APBTs & American Sentinels bred to catch man or beast!
Mr. "Pat" Patrick & his line of dogs
Patrick bred dogs for over 40 years, and his dogs are behind more famous dogs, bloodlines, and breeding programs than any other breeder from the modern era. While several legendary dogmen exist, I believe the only dogman in history that displayed the same level of knowledge that Mr. Patrick displayed in the fields of genetics and breeding would be Maurice Carver. For this reason there is not another dogman in recent history that I respect more.
It is with great pleasure that I can say I have come to know one of the greatest breeders of the APBT in modern times.
Mr. Patrick's ability to recognize good working dogs is excellent, his extensive knowledge and experience of breeding performance animals exceeds any other dogman I have ever spoken to, and his willingness to openly share such knowledge and experiences with those that earn his respect is very generous.
As a result, I am pleased to announce that Mr. Patrick not only purchased one of our APBTs and several of our American Sentinels, but also stated that our dogs to be the only dogs of any other breed that display the same level of drive and intensity that he was use to seeing in his game bred dogs.
I consider it a great honor that he likes my dogs and our service enough to have been a repeat client and to have also sent me his 2000 ADBA Dogman Hall of Fame plaque as a thank you gift...a gift I will undoubtedly & proudly pass down to my son.
"The Time's" Interview with Pat Patrick
Legendary breeder & 2000 ADBA Dogman Hall of Fame
(ALL ACCOUNTS ARE FICTIONAL, AND SHOULD BE VIEWED AS SUCH)
S.T.P’S Grand Champion BUCK, Lewis’s Grand Champion CATFISH, Anderson’s Champion TONKA, Patrick’s Champion ASSASSIN, Ozzie Steven’s Champion RASTUS, Boyle’s Champion BOBBY JR., Payne’s Champion BLACK ANNIE, Kincaid’s Champion PRINCESS and the list goes on and on. Pat Patrick has bred probably more champions than any other man alive and his reputation of being one of the best breeders in the world will be a hard act to follow.
Patrick’s main stud dogs were Indian BOLIO and Patrick’s TOMBSTONE. These two dogs not only proved to be Game winning Pit dogs, but in Patrick’s hands turned out to be first class producers of equally good dogs.
We at The TIMES feel that Patrick deserves lots of credit for his outstanding record of breeding good dogs. In the next few pages we asked Pat about his experience on this subject and we hope you will enjoy reading his answers.
Pat, who were the first people you brought your dogs from?
Keith Allen sold me TATER and FAITH and Indian Sonny sold me Red BABY’S dam, a Bitch named GOLDIE. Maurice Carver sold me DIAMOND and Don Mayfield sold me TOMBSTONE. Also, I got DOLLY from Don Maloney and Grand Champion HANK from Danny Burton. I bought my first dog from Adolph Torres of Los Angeles back in 1967. He told me his dogs were bred for fighting just as their ancestors had been bred for perhaps more than 22 years. Arny Steinberg showed me the dogs of Clouse bloodlines like TATER and FAITH and other dogs that he and Keith Allen owned at the time. They were very Game, long winded dogs. Later I discovered the Maloney dogs like TOMBSTONE and DOLLY and BOLIO dogs. It really is a matter of trial and error. I went by what I saw and heard from other good dogmen. I’ve tried lots of different bloodlines; always try to stay with the bloodlines that consistently produce high a percentage of good to great bulldogs. I have settled on the Maloney dogs, the BOLIO dogs and the TATER and FAITH lines because these bloodlines have worked the best for me and produced good individuals. I also like the dogs that come from Indian Sonny’s Corvino dog, CRUSHER and the old Carver dogs with little or no BULLYSON bloodlines in them. The reason why I bought TOMBSTONE from Don Mayfield was because I talked to Bert Sorrells and Indian Sonny and other California dogmen and they all said he was a good dog.
What qualities are you looking for in a dog?
