I like small dogs because I don't have to feed them as much. I have settled on the Deutsches Jagdterrier. These are a lot of dog in a 20 lb package. I have hunted hogs, birds, coons, rabbits, squirrels, and ducks. I've had two (I just buried one) and am amazed at how well they retrieve. Difficult blinds were beyond them (name a breed besides retrievers which it isn't) but they can do doubles and simple blinds. They love water, can kill a coon, bay a pig and flush birds all in the same hunt (speaking from experience). These are great little hunters.

Mike,
You have fallen for the prejudice of the mid to late 1800's when you call a cur a mixed breed. Cur is a term like hound or terrier. It's a group of dogs. The wealthy hated the curs of the poor. The poor could only afford one or two dogs at most. The dog had to earn it's keep as a generalist. Wealthy men could have a number of dogs if they were so inclined. They kept specialists. Hounds for fox, different hounds for Coons, didn't hunt squirrel, pointers for birds, you get the idea. A wealthy man didn't want his bitch polluted by a cur so he would tell all how bad this dog was and it's pedigree was unknown. The pedigree was probably very well known, in reality, and just as royally bred (a good'un to a good'un). No curs were and are the all american dog.

Dr Fatguy