Once called a "Catahoula Cur," the foundation of the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog came into existence through chance breeding and from some planned breeding. The Indians in and around Louisiana used the Red Wolf, which then roamed Louisiana during this period, to locate game, much in the same manner as hunters use their dogs today. Hernando DeSoto had traveled from Florida into Louisiana, bringing with him the "War Dogs" that had made the journey to the New World. The breeds that were referred to as War Dogs were the Greyhound and the Mastiff. Research has shown that the Mastiff type of dog that accompanied him was probably those known as the "Alano Mastiff" of Spain, which are now extinct. These Mastiffs had a reputation of being able to pull down very large game with ease. DeSoto utilized their abilities to persuade the Indians to provide information on the whereabouts of Gold and Treasure. Mostly those already owned by the Indians.


After suffering defeat in battle, DeSoto abandoned his War Dogs which were allowed to roam freely. They bred and interbreed with each other along with the Red Wolf. The offspring of the various breedings were then used by the Indians, and became known as the "Wolf Dog." The Wolf Dog, which is mentioned in Louisiana History, as well as most history books covering this era, was the name given to them by Henri Tonti during one of his visits to Louisiana.


By the early 1700's the French had started arriving in Louisiana. Hearing the stories of Tonti of the abundance of game in Louisiana the French brought with them a dog known as the "Bas Rouge," or Red Stockings. This dog has also been called the "Berger de Beauce." Today that very dog is known as the Beauceron. The French bred their dogs with those of the Indians' Wolf Dog, and together these four canines contributed to the inception of the Catahoula that we know today.


There have been references to Catahoula Indians by many people, but the truth is there were no tribes of Catahoula Indians. After the onslaught of the Indians by the white man, four tribes of Indians settled together in an area where the Red, Black, and Little rivers join. These four tribes were the Avoyelle, Tunica, Ofo, and Choctaw. Because these four tribes remained in close proximity of each other, they were dubbed as the Catahoula Indians. Even the name Catahoula has been interpreted in many different ways. Unfortunately, when researching the Indian language, Muskhogean, it is found that there is no such word. Again, research gives way to a mis-pronunciation or slur of the word "Couthaougoula" meaning Choctaw. What I have written in my book are the documented findings of years of research into the history of the Catahoula Leopard Dog. This is the only book that provides the reader with a bibliography of this research.


There were three distinct versions of the Catahoula which varied in size and color. These lines of dogs were known as the Wright, McMillin, and Fairbanks lines.
Mr. Preston Wright's line was the largest of the three, and represented the dogs originally produced by the dogs of DeSoto. His dogs ranged between 90 and 110 pounds.
Mr. T. A. McMillin, who lived on Sandy Lake, raised mostly Blue Leopard dogs with glass eyes. These dogs ranged between 50 and 60 pounds.
Mr. Lovie Fairbanks' lines were the Brindle to Yellow colored dogs. His line was not as large as the Wright dogs, but larger than the McMillin line. They ranged between 65 and 75 pounds.
These and similar lines are still strong today, but it is due to the crossing and interbreeding of these three lines that there is so much variation in the Catahoula's appearance. Ranchers seem to prefer the slighter build and smaller dogs, whereas some hunters prefer those dogs with a larger build.


Most of the stories surrounding the Catahoula begin around 1850's to date. Those stories tell of what a great hunting and companion dog the Catahoula was. What is told here is how the Catahoula has become the versatile dog that it is, and why those older breeders and hunters (commonly referred to as "Old Timers") took such a hard stand about their dogs. Their stand was so firm, that the only way you could acquire a Catahoula was to have someone give one to you. Catahoulas were not sold back then, and were only used by those that needed them for hunting or work. I'm sure that some of what is read here will have some of you think the practices used were cruel, but try to keep an open mind when reading this. I would also like to thank all of those "Old Timers" and their children for relating these things to me and for giving me the opportunity to tell their side of what actually took place. It is with their permission that I tell this piece of history.


