Catahoula Leopard Dog
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The breed's info is divided in four sections; namely:
the breed's history ,
the breed's main stats ,
the dog's potential health issues
and finally, how the breed scored in 26 different categories.
All the above information should give you a respectively good overview for the dog of your interest.
Dog Breed's Main Info
The Breed's History:
The history of the Catahoula dog breed extends from prehistory through modern times, in the early 21st century. Both the Catahoula lineage and the origins of the name "Catahoula" are uncertain, however there are various theories.
One theory posits that the Catahoula is the result of Native Americans having bred their own dogs with molossers and greyhounds brought to Louisiana by Hernando de Soto in the 16th century. As for the aforementioned Native American dog breeds, for a time it was believed that they were bred with or from red wolves, but this idea is not supported by modern DNA analysis.
Several recent studies have looked at the remains of prehistoric dogs from American archaeological sites and each has indicated that the genetics of prehistoric American dogs are similar to European and Asian domestic dogs rather than wild New World canids. In fact, these studies indicate that Native Americans brought several lines (breeds) of already domesticated dogs with them on their journeys from Asia to North America.
Another theory suggests that the breed originated three centuries later, some time in the 19th century, after French settlers introduced the Beauceron to the North American continent. The French told of strange-looking dogs with haunting glass eyes that were used by the Indians to hunt game in the swamp, and the theory states that the Beauceron and the Red Wolf-war dog were interbred to produce the Catahoula.
There are two theories regarding the origin of the word "Catahoula". One theory is that the word is a combination of two Choctaw words "okhata", meaning lake, and "hullo", meaning beloved. Another possibility is that the word is a French transformation of the Choctaw Indian word for their own nation, "Couthaougoula" pronounced "Coot-ha-oo-goo-la".
In 1979, Governor Edwin Edwards signed a bill making the Catahoula the official state dog of Louisiana in recognition of their importance in the history of the region.
Country of Origin:
United States
Breed Group:
Herding
Height:
1 foot, 8 inch. to 2 feet, 2 inch. (50,8 to 66,04 cm)
Weight:
50 to 90 pounds (22,67 to 40,83 Kg)
Life Span:
10 to 14 years
Potential Health Issues:
Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD),
Deafness,
Hip Dysplasia
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