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- My name is Cindy Sanders, Tasso Catahoulas,
and I'm an owner and breeder of Catahoula Leopard Dogs.
In the late 1970s my husband and I
were on own honeymoon and we met the late Justin Wilson.
Not only did I not have any idea who Justin Wilson was,
I didn't know what Catahoulas were either.
But he was a wonderful man.
We became very close friends
and he introduced us to the Catahoula breed.
His next door neighbor was Betty Ann Eaves,
and her family actually owns the Catahoula registry,
so she knew a lot about the dogs, of course,
as well as Justin.
Justin would tease me, because at that time
I had Rottweilers.
Living here on a ranch the Rottweilers were great protection
for the family, but they weren't great around the livestock.
So the Catahoulas really fit the bill
for being a wonderful stock dog as well as
a family protection dog for the ranch.
The Catahoulas originated around the Catahoula Lakes region
in southern Louisiana.
They were adopted by the Indians.
The Indians used them as stock dogs
and to gather food for them.
Well hello, Valentino.
They originated from the Red Wolf.
They do share DNA with the Red Wolf,
and the Indians used them predominantly at that time
and help perpetuate the breed.
Then when the war dogs came in they mixed
with the Red Wolfs.
So you had your Mastiff and your Greyhounds
and your Beaucerons and that's what makes
our Catahoula breed today.
Historically they were used by the Indians
to hunt and to carry things and to help
move animals from place to place.
Then as the breed was perpetuated
and people realized the importance of having
an all-around versatile dog to help them
with their everyday activities they became more
of a herding and treeing and Hogbane expert.
That's really where the dog is today.
Because they're a rare breed they haven't been overbred.
And they truly have the same instincts
that they were intentionally used and bred for.
The Catahoulas originated in the swamps of Louisiana.
Their webbed feet really gives them an advantage
to running through the mud and muck.
It also helps them, of course,
in modern day in the snow and the desert,
anywhere that the footing is a little uneven.
But because they grew up near the Catahoula Lakes region,
that's really how they developed their webbed feet
and really helped them for running through the swamps
after game or anything that they were hunting or herding.
Catahoulas are so versatile.
They are really an incredible breed.
They are one of the only breeds that can air scent
and ground trail scent.
So they can actually use their nose in the air
and on the ground to track anything
that you teach them track.
One of the other traits that really helps them
and comes from their originating in the Catahoula region
and in the area of southeastern Louisiana
is their short, tight coat.
A lot of times it's considered a painted on coat.
It's very short and helps keep the dogs cool
in the hot, hot Louisiana weather.
Catahoulas have a very unique herding style.
They are baying dogs so you'll never see a Catahoula
get behind a herd of cattle and push them from behind
like a lot of your typical herding dogs do.
A Catahoula is going to be constantly circling and baying.
If a cow does happen to get out of the group,
it'll shoot out like a rocket and bring that lone cow back
until it's rounded up with its herd,
and it moves the herd as a whole,
constantly moving, constantly baying,
constantly keeping that group of cattle completely
under their control.
It's really fun and amazing to watch.
It's a great skill in a dog that knows what they're doing.
Most of the Catahoulas today still have those instincts
to be able to herd with that natural baying style.
Catahoulas are unique in the way
that they will find a hog and bay the hog
until the hunter can get there.
A lot of dogs are bred to go out and catch the hog,
but Catahoulas are not.
That is not their job.
Their job is to find the animal and keep it in one place.
They end up dancing with that hog
and making sure that that hog can't get away.
And of course the hog's instinct is to run.
The dog's instinct is to keep it in one spot.
So it's really a battle of the wills,
and it's always nice when the Catahoulas win.
A lot of times they actually do,
they're very, very intelligent and they can
outthink those very smart wild hogs.
Catahoulas can be used as single hunters out baying hogs.
But they really work best in teams of two and three.
Because the wild hogs will take off, like I said,
their instinct is to turn and run.
The Catahoulas will use their ability and their mouth
to put their mouth on a hog to stop it and turn it.
So a lot of times you'll see them,
if the hog is running, the Catahoula will be
in hot pursuit and will actually grab on
to the back of the hog to get the hog to spin.
That's what the Catahoula wants to do,
is it wants to face that hog at all times
and have perfect control by having the hog facing it
and the dog right in that hog's face.
Catahoulas can be very aggressive.
They can be aggressive within their own breed,
and they can be aggressive with other breeds,
but typically a dog that is a true Catahoula
should be able to get out and work with any other dog
out there when you're out working in the woods.
A lot of times the dogs,
because they become very territorial on their own property,
they have a little bit of an issue in their own backyard.
But once they have a job to do and you get out
in a hunting situation they forget about that
and they're all about the business.
The NALC is the National Association
of Louisiana Catahoulas.
It was started in October of 1977 and it was designed
to perpetuate the pure-bred Catahoula by keeping
the breed pedigree and keeping track
of the pedigrees of all the Catahoula dogs
within its registry.
In my opinion, the definition of a cur dog is a mixed breed.
Catahoulas are definitely not a mixed breed.