In those days a dollar was worth a dollar, and most of the time it was hard to come by. Most families not only worked at a full time job, they generally worked their farms and those of others just to make ends meet and put food on the table. The family dog was not just a pet as we know it today. If it didn't work or perform some function in the day to day farm life, it wasn't kept for very long. It cost money to feed a dog, and, if it didn't earn its keep, it wasn't kept.


Those folks that used dogs to hunt would keep a few dogs around for hunting and breeding. The breeding was to replace the dogs that were lost during a hunt, better the ones they had, or used in trading for other things that were needed. There was a method used by hunters that was effective in producing the best hunting dogs. That method, if it were used today, would bring outcries of cruelty from animal rights groups. The method has been called "Culling" or "Lining". These are the two references I have heard the most. The manner of "Lining" was for an owner to take up a position where he knew deer had been crossing. An entire litter of approximately 6 months of age would be brought to that location. The dogs would be enticed to track the deer and then released as a pack The last two to cross the "Line" taken up by the owner were shot. The reason for this was that the dogs did not show enough interest in doing their job. The rest of the litter was allowed to go about tracking and/or baying the scent of the deer. As they returned, the first two to cross the line were also shot. The reasoning for this was that they didn't show enough interest to remain with the pack. The remaining dogs were considered the most promising dogs and would be raised up to adults and put to work. This practice would continue from season to season and litter to litter. It would insure that only the best dogs were kept for hunting and breeding. In those days, hunting was not just a sport. It put food on the table. Working a ranch dog meant not having to pay someone to help with rounding up or herding cattle. It didn't make any sense to keep and feed a dog that didn't do the job and do it well.


My reason for telling this story is to answer those of you that ask the question, "What makes the Catahoula so versatile?" The answer is that these dogs were Culled and Lined so much that only the best of the best remained. Today we see it in the dogs we own. It is an unfortunate fact that a lot of good dogs were killed by this method, but it only improved the working and hunting line of dogs that remained. It may be hard to understand their reasoning behind some of the things that were done, but they did the best they could with what they had, and it worked for them at the time.


If you ever get the opportunity to speak to an old Catahoula or Cur owner, you will hear stories that will help you to understand what they look for in a dog. It's not the pretty eyes or the unique coat pattern, or even the color combinations. What they look for is a dog that works, or, as it is often said, "Worth his salt." They do not want to see the Catahoula end up as some of the other groups of hunting/working dogs have. And, those of us that love this breed want to keep these traits alive and thriving.

This Article was written by Don Abney and printed in the Winter 2008 Issue of RanchWorldAds Magazine

Subscribe today RanchWorldAds Magazine

 Diamond Bar Enterprizes - Yellow Black Mouth Cur Pups

     Our experience with blackmouth curs began in the late 1990's. My father began looking around for a type of dog that could withstand many hours of working the long, hot summer days in the southern region of California's San Joaquin Valley.  We run 350 cow/calf pairs on 16,000 acres, and were hoping to find something that could compliment our Border Collie/McNabb cross dogs. Dogs have been used in my family since the beginning of our sixth generation outfit. Up until the time my father ran across blackmouth curs in the Full Cry Magazine, we had never used anything other than Border Collies, McNabbs and a few Kelpies, and had been quite content with them. But, as human nature would have it, curiosity killed the cat and we wound up with two dogs from the southern United States. After a couple of years we decided that line was not what we wanted and began searching for other breeders throughout the country and wound up with someone in the New England States.  Our first pup from there came cross-country in a U-Haul van and the rest is history-we were sold on Blackmouths!

