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Ray, 
Here is a picture of our new puppy (Tick) treeing his first coon (play toy).  He seems very smart and is doing well.

Thanks,
Rusty from North Carolina

Hi Ray; We sent this off to some friends, thought you may take some pride in your daughter Dixie Blue Dancer, as she has brought us so much enjoyment, even in her misdeeds.

It was the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter
We sprung from our beds to see what was the matter.

And there in the living room what did we see
It was Dixie Blue Dancer wrapped up in our Christmas tree. 
All tangled in tinsel and strung up in lights
The sight was shocker, had she been there all night?

Her bright eyes both glisten in the sparkling scene
In her mouth was a candy cane, stripped red and green.    
What a bad little puppy, what a bad little hound
But what she really wanted was to be get all unwound.

So we tugged at the branches and pulled at the tree
And soon she was scampering off, finally free
In the blink of an eye she dashed off in the night
Leaving us in the clutter of the trees sparkling light.  

To the back yard she ran with the prize that she had
She is really so good, at being so bad.

Norm & Allison ~ State of Florida 

Hi Ray:
Well, it is January 2, and Dixie is just 12 days short of 8 months old, still growing and loving life to the max. As this photo also shows, she still likes to sing in the morning. We started her hunting, and she took to it like a natural, which of course she is. What a nose, cold or hot trail makes little difference. Once on scent she bawls until I fall over with joy at the sound of her voice, and she knows I like it too. When she opens on the track, I can hardly contain myself, what a dog. Everyone who sees her recognizes what spectacular breeding she is the product of, even when they know nothing about dogs, she is that special. Thanks again.

Allison and I, and of course Dixie Blue Dancer all wish you a happy and prosperous new year, and the best of hunting.  Stay safe Norm  
Norm & Allison

Ray,
Hope the holiday season was good to you and your family.   I just wanted to give you an update on the pup.  She is doing very well.  She stands about 24” and weighs 52 lbs.  I am very pleased with her progress in the bird hunting area.  She has lots of natural ability and definitely lots of interest in hunting.  In fact, she shows more interest than a lot of the labs I have had and she seems like she could go forever in terms of stamina.  She is retrieving ducks, geese and pheasants in kind of a canned situation there at the house after we have came home from a hunt.  Because these can get pretty aggressive when wounded, I have not let her retrieve any of these live yet.  She is soft-mouthed and I want to keep that way at least while she is learning.   I wanted to get some pictures for you of her retrieving a duck in the water but unfortunately, I did not get her going well enough early to get her out and actually fetch one out of the water before things began to ice up.  She does like water.  I have taken her out and shot around her so she has been exposed to all the components of a hunt and I need to get her and have her see the whole picture.  I have really tried to keep everything very positive and took lots of extra time teaching her what is expected.  She has been a great fit with the family.  She has really taken ownership to the family (especially my daughter) and is a pretty good watch dog.  She is not terrible aggressive in this area which is good but if she thinks something is not quite right, she will let us know with her baying.  Some friends of ours got a Bluetick pup out of South Dakota and it is about the same age as our pup but theirs will not bay.  They did not get the pup till it was about 4 months old but they are trying to figure out a way to get it to start baying.  Any ideas?  Thanks again and I will get some pictures sent your way in the near future.  Jeff - State of Nebraska  

Hi, Ray

Just wanted to give you an update on the dog (well pup then) we got off you. He's a little over 2 now and he's turned into one fine hound to hunt with. Took him a while but he finally slammed a wild coon by himself one night, just hunting him alone that night.  He's got a pretty good mouth on him and very cold nosed. I'll attach some pics of him on the tree.   Amy and Daryl from North Carolina

Hi Ray.

Just a quick note to say Hello and send a picture of  Blu. she is doing great, up to about 43 pounds and  learning a lot.  I am now retired so she goes  everywhere with us!!  You were right, she likes to talk!!

Thanks again for a wonderful addition to our family!

 Joe B

Hey Ray,
 Just thought you might like to keep up on your dogs. Windy’s been keeping busy hiking in the Sierra Nevada's. This is on the Pacific Crest Trail at 7400 ft. I've been using a field collar on her to keep her from running off after critters. But up at that altitude, we don't see a lot. She's turning into a good trail dog.
Thanks again for a great dog,

Lisa

missy from Florida

Dear Ray and Debra,
We are so enjoying our bluetick pup, Lester Ray Owen.  He just graduated from puppy kindergarten and one of the assistant trainers asked that I sign up for the next class on the days she is there, she really likes him too.  He is so smart.  For his "graduating trick" he scented out his baby.  Lester has a great voice.  He already sits and lies down.  He also understands "wait."  We are so happy with the guy.  He is so calm and in a new situation will stop, check it out and then go on.  He loves kids and always wants to say hi.  A young boy in our class preferred to hang out with Lester rather than his own puppy, a yellow lab, I understood why.  His dad wasn't too happy. Lester has a great sense of humor and we all adore him.  Thanks so much again and especially your boys who did great socializing.  Jane Martin

