[kev]

So far, from my experience, the Cur dog is maybe the most flexible for what I am doing.

They make good:

• Hunting dogs, including hunting wild pigs.
  
• Independent
  
• Agile
  
• Alert
  
• Fast
  
• Family friendly

Please watch the video before posting a reply.

I live in a rural area and my cur dogs, one grown and one puppy, have plenty of room to roam. When my dogs and I go on a dayhike, the Cur dog is right at home. When the heavier dogs get winded, the Cur is still going strong.

I also have a:

• German Sheppard, Rottweiler mixed mutt.
  
• Lab mixed mutt,
  
• Hound mix. The hound looks like a Redbone hound dog. The hound dog gets winded easier than the cur dog, and has to take more breaks.

The Cur dog rarely stops for water, while at the same time the other dogs are laying in the creek to cool off. The Cur dog has the opportunity to stop and rest with the other dogs, but he is off doing his own thing.

Would the hound mix and cur dog do well for everyone? Of course not. When the hound starts baying, he would probably wake a whole neighborhood.

German Sheppard, Lab, Golden Retriever and Irish Setter are also at the top of my list.

 

[BabyBlue]

I like my mutts.

 

[rustednail]

having lost my dog of 16 years.....not long ago....I have started looking....and a mixed/cur is top of my list

 

[charliemeyer007]

The smartest dogs I have been around are Wolf hybrids. Big enough to be useful. Perry was 150 pounds long fur lived to 12+, Penny his sister was a 90# short fur ran away at 16 - the only thing wrong with her was she went deaf. Alpha female, she was way more independant and wolfy than her brother.

 

[jimbowie1]

IM a die hard LABRADOR lover, I will protect, him.

 

[TMcArthur]

One breed you might want to look into are the Aussie cattle dog. It is smart as a whip and tough as nails, being mainly from dingoes and dalmatians. Have another dog that is half Britany and half border collie. Never needed to train it to hunt. It flushes birds on its own. I shoot and the dog retrieves. The dog is smarter than I am. My pure blooded Britany is about the friendliest loving dog for kids I've ever known.

 

[Mattsn]

Ive always had labs since i was a kid. Im 40 now and i still have one. (my avatar) however, since elementary school ive always wanted a Newfoundland. I just got one a year ago. Hes 14 months and 140 lbs. And still growing. He will swim all day long if i let him but he isnt going on an all day hike. now way, now how.

 

[TENNGRIZZ]

My dogs are hound /cur crosses could not be happier.

 

[ljcygnet]

I have become a HUGE fan of McNab shepherds. They share common ancestors with border collies but are a bit bigger (40-60 pounds for a male).

They are:

-- Short haired
-- EXTREMELY athletic
-- Have a more upright working style than a border collie and less OCD
-- Every bit as intelligent and trainable as a border collie (maybe even moreso, since they're typically a bit less high strung)
-- Extremely sensitive

These dogs were bred for hard work in rough conditions.

If you like heelers/cattle dogs or curs you'd probably like McNabs -- they're a lot less hard headed than either breed but they've got a similar working style and a similar degree of grit. They've also got longer legs and are more agile than a heeler.

(I love heelers too, but I'm in love with a dog that I don't have to ARGUE with on a regular basis. LOL. He does what he's told with enthusiasm rather than ignoring me, like my old heeler/aussie mix used to LOLOLOL! I used to joke her name was No!Bad!Dog! but his is, "Good boy!")

 

[IceFire]

Everyone has their personal favorites. My current dogs are a Belgian Malinois and a Siberian Husky.