       Most of our ranch is only accessible by horseback and  rough, tough, cow hunting dogs really work to our advantage.  We have found them able to "wind" and track cattle that run off and hide in canyons or chaparral brush. This has truly enhanced our ability to gather this kind of cattle. Much of the time spent gathering is just getting to them. I let my dogs hunt them up, and stay with the bunch of cattle until I am able to reach them, or until they bring them into ground that is more accessible  by horseback. By this time, the dogs have a handle on the cattle and I can drive them anywhere I choose and if they try to run off again I will send the dogs and let them windmill, circling while barking, until they stop running off.  I run 2-3 dogs at a time when doing this, when they start tiring, they seem to take turns watching the herd for a minute or two while the others rest up, very neat to watch them work together as a team! They really put the whoa to those old broncy cows! They demand respect and the cows figure that out in fairly short order.   I like my dogs to go to the head of cattle and keep them bunched up, not single one or two out causing a big wreck. They need to have bite and know when to apply it, as well as the ability to dominate the cattle. I do not put alot of handle on my dogs as I have found that dogs who depend on you for every move cannot get the job done when you are not in sight of them guiding them through the process.

       Blackmouths are also good on yearling cattle. I will only take one dog while working with them, as two dogs tend to be overpowering and want to work too much.  The only disadvantage to this situation is they bark a lot. 

      Here in our part of the country the region is very rocky, arid and prone to drought. Foxtails are a huge problem, as I'm sure they are for most ranchers in California. They get embedded in between toes of long haired dogs, causing sores, which can create serious health problems and expensive vet bills. I've seen Border Collies barely make it back home after a days' work due to cut up pads. The Blackmouths are shorthaired, tight toed and taller than most working dogs. I have yet to experience any of these problems with them. Their deep chest and large lung capacity allow for longer time in between watering, making our day more productive.

      The lines we have found that work best for us are the Weatherford's Ben, Rathke's Reno and Bullet lines. Most working breeders' stock goes back to those dogs.  Weatherford's Ben had the most titles of any blackmouth cur ever:  world champion hog catch dog, world champion cow dog, world bench champion, hall of famer, and to date has produced the only world champion other than himself. He has produced many other hall of fame dogs and is the nation's number one all time producing stud dog for this breed.  In working shape, Weatherford's Ben weighed 65 pounds and produced offspring with heart, intelligence, drive and desire.  He was known to have a slobbering glaze-eyed focus on bay, to work the front-end lead, with the intelligence to listen. He has been placed on 24 hour old tracks, trailed them for 6 miles, bayed and settled the herd to be penned. There are over 40 litters of Weatherford's Ben with pups in 40+ states. He has had a profound impact on the blackmouth cur breed! Rathke's Reno is a direct son of Weatherford's Ben. Bullet is a son of Rathke's Reno.

      The typical blackmouth is tan with a black mask. They can also be red, red yellow, fawn, golden or dark yellow, yellow, light yellow, sandy yellow, to buckskin.  There are some that have a red to pink coloring in the mask area, considered pale markings.  Males generally weigh between 55-115 pounds, females 45-85 pounds. Males average 18-28 inches in height at the shoulders, females 16-26 inches. Their head should have a wide, flat dome with their nose and muzzle square, heavy and broad. They should have a broad, deep, heavily muscled chest with strong, well-muscled legs and strong, tight, rounded toes with well-developed pads.

      Their neck and back should be well muscled and strong with a straight backbone that is slightly arched for speed. The tail can be naturally bobbed or long in length. Their coat is coarse to fine, never woolly or long.  A life expectancy of 15-16 years of age is not uncommon. Blackmouths tend to be one of the healthier of dog breeds with few overall health problems.  They require alot of attention and prefer daily exercise. They are great with kids and good protectors of their home and territory.  The more time you spend with one the closer the bond between you grows. They love people and want to be with you all the time, wherever you are.

       In closing, do so some research and find the breed of dog that fits your personality, wants and needs, as each individual situation is different. I can honestly say our lives here on the ranch have been greatly enriched with the blackmouth cur breed.

This Article was Printed first in Summer 2008 RanchWorldAds Magazine. Article by By Sara Smith of Pine Mountain Curs

   A cloudy eye on livestock, caused by a bang to the eye, can be permanent when left untreated. An eye is like an onion, composed of multiple layers. The cloudiness is caused from fluid build up in between the multiple layers.
 
   A treatment  that works well when  a  veterinarian is not available is to drop evaporated  milk into the  eye twice  daily ( a 5ml syringe with no needle works excellent). 

