Texas’ official breed: Versatile Lacy dog was developed in Burnet County

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

BUCHANAN DAM — The three dogs cut through the black-eyed Susans and smattering of other yellow flowers. Two of the dogs race after a flying disc, while the other seems content on doing a little digging.“They’re just a very, very intelligent dog,” said Courtney Farris, the dogs’ owner and breed advocate. “They are full of energy. But you have to realize these are working dogs that were bred in the early 1800s to chase and herd hogs.”

These canines are members of the Lacy dog breed, one with distinct Texas and Burnet County roots. In fact, if somebody asked you to name the state dog breed of Texas, and you didn’t say, “The Lacy dog,” you would have been wrong.

Farris “discovered” the dog about seven years ago when she began looking for a breed to help her track deer during bow hunts. While a deer shot by a rifle often falls quickly, arrow-shot whitetails can cover quite a distance before laying down. Farris wanted a dog that could track the deer by its blood trail.

“I thought having a tracking dog would be very handy,” she said. “I started researching dogs when a friend who hunted hogs said to come and take a look at his Lacys. And I just fell in love with them.”

Apparently, that’s an easy thing to do.

In Burnet, Fred Oglesby also initially bought his first Lacy about 10 years ago to help him track deer during bow hunts. Like Farris, he became enamored with the breed.

“It’s an amazing breed,” he said. “You can train them to do just about anything.”

While developed for herding pigs and cattle, the dogs have proven their worth as hunting companions, no matter what the game.

Oglesby pointed out the Lacy breed hunt typical game such as hogs, raccoons and squirrels. But the breed can even hunt species often left to retrievers or spaniels.

The Lacy legacy lies in the very granite hills making up Burnet County. Farris described the county as the epicenter of Lacy dogs, not just because the area has a strong contingent of breed fans and owners, but because it’s where the Lacy brothers developed the breed.

Oglesby, a member of the Texas  Lacy Game Dog Association, said the Lacy brothers first began developing a hog dog while living in Kentucky, prior to moving to Texas in the mid-1800s. Unlike today, when farmers raise hogs in contained areas, in the 1800s and even into the 1900s, the preferred method was free-ranging the swine.

“Back then, they had hog drives like we think of cattle drives,” Farris said. “They’d send dogs out to round up the hogs and even drive them to market.”

So farmers, such as the Lacys, needed a tough, dependable breed that could go into tough underbrush and other areas, find the hogs and then drive them out. The Lacy brothers began experimenting with crosses of sight hounds, scent hounds and possibly even wolves.

In 1858, George Washington Lacy Jr. and his brothers John, Hiram, Ewin and Frank moved to Burnet County. While they might have begun crossing the breed in Kentucky, the brothers tweaked it enough in Texas that it became an established breed.

Since its development, the Lacy breed has found success not just as a hog and cow dog, but as a tracking and hunting companion. Today, it’s often used for hog hunting as well as locating wounded or lost game.

But the Lacy breed hasn’t been without its struggles.

“We’re trying to bring the dog back and save it,” said Oglesby, a registered Lacy dog breeder. “We almost lost the breed when it got down to between 200 and 300 at one point.”

Clay Montgomery, an officer with TLGDA, said one of the reasons the Lacy began losing favor was people started breaking up ranches, which reduced the need for the breed.

Organizations such as TLGDA and the National Lacy Dog Association, of which Farris is a member, work to promote the breed but also established responsible breeding standards. Another problem the Lacy dog faced was random breeding that drew the breed away from its working lineage, Farris said.

So NLDA tries to focus on breeding lines from working parents.

“If you want a dog that hunts, you have to get it from parents that hunt,” Farris said.

Breeding standards form the foundation of the Lacy legacy into the future. And these aren’t easy requirements. Oglesby said the TLGDA breeder code of ethics are stringent, and they’re meant to be that way.

“Breeding is regulated, and we want to keep the breed very clean,” he said.

While Lacy aficionados want a dog that performs, Farris said the animal must also meet certain physical standards as well.

“They’re just like athletes,” she said. “If (the dog) doesn’t have the right ‘bite’ or it’s not built correctly, it’s not going to be able to do what the breed should.”

Lacys are medium-sized dogs with three primary colors: gun-metal blue, red and a tricolor, Oglesby said.

Though not a large breed, Oglesby said they probably wouldn’t be content living in an apartment.

“They are very high energy,” he said.

Farris found that one Lacy just isn’t enough.

“They’re an addiction,” she said with a laugh. “Once you have one, you start ‘collecting’ them.”

But multi-Lacy families also helps the dogs themselves. Farris pointed out if a Lacy can’t be with its owner all the time, it gets bored. The dog takes care of the boredom in not-so-useful ways such as chewing and even digging.

“Mine seem to like my blinds,” Farris said. “They’re very pack-oriented. So if you can’t keep a Lacy with you all the time, it’s best to have another one or two. They’re like horses, they don’t like being alone.”

Lacy owners love to share their breed with people as well as get together with other Lacy lovers. Recently, TLGDA held a Lacy Fun Day in Burnet.

On May 11, NLDA is holding the Working Dog Field Day at Reveille Peak Ranch, 105 CR 114, west of Burnet off FM 2341.

While NLDA is sponsoring the event, Farris said it’s open to all working dogs. There will be events such as a blood-tracking challenge and a seminar; hog baying; a snake avoidance clinic; and search and rescue.

“The purpose of the event is to provide some fun and educational activities for anyone with a working breed or interested in working breeds,” Farris said. “If your dog has energy and wants something to do, this would be an excellent event for you. Whether it’s herding, treeing, hunting, tracking or retrieving.”

The bulk of the event starts at 10 a.m. though people interested in participating in the blood-tracking challenge need to register by 8:30 a.m. Entry is $35 per person or $65 per couple with a dog and $5 for children. Without a dog, entry is $25.

“But it’s pretty much all-inclusive, like an all-day pass,” Farris said. “It includes all the events and lunch.”

There is an additional $35 fee for the snake avoidance, but she pointed out that, typically, the program alone costs as much as the program costs and entry fee.

For more information on the Lacy dog, go to www.nationallacydog.org or www.lacydog.com.

daniel@thepicayune.com