Welcome to the Family Miss Nola Blues …everything a Cracker Cur should be.

5/10/11

Lazy Hollow welcomes Miss Nola Blues to the Family…

Nola is a Florida Cracker Cur. She was born on 3/10/2011.  We’ve already had tons of questions/comments about her unique looks.  The most common question being “What kind of dog is that?!?!”

WHAT IS A CUR?

Folks familiar with the term “Cur” usually understand it to mean “Mutt,” but it’s not quite that simple.  Technically, all dogs are “mutts” until someone decides to set a standard and name the “breed.”  Genetically speaking, a dog is a dog is a dog.  Without human intervention, there would be no “breeds” as we know them.  Instead, it is likely there would be regional similarities in the general shape and size of dogs depending on their environment and food options.  For example, if the only available food option was a rabbit, big, slow dogs probably wouldn’t survive…conversely I don’t see a Jack Russell taking down a deer (but I bet it would try!!!)

A Cur is a “breed” which has been developed regionally based on function.  I believe the term (cur) is more typically used in the south.  Old Yeller for example is based on a “black mouth yellow cur.” This “breed” now has a standard and a registry to keep them true to form.  Black mouth yellow curs bred to other “pure” black mouth yellow curs can be registered as a “pure breed,” and responsible breeders will only breed dogs exhibiting the traits consistent with the breed standard. Several other curs which have become “breeds” include the “Mountain Cur,” the “Catahoula Leopard Cur,” and of course, the “Florida Cracker Cur.”

To my knowledge, the Cracker Cur is the only recognized “breed” which has not established a standard look.  They are bred for function and the responsible breeders only breed dogs with a strong work ethic.

Partin Bloodlines

Nola comes to us from Jim Fraser at Deep Marsh Ranch.  Her markings are characteristic of the Catahoula Leopard dogs which are part of the Florida Cracker Cur’s history.  Jim maintains the Partin Family bloodlines through selective breeding.  Nola’s father “Buddy” is a bobtail yellow and an amazing example of what a Cracker Cur should be.  Her mother “Lady” is a black and white and is relentless in her hog hunting pursuits.

 

Cool Name

Why the name Miss Nola Blues?  The Catahoula Leopard Cur was developed in Louisiana…She looks like a Catahoula, We Love the Big Easy, and there’s no place better to find great Blues, so Miss Nola Blues made sense to us. (Her color pattern is also referred to as a Blue Merle)

So now you know they’re bred for function, but what function?  As the story goes, Hernando Desoto came to FL in 1539, and with him came the first Florida Dogs.  Florida is no easy place to survive and the dogs which could tolerate heat, pests, predator pressure, and still perform their duty were the ones that lived on.  Over the past 450+ years, the breed has evolved into a hunter (Hogs today), a family protector, and of course a herding dog.  The term cracker comes from the sound of the whip used by cattle ranchers.  The old cracker cows grazed over large expanses of scrub meadows, and the cracker cur had to cover those distances and bring back the cows.  Know for their stamina and tenacity, God help the man or beast which threatens a Cracker Cur’s family.

I want one!

If you’re looking for a great dog for your farmstead, your hunting pack, or just a great companion like Nola, look Jim up at:

Jim Fraser – Deep Marsh Ranch – Okeechobee, FL – 954-658-0108

His dogs work hogs, they work cattle, and the bloodlines run deep!