We have had a registry for them since 1977.
They are truly a pure-bred dog in today's world.
They are often confused as a mixed breed
because a lot of people just don't know what they are.
But they are truly pure-bred American dog.
Today the NALC holds Dog Trials and Baying Competitions.
It holds Cow Dog Trials and Conformation Shows also.
So they have competitions in Texas, Louisiana, Florida,
California, and Oregon.
They typically have one show a year
in all of those different venues.
They start out their year with the national show
in Louisiana and they keep track of all
the high point scores for all the different shows
and they have a Top 10 Bay Off, and Top 10 Cow Dog Trial,
and they also have Obedience and it's really a lot of fun.
The NALC tries very hard to perpetuate the breed
to educate the breeders and exhibitors
and just make sure that Catahoulas in general
are in good homes where they're being used
for what they were bred to do.
A Catahoula can make a great pet in the right environment.
A Catahoula, because they're very independent,
because they are incredible thinkers,
because they can be very stubborn,
they can be good pets but they can also be your worst enemy.
If they don't have the right environment
you will not be happy and neither will your Catahoula.
You Catahoula will make sure that you know
that they aren't happy.
They're not a dog that thrives in isolation.
They're very much a pack-oriented dog.
They love their family.
They love to be with you.
If you're an active family with an active lifestyle,
if you like to run, mountain bike ride, skateboard,
then yes, they can absolutely be a pet.
They can also make a great service dog.
But it really depends on the dog,
and it depends on the environment,
and making sure that the owners are smart enough
to outsmart the dog and know what the needs
are for that dog both mentally and physically.
I would say the right environment for a Catahoula
to be a pet would be to have plenty of room to run,
to have exercise daily, and to be part of the family.
Don't think you're going to be putting that Catahoula
out in the backyard and it's going to be happy.
It's not to, it wants to be with you all the time.
The Catahoula breed standard varies slightly
between the males and the females.
The males are between 22 and 25 inches at the withers,
and the females are a little shorter,
22, 23, 24 inches high.
They are a medium-sized dog, medium to large.
They're to be well muscled.
They're not supposed to be real bulldoggy,
and they're not supposed to look like a Greyhoud.
They should be real evenly balanced,
well-muscled, athletic looking animal.
They come in all sorts of different coat colors.
They come in different eye colors.
It really doesn't matter what the coat color
or the eye color is.
What really matters is that the dog has the instincts
to do what the dog was bred for, which is to hunt.
The males typically are right around 70 pounds,
the females about 55 pounds.
They have a very long life expectancy
for a medium to large breed dog.
A lot of Catahoulas live to be an average of 13 years old.
Some even 14 and 15.
They don't have a lot of health problems per say.
They can have hip issues just like any
medium to large breed dog.
So it's important that adult dogs are cleared
from any hip issues before they're used for breeding.
I recommend LFA or PennHIP for those tests.
Typically those are done when the dogs are two years old.
Other than that they don't have a lot of issues.
They can have some skin issues, eye issues,
and hearing issues if you double up the merle gene.
So you have to be careful about that too
and make sure that your dogs are BAER tested
for their hearing and CERF tested for their eyesight.
Doubling up the merle gene is what happens
when you breed a merle Catahoula to a merle Catahoula.
You will have a certain amount of the litter that
has a double merle, some that are single merle,
and you can even have some solids in the mix.
But when you double up the merle gene,
it sometimes can give you excessive white puppies.
Those are puppies that have too much white on them
over their body.
Catahoulas should not have more than 70%
of white on their body.
They should not have an all white head,
and if they don't have any pigment on their ears,
a lot of times they can be deaf.
So you have to be very, very careful.
There are many ways to keep a Catahoula active
if you're going to have a Catahoula in your home as a pet.
Mental stimulation, you can do nose work with the dog.
You can do trailing with the dog.
You can, as long you getting them out
and mentally stimulating them they will be happy.
There's a lot of physical activities you can do.
Walking, running, bicycling, skateboarding.
A lot of dogs like to go to dog parks.
I don't recommend Catahoulas for dog parks
because it may not be your dog that's the issue,
but a lot of people don't have a good handle on their dogs,
and they'll come up and get in the Catahoulas face,
and the Catahoula will not tolerate that.
So if you're out walking your Catahoula,
or just out in public in general, you have to be aware.
You need to make sure that you're thinking for your dog,
because if you're not thinking for your dog,
the dog will definitely think for you.
They're very, very intelligent that way.
It's pretty easy to keep them occupied.
Like I said, don't think that you're going isolate the dog,
because the dog will be miserable.
Even if you're home all day and the dog is with you,
and you go out and you throw the ball in the backyard,
as long as that dog has plenty of room to run
and at least an hour a day for some good physical exercise,
the dog can make a very happy pet.
At Tasso Catahoulas we are blessed
to have some amazing dogs.
The first dog I want to talk about is Tasso's Zydeco Duke.
He has a very long title.
He is a multi Best In Multi-Breed Show winner.
He's a multi Reserve Best In Multi-Breed Show winner.
He has his Grand Champion in UKC.
