good read!!

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When did you get your first bulldog and how was it bred?
I named her Silver. There was an ad in the local paper for pit bull puppies, I went out to look at the litter as I had acquired my first house and wanted a dog. 10 months after I bought the dog she came in heat. I went back to the guy to breed her to a stud, he said if she was good enough he would breed for free. I said good enough for what? And he told me we were going to roll this bitch and see if she was a good dog to his standard. I had never rolled my dog, but I found it interesting. The breeder got a female near the same size as Silver and we put them in a 10 by 10 dog pen together and Silver whipped that bitch’s ass. He said I really like your bitch and you can leave her here to be bred to Blackjack. Long story short, she had a few pups she wasn’t much of a producer and I couldn’t tell you what happened to her or the line she came from, just a first dog story that fades into time.

Did you have a mentor when you started in the dog? If so who was it?
You know there were a lot of guys around active back in those days, the early 80’s. At all levels of the game and if you had the gonads you could match into anyone from Joe down the block to Bobby Hall if that’s what you wanted. I went down to visit Bobby in 1986 and during that summer and the years of apprenticeship to follow I learned more about dogs and how to care for them then anyone other guy I met. I got to learn from many great real dog men such as Norman Hooten, Jerry Clemmons, Floyd Boudreaux, Louis Colby, Jack Kelly, Lester Hughes, Harry Hargroves, Barney Fife, Irish Jerry, and of course a man I learned an awful lot about feeding and working a dog, Don Mayfield. But if I had to name one guy that I learned the most from in the shortest time it was Bobby Hall. The man could look through a dog like a piece of glass. Tell you what the dog ate, when he last drank and is he feeling all that good or just stepping light, son.

When did you match your first dog & how did it turn out? My first money matches were local matches. I matched Fat Bill’s Stomper at the local level a couple times, same with his dame Blackrose, winning two with each. My first real fast lane match was into Swinson & Medlin’s Lady with Bolero in 1985. Lady and her littermates Mona and Splash were all the talk at this time. They were by Kent Reirson’s Colombo dog bred to a daughter of Medlin’s Outlaw named Carolina Rose, primarily a Redboy/Outlaw breeding. I was young and eager and I went into Lady with Bolero. Bolero had shown to be a real good dog and nothing stayed with her more then a few minutes in her schooling, she was 16 months old when she faced Lady. Lady was picked up game as they get in 9 minutes.

How did you learn to condition a bulldog? Trial and error. Being open minded and not being afraid to try new ideas. I started with a great basis. In the 80’s I would go and visit famous Dogmen I was talking to over the phone. I would arrange my trips to be at the end of a keep and then a show so I could watch them point the dog. Bobby Hall use to tell me, “Son, anyone can condition a dog till you two weeks out, then comes the nut cutting.” With that information and a guy like Bobby to bounce “new” information off of I was able to get a good idea of what worked and didn’t work, and for future applications of other technologies what might work and what might not. Most of the grand ideas I came up with were silly and the basic deal is the KISS Keep, this stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. I had a man come visit me from Australia back during the early 90’s. This man was named Adam The Aussie and he stayed with me his entire 6 month visa and came to do one thing to learn how to condition. At the end of 6 months we had shown a half dozen dogs as we won some we lost some, but I made sure that all 6 dogs were worked on a different keep. Different primary work, be it the mill, the jenny, the swim or chasing a ball down a hill at the golf course for 5 hours a day. The point was at the end of his keep he knew several methods and saw with his own eyes that there is no set keep, but just using what works best for you and your dog.

