DrFatguy,
I don't believe I've fallen for any prejudice at all. I am not using the derogatory term "curs," but rather, I am using it just like you said - as a variety( ex: mountain curs, leoperd curs, blackmouth curs, camus curs, mountain view curs, etc.), most of which have only developed into consistent varieties fairly recently compared to most refined breeds, and even still aren't that refined yet. Cur dogs may have been carefully bred, but I don't believe they were bred for the "pure-bred" factor. Even today, guys breed Original mountain curs to feist type dogs and call them Treeing Curs. They also breed Mountain Curs to Leoperd Curs or Blackmouth Curs or whatever else. My point is that the poor mountain folk didn't care about the "purity" of the lines as did the noble folks, but rather, I would assume the ability and "all-purpose" characteristics of the parents. If a guy had a good treedog, I imagine he would take it down the road to have it bred to the good old mixed up hound of equal ability whether or not they were of similar ancestry or not. I don't believe he loaded it on the wagon and drove to the next state or territory to have his gyp bred to a stud that looks the same. He just went down the road to his buddy who had a good old stud, whether he sported the same tail or coat color or not. This, I believe, is why curs can often work cattle, tree game, bay game, and point birds all in one afternoon and then tree a bag of coons that night...they have a wide gene pool of mixed abilities and traits, unlike a Beagle. For example, a guy could breed a Mountain cur to a walker hound, and the dog would still be a cur type dog; however, not in a derogatory manner. Mountain curs are of mixed ancestry, as any dog, but the "mixed up" ancestry served as a benefit for more recent Post WWII breed registries, such as the Original Mountain Cur Breeders Association, Kemmer Mountain Cur Breeders Association, etc. Yes, they are varieties, like hounds, terriors, etc, but I am pretty sure that the lines weren't as pure, and still aren't. For example, Walker Hounds likely have some highly pedigreed bloodlines with only Walker Hounds in the pedigree that goes back a long ways in history. That's why you can count on it that every walker hound is going to closely resemble the next. Mountain Curs, however, are not so refined. Some have naturally docked or 3/4 tails, some have dewclaws, and some strains of Mountain curs, such as the Busher/York strains, will weigh nearly 60 pounds while the same breed of Mountain cur from the Streak strain might weigh 30 pounds. Yet, they would all still be Original Mountain Curs (the breed, not the the term for a mongrel of a dog) They would be"full-blood" Original Mountain Curs from foundation stock. Get what I'm saying? Now, however, the all-purpose factor is not so necessary anymore, and things like treeing ability and size are focused on more, cuasing the dogs to breed tighter, more consistent litters of pups that are more "breed-like." If you look at some of the yearbooks from some of the registries, I would guess you'd see quite a variety in physical conformation. My pup is an Original Mountain Cur, but I would bet you that if you went back far enough, and maybe not far at all compared to the pedigrees of century-old hound dog lines, you'd probably find a dog that didn't fit the bill of what an Original Mountain Cur should be - probably a cur in the derogatory sense, or a birddog. He is 32 pounds, but his dad is 45 pounds and his mom is 38 pounds. He doesn't fit the bill in every sense, but he's still an Original Mountain Cur and qualifies for the registry. Now I just recently saw a photo of an OMC that weighed 59 pounds! Lots of variety and I believe it serves to better the breed (or strain or whatever you want to call it). This is all really good discussion. By the way, I have heard about those little terriors of yours. You should check out squirrel dog central at www.sqdog.com. There are sometimes some discussions involving those terriors, I believe, but there's a lot of cur, feist, and laika talk, too. -MIKE