Gameness. The desire to keep fighting when a dog is hurt, tired, and losing. That is the most important quality. Endurance, often called stamina or natural air is the next most important quality in my book. I like a smart fighting dog that can adapt to his opponent. Speed, strength and good balance in a dog contribute to a dog’s wrestling ability. A hard bite and the ability to keep biting hard can certainly help a dog to win. I like a dog to stay after his opponent that has quit; I seek a good finisher. A good head fighter is my favorite style because they can often win without getting hurt much. A good head dog can be effective against any other style. Indian BOLIO was the best head fighter I’ve ever seen, and he was also the best stud dog I know of. I sometimes hear other dogmen say this dog or that dog would have easily beaten BOLIO. I don’t believe it. He was the all-around best fighting dog I ever saw, pound for pound.
Where did you get BOLIO from?
BOLIO was taken from Indian Sonny’s Yard after some kind of dispute with some people I can’t name. I had no part in this. Sonny and I did not like each other too much, but again I had no part in taking BOLIO from his Yard. Anyway, the people who took BOLIO from Sonny had trouble keeping BOLIO after he bit a kid. They brought BOLIO to my yard for safe keeping. If the situation was reversed I know for sure Sonny would do the same. Maurice Carver had bred BOLIO together with Eddie Klaus, and I believe Floyd Boudreaux and Bennett Clayton owned the dog before Sonny did.
Pat can you tell me what good dogs BOLIO produced?
Yes, number one he produced CH. GREB, an extremely rough, hard biting, dead game dog. He was a chest dog mainly. Number two, Kincaid’s CH. Princess, almost unbeatable at 39lbs. She was a hard mouth dog that fought the head and the legs. Number three, CH. DAGON. He was a son of TUFFY and killed dogs in less than 30 minutes. He liked the Chest, throat, stomach, kidneys and face. Number four, Patrick’s Chen Lang. He could fight like hell at full speed until his opponent was exhausted. He was strong and very fast, but a light biter. Number five, Patrick’s Bull Boy Bob. A brother to Ch. Dagon, an all-around talented dog, at his best on the nose. Number six, Patrick’s Red Baby, a talented hard biting head dog that has produced many good dogs herself. Number seven and eight, Pinky (a litter sister to Red Baby) and Baby Spike. Both of these dogs were similar to Red Baby. Number ten, Kid’s Blackie, a brother to CH. Blackie, a brother to CH. Princess and Chen Lang with a similar style and ability. Number eleven to fifteen, Pretty Girl, Boogie, No Name, Pin Head, and Bertha. They were all sisters to Ch. Princess, and they were all just as good as she was. Number sixteen, Ch. Kramer, a son of Sable, a real good all around fighter. Fast and skillful. Number seventeen, Commander White Head. He was 7/8th Bolio genes. A hard biter on the legs and head. Number eighteen, Rojo, a son of Gr. Ch. Hope. He killed dogs with his chest and shoulder holds. Number nineteen, Kincaid’s Rollo. He was a game, long winded dog and an extra hard scratcher. Rollo was a son of Ch. Princess. Number twenty, Patrick’s Kona, a daughter of Boni Maroni (Tonka's sister) Kona was an ace, very fast and strong with a hard bite. Number twenty one, El Dos Bits Cortaro, an inbred son of Bolio. He was never matched for money, but he was very game, with great natural air. He bites hard and is a good head dog. There were a lot more outstanding Bolio dogs, but I’ve bragged about him enough for one interview.
If you had to breed to a male dog outside your own kennels, which one would you pick and why?
There are a few good ones I would like to breed to some good bitches, one of them would be Smith’s Red Rock. He is a pit ace with gameness and head fighting style I like. He is an inbred Ch. Tonka dog, and I already own his sister Anderson’s Rose and all her pups turned out game. Another dog would be Diamond Jim’s Luther. This dog is very heavy in Carver’s Ironhead, and he was bred to my Rose bitch when Diamond Jim owned her. From this breeding came some great dogs. Also Rodriguez’s Ch. Midnight. This dog has taken some good dogs out very quickly. He is a well bred dog with perfect confirmation for combat. Another dog I like is Allen’s Gr. Ch. Robert T. He has the head fighting style I like, and he is a blend of the Carver’s Black Widow and my Tater and Faith, Bolio and Tombstone blood. He proved his great stamina in a three hour win.
