another word for mixed breed or mutt. 

I tend to be overly polite to people, even when I think they are completely wrong. I really don't care what they think Rosa is, I know what she is and that's all that matters. People can think whatever they want.

And your dog looks pure GSD to me too. Although I do like the suggestion that you completely make something up though.


----------



## Gwenhwyfair

American Pit Bull Terrier (UKC) can be cross registered as Am Staffs (AKC) is my understanding. 

More importantly you have a beautiful dog, even if it has some 'cur' in it , though if I were to tell you what your dog 'really' is I would probably argue.... wolf hybrid.. 





Alexandria610 said:


> LOL. Well technically they aren't a breed, persay (not recognized by the AKC), but people are breeding them like they are. It's similar to the 'pit bull' situation. Sure, there are Amstaffs, American Bulldogs, etc. but not an actual 'pit bull' breed (or not that I'm aware of).
> 
> I'd always seen them as 'mutts' not an actual breed, just as you say. There isn't THAT big of a standard on them, which is probably why they haven't been considered a breed on their own. The only ones that actually resemble anything with a standard are the Black Mouth Cur Dogs and the Catahoula Leopard Dog - but even those seem to range drastically.
> 
> Here's a site that better explains the 'breeds':
> Cur Dog Breeds and Types, Curs
> 
> I'm not a huge fan of them. To me, they look like you took a beagle, lab, and pit bull and threw them together in an odd mix and called it a breed. Most of them are tough little boogers, though - cute as puppies but UGLY as adults. But again, that's just my opinion. The ones from FL are known to be cattle dogs and hunt boars to keep them away from the cattle. That's what my cousin keeps them for, too.


----------



## Jax08

I would have pegged Alex for a purebred sable GSD!


----------



## smileydog

I'm with gwenhwyfair, no cur, definately wolf-hybrid...she is beautiful 

Julie


----------



## Whiteshepherds

Alexandria610 said:


> Really......do you see any cur? I mean...they're both dogs, I guess, but......any other resemblence? Maybe I'm just REALLY bad at guessing breeds. People anger me.


Cur? No, except it has the right number of legs and a tail.  Heck, I can barely see husky, she's beautiful.


----------



## Samba

Actually, curs are often breeds, some are types. They often have tracable and registered pedigrees. Most cur breeders would dislike nothing more than AKC recognition. But, will the AKC recognize? They just might. The cur breed, Catahould Leopard Dog, is currently FSS and AKC will accept pedigrees.

I do wonder where the lady came up with the idea of cur mix??


----------



## ILGHAUS

Wasn't Ole Yeller a Black Mouth Cur?


----------



## Samba

Yes, OY was a black mouth cur from what I have read.

Since getting my Cat, I have been learning more about cur dogs. Awesome animals.


----------



## Wolfiesmom

My grandfather used to breed mountain curs. Your Alex definitely has some cur in her... NOT!!!! Why do some people have to act like know it alls?


----------



## Bridget

Thanks for educating me...I had no idea what a "cur" was. Are you sure Alex isn't pure GSD?


----------



## Samba

Alex came out a beauty of a mix! 

If you do run across a Cur x GSD mix, I would adopt!


----------



## MegansGrace

ILGHAUS said:


> Wasn't Ole Yeller a Black Mouth Cur?


Yep. They're pretty cool dogs. I've met a few that look like yellow Labs but with an intense personality. I've got my heart set on a Catahoula Leopard Dog sometime in my future. Also known as a Louisiana Catahoula Cur :wub:


----------



## Alexandria610

MegansGrace said:


> Yep. They're pretty cool dogs. I've met a few that look like yellow Labs but with an intense personality. I've got my heart set on a Catahoula Leopard Dog sometime in my future. Also known as a Louisiana Catahoula Cur :wub:


Where were you about a year ago? LOL. I actually had a HUGE, beautiful 'houla pup come up to my door and try to walk in through my screen door to say hello to me. Since he seemed pretty healthy and was obviously friendly, I figured he must have gotten loose from someone's yard/house, but there were no tags and when I went to get him scanned at my vet for a chip - nada. So I waited to hear back from a few different animal places, and nobody said they were missing one, so I found someone working at PetCo that wanted to adopt him. He was a sweetheart, though, for the few days I had him.

