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**Lacy's Place**
(For optimal viewing, click on maximum frame)
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ALL ABOUT LACY
ACTIVITIES
FEIST
LINKS MISCELLANEOUS
DEDICATIONS
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ALL ABOUT LACY
My husband and I had just lost our
beautiful Pit-girl, Molly, to cancer (
hemangiosarcoma ) and couldn't stand having an empty house, so I
glued myself to the computer and tracked down every dog within my search
criteria (smallish, shorthaired, female). The only likely
candidate was a skinny, little, year old, terrier/beagle/? mix
named Lady, at
Angel
Paws Rescue Haven, in Gloversville, NY.
She was smaller than we'd planned on
and rather boney, as the picture shows, weighing in at a mere 10.4 lbs.
And we had some concerns about her shyness and issues with larger dogs,
but in the end she snagged us and |
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In keeping with what's become an unplanned tradition, we named her
something close to her foster name...in this case "Lady" became "Lacy."
And, to reflect her southern origins (yet another unplanned tradition),
we added on "Belle." In just 3 weeks time,
we got her up to 13 lbs. and had to back off considerably on the food.
We were used to feeding a 50 pound dog, so using a 2-Tbsp coffee scoop
has taken some getting used to.
Trek from Tennessee...
Lacy was shipped up from Newport, Tennessee,
shortly before we adopted her. Apparently her people turned her
and several other dogs in to the shelter, because "they kept having
puppies." Hmmm.... Anyway, that's no longer a
problem.
Feisty Lacy! |
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On
adoption day
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The first week we had her,
everybody was trying to figure out what kind of mix Lacy was. Terrier
and Beagle were pretty much agreed on, although whether it was Jack Russel
or what, we weren't sure. Some folks thought there was Dachshund in
there, but I was inclined to go with Whippet or Italian Greyhound.
Then I stopped in at a local pet shop and, when I mentioned that she was
from Tennessee, the salesgirl said she was from there as well and that Lacy
was most likely a Feist
(squirrel dog). After doing some research, I'm inclined to agree.
Depending on who you read,
Feists are either a) from Rat Terriers, b) were here 200 years before the
Rat Terrier, c) are synonymous with Rat Terriers or d) are from and/or mixed
with Native American stock (Countryside & Small Stock Journal, Vol. 91, # 6,
Nov/Dec 2007). In any case, at least within recent years,
Beagle has been bred in to enhance their noses and Whippet or Italian
Greyhound have been added for speed. There's been no indication of
Dachshund blood in the mix.
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Lacy prefers to be
"in the bed" rather than "on the bed."
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Man...it's COLD
up here!!!
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I'm sure it never occurred to our little bundle of joy that
she'd be leaving the balmy temps of Tennessee to wind up in Upstate NY
in the middle of winter. Brrrrr!!! On her first day
with us, the poor thing had to sit through about 20 coat fittings
before we found something that worked and she was none too pleased to
go out during the first freezing rain. Fortunately, she's
adapted fairly readily, but she does spend a considerable amount of
time sleeping in her faux-shearling "cave." I originally
intended it to be a bed to sleep "on, " but she much prefers to be
curled up "in" it...like most Italian Greyhounds. |
Rubber Baby Buggy Bedder?
Well, it turns out that when it comes
to toys and bedding...true to her terrier heritage...Lacy's a shredder.
Anything that's not good quality hard rubber is doomed to be
destroyed...and even some of those don't make it. So it occurred to
me that if hard rubber toys stand up to her, then what about a rubber bed?
I ran down to our local pet/feed supply and, sure enough, they had a
lovely Duraflex 6-1/2 gallon, black rubber feed tub that she fit in (they
let her try it on for size)...for under $10 yet! It measures 17-1/2"
in diameter by 8-1/2" high, and as long as her bedding is in the tub, she
pretty much leaves it alone. Then it dawned on me to get another
smaller rubber tub for her toys, so even if they don't exactly go with my
living room decor, at least they match each other. Plus...washing
and sterilizing them is a piece of cake and I can use the tubs for bathing
as well!
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As far as toys
go, the Premier
Busy Buddy line have stood up quite well (her favorites are the Squirrel
Dude and the Bouncy Bone) and the
Ruff Wear TurnUp also has Lacy's seal of approval.
