Lacy Dog

The Blue Lacy is a Texan working dog with a documented founding family, and the official state dog of Texas.

History

The Lacy brothers settled in Burnet County, Texas, in 1858 and bred a dog to handle the half-wild hogs they ran on open range — accounts credit greyhound, scenthound and herding stock in the mix. It worked hogs and cattle where riders could not follow, and Texas named it the state dog in 2005, the first state to honour a breed developed within its own borders.

Temperament

The breed is known for being intense, driven and closely bonded to its handler, alert and businesslike rather than affectionate with strangers, and needing a job to be tolerable at home.

Care and training

It needs a great deal of exercise and genuine work; an under-worked Lacy is a well-documented problem. The short coat is easy. Training is quick but requires an owner it respects.

Health

Generally robust from working selection, with colour dilution alopecia known in some lines given the dilute coat. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.