2012 Lacy Dog calendars are here! Thanks to everyone who submitted images for our consideration. It was difficult to choose 12 pictures out of all the great entries we received. Get your copy today at the National Lacy Dog Association online store! NLDA Calendars and cards make great gifts for the holidays!

Working trials demonstrate a dog's performance in the field.

The NLDA is excited to announce our first official field trial where  dogs will have the opportunity to be evaluated by a judge, earn a tracking certificate, and compete against other dogs for working titles.

The idea came about as a way for breeders to determine a dog’s suitability for a particular use by obtaining a title, however, these contests are a great way to give handler and dog some off-season action and a chance to take home a trophy. In this blood trailing trial, three simulated blood trails will have varying levels of difficulty.

This event, which is open to all breeds, will be conducted at the beautiful Oak Knoll Ranch in Menard, Texas. Lodging and meals will be available for registered guests beginning Friday night. Trials will begin the following morning at 8 am.

We hope that this tracking competition will be the first of many NLDA-sanctioned shows where dogs are judged for performance in blood trailing, hog hunting, bay pen work, cattle herding, and trap lines.

For details, including registration, please go to www.nationallacydog.org/bloodtracking.pdf and download the form.

Oak Knoll Ranch near Menard, Texas

The life of a hunting or ranch dog and the nature of his work is inherently dangerous. In the outdoors, domestic dogs are exposed to the elements and always at risk of a venomous snake encounter. Snake avoidance conditioning is often referred to as snake proofing or de-snaking and is very effective at teaching dogs to steer clear of snakes.

I put my first lacy puppy through a snake avoidance class when she was about a year old. Four years later she will still alert to the smell or sight of most snakes which is not only beneficial for her, it lets me know that a snake is present.

During a snake avoidance class, the instructor uses an e-collar as an aversion tool. Defanged snakes are placed on the ground and the dog is given an opportunity to wind the snake and make visual contact. Timing is important and a good trainer knows how to read a dog’s curiosity and body language and apply a high level of stimulation at just the right moment to divert the dog away from the snake. In most cases it only takes one incident for the dog to learn. After the initial experience, the dog is led down wind to a concealed snake to ensure he recognizes it by smell alone. Ideally, the dog should learn to identify snakes with all three senses, sight, sound, and smell.

Sometimes the instructor puts the snake in between the dog and handler and asks the handler to call his dog. This is to confirm that the dog has learned to give snakes a wide berth. When tested in this manner, my dogs will dig their heels in and refuse to move any closer, even if led toward the snake.

It’s important to note that not all species smell the same to a dog. Though rattlesnakes are most often used because they are most likely to bite and very deadly, snake avoidance trainers will usually bring a cottonmouth and a copperhead to give the dog a full range of smells to identify. According to Harlen Winters, a trainer from Burnet, Texas, rat snakes, coral snakes, or dead rattlesnakes will not produce the identical smell that the dog has learned to avoid. Just last week, however, my dogs alerted at the smell and sight of a fresh snake skin in the yard. I don’t know if they were going by scent or sight but they avoided that particular area for two days. Harlen also recommends a yearly refresher course and most trainers will do this free of charge.

Despite all our efforts to keep our dogs safe in the woods, accidents do happen. Sometimes a dog will inadvertently step on a snake. If a dog does get bit by a venomous snake, immediately administer Benadryl at 1mg/pound and take the dog to the nearest vet for a round of antibiotics and fluids. Antivenin is expensive and many vets don’t keep it on hand but it is beneficial if given within 24 hours.

Don't let disease-carrying ticks bug you this Summer.

Having lived in the Midwest for awhile with two active lacy dogs I can attest that ticks are an epidemic up here. Every morning after we’ve been outside, I pick all of the ticks I see off the dogs. After our evening walk I, once again, thoroughly pick ticks off the dogs and then the couch and no matter how many I get there is always at least one more. Ticks are undeniably the scourge of the Earth!

Spot treatments, sprays, baths…I know these products are toxic and they don’t seem to reduce the amount of ticks I see every day. Spot treatments like Frontline claim to kill ticks that crawl on your dog within 12-24 hours. But by the time the pesticides have done their job, the tick has already had a chance to bite and begin feeding on your dog. So while it seems these products prevent ticks from falling off and reproducing in the house or kennel, they do little to prevent the transfer of tick borne diseases.

I’ve concluded that the first and best line of defense is simply to keep them away all together.
As far as repellents for dogs, natural methods include external application of food grade-diatomaceous earth and powdered sulfur. DE works mechanically by scratching away the insect’s exoskeleton but it is reportedly more useful as a yard or kennel treatment since it isn’t necessarily fast acting and the sulfur method has a really unpleasant scent to humans.

