BRICK HOUSE CATAHOULAS

       I want to explain how we came to be Brick House. I know I have met several really nice people along this route and am very Thankful for them. This past year of going to shows and meeting new people and showing Our dogs was a lot of Fun and We enjoyed almost every minute of it; I must say, however, that's not what we are all about nor are are We newcomers to the dog world. I was asked this morning again, about "Our experience". I don't want to go into listing Our "dog resume" online, but let's just say Mike, Caren and I all come from many years of working dogs before We met up and became Brick House, and We all still have other breeds.

 

Now for the story...many of y'all may have heard me mention "Tweety". This girl is the root of all the madness for going to registered dogs, for Me (Krystal Rohan) personally. Tweety sets the Bar of Standards for registered Catahoulas - maybe for dogs period. The qualities and traits she possessed as a hunter and pack member is what I will strive for, because before her I had witnessed crappy Catahoula after Crappy Catahoula, most of which should have been CULLS, but I was always told "that's good for a Catahoula".

Tweety was not registered but both her parents were. Its a long story, but Mike Hilscher, one of the partners of Brick House Catahoulas, and Mine and My Husband's hunting Partner for over a decade, had acquired Tweety as a six month old pup, without papers from another fella (Mr.Poppey) who had gotten three of the litter from the breeder. Mike is old school most days when it comes to working a dog - turn the dog out if it works it works, if it doesn't maybe it will learn, if not, maybe it wont make trip back home. Tweety was not leash broke, had never seen a hog, and he took her out for a night hunt. She was not used to her own people, let alone a bunch of strangers with 4 wheelers. To make it short, the dog falls into Hog hunting on that first hunt and never slowed down from that night forward. It was harder catching her to take her home than anything else. She hunted great, so Mike got another sister to her from the original breeder. He named her Ruby, and Tweety and Ruby made a powerful hunting team. Tweety dropped a set of pups out of a real good male cur, and they were outstanding - not just a couple but almost whole litter and most looked like Tweety. Mike kept 4 and hunted them at about 6-7 months of age. Although they were young, they were going to the woods like they were born to it - well, I guess maybe they were, lol These were big, long legged lanky dogs like their momma and daddy, and they burned up the woods.Well, unfortunately, things go South for Mike, and he has to sell his hunting pack because of divorce. These dogs stayed within Our hunting circles so We could keep an eye on them. Ruby went to His buddy John. Tweety ended up staying with another friend named Mike. Here she was seen by a lot of different hunters and became very well known and exposed - she was a good hunter, a good family and social dog, and to top it off, she was a reproducer of really good hunting stock and her pups were sought after.

Now, backtracking to Mr.Poppey.... I remembered Mike telling me about how, when and where he got Tweety and Ruby. I started asking questions about them and was curious if they were registered. If they were, then I would be able to trace their bloodlines and get some registered relatives, and maybe get Tweety's papers caught up on her. I talked with the man that had the other sister to Tweety and who had given Mike the two pups; he was reluctant to say too much. I did a little more digging and found the woman that originally bred the pups, and got her phone number. We talked to her for a while by phone, then met with her, and she gave us more information. She even gave me the certified copies of NALC papers on Tweety's, Ruby's and Kate's (Mr.Poppey bad ass cow hunting dog) Sire & Dam. Then Tweety died due injuries received from a massive Barr hog caught on a hunt. Not long after that Ruby has a litter bred to another cur, and she dies when pups are only a couple days old. I felt like we were so close, and then these tragedies happened. I was able to find and call the man who sold the original breeding stock - he was from Louisiana, and his name was Criswell White, of Dar'Bonne Catahoulas. He gave me a whole load of info and I felt like I really knew a lot more about the dogs. Mr. White told me at that time he hadn't bred or registered a dog in almost ten years.

While all this is going on Mike is preparing to retire. We were all back to hunting, and He was making plans to move a few places down the road from Me. He had plans to fix up this cute old Brick House, move in, and enjoy his retirement, but first he was going to build the kennels of his dreams. So the work starts - a Massive concrete slab was poured, custom wood work was being done and powder coated expanded metal kennels were ordered to be shipped in and put up. We had already started shopping for more dogs. Money was not an issue because he wanted best Hunting Catahoulas.

Caren had already been coming with her dogs for training to my kennels, making sure their needs were being met as far as work and having that outlet, and to make sure they had the drive and instincts to meet breed standards and her standards, she has pretty high standards too, let me tell you, I love it. Mike also got to know & liked some of Caren's dogs too, since He and I were hunting them together. He bought a couple of new dogs, some not very good - but one puppy stood out since she had started tangling with big boars at around 7 months old. This crazy girl (Snoopy) had started leaving from the porch at his old property and was running the creek bottoms, hunting on her own. The three of us had picked out the kennel name because of Mike's cute house - plus, the name had the sound of strength to it, too, and it was also a cool old song!!!! Then Mike had a Stroke. He has been hospitalized ever since.

Caren and I are doing Our very best to keep on track and to reach Our goals, dream big Or Go HOME!!!! lol. WE, meaning BRICK HOUSE CATAHOULAS believe Form follows Function, but that's not all. That "FUNCTION" means functioning in the woods, and in life as it comes at You & Me. Brick House dogs have to be of sound & stable temperament to complete the whole package. WE want every one of Our dogs to be able to prove itself as an individual with confidence in any situation. Our dogs must also be able to work in a pack atmosphere. Aggression is not mistaken for Assertiveness or vice-versa. We believe in highly assertive Catahoulas with BIG work Ethic, a stable temperament, and easy going personality. We are not into dogs that have "bad days" or just don't "feel like doing something" at a particular time. Those types of dogs don't stay here long - and they sure don't make the breeders list, if they don't make the working stringer, regardless of what their bloodline is.

That is Why We don't have many breeders here, but what we do have meets all Our expectations.

So this is a "short" summary of how We became Brick House Catahoulas, lol, not so short, is it?

We are always interested in dogs that have the Dar'bonne blood and in talking about dogs that have a strong genetic influence.