Ray,
My name is Beth Lynch from the Wash DC area.  We got one of your pups (Bubba) in Feb. of this year.  Bubba is a great dog,  He is now 8 months old and weighs eighty pounds and really resembles Sammy in his build.  He is a big guy with a wonderful temperament and exceptionally smart.  Although we do not hunt with Bubba-he is clearly a natural.  We are able to take him frequently on long hikes and he is beautiful to watch as he picks up a scent and trails with his big bawl. On the occasion he has treed or cornered he will not give up baying.  It is clear from his behavior that he takes great pride in his work.  I really can't say enough about what a wonderful dog he is.  He has been exceptionally easy to train in obedience and just a delight in every way.   Clearly the quality and care that you put into your dogs is evident in Bubba.  I will send you a picture.  Thanks again from our family.  Beth

Dear Ray, Just wanted to drop you a note updating you on Otis, the puppy we got from last October. He is about to turn one year old and is a great dog - he is so lovable despite his mischievousness!  He has a great temperament and gets along with both people and other dogs.  This year Otis experienced his first Coon Dog Day in Saluda, NC.  While he didn't participate in the treeing competition, we let him go up to the stuffed coon and smell it afterwards - he loved it and began to 'sing' - everyone around commented on his 'beautiful voice"!!  Maybe next year, with a little training, he will give those other dogs a run for their money.  We love Otis and are really happy with him.  Thanks for breeding such great Blueticks.  Sincerely, Amy & Scott - St. Petersburg, Florida

Hay Ray,  I’m waiting on my leave dates to come out for September, I’m hoping to go on an elk hunt back home in Idaho. We have invested lots of time in shadow the female pup and she is starting to turn, she is treeing on her own now. Brit is getting her ready for the state field trials; we will enter her in three events.  1. Puppy run, 2. Bench show, 3. Medium race. Last year we had Casper in this race and he did very well came out 7th and knock out about 300 grown dogs in the over all competition, and he was only 8 months old. Shadow is a late starter, lots of puppy in her and full of energy, so much its hard to get her to stay still for any length of time. We know if we can get her through the puppy year, we will have a great bear dog. Shadow is a great looking female pup she's getting some leg under her, and I think she will finish out well. It was hard getting her to start, lots of roll cage and trailing and drags went into training her many hours invested, she has stretched many critters. This hound pup will be a vital member of our pack and we will be breed her the second year with Casper. The grit from Casper and energy and trailing abilities from shadow should make for some really good pups from shadows. I like to be carefully picking hounds to breed, I look for traits in the sire and female, I'm working for the best big game hound, and that’s why I got with you, I know you have good stock. When picking a hound you need to set a goal and a end result and then go shopping and pick wisely.  Even for future breeding you need to keep a short list of hound breeders and continue to set goals and think about what kind of hound that you want. I will continue to increase and my breed will get better, and I want to thank you for shadow, she is a quality hound and now a member of my pack. Thanks again,   Randy Gipson Northern Iraq

Hi Ray, I just wanted to send you a couple of pictures of our really big puppy. He has stolen our hearts and our chairs. His name is Buck and he is the best dog. He is great with the kids, he thinks he's one. He has already started to scent and has been going after anything that enters the backyard that's not supposed to be there. So far at almost 15 weeks Buck weighs in at 31 pounds and stands 18 inches from paw to shoulder. Wow that seems really big to me. I cant tell you how much we appreciate the time you took to talk to us and email pictures. We love him with all our heart and will defiantly be looking to get more dogs from you in the years to come.
Thanks Y-Erika

Hi Ray,  Thought you might want some pictures of Pepper, she's probably one of the best looking dogs around, people are always commenting on her.  She's also probably the only hound that will fetch just about anything:), mostly toys and balls though.  Many have offered to take her off my hands including her vet.  We've been in Oregon now almost a year, she's trained to the invisible fence and is an excellent guard dog and companion and would have made someone an excellent hunting dog.  I've worked with her enough now to know she basically an air scenter, she will go to ground if she has to but always pulls from the air first.  She loves to bay at the rabbits and chase them off the property and also the deer and still loves people very much.  I can give her a find command and she's off and will go if she's feeling like it till she finds what I told her to.  She is pretty large, large enough to intimidate most people around 86 lbs., that's if I don't let her carry any extra weight.  She's probably closer to 90 in these pics.  Putting on a little fat for winter :).  I probably never told you but she went to puppy training 3 times.  On the third round they had an obstacle course like you see the dogs run on TV.  She did it all and didn't blink except jump on the table.  She's been a slow jumper but now no problems.  I have an off road Toyota truck that's about 3 feet off the ground and one hand signal and she's in.  One thing though, don't think I will ever have another blue with just one, she really needs a buddy, loves dogs and no good wrestling dogs here.  It's very different from where I was living before, more remote.  One of the pictures here is of who is top dog and it's the cat, notice cat on dog bed dog on carpet. :)  Jack the cat does this every afternoon and sometimes past Pepper's bed time but she will not kick the cat off her bed, she is so funny.  She comes in and complains to me instead till I move him.  She will let him drink out of her water dish but definitely draws the line at food.  Anyway I've attached some pics, I think she almost the spittin image of her Dad.  You tell what you think.  Take care,  Laura,  State of Oregon