He has his Lure Coursing title in UKC.
He is also a quad Grand Champion in NALC,
which means he has his Hogbane title,
his Raccoon Treeing title, his Conformation title,
and he is also a registered service dog.
Tasso's Zydeco Duke is a blue merle.
He's a patchwork and he has what would be called
marble eyes because his eyes are half blue and half brown.
Duke is nine years old.
So with all that being said he is a beautiful representation
of the breed with his Conformation and his work ethic.
He has a go that will go all day.
He has a great stop.
When you tell him to stop he's very respectful
when he is out in the trials,
and that's one of the biggest issues of having a dog
that will work is being able to find that off switch.
Sometimes it's hard to find.
In the show ring he's a big showoff.
He absolutely loves it.
There's nothing that the dog won't do to please you.
He just has a great temperament.
As far as his size, he's right in the average
for Catahoula, maybe a little bit on the larger side.
He's about 24 1/2 inches at the shoulder
and weighs about 75 pounds.
He's very athletic, very intelligent, loves to run,
but he also really enjoys being our daughter's service dog.
He has traveled extensively with her,
and he's just a very good dog as far as having
a level head and just being there whenever you need him.
He'll do just about anything in the world
you could ask him to do.
At Tasso Catahoulas we also Tasso's King of Hearts.
We call him Valentino.
He's an absolute love.
He also has done very well in the UKC show ring.
He is a Grand Champion.
He has his Lure Coursing title,
and he has his first Nose Work title.
He also has won several multi Best In Breed shows,
Best In Show wins and he also has several Reserve
Best In Show wins.
He is about 24 inches at the shoulder,
and he weighs about 72 pounds.
He also has a great work ethic.
He has a little bit of a quieter demeanor however.
He's a little easier to travel with.
When we're going to be going somewhere he's our go-to dog.
He loves to travel in the RV, loves to fly on airplanes,
and he's everybody's friend.
Unless you're on the outside of the fence, however.
If you're on the outside of the fence
and trying to come over I would recommend it,
because he turns into a rabid crazed watch dog.
He also has a good off switch though,
and he knows when to use his athleticism.
He's done very well at the NALC trials also.
He's a tri champion so he has his
Hogbane title, his Conformation title,
and he's also a registered service dog.
Valentino is a red patchwork.
Red is actually a dilute of black.
So you don't see as many reds as you do the blue merles.
But he is considered a red patchwork
and he has double-glass eyes.
Tasso's King of Hearts, otherwise known as Valentino,
is six years old.
Tasso's Lady Tarra has done quite well in NALC.
She is my go-to hog dog, my go-to treeing dog.
She loves to bay, she's extremely athletic.
She has done very, very well at the trials,
winning several high points.
She has her Conformation title as well.
She's very correct.
She's a little on the smaller side,
but she is a female so she's supposed to be
a little bit smaller.
She probably weighs about 55 pounds,
which is the average size for a Catahoula female.
She's a black and tan.
She is seven years old.
She also has done will in the UKC ring,
although she's not much of a show girl.
It's not her favorite thing to do,
but she has earned her Grand Champion title.
She'd much rather be out treeing something,
or baying something though.
Or actually working cattle.
She's also a very good little herding dog.
She gets around real quick, and she has a lot of stamina.
She can go all day.
Tasso's Heartbreak Lexie is a red patchwork.
She has double glass eyes and she is four years old.
She is a Grand Champion in UKC.
She is our daughter's predominant service dog.
Bethany travels with Lexie just about wherever she goes.
Lexie does a good job of taking care of her,
and giving her the confidence to be out in the world.
She's a great little dog.
She does like to be in the show ring.
She hasn't been shown as much in NALC yet,
but we're looking forward to adding some titles
to her in the near future.
Bitter Brush's Babette is six months old.
She is a typical Catahoula puppy.
She's has a lot of energy.
She is red leopard and she has the hazel eyes
that are common in the red leopard coat color.
It's not very often that you see the blue eyes
in the red leopard.
A lot of times you see the yellow eyes,
or what we call hazel eyes.
She's a lot of fun.
I think she's going to be a great working dog,
and a great show dog also.
That's my goal as a breeder is to produce
Catahoulas that have a great work ethic
and that look great in the show ring,
and look really good in your backyard.
The Catahoula Leopard Dog is a great dog.
They can be a wonderful family dog.
They can be your best friend,
and an incredible companion and watch dog.
But with that being said,
they can also make your life absolutely miserable
if they don't receive the adequate mental
and physical stimulation that this breed requires.
There's a lot of responsibility that goes
into the breeding of these dogs.
They have to be healthy and you have to make sure
that you go to a breeder that does testing, health testing.
The other thing that you need to do
is make sure that the breeder is willing to help you
and be there if you have problems with your puppy
or with your grown dog.
We don't want our dogs to end up in the shelters.
We don't want our Catahoulas miserable
and creating a bad image for the breed.
They are first and foremost a hunting dog.
They are very intelligent and with that being said
they can just be your ultimate best friend,
but they can also make your life a living hell
if they don't have the correct stimulation,
both mentally and physically.