When and why did you buy Anderson’s Ch. TonCh. Tonka was about seven or eight years old when I bought him from Ronnie Anderson. He is out of Tombstone and Red Baby, this, plus the fact that he is a very good fighting dog and a hell of a producer, convinced me to buy him from Ronnie. I can’t keep track of all the dogs that he produced because Ronnie bred him often before I got him, but I will name you a few that I know of. When he was bred to Sherwood’s Blondy, a two-time winner herself, he sired Ch. Shawn and Ch. Willie Booger. When bred to Anderson’s Raaven, he produced Ch. Billy and Ch. Buck. He also sired Ch. Bocefuss and Ch. Samantha, who is still being campaigned. Ch. Tonka is not recognized as a R.O.M. in the Sporting Dog Journal and that’s a real rip-off. He should definitely be R.O.M., and I’m sure if he were a Georgia-bred dog he would be!
What was your relation to Anderson, Carver, Indian Sonny, or other dogmen?
Anderson and I did business together, and I considered him a friend of mine. I purchased one dog from Maurice Carver on a weekend visit to his place, I wish I had purchased more dogs from him at the time, because I believe he had the best dog yard in the world from about 1968 to maybe 1978. Indian Sonny has lots of knowledge and experience, and I like the bloodlines that he uses. Carl Winn runs a smaller yard but he also knows how to breed good dogs. I believe that these people are good breeders, and I respect them for that. Floyd Boudreaux and Gary Hammonds also have great knowledge and experience and many famous dogs have come from their yards. Bobby Smith of Texas always had good dogs in his yard and he has probably seen more fights in his life than anybody else. Ron of the U & S Kennels in Europe is a very intelligent breeder, and he is putting out some of the best dogs in the world. Mike Harrison, Darrin Steel, Bruce Foster and Navarro will be breeding outstanding dogs in the future.
What do you consider more important, pedigree or individual performance?
To me pedigree and individual performance are equal in importance. All dogs have their own genes, different from other dogs, even his own brother. I think the better dogs have the better genes most often. Sometimes a very good dog comes along with not much quality in their pedigree. Maybe he is a throwback to some of his few good ancestors, but a dog like this is never a good producer. I would not use a pit ace for breeding if he did not have a solid pedigree. I would not use a superb bred dog for breeding if he was not also game. For best results you need both good breeding and performance. There is no compromise.
What is the best dog on your Yard right now?
Patrick’s HOMER. He is a son of El Dos Bits and a pure Clouse bitch named Cricket. His parents are dead game. I purchased him from Gene Wright. Gene had won twice with him when his opponents were picked up in less than 20 minutes. He also collected some forfeits. I bought Homer in his prime or else he would surely have made Grand Champion at 30lbs. I would really like to take this opportunity to thank Gene for selling me this great little dog. His pups are very Game talented dogs and he will be a R.O.M. soon.
How do you determine the quality of your dogs and especially in those you sell as a puppy?
First of all the dogs I use must show the traits we talked about before like gameness and determination to keep fighting while under pressure. When I breed a well bred game male to a well bred game female, I have all the confidence in the world that the pups I sell have a good chance to be game too. Due to the strict laws, I can’t roll or match dogs and I must, and do, obey these laws. However, my breeding stock is all proven game even if someone else did the testing. I cannot legally fight dogs or sell them to fight, and I obey this law, but it is not illegal to breed proven game dogs or retired champions, and this is what I do..Ch. Tonka is a good example of this. He won three matches in front of many people in another part of this country, and when he came to me on my yard, he never had another tooth in him. I don’t like these laws, but they exist, and I obey them for my own safety.
What can you tell me about Tombstone?
Tombstone was a deep game dog that won a come-from-behind fight in the hands of Don Mayfield against a dog that was considered unbeatable. I used that Tombstone as a stud dog and sired many good dogs. When I bred him to Bolio's daughter Red Baby, he produced Ch. Tonka who was a very hard biting nose dog. In the same litter were Ch. Snubby, Wilson’s Ch. Crash, and Dugan’s Ali. He won twice with the head fighting style that was the trademark of this litter. Then there was Falcon Eddie (a one-time winner), Merrit’s Snapper (a one-time winner) and also Crum’s Creamator, this female won two matches and no takers after that. Ruth’s Smash was also out of Tombstone and Red Baby, and he won at 48lbs. He was foolishly matched into a 58lb dog, and he was killed in this match. Eight pups out of this combination won 17 matches and lost only once. Tombstone also produced Lewis’ Gr. Ch. Hope, she was out of Ch. Catfish. Hope could do it all. Her combination of wrestling and hard biting, stamina, and gameness was too much for the 40lb bitches of her day. Furthermore, he produced three males that won about ten matches between them when he was bred to Ozzie Steven’s Precious. There was Ch. Tuffy, who was HOPE’S brother. He was not fast or smart, but strong with good air and plenty of gameness to get the job done. Tombstone also sired Pool’s Ch. Teresa who won five but lost one.
