The Texas Blue Lacy Dog

 There are hundreds of dogs to choose from in this great world, but it wasn't until I stumbled upon Gunner that I quite possibly fell in love with a breed I had never heard of before. A rare, virtually unheard of breed that is not only found in the classic story of “Old Yeller”, but is the State Dog Breed of Texas; The Texas Blue Lacy.

  The Lacy breed is one of quality and all-around goodness. They are as quick as a greyhound, as smart as an Australian shepherd, and as rustic as barbed wire. One of the greatest comments I have ever heard about Gunner was, "He actually looks like a dog," no frou-frou here!  And he does. Gunner is red, with white on his chest and all four paws. His tail is slightly curled and waves with dignity. His chest is bold, giving him a look of nobility. His eyes are a light shade of brown, just a hair darker than the usual yellow eyes of a Lacy Dog.  

We found Gunner roaming a local lake, where he was for a couple of weeks. Thinking he was a sight hound mix, we had him neutered and decided to keep him. I had been looking at different breeds for about a month when he came with me to a softball game. While there, a lady took one look at him and proclaimed that he was probably a Texas Blue Lacy, except she didn’t know they came in any other color. That night I did my research and discovered that Texas Blue Lacy Dogs do not only come in a blue color, but they are also red and tri. The name “Texas Blue Lacy” reflects that every dog carries the blue gene.

I was thrilled. His noble looks had a name, and I soon contacted a breeder to see if my hunch was right. Lucky for me, she was of the American Blue Lacy Association and after looking at pictures and hearing about his personality; she proclaimed that he was most likely an honest to goodness Blue Lacy.

I told Gunner all about it that evening and he looked at me with that cocky personality of his as if to say, “Yep, I already knew that.” And he left it at that.  He has an incredible personality.

To understand about their temperment, the first thing that you have to know is their history and genealogy. It is said that they are part sight hound, part coyote, and part scent hound. Here is where it gets a little tricky. The Lacy brothers originally formed the dogs to work the family’s free-ranging hogs. I've heard two versions of this story and would like to present them here along with my personal experience with a Lacy Dog.

The two stories as I understand them go like this:

1.      One story says that the dogs actually were bred to do work similar to pit-bulls and hog hunting, or hunting wild boar.

2.      The other says that the family actually raised hogs similar to raising cattle (free-ranging hogs) and they had to drive them to sale.

What difference does this make?

A huge one.

First, the actual Lacy Dog is not very big. Breed standards put them at 25-50 pounds respectively. The American Blue Lacy Association actually puts them at 30-45 pounds, a closer estimate to their original weight.

Now, if I were to take my own Lacy, who weighs 38 pounds, and ask him to fight (even in a pack of dogs his size) a 150 pound boar with tusks, it is assumed we can logically guess the most possible outcome. Chances are, at least one of my dogs would be hurt.

This poses a large problem for the Lacy breed. Many want to still use the dogs to recreationally hunt wild hogs, but the smaller size causes natural problems with boar hunting. So to solve this problem, there has been an outbreak of backyard breeders who are mixing the Lacy genes with cur and pit bulls. This creates not only a different size, but a different temperament more suited to hog fighting. By changing the name of the sire, it is easy to get these Lacy Dogs into the system, and pass them off as true Texas Blue Lacys.

The changes are drastic though, because although these are better hog-dogs (sold as puppies for less than a couple hundred bucks) they are not the original family-oriented Lacy Dogs.

The original Lacy dog is honestly an all-around working dog. He was not only bred to work free-ranging hogs. They were also bred with cattle herding, ranch protecting, and game tracking in mind. The true Lacy can herd, retrieve, track, and hunt. He can also protect and love. He should be as independent as he is dependent.  

My own Lacy, Gunner, often begs for direction. He will paw the air, spin around, and virtually do everything he can think of to get the right action from me. And he will initiate training. In mere months his ability to understand words like, “ride, go, potty, walk, paw, hungry, food, bed, wait, drop-it, leave-it, bring-it, heal, sit, down,” and numerous other tricks has astounded me! He also recognizes visual cues such as his tracking harness and associates them with great things. If my husband picks up that red harness Gunner will go wild, and more than once he has brought us to wounded game on private property in our East Texas Pineywoods.

Many owners will state that the only happy Lacy is a hog hunting Lacy.

I disagree. Gunner has never hunted hogs and is balanced enough that he is in training to become a therapy dog. Those that work with their Lacy dogs in other ways will talk about how great they are with children, how loving they are at home, and how happy they are in general.

A Lacy Dog must have a job to be happy. Just like any working breed.

Gunner is our family watchdog, he is our game tracker, he is our mascot, he is our friend, he is our entertainer, he is my night time protector, and he is our playmate. His job is to learn, love, and play. And he excels at it.  

With him we work on basic training, trick training, Canine Good Citizen training, Tracking (which he knew by instinct), and I am contemplating nose work. Hopefully by the end of the summer he will be a registered Therapy dog.

These are simple, basic things that can keep a Lacy happy and occupied. The need to put him in an unnecessary, high-risk situation with wild hogs is not there. He does not need to hog hunt. He does need to work.

I would recommend this breed to an outdoorsy person who enjoys the company of a good dog. A Texas Blue Lacy would make a great hiking or jogging companion, as well as a great tracker. They are highly trainable and bond quickly to one person in the family. This person is their pride and joy and becomes the center of their lives quickly.

As every puppy does, a Lacy needs to be socialized with all age groups of humans and other dogs to grow up happy and healthy.  They’re highly sensitive in nature and respond best to positive training methods as even shouting at them can cower them. This isn’t to say they aren’t independent or brave; a Lacy is a wonderful watchdog and will bark at any and all possible intruders until the threat is removed or his human says it’s okay.

Also, a Lacy needs outdoor space to run. They love to run. An hour a day of simply running free (in a safe area) is not too much to ask from a Lacy dog.

If you are interested in the breed, I suggest to research, research, research. Talk to breeders and the different clubs. Be sure you are looking at the True Lacy.

A great place to start is the American Blue Lacy Association where their ethics flow with the belief that a Lacy is not only a hog dog, but is an all-around working dog.

http://www.americanbluelacyassociation.com/American-Blue-Lacy-Breeder-Ethics.html