Mountain Feist

The Treeing Feist is a breed of feist from the Southeastern United States. Originally considered a single breed, Treeing Feist and Mountain Feist are now separately recognized by the United Kennel Club. Feist, originally bred to hunt squirrels, were separated into several breeds, often crossed with rat terriers. Several Appalachian breeders chose black Feists and bred smaller to tree, 'ring' and retrieve squirrels.