So Mrs. Irish and I are in the thinking stages of getting a dog now that we are empty nesters. To that end we had a chance encounter on the way to the cabin Sunday to plant grass seed.

We were riding into the woods and coming the other way were a couple of hunters headed out. They rolled the window down to talk for a little bit on the road and come to find out they are squirrel hunting with a little female Cur. I ask him what kind of pet a dog like that would make, because we were considering getting a dog. He went on to tell me that he had her our that day training her and back home he had a champion bloodline male Feist at home and he was going to breed them. He told me that he would give me one of the puppies if I promised to take the dog squirrel hunting.

I think we want a female. This dog would be a companion for us and be treated like one of the family, but it would have to stay in a crate during the day while we went to work. Other times she would otherwise go hunting with me, hiking with us, run around the house, play, etc...

Add to this, that I have never been squirrel hunting with a dog before, so I know nothing. I told this to the guy and we exchanged numbers and he said he and his brother would take me (us) hunting with one of the dogs and give us some pointers.

Am I barking up the wrong tree considering this type of dog?

I've got a Feist and she is a great family pet, a little hyper still even at 4 years old especially when guests come to the house, mediocre squirrel hunter but that is my fault - even though she will flat out get after a squirrel and that came naturally. She is spoiled rotten and if I'm sitting in the recliner, she's laying next to me with her head in my lap. She weighs around 26 pounds. I can't speak to the Cur breed, but from what I gather when I was researching getting this one, they too make good family pets and generally are a bit larger than the feists. So you would be looking at probably a 35-40 pound dog I would think? Would be a great squirrel hunter and companion, think it would make a great dog for that situation.

Once upon a time I had a girlfriend who had small dog that she put in a crate any time she was gone from home. I could NEVER do that to a dog.

I don't like the idea either. Which is part of the reason that we have just thought about waiting until we retire until we get a dog.

She would only be in the kennel about 7 hours a day. From the time Mrs. Irish left to go to work until I got home.

It's either that or fence in the back yard. Which is not out of the question either.

Thanks for the reply.

I have a large fenced in backyard and also a 20X10 dog run. I crate trained mine as a puppy, but now the majority of the time when I leave, she just stays out in the house fine with no issues. When I'm home and she wants to go run, I throw her in the backyard. If I'm going to be leaving for a longer period of time, she goes in the dog run.

Ive got a feist and had her brother who was half cur and feist. They are really smart and listen really well. I never really hunted them but they are always treeing around the house. The last two nights my feist has been treeing coons with my bluetick gyp on the creek.

Another thing. Mine would bay snakes up around the house when they were younger. I've seen then bay timber rattlers. One got bit and that slowed it down.

I have a female BMC and she's a treeing machine to the point of annoying unless you are actually hunting. Every time I walk out the back door she gets up and runs out in the yard and trees a squirrel and barks her head off non-stop. She's a very good pet, protective and stout as they come.

A mountain feist is about the worst thing ever.

My friend has a Black Mouth Cur and if you like 75lb balls of energy they're great. She's brindled and webbed all the way to her claws.

My best dogs ever were brindle Black faced Mountain curs. If you remember I lost one a couple years ago after having her for 10 years and it was tough. That dog was incredible. Loyal to a fault and just a great friend.

We have another now that is a boxer Black face mountain cur Mix, and he is just as good as that one. Super dogs IMO.

Love my mtn cur. Hes an all around good dog.

I have a Original Mountain Cur and I'll tell you Irish, she is the best #1 dog that has ever owned me.

Sadie weighs around 38-44 lbs. which to me is a great sized dog.

Her energy level is at a very high level. She is wide open most of the time and is always looking for some critter to get after from a squirrel, to a rabbit, to a coon, to a chicken or even a cow. Sadie needs lots of exercise time to keep her energy levels in check. Of course we have no problem with that as we live out in the country on our small farm.

Extremely loyal, obedient and loving.

Awesome pet and companion to me.

My wife, Renee, has grown to love her almost as much as I do.

The feist would probably bring the size down some but I have no idea about their temperament.

The Cur would probably bring plenty of good temperament to the mix in my opinion.

Most likely would be a good dog for you and Ms. Irish.

Thanks for all the input guys. Keep it coming. I don't take pet ownership lightly and I want to make sure that Mrs. Irish and I can make a good home for a pet/hunting dog before we make the decision to take on that responsibility.

I have a BMC that I'm pretty sure is smarter than I am. One of the many cool things about him is that he's balls to the wall outdoors, but is also a great house dog. Cuz-Pat pretty much nailed the description of a Cur. I have nothing but good things to say. I can't help on the Feist side as I have no experience with them.

Both of ours were super smart, totally house broken and loyal and really out to please. Neither of them EVER went to the bathroom in the house!

They are also very protective of my wife. My old one was actually scary to anyone approaching my wife quickly.

My new one is super nice, but huge..around 90 pounds but he would die before anyone could hurt my wife for sure. Gentle dogs too...they both had 2 cats for best friends. They sleep next to each other.

BMC is a great breed..unless your a squirrel...then look out!

My new one im training to track deer too. HE LOVES IT. For that alone you should get one. Did I mention they are dang good looking critters too?

I have a mountain feist, she is squirrel crazy. Weighs about 20 , brindle and super smart. I’ve had curs before, just wanted a small dog.

Irish, I have the perfect dog for you. About a 6 month old male mixed ??? Someone put him out at the church next to my camp. After a few days he made it to the camp, told the wife I could feed him or kill him, her choice. Naturally, he got fed.

Shows strong herding instincts, he herds our beagle around the yard. He has learned to sit in about 2 days and will come when called. Seems to learn pretty quick and is not aggressive to our smaller dog.

Solid white and his ears flop over. Body size looks kind of like a lab, may be a lab/shepherd mix. He'd make someone a good dog if they put a little time in with him.

Man... Thanks for the offer, but like I said, we're just in the research stage of getting a dog. We both work corporate jobs and both travel fairly often (Usually not at the same time), so we need to figure all this out first.

I have what someone told me was a cur feist. Ours is a animal killing machine even at 14. Still lots of energy. Runner, fence jumper and fence climber. He's not much of a lap dog. Destructive when he was younger. He barks... a lot!!!! At his peak wight he was a solid 38lbs of muscle.