As hunting dogs, modern curs and feists are used mainly for squirrels and raccoons, although you may see the larger curs trailing anything from bears to mountain lions.

Bred to hunt mountain lions as well as to herd, curs can also be trained to lure in coyotes that are trying to defend their pups or their hunting territory from other canine intruders.

As hunting dogs, modern curs and feists are used mainly for squirrels and raccoons, although you may see the larger curs trailing anything from bears to mountain lions.

Photo by Larry Case / Outdoors columnist Larry Case poses with Dotzie, his mountain cur dog who looks forward to the late fall and trips to the woods to hunt squirrels.

If you're thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, you might have come across the term "Cur." Here's what it means and what you can expect.

13th century origin The origin of Mountain Curs dates back to the 13th century Britain from dogs bred for hunting and herding. Many were born with bob tails, which gave rise to the word curtail.

The original mountain cur is an American classic and a national treasure. It is a dog born and bred in the rugged hills of Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and the Carolinas. This dog was tempered in ...

Two Mountain Cur squirrel dogs announce the presence of a treed squirrel. (Tom Lounsbury/Hearst Michigan) Squirrel dogs, such as this feist, are usually trained to retrieve downed squirrels.

It was the beginning of a string of successful trees for Daisy, Gilley’s highly reliable but somewhat long-in-the-tooth mountain cur.