[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;7618208]
(I am sorry it happened, obviously) but I think it’s a bit much to call them the new Pit Bull. Or that they’re being attacked and misunderstood.[/QUOTE]
I agree with this completely.
[QUOTE=Anne FS;7620823]
I’m merely pointing out that the breed in general and your dog in particular is specifically genetically selected to be a boar hunting dog. And your particular dog was unable to do that because he “failed” at what he was bred to do.
If CLD hunt in packs like foxhounds, which I would think a boar dog would be but I don’t know, then I’d think they’d also be bred for good temperament. It just galls me when people pretend that a dog specifically bred to be an active hunting or working dog, whether it be a CLD, a working line German Shepherd, or a Border Collie, is expected to be just peachy keen fine in a totally different situation.
That’s how dogs end up in pounds, end up abandoned, end up hurting someone, etc. etc. etc. I’m sick of it.[/QUOTE]
I think you are misunderstanding me. In no words did I advocate that everyone in the world should go out and get a Catahoula. Just like a pit bull, they are not suitable for everyone. The Catahoula just should not be dropped in the same “always aggressive” bucket that the pit bull seems to have unfairly found itself in.
All Australian Cattle Dogs bite. The circumstances under which each individual dog will do so is the variable. I’d rather my breed have a reputation for being bitey/aggressive/difficult than not. Because I think it helps keep people who shouldn’t have them from getting them. And the less people who get them and can’t handle them the less they’ll end up in shelters. So the less I have to feel guilty about not being able to foster more. But I also don’t think that a breed having a reputation as biters is the worst thing though.
My gang- http://instagram.com/p/pEcXakFjve/
The only one I’ve met is the slobberiest couch potato you could ever meet - but we don’t ordinarily go boar hunting up here, either He was excellent with horses, kids, etc.
You have a very cute gang Horsegal!
There is one riding along with his owner through my quarry as we speak. Strange to see so many now, nobody knew what they were in this area a year or two ago.
This thread makes me sad.
My “baby” is an almost 2yo, 70lb, male Catahoula and his big sister is a 9yo Cat. Both are huge snugglebugs.
I believe their reputation as aggressive comes from the fact that they ARE working dogs and frequently live in kennels, only getting attention at working time. Can you imagine my shock when we took our puppy to the vet for his 12 wk shots and were greeted with “I hope he’s not mean like our other Catahoula clients…”
They have huge personalities and are insanely smart. They need thorough socialization and frequent exercise. Our two get stir crazy if they go a few days without a good run.
I will echo what others have said…really great dogs, but if owned by someone ignorant to the needs of their animal, the less-than-acceptable behavior develops.
[QUOTE=Horsegal984;7618063]
Um. I love Catahoula but the breed as a whole is closer to the fierce boar hunter who doesn’t do well in a family setting than to your lazy couch dog. With that said however, they typically are not aggressive dogs, just smart, independent working dogs who need a job. They demand an attentive and experienced owner to be well adjusted members of society.
Many people have crossed them with bully breeds in order to try and get a “better” boar dog so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that was the case here, since typically these breeders would be ok with more “questionable” temperaments.[/QUOTE]
What she said 
The core problem with the pit bulls is their bulldog background and the Catalhoua breeds were developed with the same bulldog base. They’re lighter than the stereotypical pit bull, but then, so are many actual pit bulls, they’re not all as wide as a barn door.
Also, the attack case in the OP - they haven’t released any photos of the dog. Since the early 2000s, shelters across the US have been rebranding any pit bulls they can with whatever breed label they can. Originally labs, then dalmations. As they steadily exhaust the public’s trust with each breed, they move on. For the past few years, the so-called rednose pits have been “Viszla mixes,” black/white pits have been “Border Collie” mixes and grey/white pits are now Catalhouas. There’s a pretty good chance that attacker was a pit bull.
My Houla is going on 12 now. I adopted her as an adult from a shelter, where she was the dog they put the scared little ones with. She had three small dogs with her in her kennel area when I first met her. I had lost my Rottie to cancer a few months before and my GSD was the one that picked her, after the shelter volunteers narrowed my choices down to a few dogs (I didn’t care about breed, age, size, sex. I wanted temperament that would fit in with my household and lifestyle, while getting along with my current dog). Two bitches, one household, never more than a snarl over a misunderstanding in 6 years.