THE BEST TOY, however, is a large 6" long, multicolored "jack"
(see lower right pic) that has shown nary a scratch on it in
the many years in which we've had it. Unfortunately, I have no idea
where we got it and it has no identifying marks. Maybe someone out there has a clue... I'd LOVE to
know where it came from.
NOTE: I do have concerns about
the rubber tub out-gassing, but I don't seem to have any other choice. She
destroyed toys that stood up to my pitbull and pit/lab mix (together!!!) and I
can't afford to keep replacing her bedding every week or so. I called
about her toys (excepting the "jack") and apparently the Premier and RuffWear
natural rubber toys don't outgass, so that's one less thing to worry about.
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Multi-use rubber
feed tubs. |
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All cuddled up.
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Tough toy extraordinaire!!! |
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ACTIVITIES
It
turns out that Lacy has some structural issues (popping hocks?) that
most likely will prevent us from doing really serious agility, frisbee
or fly ball (catching isn't her forte anyway), but she's finally gotten
enough obedience under her belt to give agility a go (more on that
below). I'd like to try Rally-O and maybe some Musical Freestyle as
well. We tried lure coursing once (I couldn't believe there was an
event practically right in our back yard!), but while she showed real
aptitude at home, I forgot about her insecurities in new places. She
ran about 20 feet, turned around and came scampering back. That's the
only lure coursing event within any kind of reasonable proximity, so we
probably won't get another chance at it until next year...if they come
back. Earthdog activities also seem to take place in far-flung places.
Another thing that's caught my interest is whether it'd be possible to
train a dog to do equine-like dressage maneuvers, like half-pass or
shoulder-in, etc. They're wonderful suppling exercises that would
actually be quite useful for carting....if we can ever find a mini
harness and wagon.
She's made it through her Primary
training class, finished 2 rounds of Secondary training and we're just
finishing up our 2nd Novice level session. In addition, we did a
clinic with Tracy Sklenar and |
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Did someone say
squirrel???
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learned some
wonderful new tools for impulse control. We saw some |
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The winning
costume at the 2009 Alplaus Fun Show
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noticeable results
right then and there and Lacy's been improving since. We're also nearly
through our first Agility class, and we're both having a BLAST!!! There
was a bit of trouble with the teeter... but not for the usual reasons.
The banging when it hit the ground didn't seem to phase her too much,
but when it lifted back up after she got off, she looked like the boogie
man was out to get her. I worked through that by pushing it up and down
with my foot, while she sat nearby, saying "bang, bang" each time and
treating her. Then I put the treat on a plastic target, on the teeter
and let her take the treat off of there each time it went down. From
there, I let her try and get it while it was in the up position and she
started pulling the teeter down by herself.
And no...we won't be doing any squirrel hunting, although I can't stop
her from chasing anything that happens into the fenced yard. Heaven
help them if she catches one! If her stuffed toys are any indication,
there won't be much left but a puff of gray fur...
We had her in day care one day a week for a year, but it only seemed to
exacerbate her doggy fear issues. She found that going after dogs that
approached her worked. We're just fortunate that none of them took her
head off in response. |
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FEIST LINKS
(bibliography & other cool stuff!)
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Things are looking
up!
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Countryside & Small Stock Journal:
Vol. 91, # 6, Nov/Dec 2007
Introduction to the Treeing Feist: A squirrel dog breed history, by
Marcus B. Gray
http://www.countrysidemag.com/
• Mentions
Native American dog influence.
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Bedtime in Lacy's
den (crate).
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MISCELLANEOUS
If you'd like to find out more about
Lacy, or have any comments, feel free to send mail.
 To find out about
my harping activities, click here.
In memory of
Molly, our sweet little Pit-girl,
click here.
I
haven't been able to bring myself to close her story just yet, so it
reads like she's still around.
In memory of
Shasta, a lovely Morgan mare,
click here. A poem
written for three canine companions (Shenan, Kelly and Cindy) and Shasta is
posted there. If you've lost a special companion, I hope you find
comfort in it.
And, don't forget to
check out my Art
Gallery Site. There's a lovely German Shepherd Dog portrait, among
others.
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DEDICATIONS
This page is dedicated with love to Molly, Cindy, Luke
and all those that came before them
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Molly - She taught us much about patience & the power of positive
reinforcement
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Cindy - A gift
even without the bows.
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Luke - We miss him...issues and all.
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Molly Mae, Cindy Lu & Luke
...Kelly,
Shenan, Honey, Ginger, Joey & Princess
Created
12/16/07
Updated 7/31/09
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