The Blue Lacy Dog has its roots in Texas and is the official dog of the state. It is high energetic dog that needs purpose in its life to live happily. That purpose could be herding livestock, tracking and treeing or hunting predators. Despite having fine attributes, the dog is not meant for everyone.
It is suitable for countryside dwellers who are cowboys, farmers, gazers or poachers. The dog has been named as “blue lacy” because of blue coloration in its genes. It can also be of red, grey, silver or cream colors. Training the dog is joy as it is intelligent and learns skills quickly but you need to be confident and self-assertive.
The dog is too energetic for toddlers but it is suitable for young kids who can match with its energy levels. It is affectionate to everyone and is even tolerable of other dogs. So, if you are ready to live an active lifestyle and commit to your dog’s exercise schedule, this breed is right choice for you.
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Blue Lacy Origin
It is 19th century breed which was developed in Texas. The breed was developed by Lacy brothers (Frank, George, Ewin, and Harry Lacy) who wanted an all-purpose farm dog that should be agile, hardworking, and highly trainable and could pursue hunting.
To get the desired result, they mated English Shepherd, Greyhound and a wolf. The resultant dog met their expectation and they named it after their name. The ‘blue’ word was added in its name because of the distinctive blue color of the dog. The dog has intense desire to work and can work in any kind of weather. In 2005, this breed was declared as the official dog of the state.
Blue Lacy Dog Characteristics & Information
- The dog belongs to Texas and is all-purpose farm dog
- It can herd, protect and hunt wild animals
- The dog is active, intelligent, devoted and bold
- The lifespan of this breed is 14-16 years
- It stands at a height of 18-23 inches
- The dog weighs around 13-23 kg
- It comes in blue, red, grey, silver, cream and tricolors
- The average price of this breed is $600 - $800 USD
- The dog loves outside environment and needs plenty of rooms to run. It is not suitable for apartment living or city dwellers
- It is not a barky dog. Though it makes vigilant watchdog
- The dog is friendly towards child and loves to play with them
- Being a working dog, this breed requires great deal of physical workout on regular basis. This breed loves when it is given productive job to do
- This breed is not hypoallergenic
- It has short hair which sheds little
- The dog has an easy maintenance coat
- Training the dog is moderately easy. You do not have to put too much of efforts.
Appearance
It is a solidly build up robust dog of medium size. The dog’s height and weight is in proportion with no exaggeration of any bodily feature. It has noble head and well developed muzzle with a definite stop. The ears of the dog are small, flat and set at moderately high position on head. The dog has medium sized, almond shaped eyes which has intense gaze. The tail of the dog is carried low and gets curve towards the end.
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Size and Weight
The male breed stands at a height of 46-58 cm and weighs around 13-23 kg.
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Coat and Color
The dog has smooth, glossy and tight coat. It comes in blue, red, grey, silver, cream and tricolors. Many dogs also have white on their body but too much white color makes it disqualified.
Temperament
- Personality - The dog has intense desire to work and high prey drives. On fields it is focused and dedicated and inside home it is calm and sweet. The dog is jolly with kids and loves to play with them. It is wary of strangers and can also act as guard dog if the need arises. This dog also enjoys playing and interacting with other dogs. The dog is immensely confident with a “never give up attitude”. It makes wonderful field dog as well companion dog.
- Behavior - The dog was born to work hard. It is robust and can work in sort of environment. Its only purpose in life is to work hard so that it could impress its leader. A dog having meaningful job and busy lifestyle is happier than a dog with no work. This breed is perfect combination of brain, rugged body and agility. It also has keen sense of smell and can be engaged in tracking activities. Overall it makes perfect breed to ranchers, hunters, cowboys and trappers.
- Activities requirement - The dog requires high intensity workout on regular basis. It prefers open field where it can run, romp and jump. If you’re planning to own this breed, it is important to give it productive task to accomplish. This will cover 70% of its desire to workout. The remaining 30% can be covered by taking the dog for jog, run or even hikes.
- Trainability - This breed is highly trainable. The master should be experienced in handling high energetic dogs. The dog is extremely intelligent and can learn the lessons in one go. They have sharp memory so once they get command over any lesson; they’ll remember it for lifetime. It is also important to introduce your dog with many good people.
Feeding
It is a highly energetic dog that requires 2 to 2 and half cup of meal. Feed it raw meat, beef bison, venison, lamb, fish. Feeding yoghurt and boiled eggs as well as fresh vegetables occasionally is also advisable. This dog loves bone so do include bones in diet too.
Lifespan
The life expectancy of this breed is 14-16 years.
Healthy Breed
This breed is not hypoallergenic. The Blue Lacy Dog is generally a strong breed with no breed specific disease. Few dogs are sensitive to vaccine and food allergies because of the presence of blue genes in them.
Grooming
It sheds moderately. Weekly brushing with bristle brush is recommended to keep the dead hair in color. It does not contain dog’s odor so bath only when required. When the nails start hitting the floor, it is time to trim its nails.
Check it ears and clean the wax formed, with the help of solution given by vet. Brushing its teeth is mandatory so that it doesn’t develop dental issues. Apply antiseptic if you see cuts or wound on its body.
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Habitat
The dog is meant to live in a spacious environment. It is meant for countryside because it lives an active lifestyle. The dog is robust and can tolerate any kind of climate.
Blue Lacy Pet Names
- Charlie
- Daisy
- Lily
- Apsara
- Cooper
Things To Consider Before Buying
Pros
- The dog is multi-talent as it can herd, track, hunt and protect property as well as humans
- It has a healthy lifespan with no major health issues
- The dog is easy to groom and it can live in any kind of climate.
Cons
- This dog is not meant for urban lifestyle
- It needs active owner who can provide ample amount of exercise to the dog
- It is not hypoallergenic.