    The evaporated  milk works  as  a hyper-extractor and will draw the fluid out from in between the layers of the eye. The natural occurring sugars in the milk help to cauterize the damaged area.  

 
RanchWorldAds Magazine is always looking for Cowboying Tips. If we print your tip we will send you $50.00 Send tips to ranchworldadsmagazine@yahoo.com
 
To View the Fall 2008 Issue of RanchWorldAds Magazine Click Here

 Just because a dog bites the nose and heels of an animal does not make him a cattle dog. He can have balance, speed, eye and concentration, and still not make a good tough farm dog. All of the above are great but if he doesn't have confidence when working cattle he is not the help he could be. I have said for many years lack of confidence or fear, which usually is the same thing, will overcome all training. I see it all the time in dogs that look real good on broke or gentle cattle, but just don't have what it takes to stay hooked when the stock are rank. Some of these dogs will bite and start to bring the stock away from a fence or out of the brush. Then, he will grab one on the nose that has started to come to you and the cattle are back where they were.

 The point I am trying to make is the dog does not know how to hold what he has gained. Had these cattle been thirty yards off the fence, the dog would not have had any trouble. If this dog had been started on cattle and helped each time this problem arose, he would have the confidence to hold what he had gained. I am not saying a dog doesn't need to bite, but if he has the confidence he will tell the old cow to move or she will be bit. The first time she is worked the dog will more than likely have to bite. After that, if he has the confidence, he may not have to bite her again.

 I like to start a dog on gentle calves at about one year old. A good solid stop is extremely important if you plan on getting his full potential. The stop is not good enough if the dog takes even one step after you have given the command. I sort cattle with my dogs and a three inch movement, after the stop command, can change the balance point. I hear a lot about natural balance and some dogs do have more than others but I want it directed toward me not a fence corner or an imaginary point in the dog's mind.

 Natural balance must be molded to fit your operation. This type of training is not stressed enough. Time spent letting the dog follow you with cattle on foot, a four wheeler or horseback is never wasted. When you are working on balance learn to keep your mouth shut most of the time. I dislike hearing a handler talking to his dog on a gather and fetch. If he comes around a little too far, tell him to "Get back" and let him find his own balance point. Whatever you do, don't start giving him flanking commands.

 A lot of my work is out of sight behind brush and hills. The flanking commands will make him mechanical and he will be lost when he can't see you. When working large numbers of cattle in the brush that you know have respect for your dog, pay more attention to the cattle and don't worry about the dog. If the stock are moving right the dog will be right. Only correct him when the cattle are wrong. He will gain much confidence when worked on balance and, when he learns the lay of the land, will be able to handle most any situation. A dog should take flanking commands at five hundred yards, but it should seldom be used on a fetch. Save the flanks for driving and sorting, and your dogs will be better for it.

 One of the first things when working on confidence is never, I repeat never, let him fail at anything you start to do. If he starts backing down as a young dog and you don't help him, he will start thinking there are certain things he can't do. I have taught dogs to rate cattle, to understand what steady means and bite when the need arises. All this was done in the small pen and the dog is very comfortable working close to me. He must have confidence in you before you can help him. You must teach him it is okay to work close and, between the two of you, the job will get done.

 Years ago, I sold a young started male to a friend. I called him Pete. He was a good dog but started out a little short on confidence when working unbroken cattle. I worked very hard on making him understand there was nothing too tough for him. I helped my friend work his unbroken cattle, using Pete and helping him each time he started having trouble. He got real bold and appeared not to be afraid of anything. He was approximately one and one half years old.

 About four months later, my friend purchased a small herd of Brahman cross cows with calves. He put them in a forty acre field below the barn. A couple of days later, he sent Pete to bring them to the corral. They turned on Pete and the fight was on. My friend stayed at the corral. About thirty minutes later Pete came to the barn exhausted without the cattle. My friend thought, well, maybe tomorrow he could handle them. Two or three tries later it got worse. Pete didn't try nearly as hard and after a few days he didn't even try. My friend called me and I took an old dog and helped Pete put the cows in the corral. I think some help that first day would have been all that was necessary to have brought the cows in. As it turned out, Pete lost a lot of confidence and never was as bold as he could have been. An older dog, under the same circumstances, would probably have had no permanent affect.