Here's a pic of him (sorry the photo sorta sucks - he wouldn't stay still for ANYTHING):










A few of us guessed his age to probably be around 6-7 months, based on his size and bone structure and his teeth looking very new and just out of the teething/growing in stage. He was a bundle of energy, let me tell you!


----------



## Samba

I love, love, love my Catahoula! Super drive to work at anything, huge willingness to please. Lots of energy and always ready to go do something. When at home, a great dog to be around.


----------



## MegansGrace

haha ah so jealous! I love catahoulas!! Alexandria610: absolutely beautiful!!!
Samba: That's what I've heard/read about them. They're great partners/dogs.


----------



## billsharp

We had a Catahoula Cur for a short time when I was growing up in Louisiana. It wandered into our yard, was very relaxed, friendly with the kids, well-mannered. Beautiful dog with a great temperament, but very different from a GSD. No, your very handsome dog has no cur in it based on the pics you posted.


----------



## APCURLS

MicheleMarie said:


> looking more closely now i think i wouldhave to say a poodle x Dauschhund mix. You ever see a picture of a daschund?? the reseblance is uncanny.


Totally agree - there's Daschhund in there! :rofl:

Seriously, though, people are stupid! They always try to act like they know everything. We get comments about how "small" Draco is, when he's at the breed standard height.. He's still gaining weight (he's gained 20 pounds in the 2 months we've had him and is at a solid 70 pounds) but he's not *small* by any means.. It drives me and my husband bonkers!


----------



## Emoore

We had a Catahoula/Yellow Blackmouth cross on the ranch. She was a fantabulous cattle dog, good for getting onery cattle out of thick brush. They have more natural "fight" drive than the breeds that were originally bred for sheep herding. Sheep herding dogs tend to herd with eye contact and barking. Curs herd with teeth and blood.


----------



## RileyMay

Old Yeller was a Labrador/Black Mouth Cur mix. I have always wanted one that looked like Yeller just so I could name him Yeller!



Samba said:


> Yes, OY was a black mouth cur from what I have read.
> 
> Since getting my Cat, I have been learning more about cur dogs. Awesome animals.


----------



## CelticGlory

Samba said:


> Actually, curs are often breeds, some are types. They often have tracable and registered pedigrees. Most cur breeders would dislike nothing more than AKC recognition. But, will the AKC recognize? They just might. The cur breed, Catahould Leopard Dog, is currently FSS and AKC will accept pedigrees.
> 
> I do wonder where the lady came up with the idea of cur mix??


Off-topic: Samba, I just wanted to add on to this. Curs are actually a breed that was bought over here from Europe when the settlers came. Why they aren't a registered breed with AKC? I don't really know. But, under the cur breed we have the Blue Lacy as well. Here's some links: Cur Dog History and Mountain Cur Information and Pictures, Mountain Curs, Cur dog, Cur dogs. I hate saying this, but AKC doesn't register a lot of breeds that might have been here for at least a century. They don't recognize a lot of breeds that FCI or other registries do. For example, pit bulls. If the AKC had registered them would we be where we are today? I doubt it would have gotten so far out of hand. 

On-topic: 

I know that I never knew that GSDs came in any other color except black/reds. I also know that even if one parent is a long haired or short haired breed, the puppies can go either way. Example of this is my sister's old dog she used to own, she was mixed with yorkie/chi/maltese/? the last one I'm not sure if it was a cockapoo or something like an apso. Anyway she and one other pup was a long coat, and the others were short coat. So it could be due to lack of education that the public has in a whole of different colors in dog breeds. 

