The
Feist
dog breed
Feist
dogs have been bred for hunting and companionship.
Origins
Feist dogs originiated from dogs brought to the Southeastern US by German and Irish immigrants. They were bred for hunting, pest eradication, and companionship.
They have a variety of colors and patterns.
My feists.
I adopted two dogs a couple of years ago. I was told they were beagle mixes.
Given that Feist is a hunting mix breed and beagles were bred for hunting, I understand that guess and
there may be some truth to it. However, I am leaning towards them being feist mixes as a more acurate description.
Appearance wise, it's easy to see they are some sort of terrier/beagle/ small hunting breed mix. They look similar in pattern,
but that's it. I get lots of questions about whether they are brothers. Splotch, has ears that stick out like Yoda. Even when he
is sleeping, they are straight out. Pepper's ears are small and more floppy. They both have a patch of color on one side and color
on their ears and head. Splotch has brown and Pepper has black. Pepper has a black spot between his ears on top of his head
and is covered in small black spots. The small spots are not actually his fur, but his skin. Their bodies are opposite, Pepper being
thinner and taller. While Splotch is stocky, wider, and slightly shorter.
They have very different personalities. Splotch and Pepper have a similar prey drive, though Pepper is more interested in squirrels and Splotch is more interested in the
groundhog that lives under my deck. Maybe it's because Splotch is partly blind that he doesn't attempt to chase squirrels. Howling and
barking are common occurances between the two of them. I think its only peaceful when they aree sleeping. Pepper barks at people and Splotch
barks more at sounds such as people talking outside. Sirens, of course, cause howling in both dogs. They both enjoy pets, but Pepper is
more pushy.