I live on five acres. Rough land. Some animals. Someone has a litter of puppies, 1/2 blue heeler, 1/2 black mouth cur. Anyone have experience with this breed?

Don't know much about them, but what I just looked up they seem to be a good breed to have if you have some land like you do

Thanks, I was reading the same info. Just curious if someone knows how they are with kids

"Black Mouth Cur" is a pretty wide description, and they're basically mutts unless they have a pedigree of some sort.

BMC can refer to dogs as small as 40 lbs that resemble the Texas Blue Lacy, through Catahoula-type dogs, and up to some gigantic Ridgeback/Labrador/misc. crosses that people didn't know what else to call 'em. So, anywhere between 40 and 110 lbs?

Curs are generally regarded as baying hounds that work in teams to herd livestock and hound nuisance species while the farmer/hunter catches up and eliminates them. They're pretty good all-purpose working dogs, and are relatively intelligent and easily trained without being so smart they get themselves into trouble or so dumb that they act more like the livestock than the herder.

I'm not as sure about Heelers because I've never owned one. IMO, they tend to be a bit more ornery and protective.

The dog's probably going to be a decent mutt, but it's not the kind I'd pay anything for.

And as far as working Texas Blue Lacey dogs, I've seen a pack of them work together to take down wild pigs and coyotes.

And then they go back to the house, get a bath to get the pig blood off, and cuddle with the owner's 2 y.o. son.

Thanks for the good info

I have both BMC and Lacy dogs. Like them both, although I probably lean towards BMC. They can be a little hard-headed sometimes, but some of those Lacys can be wound a little tight and a bit over sensitive.

I absolutely love my Blackmouth Cur. Very well mannered with me and the family, and a scary-looking guard dog at the same time. He'll let you know if there is something around. Toughest dog I've ever had.

He's a varmint killing SOB- skunk, snake, armadillo, pig, even found bird feathers in the pen. He's also a kitten killing SOB, and probably a chicken killing SOB if he ever had the chance, though.

My favorite was when he was a Halloween scare-crow eating SOB. That lady was a little pissed that he had eaten the decoration that was right next to her bowl of food that she left out for the wild animals to eat.

When I got him, I read somewhere that curs get their feelings hurt so you just have to talk with a stern voice but don't yell and don't hit. It's a small sample size, but that is 100% not true with him. When he was younger he earned a few 04 indentions in his forehead, but he's mellowed now.

I should add I wouldn't leave my 3-year old alone with him, but I wouldn't leave her alone with a chihuahua, either. But she can feed him treats through the fence and she is around him when I am there with her.

The blue heeler mix I had would kill anything smaller than it was. It had a passion for cats and skunks. It would eat rabbit skulls, ears and feet that coyotes had left behind. It would eat a squirrel starting at the tail. The next day it would crap out 8" of braided hemp. It would eat a tunnel into a garbage bag full of christmas dinner leftovers and gift wrapping paper. The 6" tall pile of vomit the next day started with trash sack, bits of wrapping paper, styrofoam and finally bones and other food stuff. I've seen it digest meat scraps at a taxidermy shop that turned the guts and killed the owners hound.

The flatulence that dog had would follow it around the house like a poisonous green comet that haunts my dreams to this day.

^ so a vote for yes

I have three Catahoula mixes. They range from 35-80 lbs. the big one is a great gaurd dog. He's smart. We have a long drive and if a dude drives up and gets out, he wish he didnt because that 80lb mf er will tear around that corner baying and all bristled up and head straight for you only to stop 4' if you have the balls to hold ground. If no, hope you make to the truck before he does because your gonna have a sore on your ass. It's happened twice. Its why I request heads up for contractors and deliveries lol. If BMC are like Catahoulas, they are great dogs.

While we're on the subject of BMC's, I was curious what y'all thought of my dog.

We don't know what her parents were, but she's about that color, with the "hound like" tail and seems to have a lot of BMC traits as far as looks go, but I don't know much about BMC behavior. Do BMC's love to fetch? Like love] to, because this dog does.

As you can tell, she's pretty good natured.


And she likes to be outside


And can learn new tricks


And she has those "Corsair" style ears


And has always enjoyed chewing things


Thoughts?

