Catahoula Leopard Dog

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Uploaded: 2nd Jul 2008 at 4:34 AM
Updated: 3rd Jul 2008 at 6:58 PM


Ok, so this is my first upload haha. I figured I'd start with something relatively easy. Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated, help the noob! I'm a big dog person and was rather disappointed with the way maxis did the dogs in the pets expansion pack so I've updated and added a lot of breeds, this is just the only one I've felt was worth sharing and this breed is tied with the Borzoi as my favorite breed.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog (also known as the Catahoula Cur) is called such because of the striking merle patterns that are so abundant in the breed, though they can come in most any color and combination a dog can be, including brindle, solids, tan pointed, and spotted. They also have several different eye colors, blue being the most popular but also able to have brown, gold, green, and gray. They can also have natural bobbed tails (as you can see in one of my RL pics, the dog in the back) and some hunters dock their dogs' tails, wouldn't be good if a boar got a hold of a dog by their tail. They're not very well-known outside of the south-eastern U.S. and not very well known in the show world in general (being accepted as a herding/pastoral breed by the UKC and the CKC, misc. with the AKC) because they're generally not bred as show dogs but working dogs. Only recently have breeders seriously started aiming for conformation dogs. Catahoulas are a breed thats several hundred years old, originating from the Catahoula area of Lousiana, USA, from crosses between the native Red Wolf, and war dogs brought by Spanish Conquistador Hernando de Soto such as the Grey Hound and several Mastiff-type breeds (later the Beaceron was also added) by the local Native American tribes (Avoyelle, Tunica, Ofo, and Choctaw). They were bred to hunt wild game and guard their masters and homes. When wild boar was introduced into the region and their populations got out of hand these dogs were then bred to hunt these dangerous animals, working in packs, though they're also used to herd cattle. They were highly prized in the days when a good dog could mean food in your stomach for their loyalty, versatility, and intelligence. Catahoulas are most certainly not a dog for a beginner or the soft-hearted, though good family dogs they are very intelligent and have a very high drive and without the right amount of discipline and exercise, can become quite the handful and potentially aggressive.

Please do not reupload these and claim them as your own but feel free to upload any Catahoulas of your own! Just give me a nod of credit for the originals. I'd also love to hear about your individual Catahoulas ^-^. Real life and in game!

Sorry to bore you with the facts but I'm rather passionate about this breed and not many people even know about it, so I decided to provide some information on them ^-^. I hope you like these dogs, I worked hard on them and am very pleased with how they turned out. And don't be afraid to click that thanks button, I'd love my first upload to be a success!