MyDogBreeds
Both Native American Indian Dog and Mountain Cur are originated from United States. Native American Indian Dog may grow 32 cm / 12 inches shorter than Mountain Cur. Native American Indian Dog may weigh 93 kg / 206 pounds more than Mountain Cur. Native American Indian Dog may live 3 years more than Mountain Cur. Both Native American Indian Dog and Mountain Cur has almost same litter size. Native American Indian Dog requires High maintenance. But Mountain Cur requires Low maintenance
The Native American Indian Dog is an ancient breed, that some consider to be feral. It is a landrace breed that developed with the indigenous peoples North America. These dogs originally looked and sounded like wolves and it is likely that their ancestry is tied to wolves crossed with pre-Columbian American dogs that came to the America’s with the first peoples. There are some that believe the Native American Indian Dog is a connecting line back to the dogs or wolves that over 12,000 years ago were the first to be domesticated by human beings.
They are now a rare breed in the wild and a small group of domesticated dogs. Fossil studies in recent years suggests that the Native American Indian Dogs came to North America about 4500 years after the first indigenous peoples. It is believed that the Native Americans bred the dogs that traders and explorers brought with them to the native coyote as well. This created a breed specific to North America and called the Common Native Dog or the Common Indian Dog. The original NAID was a mix of many different breeds of dogs and wild canines.
Today’s NAID is said to be raised on Indian reservations in the United State and represent a mix of Chinook, Husky, German Shepherd Dog and Malamute, along with perhaps some of today’s wolf mixed in. This dog is raised domestically and is socialized to life with humans. They are the last remaining breed from all the Native North American dogs that lived with the original people of the Americas. They are also thought to have an ancestry similar to the Australian Dingo.
They are a devoted, protective and loyal breed though they tend to be shy. They need to be outside for the majority of the day and don’t do well in crates. They need a fenced yard and room to roam. They are working dogs that hunted, pulled sleds and guarded their homes. They still need a job to so.
Today the North American Indian Dog is being bred to replicate the temperament and appearance of the originals. Although there are many breeders working from the founding breeder with original stock, there are only six that are officially given authorization to breed the NAID. They are registered by Terra Pines with the National Kennel Club but not recognized by the AKC and UKC.
The breed name NAID is trademarked by Karen Markel of Majestic View Kennels in the 1990’s. Today the breed is nationally recognized as a breed very much like the original Native American dogs, The breed is intelligent and quite healthy. They enjoy people and engage in many companion activities.
Whatever its true ancestry the current Native American Indian Dog (NAID), today’s version is not recognized by the AKC, but they are recognized by the Dog Registry of America, the Native American Indian Dog Registry and the National Kennel Club.
From The United States in the hound group comes the Mountain Cur. This breed was developed especially to “tree” their prey and to trail other smaller game. They treed and bayed larger prey like the wild boar and bears in the mountains and they trailed the smaller ones like the raccoon and squirrel. There are many types of curs and this breed is just one. Curs can be water dogs, farm dogs, hunting dogs and guard dogs. However, they are not great family dogs because they were born to hunt.
The Mountain Cur comes out of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia. The ancestors of the American Mountain Cur came with European settlers almost 200 years ago. They worked with the settlers to hunt for animals that would provide them with pelts and meat in order to survive on the frontier. The breed became rare when the descendants of the settlers moved to the factories after the second world war.
The breed was brought back by four ambitious men who saved the Mountain Cur. They form the Original Mountain Cur Breeder’s Association of OMCBA in 1956. But they argued over the standard and 2 of the 4 left to form their own association: The Stephen Stock Mountain Cur Association. By 1957 the Mountain Cur Breeder’s Association formed but it took until 1998 for the Mountain Cur to be registered with the United Kennel Club.