Few years later and two smaller dogs have joined the crew. All four are a peaceful, friendly group, great with all strangers and children. I got really, really lucky with my group dynamic.
My in-laws recently lost their Houla. He was a riot and truly a wonderful, overtly friendly dog, with people and other dogs.
That being said, the hunting instinct is strong in both of the family Houlas. Mine came with a kill-the-cat instinct already ingrained. My in-laws (in TX) have had lots of wild critters taken down by theirs, while their other dogs never have gone after any prey.
Just like every breed, the owners need to be well-educated in the traits their breeds may have and be willing and responsible to deal with them. I know “dog prejudice”. My Rott and GSD were both in training constantly throughout their lives and my GSD was a certified therapy dog. I knew it was my responsibility owning a large guardian breed to be a good example of the breed and ensure they were socialized, trained and responsibly contained (even if I knew they were ‘safe’).
BTW, my Houla was diagnosed with systemic lupus about 6 months after I adopted her and had bi-weekly/monthly/ semi-annual vet appts with her internist, dermatologist and surgeon over the course of the last 6 years. She was always a staff favorite, gentle and forgiving and never, ever looked at a staff member cross-eyed, even when she was at her worst. I’ve been lucky to be able to share part of my life with her.
I grew up with Catahoulas and have two now. First, if you ever call a Catahoula a “Houla” or “Cat” in front of a serious Catahoula person, you will be swiftly corrected and marked as someone who knows little about the breed. Secondly, many shelters, especially in the South and Southwest, have taken to calling any merle dog with blue eyes a Catahoula. Most of them are probably not Catahoulas as many breeds and mixes can have this coloring.
Catahoulas are not herding dogs, they are bay dogs. Herding dogs such as border collies, gather the livestock and then move them as directed by the shepherd. Bay dogs, like Catahoulas and Black Mouthed Curs, were bred to located feral livestock such as cattle and hogs and bay or hold them until the drovers arrived. It was then their job to hold the herd together while the drovers moved them. If you’ve ever watched border collies work you will notice that they are silent while they are working. Bay dogs, on the other hand, will bark while they are working and are much rougher, actually moving in to bite a nose or heel if they have to. My dad had a pair of Catahoulas when he was a young man and was often asked to help locate feral cattle in thickly wooded country. He talked about gathering cattle with a friend of his one time. There was one old, bunch quitter cow, a big rank Brahma cross with an impressive set of horns who was prone to throwing her tail over her back and taking off for parts unknown. Dad’s friend had a big stout roping horse so they roped Ol’ Sookie and jerked her off her feet and let the dogs chew on her for a while. After they let her up, she went to the middle of the herd and stayed there.
Catahoulas are incredibly smart but more in a problem solving way than an obedience training way. They are very territorial and often know the boundaries of their farm. They are fine with their cats, their dogs and their kids but not so much with strange cats, dogs, and kids. They are also very protective of “their” dogs, cats, kids. When DD was small, we had a Catahoula named Hank. DD and Hank loved each other and DD referred to Hank as her brother. I never had to worry about her playing outside as long as Hank was there. One day I was sitting on the porch reading, DD was playing in the yard and Hank was laying there sunning himself. Suddenly Hank jumped up and began barking. One of our sketchy neighbors was walking down the road. Hank ran to the edge of our property and shadowed the guy. He never approached him and never crossed our property line. He just stayed even with the guy and made it clear that this was his place and the guy better not cross the line. He stayed with him until the guy was past our house and then watched until he was satisfied the guy was gone. Then he went and flopped down and went back to sleep.
[QUOTE=wireweiners;7629955]
I grew up with Catahoulas and have two now. First, if you ever call a Catahoula a “Houla” or “Cat” in front of a serious Catahoula person, you will be swiftly corrected and marked as someone who knows little about the breed. Secondly, many shelters, especially in the South and Southwest, have taken to calling any merle dog with blue eyes a Catahoula. Most of them are probably not Catahoulas as many breeds and mixes can have this coloring.
