Catahouligans!!!! Share your pics and stories!!!!!!!!! (catahoula leopard dogs)

[LissyB]

I have a 5 month old catahoula, that's such a character! I was wondering if there were any other "catahouligans" out there that wanted to share stuff about their catahoulas! I will try to get a pic of her up soon!

 

[LissyB]

Does anyone have a catahoula out there? I will try to post pics of Myrtle soon!

 

[LissyB]

OK, does anyone even know what a catahoula is? A catahoula leopard dog was bred in Louisiana to herd feral pigs and cows out of the swamps. It is the Louisiana State dog, and is known as the cowboy dog or Indian dog.


This is Myrtle, when she was 2 months, at the breeder's place. She was the last one cuz of her color, they are usually blue or brindle. Myrtle is solid with brindle on her legs. Will try to put up more recent pictures!

 

[fastrnrik]

I have had catahoulas for almost 20 years. I have owned several other breeds of dog- various large bully breeds, rottweiler, cur dogs, lots of different hounds, and even mutts, but catahoulas are by far the smartest, most loyal, and best dogs I've ever owned. They are a strong willed breed and not for everyone, but if handled correctly, nothing else even comes close. The problem in my area is finding a good pure catahoula. A lot of the hog hunters cross them with bulldogs, curs, plott hounds, etc to benefit their specific needs. Nothing wrong with that at all, but it makes finding a pure leopard dog difficult. The other issue here is that any dog with a craked / glass eye or merle coat is classified as a catahoula, so you end up with funky colored mutts running around. Again, nothing wrong with mutts, but when you want a specific breed you don't want a mutt. Kinda like wanting a Corvette and someone telling you a Fiero is the same thing LOL. Looks similar, but not even close LOL. I bred my own catahoula for many years for that very reason. My first catahoula just died this year after living to be 18 years old. He was smarter than most people I know. I could write a book about the adventures that fellow had! I am getting two puppies that are descendants of him from a friend of mine. They were born last week, so they will be ready around Christmas time. I am going to raise them around goats, poultry and other farm animals and use them for predator patrol/control. I'm kind of hoping to find a LGD pup such as a GP, and raise them all up together. I will post some pictures of the new puppies when I get them and maybe try to find some pics of some of the catahoulas I've had.
PS- the best part about catahoulas is when someone asks what kind of dog that is, and you say "catahoula leopard" and they always say "a cata-what?" LMAO. We had one we actually named him Cata-what for that reason LOL

 

[LissyB]

I know!!! When people ask what breed of dog it is, it just makes me laugh, LOL! I'm so sorry to hear about your first guy. At least you will have some of his descendants though! We are thinking of breeding ours when she's older, I hope we do, that would be an amazing experience! My puppy thought our ducks were playing with her, and she of course would play like a puppy back! That was not good, she got over it though with some training! She is still super interested in playing with the cat cuz he's her size!

 

[JenniferPicard]

I have a very long very sad story. I adopted a Catahoula four years ago. He was 3 at the time and had been abused and under-socialized which resulted in a terrible case of dog aggression. I have spent the past four years working extremely hard to train him and get him to at least be able to walk by another dog without going crazy. I have worked very closely with a dog trainer this whole time. I got married at the beginning of October, and my husband has 2 German Shepards. We worked with the trainer to make sure my dog- Aiden- would get along with them. Everything was going great until last week. Aiden began to get aggressive with the male German Shepard and we had to break up 2 pretty scary dog fights yesterday. I know Aiden is so unhappy- I can see it in his eyes. After laying awake all night, I have decided that the best thing to do would be to see if there is anyone out there who would be willing to take him. I live in the city and I think he needs a big piece of land in the country where he can be the only dog with plenty of room to roam about. If there is anyone who can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. Please reply or call me at 404-713-7256. I am scared to death, frustrated, and incredibly sad. Thank you. Jennifer Picard

 

[LissyB]

Oh my goodness I'm so sorry! I hope you can find a good home for him!

 

[fastrnrik]

Haven't posted in awhile, but figured I'd update a little. I have bought a catahoula pup and will get him on 1/20/13. I am looking at a female in the next couple weeks as well.

 

[LissyB]

That's so exciting! Myrtle is being a handful, chewing everything, excluding the kongs and chew toys we give her. She has ruined an antique chair and a few of our school books. My mom is so upset with her.

 

[Catahouligans]

I adopted my first Catahoula in May through a local rescue. Before finding him, I had never heard of a Catahoula before! He is 10 months old and has a Merle coat and brown eyes. 3 days ago, we decided he, Bailey, was trained well enough for us to adopt a companion. So we went back to that rescue and after having looked at 2 dogs that didn't seem to fit, I asked about a black Catahoula girl named Roxy that I had seen on their site. They brought her out and she and Bailey acted like long lost pals. Turns out they were from the same litter, and the family who adopted her as a puppy returned her. They are actually brother and sister, adopted 7 months apart! These dogs aren't for everyone. They need a lot of time, patience (or at least as much of a stubborn streak as they have!) and exercise.