Catahoula Leopard Dog
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The Catahoula is believed to have occupied North America the longest, aside from the dogs descended from Native American-created breeds. French settlers in the 1800s reported seeing Native Americans hunting with dogs with haunting glass eyes. Those dogs were bred with the French Beauceron and produced the first Catahoula Leopard Dogs in America. The Catahoula Leopard Dog has a wide range of coat colors, black, gray, tri-color, quad-color and patchwork. The coat texture of a Catahoula Leopard Dog can be coarse, slick coarse or wooly. One aspect of the Catahoula Leopard Dog that is consistent however, is their intense desire to protect their owners. In fact, it is said that one does not own a Catahoula Leopard Dog, rather, the dog owns its human.
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Sid the Catahoula Leopard Dog
Sent in by Lisa O. — Chicago, IL
I had heard of the Catahoula Leopard Dog before adopting Sid but had no experience with the breed. The animal care and control agency that found Sid living in a cornfield with his siblings listed him as an Australian Cattle Dog. He was obviously not that.We only knew that an extremely athletic, intelligent, eager to please assertive (not aggressive) animal had chosen us. Despite being seasoned dog owners we needed to learn how to work with him. At the first meeting, our trainer looked at Sid and said, "You didn't tell me he was a Catahoula." A veterinarian confirmed the trainer's words. From there, the rest was easy.
We researched the breed and things we had observed in Sid just made sense. We had adopted an animal that is reserved with strangers but loving and devoted to his family. The Catahoula is very sensitive to pack dynamics. True to his breed, Sid was respectful and sweet to our elderly dog Otis until his death. Sid is freakishly smart and has great problem solving skills. Depending on the situation this is either delightful or a bit dismaying. Eager to learn he has thrived with daily exercise, structure and cuddles. He can open drawers and doors, understands verbal commands and hand signals and thrills people walking by the dog park with his ability to jump high and catch a ball without a single bounce! He can even find my husband or his ball on command! Sid makes us happy from the time he pounces us awake in the morning to play ball til the nighttime when hops on the bed to sleep on my feet.
The Catahoula is not a breed for everyone.They need a home that will commit to daily hard exercise, a consistent behavior management program based on positive reinforcement and lots of love. We are happy Sid found us. When we are stopped by strangers who ask, "Is that a Catahoula?", we are now happy to confirm that, yes, we are owned by a Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Do you own a Catahoula Leopard Dog?
Is your dog the most special-est ever? Send us your unique, helpful, or funny stories about your furry pal and we'll post them here. And please don't forget the photos.
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When you send us a photo we'll put it in this area as well as our Facebook page. And as a "thank you!", we'll send you an online coupon worth $5.00 that you can use in our store!
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Notice
We reserve the right to discard inappropriate photos. Photos may be cropped to emphasize detail. By submitting photos to us you are giving us permission to place them on our website, on our Facebook page as well our printed materials.
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