Stephens' Cur.

UKC: Powerful, agile tree dog of small to medium size; originally a strain of Mountain Cur bred by the family of Hugh Stephens in Kentucky. Wikipedia: Small, compact, scenthound-like cur; high-energy with strong hunting instincts; adapts poorly to being kept as a pet; declared a separate breed in 1970..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.

35–55LBWeight, all linesbreed 35 to 55 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

16 to 23 in

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC range for the breed, not by sex.

Weight

35 to 55 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC states a maximum only (55 lb); the 35 lb floor is Wikipedia's figure, citing Morris 2001.

Coat

UKC: Outer coat short, smooth or rough but not wooly; undercoat short, dense and soft. Color black; white markings allowed up to one-third. Wikipedia: Short, black with some white markings on the extremities.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC Coat and Color. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · Short outer coat over a short, dense, soft undercoat (UKC Coat)

DerivedUnited Kennel Club

Derived from the UKC coat description (short dense = 4). No measured data.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC History and General Appearance. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

UKC: Excels at squirrel and raccoon; used in packs on mountain lion and bears; 'strong treeing instincts on all game'. Wikipedia: Predominantly squirrel and raccoon; too small to hunt black bear and cougar singly, but in a pack considered to have courage to take them.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC History. Sources agree. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

UKC: Fast, hard hunter that carries its head high on track. 'Open or semi-open on track is preferred, but silent trailing is acceptable. Good changeover at the tree is preferred.'

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

UKC Characteristics, quoted. Mouth on track: open or semi-open preferred.

Field trial standard

UKC rulebook: Stephens' Cur is a recognized cur breed in UKC Licensed Cur & Feist Events, including Cur-Only hunts. Registration needs a three-generation pedigree and proof of registration; the accepted registry is Stephen's Stock Registration. Squirrel hunt honor rules (rev. Jan 1 2016): dog must tree bark before being declared treed; first dog treed scores 100, second 50, third 25; casts of 1, 1.5 or 2 hours.

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club

Rulebook read from the PDF. The scoring rules apply to all cur breeds.

No KENAI kennel lists the Stephens' Cur yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called: Stephens' Stock Cur, Stephens Stock, Stephens Stock Mountain Cur, Little Blacks

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your stephens' cur, on the record.

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