Some of the other lines and types of feists are of different histories, however, and some breeders have their own crosses and lines. The original feists often were crosses between terriers and hounds the cross was gradually stabilized into the modern Mountain Feist. Today's Mountain Feist was likely developed in the rural South as a low-maintenance dog to hunt small game and eliminate vermin, and today is used mostly for hunting squirrel. This is a terrier-type dog that was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 2015.
Today there are quite a few strains and types of feists in America, but the best known probably is the Mountain Feist.
These small treeing dogs-excellent companions of Florida squirrel hunters-are a uniquely American breed. One of the earliest references to the feist was made by George Washington around 1770, who referred to it as “a small foist looking yellow cur.” Feist-type dogs have played an important role in the lives of rural Americans, especially in the South. These small treeing dogs-excellent companions of Florida squirrel hunters-are a uniquely American breed, developed over more than two centuries.
When you hunt with a feist, you're carrying forward a unique American hunting tradition that most small game hunters either have forgotten or never knew.