Whatever breed you are interested in (or THINK you are interested in), do yourself (AND the dog) a favor, and research the purpose for which the breed was developed. That will give you insight into some of the breed characteristics that are "hard-wired" into the breed. That way, you can decide whether or not you can live with some of that breed's less endearing qualities. For example Terriers and Dachshunds WILL dig...they were developed to dig varmints out of the ground, and will dig to get to them. Siberian Huskies are escape artists that could teach Houdini a few tricks, and are "independent thinkers" which means that obedience is NOT high on their list of things to do. Herding breeds tend to want to herd...other animals, small children, etc...and that frequently involves nipping at the herdee to get them moving in the desired directions. Retrievers with try to "fetch" things (including people) back to their owners, which can frequently be misunderstood as (or result in) a bite incident. Some breeds were developed to be highly energetic, so if you aren't prepared to give them a LOT of exercise, they will find their own way to expend that energy (which can result in them chewing/rearing things up) The list goes on.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Cane Corsos. My Corso Ares is like both of my best two dogs combined. An absolute awesome dog.

And almost any other Mastiff.

Incredibly loyal, intelligent, strong.

 

[Elessar]

We've moved to town now and our dog family has shrunk to smaller dogs that are no good for anything except being a drain on the economy.

But,...when we lived in the country, 20 years farming, we always had a few dogs, mostly rescues. I loved the blue healer that we pulled out of a breeder's nightmare facility but the one that I always thought was most under-rated was the Mountain Cur. We rescued one that had been dumped on our road and she stayed with us until the end. Wonderful, despite her "baggage." Great hunter, independent, resilient and smart. Tough and unafraid. I always wondered if we had her from a puppy how much better and more stable, mentally, she would have been...great dog. She passed while we were still on the farm and we planted her there, in a good spot, to continue her guard duty. Still have her leash hanging on the fence at the new house, three years now. Good ol' Claire...

If I ever have another dog I'll be wanting a standard poodle. I have never met a smarter dog and since they don't shed, I don't have to clean up after them.

 

[Jojo]

I will take a good old mutt any day of the week but prefer at least 1/2 to be one of the bully breeds. Here's our guard Ares - 1/2 Staffordshire, 1/2 Boston Terrier.

 

[biltulast]

You just can't beat a mutt, although I will own just about anything other than a Pit, Doberman, Rott, or similar types.

 

[kc1776]

A lab and catahoola hound . I had both great the lab was a great bird dog and Catahoola was great protection .

 

[Bluch]

Mutts have as their main attribute 'Hybrid Vigor'. This gives them the extra stamina that is lacking in many purebreds. As a general purpose solution they can fill the bill in a wide variety of circumstances. From a survival viewpoint they may not be the best answer for your given situation. One kind of dog may be better from a 'Bunker' viewpoint, with a different breed for a 'Nomadic' lifestyle. What you expect from the dog should be the primary consideration, rather than a fixation on a preferred breed.

 

[craftman]

Didn't realize Cur dog was actually a mutt. Yeah, gotta love them. Those mixed genes make them stronger and healthier.

 

[Purdy Bear]

If I was fit enough I'd have an American breed German Shepherd, the English lines have been ruined; combine that with a Jack Russell, I would been in heaven.

In my current situation is small breed terrier - my current is a Cairn and his brilliant.

 

[Coondawggal]

I think my name gives away my preference ;p.
But i also think it depends on what you are looking to do with the dog(s) as to which breed is best. I live on the west cost of Canada and retrievers (of any kind) are very popular. Some friends of mind have an amazing line of labs if I were ever to get a lab I'd get it from them. But black bear and cougar are also popular up here and coondogs are a solid go to. My new pup just turned a year and it turns out he isn't too bad at retrieving either ??.

Mastiff breeds can be awesome guard dogs, Boerbols are awesome workers and guardians but their coat is crap for Northern Winters. We have a Dane as well but she just looks scary. Next time (after we have moved to a bigger homestead) I think we will get a Kengal or something similar, good for herding and guarding, healthy breed and tough as nails.

I don't think you have to stick with one breed for everything. I want to be able to leave a dog with a mix of livestock and not worry about other animals and take my hunting dogs hunting.

Though I so like Curs, Mals, and cattle dogs, and the right mutt can do the job a lot of the time. Depends on the cross whether it will be any good at it's task or even healthy of that matter .

To each their own I think

 

[LoneStarCJ]

The best breed for my deal is the Bichon Frise. It is a pure lap dog and keeps the wife occupied. Frees my time to make progress around here.