As Dale pointed out above, the first recorded version of the song was by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers - 4 January 1926 (Co 15084). Charles Wolfe and Mark Wilson wrote the following informative note to the song in the liner notes to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers 'The Kickapoo Medicine Show' Rounder LP 1023:

"This pleasant urban reflection of rurality was copyrighted in 1912 by Webb M. Oungst and Cy Perkins, a pseudonym for Mrs John Stark, wife of the famous pioneer publisher of ragtime. Its melody derives from the 'Sally Ann' family of tunes but the lyrics reflect the practice of an experienced literary hand, for all its unwashed pretentions. The populist Missouri Democrat, Champ Clark, employed this ditty as his theme that year in his unsuccessful bid for the presidential nomination against Woodrow Wilson. The song became nationally known through this exposure and has been seriously proposed as the state song of Missouri. It may be doubted, however, whether the Skillet Lickers had Champ Clark in mind when they recorded it in 1926 …"

The Skillet Lickers (or, more specifically, their lead singer, Riley Puckett) sang (pretty close to the version posted above by Kendall):

Me and old Lem Briggs and old Bill Brown
Took a load of corn to town
Old Jim dog, the on'ery pup
He just naturally followed us up

Chorus:
Every time I come to town
The boys go to kicking my dog around
Makes no difference if he's a hound
Ya gotta quit kicking my dog around

As we driv' past the country store
A passel of yaps came out the door
Jim he scooted behind a box
Showered him with sticks and rocks

They tied a tin can to his tail
And run him past the county jail
That just naturally makes me sore
Bill he cussed and Lem he swore

Most probably because of his notoriously poor memory, Riley omitted to sing the expected finale:

Me and Lem Briggs and old Bill Brown
Lost no time a-getting down
We whupped them fellers to the ground
For kickin' my old dog, Jim, around

Jim seed his duty there and then
He sure let into those gentlemen
He sure messed up that townhouse square
With rags and meat and hide and hair

Stewie.