I'd like to say that's some of the best reading I've done in a long time. Thanks you two.
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I'd like to say that's some of the best reading I've done in a long time. Thanks you two.
Well, glad you enjoyed it, good sir.
It's been awhile since I wanted to tell the whole story, so I am glad some folks enjoyed it.
Cheers,
Jack
Regarding Reuben's match career, he was a 1XW and 1XL. Now, Bobby always told me that he was a deep game dog, and that when he lost he rolled end over end to get to the other dog and just didn't make the count. I used to attend a chicken pit over near Marana every other weekend for derbies with Carl Clark and Lars Larson , who were both good dogmen in their own right, and Patrick bloodline devotees for the most part. Lars told me once "Bobby sure has done alright with that Reuben stock, not bad for an old cur dog". Lars was the referee for the loss Reuben had, and I asked him what he meant by cur dog. He told me he made a lot of scratches but he was counted out and quit. This is a classic example of how some dogmen view things. I left it alone with Lars but talked to Bobby about it later, and of course he was really upset. I think Lars didn't distinguish very well between couldn't and wouldn't when he tagged Reuben with the cur label. Bobby was a man who would not look at some bitches, (which I didn't agree with in general when I was active in the dogs) but he most assuredly wouldn't breed to a cur male. I have every reason to believe that Reuben was a pretty deep game dog. He was severely undershot, but very rarely did we get stufff from the bloodline that was too far undershot, even when inbred. I liked the Bad Billy type of stuff better, but the Billy and Reuben blood blended very well together. I believe Reuben was a super prepotent dog, and many of his offspring were also prepotent.
In the 2003 time frame when we were still talking some, Bobby told me that his stuff was still game but weak, that they often would not survive afterwards. I didn't know it at the time, but he obtained a daughter of my Ch. Costello to blend with his stuff. He did tell me he had a Gr Ch Shep bred male, which carried some of his own stuff down from Tina and Woodrow. This was his attempt at putting vigor back into the line. This breeding to the Costello daughter was an interesting compliment, as Ch. Costello won his 3rd over none other than Bobby Smith in 1:46. There was a comment made to me afterwards "at least we killed him". Well, one of the hallmarks of the Costello dog and his offspring was durability. After 7 critical days, he was back on chain in good spirits, thanks to the expertise of S&S Combine. After he survived, Bobby was endlessly trying to put stink on the Ch Costello dog, so to find out that he was breeding our Costello stuff into his stock was really the ultimate compliment.
I previously gave T.P. of SW&P (Bobby's partner) Ch Costello's brother Hosea. They won with him in something like 1:48, and then lost to the Ch Chance dog with him in 1:52. Fanciers who were present that I talked to said the other handler really freaked the Hosea dog out by banging dust in his face off the carpet, making wild noises, and pretty much all manner of unsportsmanlike conduct. The Ch Peterbilt blood behind Cos and Hosea was a little skitzoid, and Hosea got a little bit of that trait on top of being raised with little socialization after I returned to California. Bobby was fit to be tied I heard about the other handler's antics, but what was done was done. Hosea was bred to a bitch from my good friend Northern Express, and that in turn produced a bitch called Peanut. Peanut then was bred to Bobby's linebred Gr Ch Shep dog named Mankind to produce a great dog named Ch Chomper.
http://www.thepitbullbible.com/forum...hp?dog_id=7599
He also had a very game brother who lost in 1:42.
I sometimes lament not keeping this old blood "pure" when I certainly had the chance to do so. On the other hand, the pure stuff just was not as consistently game as the dogs I have today down from the family with my own cross and judicious selection. It was always my contention that several generations of cold and unchecked bitches hurt the family somewhat. The best remedy I could think of was to put a brutal, winning bitch into the mix who had an even better sister , a solid dam, a winning granddam, and a winning great granddam. This was a string of prepotent, game bitches from the Chinaman and Hollingsworth families, then bred to one of Ronald Boyles' best sires. So while my dogs today are not "pure" S&W anymore than Jack's dogs are not "pure" Hollingsworth, my dogs are damn sure better than the pure stuff ever was. Nevertheless, I still have a soft, nostalgic spot for the of the old core blood I started with, and forever will.
Again, great read! Thnx
Very interesting read...:appl:
Well looks like I have some peds to change......
That is ...... up. Never thought I would end up with a totally different line of dogs from last week. I always thought Ch Hammer's stance looked different from a Bolio dog's. Oh well, can't do anything about it, might as well move on and try to make the best of what I already have.
Look at it as a Godsend.
Even though I didn't know the truth at the time, the fact is had I not bred to Ch Hammer I would have missed out on the singlemost important breeding I ever made ... because only after I made that breeding, and linebred on the dogs that it produced, did my dogs achieve World Class Ability.
As with poker, in the genetic game of cards sometimes an unexpected "wildcard" is what it takes to win you the money ;)
Cheers,
Jack
? on Smith & Williams' Reuben ROM.....his father and mother are both Cox....Is that George Cox......
Good question, I am not sure.