I read where Consumer Reports recently tested insect repellents for humans and in their test, two Deet-free products worked as well as Deet-based products.

And the top 5 were:

Off Deep Woods Sportsmen II
Cutter Backwoods Unscented
Off FamilyCare Smooth & Dry
3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 8
Repel Plant Based Lemon Eucalyptus

The Repel product is simply Lemon Eucalyptus oil which, though it has a slightly greasy feel, smells delightfully like citronella. After a little research I found that, for years, people have been using lemon eucalyptus essential oil mixed with olive oil or some other inert base as mosquito and tick repellent. I sprayed some of the Repel brand on the dogs and, after a romp in the grassy field behind the house, I searched and found….no ticks! Surly it can’t work that well! There’s always at least one tick!

The only problem I have encountered with the spray is the dogs apparently hate the smell and will try like mad to rub it off, often rubbing it right into the carpet or couch cushions. At least it seems the oil-based product is sticky enough to stay on their coat. Our experiment with lemon eucalyptus will continue.

With the dry conditions back in Texas I hope most of you enjoy a mostly tick and flea free summer but remember, dog owners do have alternative choices when it comes to pest prevention.

The Blood Trailing Workshop was a huge success. Several dog/handler teams participated in the program which was designed to develop the tracking dog’s problem solving skills in wounded game recovery. Attendees were also able to ask questions and share stories and experiences throughout the day.

We also gave away some nice prizes in the charity raffle, including a two-dog E-collar system from Dogtra and an Innotek Invisible fence system donated by TexasBloodTrackers.com.
The banquet was a wonderful opportunity for the NLDA to educate the public about blood tracking, work with hunters and a variety of dog breeds, and catch up with old friends.

Thank you,

Courtney Farris

A young handler works a lacy on a mock trail.

For the first time ever, Oak Knoll Ranch will host the NLDA Working Dogs Field Day. All are welcome to join us in the beautiful Texas Hill Country for fun, food, and campfire camaraderie! This will be a great opportunity to meet other lacy enthusiasts and practice your handling skills under the guidance of experienced instructors. Educational and fun-filled activities will include a hog bay arena, blood trailing workshop and competition, trapping demonstration, snake avoidance, and much more!

Friday night, there will be an assembly at the lodge for a meet and greet and cook out. Breakfast will be served Saturday morning. After a fun day afield, we will retire to the lodge for a little R&R. Guests are welcome to stay Friday and Saturday nights so come early and stay late!

Overnight accommodations are available on location and encouraged but space is limited so reservations are recommended.

$30 per person and $5 per dog per event. Concessions and meals will be available all weekend. Event tickets will be available for purchase. Youth admitted for free.

Dogs must be under control at all times. Cameras and video cameras are welcome at all NLDA events!

The main events will be held on April 2nd, 2011 beginning around 9 am at Oak Knoll Ranch, located at
7010 US Hwy 190 just 12 minutes west of Menard, Texas.

For more information and reservations please call Courtney Farris at (214) 679-1801 or email nationallacydog@gmail.com.

Bay pen work

Trapper Jimmy Brooks

For the second year in a row, the National Lacy Dog Association was a Bonus Sponsor for the TDHA Hunt For The Hungry. The hunt was a huge success, bringing in 29,176 pounds of meat to feed needy Texans. We also had four NLDA members hunt with their Lacys as part of Team Pork Stars. Mike and Kas Brooks, DJ Middleton and Steve Williams caught an impressive 813 pounds of pork, earning them tenth place out of 68 teams.

The NLDA also took an active role in the Lone Star Hunting & Working Dog Expo. Our booth served as place for members to met while giving us the opportunity to educate the public on Lacy Dogs. Two members were also asked to give presentations in their area of expertise. President Jimmy Brooks put on a trapping demonstrations while Director Betty Leek held an informative seminar on raw feeding.

Thank you to all who supported these events. We hope to see everyone next year in Hallettsville for the 2011 Lone Star Expo and Hunt for the Hungry!

Listening to the experts during the cur dog herding demonstration

Robby Leek's Colt on cattle for the first time

Sadie, owned by Julie Neumann, learning to work cows

Betty Leek's Lucy and her son Brent Boswell's Blue

Lucy shows off her herding skills

We’ve made a special Lacy Dog t-shirts to commemorate this special event. We have three short sleeve, two long sleeve and two kids styles now available in the NLDA online store. Show your support for the breed as well as Hunt for the Hungry! Shipping is free on orders over $50 with the coupon code CWIN205, so add a 2010 calendar, Lacy stickers or a few extra tees to complete the package.

