The Catahoula Leopard Dog is one of the oldest North American dog breeds, named after Louisiana’s Catahoula Parish. The precise origins of the breed are unclear, but is likely that it originated in the 19th century when French settlers introduced the Beauceron and bred them with the dogs kept by Native Americans. The French described the native dogs as having haunting glass eyes, a prized trait among Catahoula owners. The name of the dog and the parish is thought to derive from a French interpretation of the Choctaw word for their own nation, ‘Couthaougoula’.
Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards signed a bill in 1979 making the Catahoula the official state dog in recognition of its place in Louisiana history. In 2007, Centenary College of Louisiana voted the Catahoula the school mascot. In the novel, “Bobbie Faye’s Very Bad Day” by Toni McGee Causey, a Catahoula was used by State Police to help the FBI track down Bobbie Faye.
Catahoulas come in many different colors, and the leopard-like coat is the result of the merle gene, which dilutes the color in areas that randomly present the characteristic of the gene. Some combinations include red leopard, blue leopard, black, gray, tri-color, quad-color and patchwork. They are loyal defenders of the home and loved as pets.
