A Cata-who-a-what-a?

No, a Catahoula!  

We recently adopted a sweet little puppy into the fold.  I guess we didn’t have enough dog hair in the house already.  I had really wanted a hound dog, but hubby was pretty much against that.  I don’t know why.  So, we debated long and hard on what breed to get, and trust me this family can debate.  But, in the end, I convince them all we needed a Catahoula Leopard Dog.  

Lyra is now 5 months old and has hit that tyrannosaurus rex phase. Yes, she has already eaten my son’s retainer and will try to eat just about anything else she can fit in her mouth.  

I know this isn’t really a horse post, but dogs are often a part of the horse world, especially in the country.  Good ranch dogs keep smaller prey animals away and are great at letting you know when someone has arrived on the property.  Poor amazon delivery guy.

“Not everyone needs a Catahoula.”

National Association of Louisiana Catahoulas, Inc.

Anyway, this American breed is so versatile and useful on the ranch I wanted to share a little about them.  They make loyal family dogs and are used as stock dogs, hunting dogs, and watchdogs.  But these are not your beginner dogs.  The National Association of Louisiana Catahoulas even has a motto that “Not everyone needs a Catahoula.”  That might be so, but we sure do love ours. 

For details on this special breed check out the National Association of Louisiana Catahoulas, Inc. website. Of course, with new dogs come all the treats and toys.  One item we couldn’t live without is the LED Dog Collar.  During the day she drags a 15-foot line and we can grab that line before giving the come command.  That way we aren’t chasing her all over the place.  It also makes it easy to tie her up and out of the way around the horses.  But at night we just couldn’t see her!  The first thing we tried was a dog bell.  This worked great with our lab that used to wander off.  But at night we could hear the bell coming and going and still could not see where she was.  So, we purchased an LED Dog Collar.  This is a lifesaver!  Now we can see her out in the field running around and always know exactly where she is.