At first glance, the Lacy dog looks like the typical cur type. Most regions of the US have their own landrace cur, developed from a diverse melting pot of dogs that could survive on the frontier. Usually, the exact lineages of these dogs are lost to time.
However, the Lacy dog’s exact origins are well-known. There were four brothers with the name of Lacey who settled in Burnet County, Texas, which is in the heart of Texas Hill Country. The swarms of free-range hogs that lived in that region could have been an economic asset. Their pork was of a superior quality when the pigs were fattened, and any rancher who could catch them could make some extra money off of them. However, their dogs had a hard time handling the half-wild pigs, who were tough from several centuries of range existence. Few of the dogs in the region had the guts and drive to really bring in the hogs. The swine would be brought in and fattened up before being sent off to slaughter.
At some point in the late nineteenth century, the Lacey brothers decided to create their own hog dog strain, one that could handle the really tough swine. They would do so with the canines they currently had. One brother had an English shepherd, an unimproved collie-type dog, which they used to herd cattle. Another brother had a gray-blue greyhound, which was a great varmint dog, and another had a tamed wolf or coyote bitch that he’d raised from a pup. (Some sources, including the official Texas state archives, say that it was a pariah dog, which does make a bit of sense. Wolves are very hard to handle.) Whatever they were, they crossed these different dogs until they got a perfect hog herder.
Out of that soup, they created their own hog dog that could also run other varmints. These are not “catch” dogs, but they are strong enough to work a recalcitrant boar. Catch dogs, as you may know, are the dogs that actually grip the hogs, holding them into place until the hunters arrive.They are also used as trapline dogs. This is one of those dogs that was bred for its purpose, and only dogs that were good for that purpose were bred, which is something of a novel concept in the modern dog fancy.
It is fundamentally a working breed, and that’s probably why most of my readers probably haven’t heard of it. The breed currently has its own club, which states as its own purpose a deep dedication to maintaining this dog as a working breed. In fact, it makes it very clear on its website that the Lacy is not meant to be a pet for casual dog owners. It is fundamentally a working breed. And for having that goal stated upfront, they have my admiration and deepest respect.
I’m going to link to their blog on the blogroll, so you can learn more about this fascinating breed. If you want a hog dog or a varmint dog, this might be a breed worth considering. They also can be used for herding livestock, and they are known for their high intelligence and trainability.
So let’s hope that this breed retains all of its talents and abilities. We need dogs like this to remind us that not all dogs have been corrupted with the demands of the show ring. This breed remains as it always was– working, intelligent, and sound.
Imagine that. Actually mixing different breeds to come up with a new breed. Fascinating. Because most show breeders seem to have forgotten that all the purebred dogs were at one point just considered a different looking mongrel.
Yes, and this dog is basically a performance dog. There is another registry that wants to make these dogs AKC. I highly advise against it.
Thank you for the great post retrieverman! This is a fascinating blog with lots of useful information, I look forward to reading more.
When people get Lacys as house pets, one of two things will happen… 1.) The dog is miserable, because they were not bred for suburbia, which leads to serious behavior issues. 2.) That one dog does OK as a pet, then you breed it to another pet, and you water down the gene pool.
So we are working hard to preserve this special breed and promote them to the right owners. If anyone is interested in learning more, please visit our site or send us an email.
This is a working dog blog. A common theme is this: don’t get a working dog as a pet because it will drive you insane.
I hope you do succeed in preserving this unique American working dog.
My own breed (golden retriever) has issues with being watered-down as a pet and as a show dog. The working form of golden is unsuitable for a family pet for exactly those same reasons.
“One brother had an English Shepherd, an unimproved Collie-type dog.”
Audie the English Shepherd sez (with quite some indignation) that the modern show collie, not the ES, should be considered the “unimproved” type.
Function over form, dontcha know.
Unimproved is a compliment on this blog.
“Unimproved” is a euphemism is use for dogs that haven’t been turned into worthless show dog idiots, like the rough collie.
The old breeders of livestock and all domestic animals in the old days said they were improving the animals through selective breeding, which they did when they bred them for a purpose. It’s when you breed them for no purpose other than to win ribbons that you get in trouble.
I rescue Lacys, and have been doing so for several years. Most that need rescue are in pet homes with owners that were in over their heads. I’ve had good luck rehoming most on Texas ranches (I’m in Austin), though last year I put one in a pet home that CAME from a ranch and it was a success. The original owner was NOT caring for her dogs well, and the new owner was not a first-time Lacy owner. Jasmine is doing very well now.