  If the dog has confidence in you, he will let you help him when he is having trouble. You can be on foot or horseback. If riding, make sure he is not afraid of the horse and get in there and help him if he needs it. If walking, have a cattle stick in your hand and use it if he is having trouble moving stock. Soon he will decide there is nothing he can't do because you have never let him fail. One thing that is very hard on a young dog is to have him fail to bring cattle to you or not get one turned if it runs off. This destroys some of his confidence each time this happens. Soon he will give up after the first try or not even try at all. Working close to him in his early training with encouragement and a cattle stick if necessary, will give him courage you never thought he had. As you start sending him farther out the confidence you have instilled in him will go to work for you and he will know the bite is there if he needs it.

 Some people are very confused as to what to look for in a cattle dog. Some are still naive enough to say a cow dog doesn't need to bite and others want to see him biting all the time. A dog that will bite sheep or gentle cattle will take hold. However, without confidence the bite is nothing more than a cheap shot. I am always seeing pictures of supposedly tough cattle dogs in the act of chasing or biting stock. If these dogs don't have the confidence and guts to work with a purpose, they are just as worthless as the non-biter. When the dog first starts realizing the bite is only to enforce what he has been taught to do and has the guts to do it under tough conditions, you have a cattle dog.

 I believe where the confusion comes from about the biting and non-biting issue is the handler not understanding cattle and how they differ from sheep. Ninety percent of the time sheep will move away from a dog's presence and that same percentage of fresh cattle will always take much more force. A strong cattle dog that has confidence and knows how to work, if you didn't know him, will make you think he can work cattle without biting. When he gets the respect of the cattle, he can. But remember his confidence and concentration is telling the old cow he has teeth and knows how to use them.

This article appeared in our Winter 2007 Issue of RanchWorldAds Magazine. Article by -  L.R. Alexander

    With the widespread use of the truck and stock trailer, trailing livestock, especially horses, has become a thing of the past in most parts of the country. Many hands do nothing more than jingle up horses out of a horse trap come a morning. In big country, wheather out on the desert or way back up in the mountains, one still needs to know how to trail horses from one place to another. The following is a way that I've found works best . You can take what you want from it and leave the rest.

   When gathering horses to trail them to a distant location the first thing is to get the jump on them. By this I mean locate the horses you're after and get them held up as quickly as possible. After you have the bunch stopped you need to let them settle. This may take less than five minutes or over thirty minutes. The amount of time it takes to settle the herd will depend on several different factors, like how far you ran them, how wild they are and how much they've been handled.

   In the long run it takes less time to settle a bunch of horses and line them out properly than it does to not settle them, and it doesn't matter how long it takes to settle them, it is always quicker to settle the herd.

    The important part isn't how long it takes to settle the herd but how  well settled  they  are when  you start  to trail them.  Being able to read horses helps. A group of settled horses, unlike cows, may not allow one man, of a two man crew, to ride amongst them when settled. But when settled they will display signs of being relaxed and not on edge by licking their lips, cocking legs, relaxed ear movement and calm eyes.

    Next, after you settle the bunch and can ride around it within a couple horse lengths without getting them all jacked up, you need to pick the horse you believe will most likely take the lead. I'd start with the horse the herd was following when you jumped um. So one man can ride off four or five horse lengths from the herd by taking a route that allows a clear line of sight with the horse you picked for the lead horse. The other man can ride to the opposite side of the herd from him and in towards the herd getting within their discomfort zone. The second man is not    trying to push or drive the horses. His job is only to keep the herd grouped and block the back door.
  