What is your win loss record & to what do you attribute your success in the square? My official record, this is me stepping over the wall with a dog in my arms, or at box side with a handler/conditioner using a dog I owned. As there were two ways I brought dogs out. One was just me Fat Bill & my dog, also we had a consortium called the Dixie Line Connection, what this was is when I teamed up with another guy, no one was a permanent member of the Dixie Line Connection other then me. Perfect example would be, I sold you a dog I won two with as Fat Bill’s ( enter name here ) and then later the name would change to Dixie Line Connection & (your kennel name here)’s ( dog’s name enter here ). Under these conditions I won 77 matches and lost 24. My solo record with dogs I owned was 55 wins and 17 losses. Lot of people look at my record and think I lost a lot of matches. I did. I had access to the heartbeat of the game and where the very best dogs of the time were and if possible I went after them. I drew many forfeits off over zealous owners that when challenged would say yes. But then the adrenaline would lower its level and they would end up paying forfeits or just wiggle out. If I named all the dogs that paid forfeits I could add another dozen champions or so to my historical record. But then there were the sportsman that when challenged rose to that challenge and would win. I recall Champion Bullet said to be an ace that won 3 and never had to scratch to his opponent and no dog ever scratched to him. We lost to him but Bullet had to scratch 2 times that night and was retired 4 time winner due to having his teeth knocked out. I attribute my success in the square to using it to figure out what was best, what worked best and what didn’t. I wanted to win every time, but it wasn’t the reason for the show. I wanted to know what I was feeding and all the rolling and all the local crap could show you only so much, it was the show against a dog you were told you couldn’t beat that let me know what was what. Most of the time we won, sometimes we lost. The best losses were when we lost with a game dog; the best wins were when the opponent was picked up still scratching. Like when Grand Champion Bo beat Hargrove’s Champion Tank. Tank showed heart like few have seen and this win was epic as I rather beat a game dog then a cur any day as that shows you something you don’t see everyday.

It has been told to me that you are viewed by some as one of the greatest handlers and conditioners; what were some key points in your keep? My main thing was to condition the right. I made sure I understood this dog, that anything I wanted to try the last 2 weeks of the keep I would try on the dog during week 12 and week 8. I never experimented the last 30 days and tried not to at all during a keep. If the situation allowed it I would run a full practice keep on the dog before I put up a forfeit. Try all my stuff on him and even peak him and travel and see how he does, gather all the data I could and write it down. I like to really study a dog before I worked him. Spy on him. Watch him run his chain, walk with other people, play in the yard and see the way the dog moved and how he held his head and memorize what his eyes looked like as he playfully romped. I wanted him to look and feel this way all the way thru his keep especially at the end of his rest days. I kept my food on cutting edge, was always trying to advance my feed program. But again keep it simple, don’t get to tied up in the science and don’t forget the fact these dogs were doing fine living wild just a blink of the eye ago in history’s view. I would always make sure my animal had the finest stress free living conditions. What ever that individual had to have to be laid back when not working. If that meant staying in the house or being on a chain set up by the creek alone. It was important to keep the stress and chain running down as you couldn’t gauge this into the work out. Of course dogs that just wouldn’t calm down I would equate the amount of work the dog did on the chain into the keep and adjust the food to allocate for calories burned. The biggest thing was I never was above asking questions, I would keep several fanciers close to the vest and we all shared information on what worked for each of us, I held back information like they did, but we all in some way wanted to show the other we did have a clue. With that ego of a dogman working fulltime lots of information was accumulated to aid in the proper conditioning of my dogs.

