| Cur | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Painting bySydenham Edwards, 1800 | |||||||||||||
 Engraving byThomas Bewick, 1791 | |||||||||||||
| Other names | Cur dog, drover's dog | ||||||||||||
| Origin | England | ||||||||||||
| Breed status | Extinct | ||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
Acur was a dog breed used by cattle drovers in England. In the United States, a short-haired dog used in hunting and herding is called "cur-tailed", or "cur" for short.
In modern speech, the termcur is usually used to describe amongrel dog, particularly if its temperament is unfriendly or aggressive.[1][2][3] The term is believed to be derived from theOld Norsekurra, meaning 'to grumble or growl'.[1][2][3] In Victorian speech,cur could be used as an insult.[4]
InEngland, the cur, also called the drover's dog, was a distinctbreed ofdog used by cattledrovers; they are now extinct.[5][6] The cur was described byRalph Beilby andThomas Bewick in their 1790 workA general history of quadrupeds, as well as bySydenham Edwards in his 1800Cynographia Britannica, as dogs principally used by drovers to drive cattle.[5][7][8] Curs were described as heelers, nipping the heels of cattle to make them move and ducking below the subsequent kick. They were said to be common in England, particularly theNorth of England, but were virtually unknown in the rest of the United Kingdom.[5][7][8]
The cur was described as being larger, stronger and longer legged than shepherds'collies with shorter and smoother coats; in colour they were generally black,brindled, orgrizzled with a white neck and legs and occasionally a white face, they had some feathering on their legs andhalf-pricked ears.[5][7][8] A defining characteristic of the cur was that many were born with short, stumpy tails, which gave the appearance of their having beendocked.[5][7][8] Edwards described the breed's ancestry as likely a mixture of collie,lurcher,English mastiff, orGreat Dane.[8] Their character was described as cunning, clever, ever busy and restless; it was said they could differentiate their master's cattle from those of strangers, and they would separate the strange cattle from their master's herds.[5][7][8]
Although it is uncertain when or why the breed became extinct, it likely disappeared in the mid-19th century.[5] Some modern writers believe it was the cur, not the collie, that was crossed with thedingo to create the now-extinctHalls Heeler in Australia. This would make the cur an ancestor of both theAustralian cattle dog and theAustralian stumpy tail cattle dog, the latter inheriting the cur's bobtail.[9][10]
In theUnited States, the term cur is also used to describe a distinctivetype of short-haired dog that is used for both hunting and herding that was developed in theSouthern United States.[3] When describing these dogs, the term is actually an abbreviation of cur-tailed, as in a dog with anaturally occurring bobtail like that of the extinct English cur; many of the earlier examples of this type had a bobtail and some still do.[11] A number of curbreeds have beenstandardised within the United States, some have been recognised by theUnited Kennel Club; these breeds include theBlack Mouth Cur, theBlue Lacy, theCatahoula Leopard dog, theMountain Cur, theStephens Cur, theTreeing Cur, and theTreeing Tennessee Brindle.[11]
These versatile dogs are used in a number of roles: for herding livestock, as well as trailing and locating lost livestock in thick scrubland; and in hunting a variety of game, includingsquirrels,opossums,raccoons,feral pigs,cougars, andAmerican black bears, locating game both by sight and scent.[11][12] While distinctive, American curs vary greatly in size; the various breeds and strains can be from 12 to 25 inches (30 to 64 cm) in height, and 40 to 95 pounds (18 to 43 kg) in weight.[11]
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