Catahoulas are not herding dogs, they are bay dogs. Herding dogs such as border collies, gather the livestock and then move them as directed by the shepherd. Bay dogs, like Catahoulas and Black Mouthed Curs, were bred to located feral livestock such as cattle and hogs and bay or hold them until the drovers arrived. It was then their job to hold the herd together while the drovers moved them. If you’ve ever watched border collies work you will notice that they are silent while they are working. Bay dogs, on the other hand, will bark while they are working and are much rougher, actually moving in to bite a nose or heel if they have to. My dad had a pair of Catahoulas when he was a young man and was often asked to help locate feral cattle in thickly wooded country. He talked about gathering cattle with a friend of his one time. There was one old, bunch quitter cow, a big rank Brahma cross with an impressive set of horns who was prone to throwing her tail over her back and taking off for parts unknown. Dad’s friend had a big stout roping horse so they roped Ol’ Sookie and jerked her off her feet and let the dogs chew on her for a while. After they let her up, she went to the middle of the herd and stayed there.[/QUOTE]
Finally, someone that really knows Catahoulas. Thank you.
My experience with our catahoula has been as wire wieners described.
She is a fabulous dog, if she is sufficiently tired. And when she isn’t I know it’s my fault. I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Plus she feels the same way I do about my FIL.
That saying about if my dog doesn’t like you, neither do I. with her it’s true, unlike our husky who loves everyone and sleeps all day.
[QUOTE=wireweiners;7629955]
I grew up with Catahoulas and have two now. First, if you ever call a Catahoula a “Houla” or “Cat” in front of a serious Catahoula person, you will be swiftly corrected and marked as someone who knows little about the breed. [/QUOTE]
Well, bless your heart. LOL, because this matters in the grand scheme of things. :winkgrin: gonna go hug my dog.
[QUOTE=UlysMom;7632298]
Well, bless your heart. LOL, because this matters in the grand scheme of things. :winkgrin: gonna go hug my dog.[/QUOTE]
I call my Australian Shepherd an Aussie, my ACD a heeler, and sometimes even my Catahoula a houla… They still wag their tails and listen to all commands. My Catahoula is my first and he was a rescue. Keeping him was one of the best decisions DH and I ever made
Oh crazy, I’ve NEVER heard that Catahoulas can be aggressive. I have a rescued one that will definitely go snarling at you if she doesn’t know you and you come into her yard, or if you make an aggressive move at me (and that’s fine by me!)… but she has gone well out of her way to sidle up to little tiny kids and close her eyes and let them tug on her ears and lay on them. She is a kid magnet. NEVER have heard of them being aggressive towards kids before!
She is VERY protective of us, her family. She is fine with anyone that I tell her is a good person, but she is the protector of the house. Funny enough, she never chases anything - cows, chickens, cats, other dogs, armadillos, whatever - she has no prey drive. She does, however, absolutely go nuts about hogs!
[QUOTE=OveroHunter;7617990]
I recently adopted the sweetest goofball Catahoula Cur and love him to death. There isn’t a mean bone in his lazy body.
Recently Catahoulas have been in the news because a female supposedly Catahoula attacked and killed a 2 month old baby in Michigan. The breed is fairly rare and many people have never heard of them and therefore know nothing of the breed except for what they read online. Most of the news channels have been describing them as fierce boar hunters that don’t tend to do well in a family setting.
A few months ago I joined the largest public Catahoula Facebook group I could find. Yesterday they had to make the group secret out of fear that news sources would pull the pictures we posted in the group to use as stock pictures for the breed in their stories about the attack since they don’t have a picture of the actual dog that did the mauling.
The whole thing just makes me sick. The news is painting the entire breed as an aggressive breed based on this one dog.[/QUOTE]
Well doesn’t that just really tiss me royally off!
I rescued a Leopard Cur/Fox Terrier mix in 2009. A witness saw him dumped but she thought the *itch who was standing beside him, had let him out to do his business ---------- until the witness came back thru after work and the dog was standing at the corner waiting for that woman to come back.
I ended up taking him because I had lost my Rottweiler to cancer, three months earlier ANNNND because everyone said he looked like a Pit Bull and would never get adopted — Tissed me offfff, so I brought him home, even though the Mister was also dead set against him. Whelllll guess whose dog Mason is lol lol lol
He was a nervous wreck and I could tell it was the woman who whapped him around because he went straight to my husband for solace — I’ve rescued dogs all my life and that was a first.