In your opinion what is the best match you ever seen? Man that’s a tough question. The best match I ever had and saw was Bolero vs. Barney Fife & Martin Jean’s Bridgette. This was a battle royal and each dog was perfect to beat the other. They went back and forth until Bolero pulled out front at 40 minutes or so and Barney picked up a super game Bridgette. Bridgette was hand picked to beat Bolero and shut me up, it almost worked. I was worried and Bridgette sure was smart, but in this case brawn won out over brains that day. Bridgette made a very game courtesy and was a credit to all dogs that showed so well before her. Barney was an excellent conditioner and handler and I learned a lot from him over the years, he was very smart. He passed away in the late 90’s. But man that was such a good match, they went to pay me after I won and I offered to let them keep the bet if I could have their dog. No deal so I took the cash. Shortly afterwards I found a brother to Bridgette, his name was Angus. These dogs were ¾ Loposay’s Buster ¼ Carver Tiger Jack, Angus was every bit a bulldog like his sister and we bred a couple bitches to him and to his son over the years. There is some stuff out there today that is by a Bolero female bred to Red Angus a son of Angus that is being feed from New Orleans all the way to Mother Russia. So if my words don’t bring the impact of Bridgette and Bolero and the quality that Bridgette displayed, I hope my actions make it clear. As for the best match I had seen as a spectator, wow that’s really hard. The Boone’s Champion Lady Stone and Havana Boy’s Champion Blondie match was a great match, but Blondie did jump the square at the end downgrading that match. Gambler’s Grand Champion Virgil vs. Homegrown’s Big Al, that was a real slugfest and the loser showing as game as the winner. It was a true classic. Lanier & Fergy’s Grand Champion Bronson vs. Shockley & Garner’s Header, 3:09, no turns or out of holds, and Bronson completes a scratch to win at 3:11. Bronson won Best and Gamest in show that night this was in 1987, it was a 14 match show, I handled and conditioned Bronson. Double Grand Champion Tornado vs. Tant’s Black Cat was a great match and Black Cat certainly gave Tornado a run for her money. I had seen Black Cat win over Little’s Red and she blew through Red. When Ken Allen called out Black Cat I just knew that would be a war. But Tornado had her number like the other 9 bitches she beat, this one lasted 1:44. The Grand Champion Buck vs. Sandman match was epic but more for the drama of the show and the crowd, that was a wild night. Neither dog was overly impressive but many times two good fighters will kind of “cancel” each other out. There was a lot of turning and laying around, but in the end in 3 plus hours Grand Champion Buck made a hard and fast scratch to win, never hesitating and getting the job done. But honestly when you pose that question to me the first fight that comes to mind is Bridgette vs. Bolero, what a battle.

Who was the best dog you ever matched and why do you feel it was the best? I will have to break this up into two categories. Males. Females. Males, the best I ever matched was Denny & Dixie Line Connection’s Grand Champion Bo. He was the perfect dog; he was like dropping a chainsaw with feet that weighed 43 pounds into the square. I never seen him turn, change holds in self defense or look around. Taking him to the show was a sure bet and I never doubted him for a minute, now I always doubted myself and would get very nervous before a show, but Bo made things much easier. Bo won 5 including stopping Crenshaw’s Champion Brute in 56 minutes. Females, without question Champion Bolero, she was a straight up ace. I would hold off paying all bills for months before her shows and bet everything I could beg borrow or pawn on her. I came home from her match into Super Gnats Lil Bit on a Monday morning and my power had been shut off, I had it back on by 2pm as I paid the power bill on my way to deposit my winnings in the bank.

How did you decide what bloodlines to incorporate into your Fat Bill dogs (i.e. Stomper, Bolero, and Twoeyes)? I worked hard to keep my Bolero stuff as tight as you can get it. I never bred her back to her own children so you can’t get it tighter then 50%. The reason I did that was the Honeybunch blood during Bolero’s breeding years was and still is doing very well, Honeybunch was never bred back to her children, but later line bred. I figured those guys breeding that stuff are way smarter and experienced then me, must be something to maintaining a bloodline by not breeding it to tight. Also the guys breeding the Honeybunch stuff were using the dogs as was I using mine. I had more in common with their ideals and pursuits then the peddlers that had triple bred off some old brood bitch that everyone has forgot by now. I liked crossing it with Eli blood that didn’t have Stomper or Bolero in the ped so I could line breed the Eli blood with out inbreeding it to much. It seemed to work and as time went on I found myself back in the nest of the Eli Jr as I got many dogs from master breeders and dogmen par excellence Jerry Clemmons & Floyd Boudreaux. The straight bred Eli stuff from these men put with my old stuff seemed to work real nice, they were good dogs. From this type breeding came TVK’s Wicked (2xw 2xl sire to Ch El Negro ROM ), Champion Arangadanga (3xw including winning over HOE’s Ch Salina) , Champion Sooooevil (6xw 1xl quit to Ch Cochise in 1:01), Champion Huckleberry, Gr Ch Sweet Pea and Champion Tweaker just to name a few came from this combination. My advice to the reader was the same advice giving to me by my elders, “don’t chase after dead dogs and their bloodlines, and breed to what’s there today. No one knew Eli was going to be ELI, when he was bred to Spook, but the intuition of great Dogmen led us to where they speculated would be the place to be. You have to figure out what of your day will be the dog to breed to now. Not trying to breed to some dog that’s been dead 20 years.