To me Alex looks pure GSD to me. I know a lot of shelters and rescues mix-label purebreds as mixes because they too aren't aware of the different coat colors of certain breeds.


----------



## Catu

I would have said Alex is purebred too, and if mixed with something, with a malinois, but some working bloodlines have that mali appearance. How is her tail?


----------



## Alexandria610

Catu said:


> How is her tail?


To be honest, it really never curls up that much (not more than your average GSD when he/she's happy. I expected it to curl a lot more, since I'd always been told she had husky, but it never really has. And the fluff is about the same as my parents' GSD x Rottweiler, so I don't see too much in the way of 'husky fluff' on the tail. The more I look at her, the more I agree with all of you about her purity. In fact, I've been pursuaded to look into getting her AKC PAL  Here's a picture I took of her yesterday (I posted it on the pictures board, too) that really makes me lean towards mis-labeled pure:










She just looks so healthy and happy and beautiful in this picture, I squee with pride everytime I see it


----------



## Jax08

You should be proud of her. She's a beauty!


----------



## gsdraven

Jax08 said:


> You should be proud of her. She's a beauty!


I agree. She's gorgeous! :wub: I think I have a new favorite... and I just love that she's a rescue.


----------



## Alexandria610

gsdraven said:


> I agree. She's gorgeous! :wub: I think I have a new favorite... and I just love that she's a rescue.


Aww, thank you! She's smiling about that one  I just can't believe that nobody snatched her up before I got to her. Maybe it was kismet? Or maybe it was because she sort of looked like a lost, drowned rat in the back of the kennel....:










And this one's sorta blurry - never could get any good shots of her full body when she was a pup (I think she was still afraid of the camera at that point - and always eagerly exploring her new surroundings):











It's so hard to believe that this was almost a year ago! It'll be a year 10/13  She's grown so fast, and her personality did a 360 degree turnaround.


----------



## Jax08

That is a purebred sable puppy!!! Go get your ILP.


----------



## Alexandria610

I actually have a question about the application regarding that. My question is on this line:

That the dog, for which this Purebred Alternate Listing is being requested, has never been identified by me (us) or by anyone else that I (we) are aware of as any other breed of dog nor will I (we) identify this dog as another breed. I (we) understand that if I (we) have identified this dog or do ever identify this dog as another breed this PAL/ listing may be cancelled by the AKC.​​


Her veterinary records indicate that she is a GSD Mix (and I believe her spay records will show this as well), so wouldn't that nullify her application altogether? Or am I wrong.


----------



## Jax08

Mine indicate that Jax is a GSD/Border Collie mix and it says that on her vet records because of the shelter paperwork. The fact is they both came out of a shelter where someone guessed (in my case, the person surrendering her stated she was but she doesn't show it at all) and there is nothing to prove yes or no. Just sign it as a purebred and move on.


----------



## Alexandria610

Jax08 said:


> Mine indicate that Jax is a GSD/Border Collie mix and it says that on her vet records because of the shelter paperwork. The fact is they both came out of a shelter where someone guessed (in my case, the person surrendering her stated she was but she doesn't show it at all) and there is nothing to prove yes or no. Just sign it as a purebred and move on.


:thumbup: Thanks  Yeah, that's exactly what happened with mine. I'm so excited! I'm going to fill it out today and send it off ASAP 

EDIT: And to answer Catu's question about her tail, I'll show you a video. This is pretty much the highest she has ever held her tail:


----------



## selzer

Cur -- a big yeller dog, good for workin' pigs with?


----------



## gsdraven

:rofl: When she went to sit and scratch, I thought she was getting ready to go to the bathroom and thought, why is she filming this?! :rofl:


----------



## Alexandria610

gsdraven said:


> :rofl: When she went to sit and scratch, I thought she was getting ready to go to the bathroom and thought, why is she filming this?! :rofl:


BAHAHA! You know how many times she HAS and has totally ruined the shot? She's usually pretty obvious when she's about to go, but sometimes she does it just to spite me.


----------