    If it works right, your lead horse should move off in the direction of the lead man and the herd should move with him. If the horses we're working are wild and have not been handled I like to move them 10 or 20 yards and then resettle them, repeating this process five or six times while doubling the move each time just to teach them to settle, move, settle. When you finally lead off to trail out across country they should be just right. Plus, since you went through the trouble of settling them several times, if they get spooked or jacked up, you should be able to just hold um up, settle them real quick and line um out again.

   When trailing horses a long distance you may end up in a position where the horse you're on is played out or comes up lame. If the horses you are trailing are broke to ride or you had the foresight to turn some spare mounts in with the bunch you are trailing then you will need to change mounts. The slickest way I know to do this is to hold up your horses in a nice open spot and let them settle. Now, I'm assuming there are only two of you on this chore. The job of roping will fall to the man who was not leading. First, after the horses are settled, the second man will put enough pressure on the bunch to move them towards the hand that was leading. The lead mans job is to stay put and let the bunch settle near or around him. If the bunch tries to leave, the second man will herd them back to the stationary man. If the ponies have been trailed a ways and they are used to being settled, they should settle around the stationary man pretty quick.

   Next, after you have the ponies settled around your stationary man, ride slowly into the herd and peel out a horse by positioning yourself between the bunch and the selected horse and push him away from the herd. In doing this, you will be able to circle the herd at half the speed of the horse you've pushed out. The reason why is the horse you pushed out  has to cover more ground to get around you and the herd because he is farther out. Try not to get him or the bunch all jacked up when you do this.

   Try to push the selected horse counter clockwise if you plan to rope him with a standard over head swing.  If you plan to rope him by standing a loop up in front of him and roping across the nose of your horse, push him clockways around the herd. If you keep it slow, this is what will happen. The selected horse will not run off. He will try to get back to the group. In his attempt, he will take the shortest route, which will be right in front of you and your horse (At that point stick it on him). When pushing him away from the herd, if you create a distance of a couple horse lengths between you and the herd, you can rope him before he gets back in the herd. You always want to be between the pushed out horse and the herd. You are not trying to chase the selected horse.

   Also, never ever do anything that will jack up the settled herd.  This whole deal works because the settled horses will not quit the bunch, because you are not bothering them. Since they are calm, the one horse you are bothering wants to get back over to the bunch, because he thinks if he does you will leave him alone too.

  This is old school and works well when needing to rope a mount.  The slower you keep the action when doing this,  the better it works. If done correctly, it will only get easier as the horses and you figure it out.

Subscribe to Ranchworldads Magazine

This Article was first printed in Fall 2008 Issue of RanchWorldAds Magazine  Article by Jack Blerry

Today's environment, even more so than in the past, leaves little room for an ambitious young person to gain a toe hold in the cattle industry. 

Capital start up costs are astronomical and approaching catastrophic. Land costs, machinery costs, fuel, fertilizer, insurance plus labor and the list goes on . To pay for this borrowed capital and realize a return on investment appears for all but the most fortunate almost unattainable. This start up idea is for those individuals who have a burning desire to own cattle but lack a pot or the window to throw it out of.

It dawned on me, several years into managing the local livestock auction, that most producers want top notch cows and a fair number of cancer eyed cows were being sold at yard sale prices. The real talent , I thought, would be to develop the innate ability to sort these cancer eyed cows mentally on the fly and determine which ones with a fair degree of accuracy could be saved.

After twelve years of buying, removing eyes and salvaging cows, I can say cancer eyed cows are a way for enterprising individuals with limited capital, to start small with manageable risk and grow a cattle business over a five to ten year period. This can be implemented even in the most challenging of macro economic environments, allowing an enterprising producer to create positive returns on investment with minimized debt risk.

Here are some examples: A five year old bred Hereford cow to calve in 60 days that is in good flesh, body score 6 to 7 will command a price of $900-$1000. She will raise a 550 black baldy steer calf sold for $1.20 a pound, grossing $660.

Her sister Hereford cow comes in at the end of the sale, she is 5 years old to calve in 60 days with a body score of 5 and the affliction of a modest cancer eye. She sells not by the head but by the pound. She weighs 1000@ .29/100 grossing 290 dollars. You determine that her eye is a good risk for removal at the hands of a highly skilled veterinary surgeon for a fee of $100, after which you will put her on a ration to gain rather than maintain. Your factory unit has cost you $390 and will produce a 500 black baldy steer calf sold for $1.20 a pound, grossing $600.

