Description and Characteristics
– Feists are small to medium-sized dogs, measuring 10 to 18 inches (25 to 46 cm) tall and weighing between 15 to 30 pounds (6.8 to 14 kg).
– They have short coats, long legs, and ears that can be button, erect, or short hang, set high on the head.
– The tail of a feist can be natural, bobtail, or docked.
– Feists can be purebred, crossbred, or mixed-breed dogs, with little consistency in appearance.
Hunting Behavior
– Feists work above ground to chase small prey, particularly squirrels.
– They locate squirrels using their eyes, ears, and nose.
– Once they tree a squirrel, they bark loudly and circle the tree.
– Feists chase the squirrel until it leaves their sight, displaying agility and speed.
Varieties and History
– Different named varieties of feists have been developed, including Mountain Feists and Treeing Feists.
– Mountain Feists include breeds such as Baldwin Feist, Buckley Feist, and Galla Creek Feist.
– Treeing Feists include breeds like Atomic Feist, Barger Feist, and Original Cajun Squirrel Dog.
– Feists have a long history and can be traced back for centuries.
– George Washington mentioned them in his diary in 1770, describing them as small foist-looking yellow curs.
– Abraham Lincoln wrote about fice dogs in his poem, ‘The Bear Hunt.’
– The breed was popularized by President Teddy Roosevelt, who frequently hunted with a feist named Skip.
– Claude Shumate believed that feists were descended from Native American dogs mixed with small terriers from Britain.
Similar Breeds
– Similar dogs to feists include Smooth and Wire Fox Terriers.
– Jack Russell Terriers are also similar in appearance but have some distinguishing physical characteristics.
– Fox Terriers and feists are often predominantly white to be visible to hunters.
– Other variants of this type include the Russell Terrier, Parson Russell Terrier, and Rat Terrier.
– The original fox terrier type was documented in England in the 18th century.
Further Reading and External Links
– Davis and Stotkit (1992) wrote a paper titled ‘Feist or Fiction? The Squirrel Dog of the Southern Mountains’ in The Journal of Popular Culture.
– Gray (2007) published an article called ‘Introduction to the Treeing Feist: a squirrel dog breed history’ in Countryside & Small Stock Journal.
– William Faulkner referenced the Feist dog in his works, including ‘The Sound and the Fury.’
– The American Treeing Feist Association is an organization focused on this dog breed.
– Nationalkennelclub.com provides breed standards for the Feist dog.
– Wiktionary has a page dedicated to the definition of ‘feist.’
– Wikimedia Commons contains media related to the Feist dog.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feist_(dog)