Being referred to, many times, as the largest and most assertive of the cattle dogs, the Catahoula Leopard Dog was originally from the parish of Catahoula, Louisiana. It was used to hunt wild cattle and boars. They will also hunt raccoons, bear and a variety of other wild animals. Catahoula Leopard Dog Breeders will tell you that this breed was the result of cross breeding the Beauceron and the “war dogs”. In the early sixteenth century Hernando de Soto brought, to Louisiana, the “war dogs” (Mastiffs and Greyhounds). Then in the eighteen hundreds the French settlers came over with their dogs, the Beauceron (a hunting breed). The Catahoula Leopard Dog was the result of the two. Since 1979 the Catahoula Leopard Dog has been the official state dog of Louisiana.

Originally there were three separate lines of this dog, the Wright Line, the Fairbanks Line, the McMillin Line. The Wright Line was the largest, weighing 90-110 pounds. These were produced from the original Hernando de Soto’s dogs. The medium sized line was the Fairbanks Line, they weighed between 65-75 pounds and were brindle to yellow in color. The McMillin Line was the smallest of these dogs at 50-60 pounds and were blue in color and sported the ‘glass eyes’. Catahoula Leopard Dog Breeders of this time mixed these these lines back and forth to create the Catahoula Leopard Dog seen today.

The Catahoula Leopard Dog is very agile and athletic, making them a great herding dog. They are able to work cattle, sheep and other livestock by intimidating the herd and they are very good at being able to find livestock in the swamp lands, forests, canyons, or mountains. They surround and hold the animals until its owner is able get to them. Today’s Catahoula Leopard Dog breeders aim for the preferred size of 20-26 inches tall and 50-90 pounds. The adult male in good working condition weighs about 60-70 pounds.

This dog is a very loving and loyal companion, but is also very intelligent and thinks for itsself. Isolation is detrimental to this dog; they need and thrive on interaction. They have extremely high energy levels and require daily exercise. They love to have a ‘job’. Most Catahoula Leopard Dog breeders will tell you that the ideal place for this dog is on a ranch or farm, as they need to have room to run and burn energy. They can be territorial and will alert their owners to anything out of the ordinary.