Louisiana Catahoula
Leopard Dog
'DOGS WITH JOBS'
Our journey of knowing and loving this breed, to producing them in the Canadian Rockies has been amazing. It started with some crosses. They were exceptional dogs, affectionate and loyal with people and hell on predators. In fact, our old alpha 'Riggs',is legend in for his tangles with wolves and bears, and his fierce dedication to his family.
We have talked to many breeders and owners across North America and I can say that their love of their dogs is well matched by their strong opinions. Some say 'if your Catahoula makes a good pet, he's not a good Catahoula'. We couldn't disagree more, and we can only tell you from our experiences what we have found to be true.
Our Catahoulas have responsibilities. They need to be vigilant on predators both on our ranch, and with us out on the trails. They need to stay home without kennels and be obedient without leashes. They also need to be safe with all of the visitors coming and going from the ranch. And when the day is done be happy to relax by the fire.
Quite a few of our dogs end up in urban homes and do great. Much of this depends on your dog, training and environment. However, we do not think of them as necessarily good 'dog park' dogs. They can be exclusive and territorial. We like that our dogs do not tolerate other dogs on the property. All Catahoulas have a degree of hunting/working drive. Ours do not harm our cats but could harm a strange cat, they will not kill our chickens, but if we told them to they would be happy to oblige. In this way I describe them as a bit 'clanish'.
Our dogs love kids, and many of our pups have gone to families with young children, sleeping in beds with them the first night in their new home. They are good 'overseers', and regardless of where we are on the ranch, you can spot a dog watching you in the distance.
As with most relationships you get back what you put into it, and training your dog isn't much different. Catahoulas can have a reputation for being stubborn, and I would say many have an independent streak for sure. What we hear from our puppies owners is that they are very trainable, and they often give us credit for potty training or kennel training that we have not actually done because the pups are so easy.
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Let us know if you would like to know more about our experiences with the Catahoula Dog, and stop in if you are in our neck of the woods.
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REGISTRY - NALC (National Assoc. of Louisiana Catahoulas)
Look up nalc-inc.org for more info.
NOTE: We are sad to say that Don Abney recently passed away. I can say with confidence that he was the authority on the Catahoula breed. I was extremely fortunate, as a new breeder, to have corresponded with him over the last two years.
We are also fortunate to have his bloodlines in our Cataluna female. Her Dad and the father of many of our pups is 'Abney's Starbuck', a lovely dog that comes from some of the best bloodlines in North America.
As with any topic on the internet there can be a lot of unreliable sources. We recommend you start with Abney Catahoulas and go from there.
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