May have BMC in there somewhere, but don't think that's all, a little short on ear for a BMC. My BMCs don't have much if any ball drive. You throw a stick or ball and they'll look at you like "yeah, nice arm, can we go bay something now?"

That dog would qualify as BMC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mouth_Cur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Cur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catahoula_Cur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Blackmouth_Cur

There really isn't a standard per se for Curs as a breed. (Although, there are standards for particular lines within the breed, but I don't think they're even AKC regulated.) It's more of a broad category of mutts of a particular size, coat, habit, behavior, and endurance.

And yeah, my Cur's more likely to lick you to death once you're within a couple feet of him. If you're a stranger, up until then, all you see is fur standing on end and teeth. (But the one that you really have to watch for is the Akita sneaking around the side, because she's the one who's going to bite your ass while the Cur's baying at you just out of reach.)

edit: added links, grammar fix.

[This message has been edited by superspeck (edited 1/21/2014 3:19p).]

Agree with above. They do not like yelling, but I have a pack we work cattle with and you talk to them like people. When they bite something it is usually for the duration. Had one grab a bull by the nose and three wodden fences later the bull finally figured out the dog was not leaving and hurried back to where he was supposed to be. Kids and grandkids play with them and they ride in the truck with me. They seem to be Lab type smart.

I adopted our dog a few months ago (he's a little over a year old), and was told hes a boxer/shepherd mix. But I was kind of wondering the same, if he was a BMC.




He seems really smart, just not always attentive, or ignores what he doesnt wanna do. He shows some traits of dominance. He loses all his training if there other dogs around, hes not aggressive just too exciteable. In groups, he will target specific dogs and not leave them along while ignoring the others, I think the ones he perceives as the leader. Some of this might be boxer traits.

Plenty of energy, but would rather play keepaway or tugofwar than fetch, Im guessing because of his dominant traits. He will sit and stare at our trees for hours, waiting for his chance at a coon or squirrel. Really quiet dog, and doesnt mind strangers. Thankfully he at least looks intimidating, so I feel better that hes around with my wife at home. As mellow as he can be, I wouldnt leave him along with children or other smaller animals.


Also, he has a weird habit of sleeping on his back....


[This message has been edited by youandwhosearmy (edited 1/21/2014 4:12p).]

I finally (re-)found some of the pictures of working Lacy dogs. Keep in mind that this is the Texas state dog, and is one specific line of Cur. This breed is one of my favorites and they're wonderful ambassadors for everything that's great about Texas.

Photo scrollercaust below.

IF exercised, they're wonderful house dogs. They're clean, they're obedient, and they're sweet.




They're just as mischevious as other dogs are. And they're great companions for just about anything you want to do, from agility to hiking. This dog breed is intended to be your every day all day companion dog.





There's two caveats to owning this dog.

The first is that they're social dogs that need people and other dogs around almost all the time. They need to be part of a family. They work as teams, and the team includes humans.





The second caveat is that they need work and training and a 'job' to do. This can be DAILY hiking, training and agility, or it can be working cattle or working pest species on a piece of property.




This dog was intended to do this work, and if they don't get trained and USED for it, then you will not have a very good dog.










Photos credit to Julie Neumann - http://www.flickr.com/photos/julieanna/sets/72157605027566732/

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that BMC is just a catch all for yellow mutts of a certain size. BMC people know what one is supposed to look like, and they are distinctly different from mountain curs, usually having more ear. The blacking around the muzzle and ears does very in intensity, and the color can vary from bright yellow to reddish, but the basic conformation is pretty consistent.

Nice looking set of dogs Superspeck, I think I've seen some of those pics before

I dunno, I'd say that it's a good enough catch-all -- there's a specific way they're "supposed" to look, but then there's a ton of exceptions to the rule. "Cur" is an old word that basically just means "mutt"...

I've posted some of the pictures of the fight with the Coyote around here before. That picture is one of my favorites.

We have a Blackmouth. She has hunted and fought (and won ) every animal on this property. Great dogs, but they really like outdoors. These pics resemble our Ruby. Great pics, BTW. Damn, I love dogs !