At the end of the day, being "hot" means nothing (except maybe you don't have to worry about starting them). As has been mentioned, sometimes people will rush a hot dog and give him too much, too fast.

The hottest pup I ever had was Pretty Boy, who was fully-started at 6 weeks of age, and had to be put on a chain about the same time he got his first parvo shot, as he was attacking his littermates.

I sold Pretty Boy as a puppy to a greenhorn who went by Tiger Kennels, and (without ever rolling Pretty Boy even once), this guy just handwalked & matched a totally unschooled, 16-month-old Pretty Boy into M.P. in GA ... and Pretty Boy overcame all odds and won in 2:42. Just imagine that: a 16 month old having to go 2:42 on his first time EVER in a pit! Later, the guy got out and sold Pretty Boy to Showdown Kennels, who matched Pretty Boy into Ch Big Boy ... which was only Pretty Boy's second time down ... and Pretty Boy lost game in 1:10. So, even though Pretty Boy never got ruined, he damned sure could have been.

Okay, so Pretty Boy was a double-barrel game dog who "started early," but what about TALENT?

I bought Pretty Boy back and was breeding him to some bitches, when I had another super-hot pup named Icon (a cousin to Pretty Boy). By 9 months, Icon was after anything that moved, and by 11 months he could not be chained within EYESHOT of another male (I literally could only chain him next to bitches). Icon did not start as early as Pretty Boy, but @ 11 months I rolled him with Pretty Boy ... and the young Icon wiped up the floor with the older (5-lb larger, 4-hour fastlane-experienced) Pretty Boy. Pretty Boy was a game dog, and he "started earlier" than Icon ... but what did that have to do with TALENT? Nothing.

Icon simply had more ability in his toenail than Pretty Boy had in his whole body ... and "how early" each started had nothing whatsoever to do with their TALENT. Sure, Pretty Boy was the "official winner," but as the breeder of both dogs, I knew which individual was better than which ... which brings up which brings up a whole other subject which is ... does being "an official winner" mean anything

Jack


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