A Carolina Dog (The Dixie Dingo)

Bitter Southerner ^ | 12-27-2014 | Cy Brown

[blam]

Story by Cy Brown
Photos by Kaylinn Gilstrap
Deember 27, 2014

He got Penny for Christmas. He didn’t know he would get a trip into the deepest reaches of the 14,000-year history of dogs in North America.

Things we love in the South: Moon Pies, SEC football, Otis Redding, Flannery O’Connor, Cheerwine and, probably more than anything else, our dogs.

What is it about Southerners and our dogs?

Maybe it's because in the South, we're a bit more country than our cousins to the north. Perhaps we are a generation or two fewer removed from the time when having a dog was essential to surviving and living off the land. Our four-legged brethren are a bridge between that wild past and a civilized present. We take them into the woods with us and let them sniff out our game and then retrieve it for us. We train them to protect our property. And they do this in exchange for a warm place to sleep, a full belly and the love of a human family.

We love dogs because they were shaped by us and their history runs concurrently with ours.

(snip)

But you may have never heard of the most Southern dog alive.

This dog's ancient bloodlines were never altered by humans. Its ancestors crossed the Bering Strait with the first humans ever to settle this land — I'm talking about North America, not just the South.

(snip)

They're called Carolina Dogs — some folks call them Dixie Dingoes — and I have one.

(snip)

[blam]

I posted this article to FR, The Dixie Dingo , over thirteen years ago.(Time for an update)

Thanks to FReeper vigilantcitizen for this current article.

- Roll Tide -

[blam]

It was just yesterday that I updated my FR page and included a picture of my current crop of dogs. (Click on my name to see) The top picture is my new crew and the bottom is the crew that I had when I joined FR...sadly, they have all passed on.

[blam]

[Joe 6-pack]

WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

[goldstategop]

Doggie Ping!

Many vets are morons... they don’t know a purebred dog when they see one.

My German Shepherd always gets mistaken for a mix. She’s solid black.

Getting a purebred Carolina Dog from an animal shelter isn’t that unusual especially if uninformed employees lazily classify a rare breed dog as a “mix.”

Purebred dogs aren’t mutts or mongrels - period.

[Darksheare]

Second picture: “Skeptical dog is skeptical.”
That’s just the look it is giving, as if it just doesn’t quite believe the promises of treats by the photographer.
“I’ve been fooled a couple times like that. Either you have meds or it’s a trip to the vet!”

[Ditter]

Interesting articles, thank you. We also have 4 dogs, one is a Black Mouth Cur, the other 3 are JRT’s. I know nothing about the BMC except that are not an AKC recognized breed. Ours comes from a family of hard working cattle dogs but Cate has never worked a day in her life. She is a great watch dog and companion and she is always close to us in the house.

[BwanaNdege]

Most of the dogs kept by the semi-nomadic pastoral tribes in East Africa (Pokot, Turkana, Karamajong, Sanburu, Maasai) look just like very hungry, skinny versions of these Dixie Dingos.

Funny thing is, I never saw any that bore any resemblance to the African Wild Dog or jackals or the various African foxes.

[goldstategop]

Canaan Dogs, Dholes, Australian Dingoes, New Guinea Singing Dogs and American Dingoes are pariah dogs - very primitive dogs human intervention has done little to modify. Despite that they’re all dogs, not wolves.

[Tennessee Conservative]

They look a lot like my girls except for the ears. The Carolina dog's ears stand up and my girls ears lay down. My girls are half Black Mouth Yellow Mountain Cur, another popular dog in Dixie. They are excellent hunters.

[puppypusher]

My dog is a Border Collie/Cattle dog mix and she is a beauty.She’s mostly black with Merle on her front legs and a grey patch that runs from her tummy up to be neck.She also has a white tip on her tail.

We rescued her from Tennessee when she was a puppy.

This dog can go out and walk for miles and still want to play upon getting home.

Talk about the Energizer Bunny.She has him beat by a country mile.

[pugmama]

Re....... Many vets are morons

Must say I take exception to this statement. Know many Vets, married to one. No morons in the bunch.

[taildragger]

I know nothing about the BMC except that are not an AKC recognized breed."

See the link below, and Shhh.. when the world finds out just how wonderful the BMC's are, they will all want one :-).

http://www.blackmouthcur.com/FAQs.htm#What%20does%20the%20Black

[katana]

It being quite a bit harder to be accepted into an American Veterinary college (due to the very limited number of schools - seven I've been told) than a medical school the competition for spots is even more selective. Then there's the whole requirement of treating medical conditions in a nearly countless variety of species. So yeah, the ones who make it are unlikely to be morons. But Carolina's are still unusual and a breed that has probably not been covered well in their training or clinical experience.

We have a one and a half year old female Carolina rescue (spade when we got her, unfortunately) and it was a trainer who had owned one herself that clued us into Sam's breed. We checked off every marker that distinguishes the breed and only wish there was a DNA test available to confirm it. Most intelligent dog I've ever owned with some behaviors that are just "different". Very glad we have her at such a young age and may enjoy being her pack for a few years to come.

[Ditter]

Black Mouth Curs are wonderful dogs! Cate is 10 years old now, a bit overweight. My dogs always got a lot of exercise chasing squirrels and rabbits but they are getting old now and sleep a lot in their beds. Cate has an arthritic shoulder so I don't walk her. Fierce watchdog but would never bite anyone.

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

beautiful, just beautiful pictures.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I’m with you, PM. Our daughter is studying to be a vet tech. BS in Bio. 20 years as close to horses as anybody could possibly be. Smart as can be.

[iontheball]

My daughter adopted a stray caught in New Orleans at the time of hurricane Katrina that has some of the attributes of the Carolina dog. She is a light brown/white hair mix , with a foxy, lighter frame than the Carolinas. She has the same tail size and mannerisms. She obviously had to fight to survive in her past because she loves the outdoors and to hunt. She is fast as lightning as a fox, having stalked and caught squirrels and cottontails, but she is the sweetest dog with kids.

[taildragger]

Know many Vets, married to one. No morons in the bunch.

We are friends with a power couple that are both Vets. Smarter than the average bear they are. They often tell us how much harder it is to get into Vet School than Med School :-).

[pugmama]

These Carolina dogs are beautiful. We plan on trying to find one to add to our pack of pugs and a Swedish Vallhund.