Like the OP’s Cur, mine does not have one mean bone in his body. He loves kids, he’s afraid of the cat and stays out of the way of the horses. He is so intelligent and catches on so fast, that I call him “Rottweiler smart”.
I highly doubt it was a bonafide Cur dog up in Michigan but, if it was, somebody had to have horribly abused it and goaded into whatever allegedly happened.
Many years ago, a purebred St. Bernard was about to get PTS’d for biting a five year old when the vet found an ink pen rammed down the dog’s ear. Guess I’d bite too and where were the parents when all that was going on? NOT in the room with the kid and the dog.
Did not read all the posts, skimmed them, most were excellent.
To the OP first post, any dog can hurt or maim , and small dogs are some of the worst offenders. However, being small, the actual damage they do is containable and superficial. I bet as a group they snarl, growl, and actually bite quite often. But we never read in the news about a kid or grandma maimed or killed by a toy poodle or Chihuahua.
Big dogs, because of size, power, and larger teeth, when they do attack another animal or person, whether for “good” (protective ) reasons, or bad, are going to do more damage and on occasion that damage can be fatal or very serious. That is why we read the stories in the news about them and not thei smaller counterparts. Therefore, bigger dogs need to be better trained, supervised, and exercised than their small dog counterparts. Combine that greater responsibility with a bunch of not well informed or busy/distracted owners, and a small number of bad incidents are inevitable. And we cant’ deny some breeds are bred for a higher drive to protect /hunt/bay/ or fight, and they need even more careful management and ownership.
[QUOTE=Casey09;7618186]
A number of breeds have killed young infants because they are prey-like. No dog should ever be left alone with a young child or infant, and extreme care and careful supervision needs to be in place for when a dog and infant are together.
I found a Catahoula mix and kept him for about 6 weeks until he could go into rescue. He was a really nice dog. They are working animals and may not all be couch potatoes, but people need to realize that if they are going to get a dog and then have a baby, it is going to be hard work and require constant supervision and baby gates to lessen the risk of problems. It is much easier to hold off on getting a dog until the kids are older. I hear so many people saying that they can’t possibly supervise and just need a dog that is totally trustworthy and put uip with anything. The right breed for that is a stuffed animal.[/QUOTE]
We have two dogs. One big golden retriever and one papillon/Pom. We had them before kids (they were our first kids lol) and when we had our daughter we laid the law down and the dogs were never ever left in the same room unattended and were not allowed anywhere near her the first couple weeks so they developed respect towards her. She will be three soon and we still have to supervise carefully- she wants to play with them but the little one definitely would nip/bite any kid and the big one while he is laid back and puts up with stuff- you never want him to be pushed/annoyed that he feels he has to tell her. One bite from from him could cause serious harm! It is the parents responsibility to always supervise their kids around animals and the owner of animals to supervise them around kids! Better safe than sorry.
Any breed and any animal can be dangerous especially if not handled correctly or inte right setting.
[QUOTE=Countrywood;7641330]
Did not read all the posts, skimmed them, most were excellent.
To the OP first post, any dog can hurt or maim , and small dogs are some of the worst offenders. However, being small, the actual damage they do is containable and superficial. I bet as a group they snarl, growl, and actually bite quite often. But we never read in the news about a kid or grandma maimed or killed by a toy poodle or Chihuahua.
Big dogs, because of size, power, and larger teeth, when they do attack another animal or person, whether for “good” (protective ) reasons, or bad, are going to do more damage and on occasion that damage can be fatal or very serious. That is why we read the stories in the news about them and not thei smaller counterparts. Therefore, bigger dogs need to be better trained, supervised, and exercised than their small dog counterparts. Combine that greater responsibility with a bunch of not well informed or busy/distracted owners, and a small number of bad incidents are inevitable. And we cant’ deny some breeds are bred for a higher drive to protect /hunt/bay/ or fight, and they need even more careful management and ownership.[/QUOTE]
On another note my little dog can “attack” our big dog and not leave a mark due to small mouth and the big dogs medium hair. However the one time our big dog bit back our little dog had a huge gaping hole in his neck and had to get stitches, drain etc