Every situation is different, but the biggest problem I run into with ALL the breeds I rescue (Great Danes, coonhounds, foxhounds, Bloodhounds and Lacys) is that people get dogs based upon appearance, not research. ANY working dog is going to have drives that need to be dealt with appropriately. You have to understand your breed and make a lifetime commitment to what that breed needs. If you can’t do that, there are plenty of wonderful mutts at the local shelter just dying (literally) to come home with you.
—
Jerry Dunham
Tejas Coonhound Rescue
I was just visiting my grandpa, who keeps a pack of Walker strain American foxhound, as well as a nonworking treeing Walker coonhound. Those dogs are terrible pets,but excel at what they are bred to do.
Most people are better off with a dog with no genetic tendencies for any sort of predatory behavior.
I always say, except for their health issues, pugs aren’t bad pets.
I disagree with your position that Walkers are terrible pets. Mine is curled up behind me as I type this and he’s a great pet. The important thing is matching the dog with the right owner, and I can’t imagine a better dog for ME than this Walker. For 99% of owners he’d be a terrible choice.
“Most people are better off with a dog with no genetic tendencies for any sort of predatory behavior.”
I agree.
And I always say that, except for their health issues, pugs are ideal pets for a large segment of the pet owning population.
Wait … is there an echo in here?
—
Jerry Dunham
Tejas Coonhound Rescue
The Walker coonhound is a pet, but he has lots of exercise.
The foxhounds are used twice a week to “chase” foxes. Red foxes are a valued species, so they aren’t hunted to be killed.
Who cares about the show ring? I want to compete in tracking, lure course, agility and obedience. I want to kick some Border Collie butt! Yes, I want them in the AKC. Why should I have to run a French Bulldog in Agility and if they overheat they drop dead? I have a Blue Lacy sitting ring side for socialization that can’t compete since they aren’t recognized as a pure bred. I have to hunt down second rate competitions such as CPE in order to compete with them. Everybody knows the only one that matters is the AKC. You aren’t crap unless you kick butt in a real forum that is recognized world wide like the AKC. My only question is if your dogs are so great why don’t you want to kick some butt with them and prove it? All the drama, squabbling and back stabbing over this breed gets old. Do what you want with your dogs, I will.
I’m with you, but what if your breed is already an AKC breed and all the breeders who produce them are AKC? That’s where I am.
The lacy dog needs to avoid the AKC at all costs. I can’t imagine what they’d look or act like after ten years of show breeding.
There are a group of breeders who’d love to find out:
http://www.americanbluelacyassociation.com/About-American-Blue-Lacy-Dogs.html
AKC suckups. Their obsession with size sounds like the trumped-up reason the Parson Russell club gives for wanting AKC recognition — the actual working dogs were being ‘bred off standard’ so they were needed to swoop in and save the day! Such a joke.
They are quislings.
They are trying to take over this breed the way they did the border collie– divide and conquer.
Lots of cur types are now being standardized, and some, like the Treeing Tennessee Brindle, are in the Miscellaneous Class.
I adopted a dog in Long Island NY. I live in NJ. I went to a restaurant in an outside place with the dog and the waiter said he was a Lacy. I have been researchinf that since then and it appears he is. He has a very black almost blue coat about 45 lbs. webbed feet. I think he might be a Lacy.
It is very possible. Lacys are more or less a regional dog that are becoming more and more common outside their original range.
I have a dog (puppy) that I found in Texas that I thought was a yellow lab, but as he gets older I’m beggining to think that he may be a red lacy. The only thing that throws me off is that he’s got a pink nose. Have you ever seen a lacy with a pink nose?
Thank you for this background information on the origin of the Lacy Cur. I adopted Ruby when she was 8 months old from a family that was just giving the puppies away (Lufkin, TX). I had no idea what breed Ruby was until her first visit with the vet who speculated that she might just be a Lacy Cur.
In the beginning, Ruby would sleep in the filed behind the house but jump in the van in the morning to go to work with me. We bonded before I found out that the Lacy Cur is a working breed and not suited as a pet. With that realization, I just figured we would see how it went and maybe I would need to find her another home.
Seven years later we still make a great team – even though we moved to PA and there’s no feral hogs to speak of in these parts. I take her with me where ever I go and she lets me know when it’s time for a walk or she just needs to rip and run out back. As far as the instinct to corral, I guess I must be the feral hog in this house because if I work too long in my office or sit too long on the couch watching tv – she lets me know it’s time to move it and where I need to be next.
She is the smartest dog I ever had — absolutely the easiest to train and communicate with. Perhaps we are the exception but we’re not ranchers and it seems to work for us. At one time, I thought I might want to train her to be a therapy dog since she did so well helping me take care of my elderly parents. I could go on and on about the virtues of this breed. I had Dobermans and German Shepherds before this but never had such a wonderful companion.
Are Blue Nose Lacy dogs web-footed?