Foster Update 05/17/11: Speckles is progressing nicely.  Although she is very timid, she is the least aggressive dog I have ever spent time with.  If she doesn’t know someone and they approach, she will put her tail between her legs and let them pet her.  As for everything else, she is the sweetest dog I have fostered yet.  She has yet to have a accident in the house.  She doesn’t chew anything, and she is a great companion.  She loves to run around the yard but she won’t go far, she’s too scared to!  She loves to be loved.  If you stop petting her, she will nudge you until you pet her.  I would recommend her to anyone looking for a well trained, relaxed companion.

Speckles came to us from the Southern Comfort Animal Rescue when it had a fire.  Speckles is a beautiful Catahoula mix. She is very shy but moves playfully like a sprite! She has a quiet, sweet, little bark.

According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is believed to have originated from Nordic Wolfhound being introduced some three to five hundred years before the Spanish arrived - However, no one will really know for sure. The state of Louisiana is cited as the point of origin, particularly the area of Catahoula. In 1979, the breed was designated the state dog of Louisiana. The Catahoula was named after a Parish in Northeastern Louisiana and after the mottled spots on its coat. At one time this breed was used to round up feral pigs and cattle -- livestock that had escaped, and was living in woods and swamps. It involved team effort that is highly coordinated and organized, fast paced, dangerous, and a marvel to watch. The ideal dog team usually numbers three, and they must work together. Otherwise, the one pig can kill all three in a matter of minutes. Each dog has to be aware of what the pig and the other two dogs are doing and react accordingly. Hunters sometimes used the Catahoula to trail and tree raccoons, but this dominant breed is more at home acting the thug with obstinate boars. This dog is used particularly on the difficult task of driving and rounding hogs and unruly cattle. The Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog is independent, protective, and territorial. Loving with their family and all people they know well and reserved with strangers (this would include strange children). They need to make up to a person, not a person make up to them. Of course there are temperaments on both sides of this, but this is for the average dog. They mature right around 2 and it is as if a light goes on and they say to themselves "I am an adult now and I need to act grown up." This breed's reservation with strangers should not be noticed in a pup, but will show as the dog matures. Although affectionate with his master, the Catahoula is not recommended for the casual pet owner who is uninterested in allowing the dog to function in his intended capacity. For the right owner, this is a protective yet dominating canine. Signs of timidly on a leash should not be taken as cowardness, but the intolerance for strangers. This breed needs a dominant owner who shows strong leadership. They have of life expectancy of 12-13 years.