The Mountain Cur is a tough, courageous dog as are all the Curs. They are willing to face large and ferocious prey. They are fearless watch dogs, using their trait of being quiet on the hunt to their advantage. The Mountain Cur wants nothing more than making you happy. They have been known to corner bears and even bulls. Given the independence and intelligence of the Mountain Cur it is important that the human be the pack leader, or the Cur will assume the role. If angry the Cur will growl and bite, so being the pack leader is vital for humans.
The novel “Old Yeller” was written about a Mountain Cur – a yellow shorthaired dog with a bobbed tail and terrier blood. Like all Mountain Curs “Old Yeller” hunted and treed prey, fought a bear and held onto the nose of a charging bull. The Cur was the first American purebred dog. Other early lines come from the Appalachian Mountains and near them in southern states. Mixing hounds and terriers created this tough, courageous dog whose tenacity and grit are second to none. Today the Mountain Cur has been split into four distinct breeds: the Mountain Cur, The Mountain View Cur, the Stephens Stock, and the Treeing Tennessee Brindle.
There are two sizes of the North American Indian Dog – they are medium and large. They have dense short double coats, or they have long top coats and a fairly dense undercoat. They come in a variety of colors mostly black or silver but there is also a tortoiseshell. These tortoiseshell colored dogs are considered by Native Americans to be sacred beings. These tortoiseshell dogs are strikingly good looking and are called Spirit Dog.
They all have the look of a Siberian Husky or Alaskan Malamute with upright ears and almond shaped eyes that are anywhere from amber to brown with some blue. Usually their tails are down and long but can be curled. They resemble the wolf and have that wild, feral appearance. They can be as large as over one hundred pounds or average seventy to eighty pounds. They are strong, alert and intelligent. They are considered to be hypoallergenic, shedding their coat only once a year.
Bred to be a hard working hunter and protector, the Mountain Cur is rugged and stocky. They are muscular with strong neck, wide head and expressive dark brown eyes. Some may have blue or green eyes, but they will be darker instead of light. They have a heavy muzzle, high set short ears and feet that are catlike, muscular and strong. The Cur has straight legs, deep chests and 50% are born with the tail bobbed.
Their coat is short and heavy. The colors could be yellow, red, blue, brindle, black and brindle, yellow with white points, dark brown and red.
This breed is gentle and loving with children.
Endurance, strength and good health.
Low adaptability to small living spaces and lack of outside space; don’t do well in crates and need an experienced dog owner.
They are highly intelligent, love to learn and are just a little stubborn.
They are friendly with kids but don’t make good house pets.
Tree climbing
They need space and they do not make good indoor pets
He is very intelligent and learns quickly.
This is a fairly healthy, long lived breed having spent so much of its history in isolation. They are prone to some of the issues that affect all medium to large breeds.
There are a few health issues that the Mountain Cur is susceptible to. They include:
Because of their propensity to grow to quickly the puppy should only stay on puppy food for 8-10 months. Feed them a high quality large dog puppy food 3-4 times daily for a total of 2-21/2 cups per day.
Feed a high protein, large dog dry food twice a day for a total of two cups. Do not over feed. Do not feed right before or after exercise do to the risk of bloat.
Healthy, strong long lived dog.
This is not an indoor, couch potato dog. They need exercise and they need space. They won’t do well as apartment dogs unless you can take them to a dog park for over an hour every day. They really need a large fenced in yard. They don’t do well in crates either. He doesn’t understand crates and thinks you are punishing him. They make great hunters, search and rescue dogs, service dogs and therapy dogs. They will succeed at pulling competitions and weight competitions.
Mountain Cure puppies should eat four bowls of high quality dog food in four separate meals each day until 3 months old. From three months to six months feed them 3 times per day and from six months to a year just twice a day.
The adult Mountain Cur would eat 3 cups of high quality dog food in one or two meals per day. Don’t overfeed them as they have a tendency toward obesity.
Athleticism
This breed is an active dog and he needs to get plenty of exercise. He needs daily exercise – daily walks – and enjoys canine sports like barn hunt and agility. They do well in field trials.