Anyone have a Catahoula Leopard dog?

[SetzKitten]

I got a new rescue puppy a few weeks ago. I am in complete awe of this dog. I don't know if my previous dogs were stupid (haha), but this puppy is brilliant! I'm going to jinx myself and say she's completely house-trained already. Two weeks without an accident. She learned to fetch with just a couple of throws of the ball and she learned to sit and stay for her food with her first meal.

She's so friendly and outgoing, but quiet and huggy at the same time. She rarely barks. I just want to spend all my time with the good girl, and that's not just because she's new.

Does anybody else have this breed of dog?

 

[NewRVLady]

Wow-where do you live?
In Acadiana , or the Cajun area of LA they are all over. I love that some have blue eyes.

 

[Mrs Eeyore]

We have a Catahoula but she's probably a mix. Our old girl is about 12 now, though we're not sure of her age because she was a stray and went through a series of shelters before coming to us in 2003. She's a funny little thing, very persnickety, has to have everything Just So. She's territorial and suspicious of strangers but sweet and loving with people and dogs she trusts. We had no trouble introducing her to a new puppy lately. Definitely the smartest of the dogs we've had, but in a funny, almost manipulative way. She's sneaky, knows how to outsmart the other dogs and puts on a transparently sugary-sweet act to get what she wants out of us. She's a real character and we adore her.

One interesting thing I read somewhere is that Catahoulas tend to suddenly grow up at about two years, and that's exactly what ours did. She was relentlessly cheerful, carefree and full of beans until she was around two, and then suddenly turned serious and thoughtful and became a bit of a worrier. I'd be interested to hear if other Catahoula owners have noticed the same thing.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Wow-where do you live?
In Acadiana , or the Cajun area of LA they are all over. I love that some have blue eyes.

My neighbor has one Sturdy little thing Pretty and friendly

I love looking up about different breeds of dogs Apparently the catahoula is LA's state dog Since we have wild hogs around here too it makes sense why the neighbor takes her out hunting

OP very interesting history your dog has: named for a Choctaw Indian word meaning "sacred lake," the Catahoula originated in northern Louisiana near Catahoula Lake. Very cool

http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/catahoula-leopard-dog

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Congratulations!

I don't recall seeing him here.

 

[phamton]

We had one that showed up at our house when we lived out in the country in south Texas. I think she must have gotten lost by a hunter. She was skinny and had heartworms so she was treated at the vet for the heartworms and spayed later. She recovered and became a great dog. She used to smile at us all the time. It was a big toothy grin. She had big blue eyes and was gorgeous. She was also very smart and obedient. The problem we had after a year or so, was she started attacking our other dogs, a male lab and a male dalmatian. They had all been fixed before she came into our home and the other dogs were very easy going. She seemed almost jealous when we paid any attention to them. She never attacked them in front of us, but waited until we left the room. We worked on some alpha dog training but she still was sneaky about attacking them. After one dog had to get stitches, we advertised to find her a new home where she could be the only dog. She was not aggressive to people or even our cats though and was very submissive to us.

 

[clh2]

SetzKitten: No pictures??? It is a DisBoards rule that when you are discussing new furbabies on the DIS, that you post pictures.

 

[SetzKitten]

SetzKitten: No pictures??? It is a DisBoards rule that when you are discussing new furbabies on the DIS, that you post pictures.

My apologies, you are correct! Here is a picture of my Gretchen. Practically Perfect in every way! (Wait, what?? lol)

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[Luvchefmic]

OMGoodness I want to reach right through this screen and smell that puppy breath She is so damn adorable and who is the other one, with the " happy tail " ?

 

[clh2]

My apologies, you are correct! Here is a picture of my Gretchen. Practically Perfect in every way! (Wait, what?? lol)

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Thanks!!! What a cutie patootie! I am not familiar with this breed at all...how big do they get?

 

[Luvchefmic]

Thanks!!! What a cutie patootie! I am not familiar with this breed at all...how big do they get?

Pretty interesting reading right here

http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/catahoula-leopard-dog

 

[SetzKitten]

and who is the other one, with the " happy tail " ?

That is Bean, a Belgian Malinois. Another rescue with a truly horrific past. He's happy, healthy and safe now, and he loves his new sister. I have 3 other dogs, all rescued from abuse or neglect.

I wish I could take in every abused, neglected or unwanted dog. They give so much more than they get, and they all deserve so much more than I can give them.

 

[Luvchefmic]

That is Bean, a Belgian Malinois. Another rescue with a truly horrific past. He's happy, healthy and safe now, and he loves his new sister. I have 3 other dogs, all rescued from abuse or neglect.

I wish I could take in every abused, neglected or unwanted dog. They give so much more than they get, and they all deserve so much more than I can give them.

Well Hi to Bean and your other kids My heart's right there with you we have 7 here all with sad sad stories/pasts but they have all overcome and we are the blessed ones

 

[phamton]

Pretty interesting reading right here

http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/catahoula-leopard-dog

Thanks for the article. Now I don't feel so badly that we couldn't stop her aggression toward our other dogs. She was an adult when we got her and I suspect she was used for hog hunting in our area. So she might not have been properly socialized. She was sweet with us but was a bully to our other dogs. We gave her away to a nice family that didn't have other pets. At least, we had taken care of her health issues (heartworms) and had her spayed first. Living out in the country we were always getting stray animals, either lost or dumped. We did what we could for the animals and either kept them ourselves or found loving homes for them.

 

[Shmily1]

The first one I remember seeing was a few weeks ago on facebook. We have a local shelter that the rescue goes to every week to see if they can adopt the pets out before they are put to sleep and there was one in there. They are beautiful!

Congratulations to you on your new baby!

 

[Luv2Run]

That's great that you got her as a rescue! Around these parts (Hampton Roads, VA area), Catahoula Leopard dogs are quite expensive (we're talking the $1,000-$1,500 range). I'm not sure if that's because they're considered a special breed since they're not from around here, or what, but regardless of that I've wanted one for so long! I think they're so beautiful.

The only drawback I've heard about this breed (and really, it's such a minor complaint) is that they're very active, much like an Australian Shepherd, so they need lots of space to run and play.

 

[NotUrsula]

The "leopard dog" thing is a misnomer; they don't always have spots. My sister had one that was a pure uniform grey, muzzle and all, with amber eyes.

I've known a lot of Catahoulas in my time; they are commonly used to work cattle where I grew up. The most memorable trait that comes to mind when I think of them is the strong protective instinct that they display when it comes to the members of their household families. Most of them will be aggressive about their people and/or territory where strangers are concerned, unless they are taught not to be.