American Leopard Hound
American Leopard Cur, Leopard Tree Dog
The American Leopard Hound is one of several curs from the United States. Curs are generally multipurpose farm dogs, used for working with livestock, for hunting and other tasks. When hunting this breed works as a treeing dog, meaning it was developed to track its prey and then force the animal into a tree. Once it is treed the dog will continue to bark or bay until the hunter makes the kill or the dog is called off. They primarily hunt raccoon, bear and puma. This dog should not be confused with the Catahoula Leopard Dog, which is a separate breed.
American Leopard Hound Standards
- AKC (FSS)
- UKC (Scenthound)
- 21-26"
- 45-70 lbs
- medium to large size cur
- drop ears, short to medium length
- tail can be any length
- smooth, dense coat
- leopard spotted
- black
- brindle
- blue
- mouse
- red
- yellow
History of the American Leopard Hound
The ancestry of the American Leopard Hound is an unknown mixture of European dogs. It is believed they originated in eastern North Carolina in the early 18th century from dogs brought by Spanish, French, English, Scottish and Irish settlers, both hounds and herding breeds. Some sources state that the breeding pool began with dogs brought by the Spanish conquistadors crossed with native Mexican dogs. These early dogs spread out to Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas, but by the 1950s dogs that had not been crossbred were hard to find. Three enthusiasts, Richard McDuffie, Leroy Smith and A.W. Carter set out to find examples of the breed, locating them in remote regions, and established a breeding program and registry.