We will be working on another design for later this spring, stay tuned!

Not only is November good eating for humans, it’s great eating for dogs. At least it is for those lucky enough to be raw fed. Starting around the first of November, grocery stores start putting frozen turkeys on sale. Sales run from the turkeys being really cheap to discounts when you spend a certain amount of money on other food stuffs. Whatever turkey deal your grocer uses to get you into the store, take advantage of those cheap birds for your dog! I’ve seen prices as low as $.40 a pound for frozen turkeys, making it one of the cheapest ways to feed your dogs raw. If you have extra freezer space, buy as many turkeys as you can get and store them. The turkeys will be on sale through Christmas, so you have plenty of time to stock up on this really inexpensive raw food for your dogs.

The worst thing about frozen turkeys is just that, they are frozen. It takes such a long time to thaw them out so the dogs can eat them. But, unlike thawing turkeys for humans, you don’t have to worry about health issues when thawing the turkey for your dog. Any “bugs” the turkey gets while thawing won’t effect canines. Once the turkey is thawed, you can either feed it to your dog whole, or do as I do and cut it up into individual meals. I have found that there are a couple of easy ways to cut up the turkey. Both ways make use of my husband. I can cut the turkey up by myself, but it is much easier if he helps me with it.

For the cutting of the turkey, you can use a hacksaw or a mechanical tool called a sawsall. We use the sawsall for deer and elk, but for just one turkey we use the hacksaw. I start by cutting the skin where the drumstick is attached to the thigh. The skin is easier to cut with a knife or kitchen shears. The drumstick can be bent back from its normal position at the thigh and it is easy to cut between the bones at that joint. The thigh is much the same way, bend it back and cut at that joint. The wings need the skin cut also, then bend and cut at the joint where the wing joins the body. We then turn the turkey up on end and cut the back away from the front. This is where the hack saw is really needed, as you are actually cutting through bone here. We cut the back into quarters. The breast is cut into two pieces. We just cut along the breast bone, so one breast gets the bone and the other doesn’t.

Distribute these pieces according to the raw formula of 80% meat, 10% organs and 10% edible bones. The backs, wings, neck and tail are too much bone to be fed for one meal. If you do want to feed them as a meal, be sure and feed plenty of meat on the next meal. The gizzard and heart can be fed as a meat, along with the backs and such. And of course the liver counts as an organ too. My dogs don’t like turkey organs, so at my place they get seared a little in some oil and parmesean cheese so the dogs will eat them. If you do have to cook the organs for your dogs, remember and don’t really cook them, just sear them so they maintain their nutritional value.

For those who like to hunt turkey but don’t really like to eat them, feeding them to your dogs is an ideal way to put that meat to use. As a hunter and a raw feeder, one could just give the whole wild turkey to the dog and let it do what should come naturally. But to keep the mess to a minimum, most people will want to take the feathers off and gut the turkey. These pages on Bowhunting.net and Wild Turkey Zone have instructions on how to clean a turkey. When reading these articles, remember that you are dressing a turkey for your dogs, they don’t care whether the turkey has skin on or not. And don’t forget that the head and feet are good eating for your dog too. The head, including the eyes and brain, have good vitamins and minerals including omega 3s. The feet have calcium and chondroitin in them, which are good for the bones and joints.

Hunters also don’t need to keep the bird as cool as you would for human consumption, which is convenient if you are hunting spring turkey in Texas. When you get home with the turkey, either freeze it whole or it into meal portions while it’s still easy to work with. Then wrap the turkey in butcher paper or place it in zip lock bags and freeze.

All of the turkeys that you get put in your freezer, either through smart shopping or hunting, can stay in the freezer for some time. Even if you leave it there for too long and the meat gets freezer burn on it, the dogs will not care. Freezer burned meat is still be good food for your dogs. And they will be thankful all year for those Thanksgiving turkeys you put aside for them.

Our shop features a 12-month 2010 Lacy Dog calendar of beautiful pictures from NLDA members. We also have a one-page Lacys in action calendar. If you’re looking for a unique season’s greeting, we have blue Lacy holiday cards and Lacy puppy Christmas cards. And there are three different Lacy Dog stickers in three different sizes. Choose from a Lacy Dog bumper sticker, a Texas Lacy sticker and an oval Lacy sticker.

For more details and pictures of all these products, please visit the Lacy Dog Cafe Press store.