Looking for something to mainly run squirrels. Always be with us in the woods/trapline. Possibly cyotes/bobcats.

I've never had hunting dogs before and I don't know if such a creature exists. Probably looking for a pair. We would be hunting in the eastern hardwoods/ appalaichan mountains. We will be trying to train the pups ourselves.

What breeds should I be looking for? I've looked at the various feist for squirrels but they seem to be a little short legged for longermruns on cats or cyotes. I'm also not looking for a pack of plots or walkers that may not be the best for squirrels.

If I had to pick it would be squirrels first and everything else second.

What else do I need to consider and where do I need to look? Thanks.

Kemmer stock Mt. cur or Ladner stock Blackmouth cur would be good for what you are wanting. They are big enough and gritty enough to handle a coyote or cat

Cur

Cur

airedale

Treeing walker/Cur cross and I would very much suggest not trying to start and train a pair of pups together.. Tough enough for an experienced dog man.. For the type of dog you are looking for, all purpose, you are going to have to create a strong bond between you and the pup.. Harder to do with two.. My .02 worth..

Cur you can also add a decoy dog to the list as well to make it the " all American" of dogs

@Larry Hall. I assumed a pair would be easier? 2 different personalities? Open for suggestions as well. No experience here. Would like to go in feet first on buying/training a puppy if it wouldn't possibly ruin a good dog.

@Larry Hall. I assumed a pair would be easier? 2 different personalities? Open for suggestions as well. No experience here. Would like to go in feet first on buying/training a puppy if it wouldn't possibly ruin a good dog.

I would buy one already trained after seeing it hunt.

My cur (mountain) didn't take much training at all to hunt squirrels. Worked with scented drags a bit, then a live squirrel in a cage and a ball.

His only issue is that he does NOT like strangers of any sort. He is way over protective of me and my extended family. We socialized him a ton as a pup. I took him everywhere. He met new people all the time. At 7 months old its like a switch flipped. He did not like new people or new dogs.

He's 10 now and slowing down some, but still loves to tear up the woods for squirrels.

Are there sites, links to find curs forsale?

I raise and train hounds…take it from me that you will be money and time ahead if you buy a dog that is already trained or at the very least showing signs of being trainable for what you want it to do. Raising and training a hound is like scratching off a lottery ticket for two years to see if you got a winner. They do not all turn into hounds and odds are that you will have to go through several (actually way more than several) to get a good one. Most dogs will turn into something if they are given the chance but very few are exceptional. The exceptional ones are born, not trained.

My cur experienced his first bear, deer and live squirrel within the last week. He came back fairly easily when called off the bear and deer. Well, the bear actually 'sent' him on his way back to me lol. I wish he would've barked a lot harder on the treed squirrel but all in I suppose he's coming along for a 9 month old. He knows what "squirrel" means and "bark" means. His nose never leaves the ground except to look up in the trees.

The feist on the other hand, can't get off momma's lap! He's only 3 months though so I suppose I can cut him some slack. I don't mind starting from a pup and getting to see the pup grow into whatever they may be.

2 at a time will be very hard, tried it twice pack mentality beat me both times I have 1 and he's good enough for me

If most curs are as smart as mine, there is no way I would want 2 of them as puppies. 1 got in enough trouble.

My first thought was Cur as well but I'm sure you can get any number of dog breeds to be good dogs. Some of the best dogs I've seen have been labs and mutts.

Get 1 dog, the way you want it, then later you can BOTH train the next 1!

Labs rule !!!
Dennis

My thought on starting a puppy was creating the bond and trust between us and the dog. Early. Can this still be attained from a started pup from someone else? I'm leaning toward a good hunting/family dog as opposed to a hunting "machine" if that makes sense. Is it possible to have this ?