The American Leopard Hound is an American breed of hunting dog. It is recognized by the
United Kennel Club
The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to indivi ...
(UKC) as a scenthound and is in the
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kenn ...
's Foundation Stock Service.
Characteristics
The American Leopard Hound is 21 to 27 inches tall and may weigh from 35 to 75 pounds. It comes in a leopard or spotted pattern and may be red, blue, merle, brindle, black or another color, with white making up less than a third of the coat. The American Leopard Hound has a dense, short coat, medium-length drop ears and may have yellow, brown, or blue eyes.
History
The American Leopard Hound is thought to be descended from dogs brought to the New World by
Spanish conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...
s to Mexico. It was later brought to the United States by settlers who used it to hunt hogs. It was recognized as the Leopard Cur by the UKC in 1998. The name was changed to American Leopard Hound in 2008.
While the American Leopard Hound is not formally recognized by the AKC, it is in their Foundation Stock Service,
and has been since 2012.
See also
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Dogs portal
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List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
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Catahoula Leopard Dog
The Catahoula Leopard Dog is an American dog breed named after Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It became the state dog of Louisiana in 1979. It is recognized by the United Kennel Club under the name ''Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog'', while the Ame ...
References
{{dog-stub
Dog breeds originating in the United States