Dog breed
The Black Mouth Cur, also known as the Southern Cur, Southern Black Mouth Cur, and the Yellow Black Mouth Cur, is a medium- to large-sized American breed of dog of cur type. It originated in the south of the country, and is a popular hunting companion, used to hunt a large variety of game.
Character: The Black Mouth Cur is wary of strangers and known to be protective of children, sometimes to the point of objecting to parents disciplining their children. Many are known to respond better to female handlers.
Appearance: The Black Mouth Cur is an athletic, muscular dog of medium to large size. It varies considerably in height, typically standing between 16 and 25 inches (41 and 64 cm), with individual dogs known to reach 28 inches (71 cm); the breed standard mandates a minimum height of 18 inches (46 cm) for dogs and 16 inches for bitches. The dogs usually weigh between 45 and 100 pounds (20 and [dose — ask your vet]), with the breed standard allowing for significantly lighter animals, with a minimum weight of 40 pounds ([dose — ask your vet]) for dogs and 35 pounds ([dose — ask your vet]) for bitches. The Black Mouth Cur has a short, dense coat; it is usually yellow, fawn or light brown in color, although dark brown, brindle and black individual animals are known. The head is broad and flat, with drooped ears and a powerful, distinctively melanistic black muzzle. The chest is broad and the legs are long, as is the tail – which is not normally docked.
History: The origins of the Black Mouth Cur are in the Southern United States, where it is known by a number of names including the Southern Cur, Southern Black Mouth Cur, and the Yellow Black Mouth Cur. There are a number of conjectures about its ancestry, of which the most common is that it descends from dogs – among them some Belgian Malinois – brought to southern Mississippi by European settlers. In this environment these dogs were bred into their current form as a popular cur-type hunting dog, and from Mississippi they spread to the mountains of Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee, and eventually into the Big Thicket region of Southeast Texas. It is claimed the title character in Fred Gipson's novel Old Yeller was a Black Mouth Cur. In 1987 a breed club, the Southern Black Mouth Cur Breeders Association, was formed, and in 1998 the breed was recognised by the United Kennel Club. Northern state dog rescue organizations have been actively transporting rescue dogs of the breed from shelters in the south.