My question to you, cattleman, would you buy a factory unit for $1000 to produce $660 worth of goods or would you rather pay $390 for a factory unit that will produce $600 of finished goods? The answer appears obvious, but we must ask some other questions. Will your $390 factory unit have the same depreciable life as your $1000 unit? Odds are she will but at the end of her depreciable life you will sell her for .35/ versus her counterpart who will resale for .45/.

The black white - faced cow referenced here was purchased for 30 dollars / hundred weight weighing 1100 pounds and in advanced pregnancy. It was decided to increase her plane of nutrition and calve her before removing her eye. She is an excellent factory unit. This particular cow is 10 years old which will limit her longevity in the program but with adequate nutrition she should be productive for two to three more years and have excellent salvage value.

The ability to judge a cancer eye cow at auction is critical for a successful outcome. I believe that if one can be accurate at an 80% rate in selection then an excellent margin of profitability can be maintained. i.e. you can be wrong in judgment 20% of the time and still be successful.

There is no published grading system that I am aware of to assess cancer eye. The system we use is based on the location of the cancer. i.e. whether it is on the eye lid, the third eye lid or involving the eye only. Third eyelid cancers seem to be more aggressive and metastasize more readily. How extensive the involvement of the cancer must also be assessed. i.e. the extent of the area involved and whether it has invaded the boney structure of the head. Breed of cow also plays a role in long term prognosis. i.e. black baldy cows seem to have more aggressive cancer eyes than Hereford cows.

If the cancer spreads it will almost always show up as a lump jaw located behind the jaw and under the ear. Once the cancer has spread it is illegal to remove these lumps as they involve the lymph nodes and cannot be properly inspected at slaughter.

Northern latitudes are more conducive to positive outcomes as fewer screw worm or blow fly infestations of the surgical site are encountered. Seasonally, fall, winter or early spring are the best seasons for cancer eye surgeries. If removal is done in the summer, topical applications of fly repellants and insecticides may be warranted.

Infection is a rare complication of eye removal if careful steps are taken to limit contamination during surgery. Some drainage will always develop at the inside edge of the sutured eye lids as the body expels the blood collected in the socket after surgery. I seldom use antibiotics after eye removal as have seen no need and positive results without them.

This is a procedure that few producers attempt but can be mastered with little difficulty. I am of the opinion that for the time and equipment necessary to perform the surgery that unless a producer is doing a large number of eye removals, it may be more economical to have the procedure performed by a veterinarian, as us poor country vets have kids in college and need the money and should see the procedure done for approximately $100.

Let me say again, the cow referenced above is an excellent example of what can be accomplished with limited capital and minimal debt risk. As risks go, her cancer was a low grade tumor involving the eye only which should lend itself to a happy positive outcome even though she is a black whiteface cow. Her only drawback is her age which will limit her longevity but she will still be a positive cash flow cow weaning a 550-600 calf.

You do the math as I have and you will find that someone beginning on a shoe string can actually gain a toe hold in the cow business without the cloud of oppressive debt keeping him or her up at night. The talent, the ability most paramount in this venture, is to, with a keen sense of accuracy, select those cattle with the best prognosis for improvement in the shortest time possible with the least input.

Sincerely, Cowboyblu D.V.M.

Cowboyblu is a graduate of The University of Wyoming with a  microbiology BS and a graduate of the 1978 veterinary class of Colorado State University .Cowboyblu has been a mixed practitioner in the Great state of  Wyoming since 1978 and has been affiliated with the local sale barn for a good many of those years. This Article was first published in RanchWorldAds Magazine - Summer 2008

--------------------
Not a member of CattleGrower.com? Like FaceBook but only for ranchers (bovine, equine, caprinae, camelid, swine, etc.) Join here and start connecting with other like-minded ranchers today.