Don’t get us wrong. We like pigs. But you do NOT want to encounter a razorback pig in the wild. Named for its hair-covered, high profile backbone, these hogs are ruthless and grumpy (stinking dangerous) when they’re backed into a corner. They can weigh anywhere from 150–300 pounds, and the boys have tusks.

So when the first folks to settle in Louisiana found the woods full of these critters, people generally so poor that they had to make full value of a razorback (read: “head sauce” (pronounced sowce and meaning hog head cheese), they needed a little help.

Enter the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog, a “catch” dog that was used to chase a razorback until it tired, and then cornering it. Originally called the Catahoula Cur or the Catahoula Hog Dog (named after Catahoula Parish in Louisiana, Catahoula being a Choctaw Indian word translated as “sacred lake”), the dog’s name was officially changed to the Catahoula Leopard Dog after becoming Louisiana’s state dog in 1979.

Catahoulas are currently listed on the AKC’S Foundation Stock Service (FSS), and when they gain full recognition, they’ll be assigned to the Herding Group. Regardless of size, color, or color of eyes, however, for many Catahoula owners, the working instinct is the true acid test of purity in their breed.

Image: Catahoula Leopard Dog by Dottie Dracos
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