DOGS! Anyone own a Catahoula?

[punk-a-doodle]

Cats are one of our top picks for when we have land (outside of heelers). They are from my husband's home state. They sound fairly comparable to a cattle dog as far as stranger aggression goes, which may work for someone, or may be the bain of their existence. Depends how much you have people over to your home/if you let your dog have access to other people and property/if you like taking your dog into public, etc. I've heard opinions pretty split on whether they are likely to be dog aggressive or not. That would be more of a concern for me personally.

 

[theoldchick]

I used to work for a veterinarian who bred these dogs. While very friendly, they were extremely energetic and destructive if left on their own. These dogs were bred to hunt Razorback Hogs. These dogs are bred to be a hard dog capable of taking a lot abuse while hunting hogs. Aggression is common among this breed as they are bred to chase and attack their prey. However, they do bond well to family members but do not tolerate intruders of any species. This breed requires an owner who will spend time training and keeping the dog involved with some type of work. Some lines do have eye problems and deafness has been seen in this breed.

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

S*I*G*H....hubby is really set on one of these dogs but I am concerned with the aggression thing. I am a stay at home mom...ny other dogs are my other kids. I dont want my whole day to be filled with being purposely alpha.

 

[MakNat]

I have a catahoula hound mix. He lives with @ other dogs, horses, a goat, cats, ducks and chickens, all loose and HE IS WONDERFUL!!!!!! As for the kid thing, not sure, we have none, but he seems to only have a problem with the little ones who won't leave him alone after we, or their parents tell them to. Only a scarey sounding snarl. NEVER snapped at one.

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
with ours, we didnt' have people agression with people we introduced (but I can't say how it'd be with strangers out-of-place). I'm pretty comfortable projecting alfa dog naturally and my 100 lb pups got it and never questioned it or challenged it. they get pack structure, so it wasn't something I had to work at on a daily basis. however because they are bred for killing hogs they are fighters and the problem we saw was that should they get in it with another dog, they do NOT stand down. the second fight we had between the two pups was 140 stitches to close the wounds up on the pair of them. I've had to separate them three times, and you cannot talk them, yell them, or half-drown them out of a fight - once they're in, they're in all the way. it's what they're bred for.

my worry wouldn't be that they'd not respect your alfa-ness - if you're clear about it they will get it and it shouldn't be a lot of effort to maintain - but that should they get in it with your other dogs (and they want to know pack status) that they can do real harm and it'll take two people to separate the dogs. and that, by the way, is where you get hurt.

FWIW, we've found the safest way to separate fighting dogs is with 2 peiople - each person graps one dog's hind legs. then IF you can separate them, you can keep them separate by "wheelbarrowing" them away from each other and you can stay out of bite range as long as you keep the hind legs gripped.

I will say that once separated, neither of our boys offered or attempted to bite us, even when puting a chain on their collars to tie them to separate ends of the pen, but it took a good 10 minutes before they stopped tgrowling, barking and rying to get at each other and finish their fight.

the stupid thing is that after stitches, they spent the next week licking each other's wounds.

I loved these dogs but my hubby had real issues with their occasional agression with each other and in truth we didn't have a job for them, and they really needed a job.

most catahoulas aren't 100 lbs - the majority are 40-60 lbs, but if I had kids I might want to consider their hunting dog nature. lots of folks keep dogs with fighting/hunting in their breeding and have no issues with it, and have no problems between their kids and the dogs , but its something to think about.

 

[geepy]

I have 7 dogs, hounds pits and a catahoula. The only ones I can trust with my chickens are the hounds and catahoula.

 

[torrelee]

My brother has a catahoula. She was raised with a chihuahua and is great with other dogs. Loves his son, who is notorious for using her face/ears/tail to pull himself up to stand (he's a toddler, lol). She is super patient with kids, and great with people who she has been introduced to. I think that they have the same issue with strangers... door to door salesmen don't come in the gate! I wouldn't say that she's aggressive, just makes sure that noone comes in the house who hasn't been invited.
Being a big strong dog, they can be pretty destructive as puppies, and are hard on hardwood floors. Echo has razor sharp talons, I think maybe she's part lion..

 

[zzGypsy]

found some photos of my catahoula great dane crosses...

Chet (Atkins) - 105 lbs

Merle (Haggard) - 95 lbs

 

[trixiebarracuda]

We have a Catahoula, She is 1 1/2. She is very loving and affectionate. she does really well with children BUT she is very very vocal around strangers to a point that people can consider her aggressive. She has been known to chase strange men who come into my general vicinity and nip at their heels. Especially when in public places like the dog park.She will also bark relentlessly at people who come too near me and will act aggressively toward other dogs who run too close to me. She primarily listens and pays attention to me even though she is my boyfrined's dog. Apparently they bond more readily to women. But she does well with him also.

She hasn't harmed the chickens. She just chases them. But it was an interesting/nervous introduction as she was licking her chops like she was ready for her steak. And she does like to chase them a little but she did better than i expected of her. She definitely digs, A LOT. and she can be very destructive when left to her own devices. She likes to pull up tree roots and bushes and also try to escape under the fence. She gets along great with other dogs most of the time. Her and my 4 yr old Pitt are very good friends. Definitely high energy. But I would say if you get a puppy, you shouldn't have any problems on the homestead. If you get an adult then you may have to do some training and conditioning. They are very smart. Hope that helps.

 

[dinahmoe]

loved my catahoula
she was a rescue and didn't like men but with training she got better-as long as you took your hat off.she was stubborn and good with the kids,cats,HER dogs-not neighbors-and cows,horses.we didn't have chickens back then but i don't think she would have worked with them.she killed anything varmint wise and tackled and fought anything bigger.she hit my neighbors dog with her chest oneday and rolled it 10ft.they are very protective of kids but be careful and train often with the chickens.high prey drive.