Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 05:15:28 -0400

From: dennisr dennisr[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MGL.CA

Subject: Re: Feist and Cur - Additional info required



I am the list owner of the Earthdog-Squirrel Dog E-mail Discuusion Group.

Our homepage is at

http://www.zmall.com/pet_talk/dog-faqs/activities/edsdhp.html



We believe that we must preserve terrier and dachshund instincts by

breeding, registering and promoting certain canine performance sports such

as "going to ground" and Squirrel Dog Testing. I stress that in the

American Kennel Club and the American Working Terrier Association "Earthdog"

tests, that the rats are pets in cages and the dogs cannot touch the rats.

In the National Kennel Club "Squirrel Dog Tests", the dogs are marked as to

finding squirrels in a tree that can be verified by a judge only. There is

no marks for shooting the squirrel. The objective of the tests is to measure

canine instincts and certificates are awarded that is registered in Kennel

Club Registeries for future generations.



We want to collect all info pertaining to our canine breeds.



The term "feist" and "cur" often are referred to as a dog of uncertain

bloodlines. However certain feist and cur dog varities have been preserved

in Appalachia and Southern Ontario Canada that are bred for purpose since

the 1700's and have been registered since 1980.



Wiilliam Faulkner (a feist man himself) in "Go Down Moses" (1942) Random

Books, later published as "The Bear", uses the term.



Goethe (he hated dogs) in "Faust" refers to the word.



The "American Dialect Dictionary" gives several spellings for Feist (feest,

fyste, fice, feist, fist) and several definitions.



In Appalachian literature, Horace Kephardt's "Our Southern Highlanders",

1913 uses the term.



If anyone is interested in further info one such article for reference is





Davis, Donald.

Feist or fiction? : The squirrel dog of the southern mountains.

p. 193-201.

Source: Journal of Popular Culture. v26 n3. Winter 1992. p. 193-201.

Article Length: Long (31+ col inches).

Article Type: Feature.

Includes references.

Summary: The connection between Feist dogs in the Southern US and social

and cultural developments in this same area is explored. The dogs held a

variety of roles, from hunters to sources of pride for their owners.



Any other references to feist or cur would be appreciated.



Dennis Reay

dennisr[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mgl.ca