Roux and the Black Bear

We were working outside this weekend near the lake.  Roux loves that area, as there are lots of birds for him to chase.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure running along the lake, and I thought "there he goes again" . . . then I saw another black figure right behind that one . . . and I knew immediately one of those figures was a bear.

You can imagine my relief when I realized it was Roux chasing the bear and not the other way around.  However, that relief was short-lived . . . I quickly went into "momma mode", fearing the bear would turn around and get my dog.  He was in such hot pursuit, he couldn't hear my screams of "No!" or "Here!" or even his name.

Side note:  The Dog Whisperer says they can't "hear" you when they are in that prey mode . . . but I still think they hear just fine and choose to ignore you :)

The bear was an adolescent bear, small but larger than Roux.  Roux had absolutely no fear and, as it should be, the bear had fear.  He ran fast and Roux chased him up a tree.

It was definitely one of those "wish I had my camera" moments.  No, I haven't learned that lesson yet.

Here are some iPhone photos, which are not that good.

In the first photo, you can barely see the bear's ears between the branches.  In the second photo, the bear is climbing down the tree.  He didn't wait long . . . we walked far enough away and he quickly came down and high-tailed it back into the woods.

Later, Roux spent some time retracing the bear's path by the tree.  I think he was learning the scent . . . at least that's what he did the first time he found an armadillo.  He chased the running creature, then came back and learned the scent . . . trotting all along the ground, nose to the ground.  Now he can smell an armadillo before he sees it.

I'm in love with a dog

Jeff and I have always been dog people.  Our lifestyle, however, has not been conducive to dog ownership.  Since moving to Agriana, and to the detriment of our cats, we now have a lifestyle that is perfect for a dog.

Since we moved here, Jeff has had a vision of me with a dog . . . walking to the garden to collect veggies, riding around in the golf cart, and protecting me from some wildlife.  We weren't sure about the breed, though.  Jeff started researching dog breeds last year to see what would make a good fit for us.  We wanted an active dog to enjoy Agriana, a companion breed, and especially wanted a tracking dog for deer hunting.  We also knew we did not want a dog that likes water (for swimming) due to the alligators around here.

We settled on the Texas State Dog, the Blue Lacy (sometimes called a Lacy Dog).  Jeff spent hours on the phone with different breeders . . . and one thing was for sure . . . Blue Lacy owners love the breed.  Even if the breeder didn't have any puppies available, they would spend 30 minutes on the phone with Jeff, praising the breed and telling stories.  We learned so much, and we felt confident in the breed.  

At the end of November, we spoke to a couple outside of Beeville, Texas that happened to have a puppy available.  They were thinking of keeping the puppy for their own family, but after talking to Jeff and thinking we had a great environment for a Blue Lacy, a deal was made.  We took off for Texas the day after Thanksgiving to pick up our new family addition.

He was such a cute puppy!  He is a tri-color Blue Lacy . . . mostly "blue" with "red" markings and a patch of white on his chest.  He was about 12 weeks old when he took his first plane ride to a new home in Louisiana.  We named him Roux (pronounced ro͞o) -- a good South Louisiana name.

Hunting season was in full swing when we got home.  Even at such a young age, Roux had the instinct to track deer.  Here he is with one of the first deer he found.  The doe was about 130 lbs. and Roux was barely  4 months old.

We gave him the tail as a reward and he quickly buried it, like the treasure it was.

Roux is fast and enthusiastic.  With all the palmettos here, we quickly realized we needed something to track HIM.  A light on his collar worked a little, but the thick palmettos blocked the illumination if he got too far ahead . . . which he did.  We bought him a GPS collar that works great . . . and we have two handheld monitors.  Why two?  One for me to track Roux and the other for Jeff to track me!  Roux takes off after the deer, I take off after Roux and . . . well . . . sometimes we get turned around and get lost in the woods.  With the second monitor, Jeff can track us :)

Here is Roux wearing his GPS collar after finding a deer, and another picture in a deer stand waiting patiently.

Yes, I took the trouble to bring one of his dog beds with us.  Am I spoiling him?

Needless to say, Roux has been an excellent addition to hunting season. 

He is also a great companion.  He goes most everywhere with us.  We took a trip to Texas to visit family not long ago.  He got along great with our nephew, who is just over a year old.  Here they are playing.

One of his favorite pastimes is chasing birds.  Roux bounces and runs and barks, but hasn't caught one.  I learned that his Momma also chases birds around her house in Texas . . .she hasn't caught one yet either.  This is one of my favorite pictures of him chasing birds:

He's in the middle of our growing sunflower crop amid the pecan trees.  Is he having fun, or what?  After such a workout, he enjoys a little time in his pool:

I'm sure you can tell I am totally smitten with this dog.  He is such a joy to have.  And, yes, I spoil him.  Maybe I spoil him too much . . . Jeff just purchased The Dog Whisperer series on DVD for training.  Not that Roux needs much training . . . Jeff seems to think I need the training.