Can you compare the general state of the game today, to the days of old? Well I am not that old but I will make a statement about this subject. When I got in the dogs in 1982, it was very tough. Nobody trusted the new guy. I couldn’t find any decent dogs. I never got invited to a show. I made an effort to learn and when I did show true want of knowledge many people opened their doors. But then there were the sons of bitches that would do anything to hurt you, and cause trouble and slow your progress down. I had to move forward, set short and long term goals and go for it, or I would never realize what I dreamed of and that was be a top notch dogman. I learned to never think I was above anyone and stay open minded and always do my best, and not give two ****s what anyone thought about you outside your circle. There was lots of politics, lots of peddlers and lots of leaches. From the stories I hear of old it was the same then. I read in a 1920’s edition of “Pitcraft” magazine published out of Houston TX a letter written by an old timer of the period, blasting a guy named Earl and his “mutt” Tudor’s Blackjack and what sods they were, he and his pup. The wheels keep turning, the stuff I read on the internet and hear from others tell me it aint changed much, but I am sure glad I don’t have to deal with that **** anymore. Good luck to those that are, as it’s real hot nowadays and always will be, chances are if you break the law with these dogs, you will go to jail, lose your dogs and more then likely many friends and family, not to mention the cost financially. Things aint changed much.

Who are your top five respected Dogmen past or present? Jerry Clemmons, Floyd Boudreaux, Louis Colby, Don Mayfield & Maurice Carver. These guys made the breed we all know as the bulldog and what it is as we know it in the very best conditions. They are instrumental in what I fed and without their efforts and dedication I would have never got to have all the good dogs and good times I had with the American Gamedog.

Looking to the future what do you think would improve the chances of preserving the heritage of these amazing dogs? Our society here in the USA holds the life of an animal and its rights and needs above those of humans in many cases. There are many injustices that take place against the human race in this country every day and you hear little of it, but some dog gets “abused” man its front page and all kinds of money and aide go to helping this animal, while men, women and children continue to suffer at the hands of poverty, lack of education and poor health care. So I think the future for the breed is to empower our foreign counterparts with knowledge. They already have great dogs in places like the former communist bloc countries, Latin America and the Far East like the Philippines, they just need a clearer understanding of the past so they can apply it to their yards and get the most out of what they are feeding and have dogs that carry on the finest characteristics of our breed. As for the future in the USA and other western civilizations the future for this breed is preserving the history of the breed. Keeping the bloodlines straight and helping the breed at grass roots level with responsible ownership and activism that allows anyone to own any dog anywhere and be responsible for the ownership of that dog.

What do you feel is the biggest mistake you have made in the dogs and how can others avoid doing the same? When I bought my first dog that was the biggest mistake because it led to a bunch more!!! My advice to the reader here is don’t break the law with your dogs, study the history, enjoy the companionship and to protect the breed with all your heart.

Is there anything

 

Agree, good read.

 

awesome read thank you

 

yes a real good read. I wish i could have met all those dogs man too.

 

Great read

 

Thanks for the read!

 

Good read really enjoyed it

 

must be fat bill interview and a good one at that...