What do you believe to be more important, the stud dog or the brood bitch?
I really believe that both male and female are equally important. They both contribute 50% on average to the genetic make-up of the pups and that’s why both pedigree and quality of the individual dog must be of first class.
Why did you sell Gr. Ch. Hank to Andre Giroux?
Well, I bought HANK from Danny Burton after he won his title, and I bred him to several of my good bitches. He sired some good dogs when I bred him to Red Baby; however, on the average, Hank did not sire the percentage of good to great dogs that some of my other stud dogs did. I offered him for sell and it so happened that Andre Giroux made me a good offer for him and that’s why I sold him. Hank sired Ch. Assassin when I bred him to Red Baby.
Besides the dogs that were sired by Bolio or Tombstone, what other well known dogs did you breed?
Quite a few, for instance; Gr. Ch. Buck, he beat the Rebel’s Gr. Ch. Sandman in his last match in three hours 12 minutes. He was out of Patrick’s Golden Boy, a son of Keno and out of a bitch I named Red Lady. Keno also sired Payne’s Ch. Black Annie when I bred him to Slick. Keno himself was sired by Tombstone, and he was a very game dog, but never matched. When I bred Bull Boy Bob to Blitz, I got Steel’s Ch. Hammer. When bred to Mabel, he produced Boyle’s Ch. Bobby Jr. When I bred Four Bitz to Blitz, I got Wichita’s Ch. Blaze. Another stud dog of mine named Bolio Jr. sired Dann’s Ch. B.J. and Gr. Ch. Ojo Azul. I bred Patrick’s Jose to a bitch from McHarry and that produced Steven’s Ch. Rastus and Chances’ Bobby McGee. I also bred Patrick’s Billy to a bitch of Arnold Steinberg and from that combination came Steinberg’s Ch. Jodi. When Billy was bred to my old Sable bitch, he produced Steven’s Ch. Tammy. All together I believe I bred more than 30 champions and that is not counting the truckloads of one and two time winners that came out of my brood stock.
Who do you believe is the best dogman all around?
That’s a tough question to answer. Perhaps. Well, I believe that Bobby Smith from Texas is one of the very best dogmen in the USA. He is a knowledgeable, an honest man, and he and his sons know how to put one in shape too. Another guy that is very dedicated and also a very good conditioner is Ron Ulvelink from U & S Kennels in Europe. I believe that these two men are as good as anybody else when it comes breeding and shaping a good pit bulldog. There are others with a high percentage of wins, but you also hear a lot of rumors about these guys doing this and that and to me a good dogman is an honest man that takes pride in his dealings.
What is your advice to a young man that wants to breed his own dogs?
Buy the best breeding bitches you can find and breed them to the best males in the country, even if you have to travel with the bitch and pay a stud fee of $500 or $1000. Try to learn from the dogmen that have proven themselves as the best, year after year. Everybody needs to learn by experience and experienced people are very important to a beginner. Have faith in your beliefs and stick with the proven bloodlines that have been winning today and yesterday and your chances will be that you will win tomorrow.
About Quality - by "Pat" Patrick
I read everything I could find on the methods of cultivation and the ideas of the past. I am sure that many did the same. I think that most of competitive dogmen agree that there is a list of important qualities that you want if you want to win. Some breeders say that the gameness is a unique quality and is not required for breeding. Others would say that a strong bite and the talent are not transmitted by inheritance, and that gameness was the only goal, saying, if the dog had other abilities, they did not include them in breeding. They saw them as separate qualities, in addition to gameness.
I have my own opinion. I think that game the most important quality if you want your dog has won. But I believe that other qualities are also important and they are also transmitted by inheritance. I believe energy, stamina, endurance, good breathing, and while less important than gameness, it is the next most important quality that the dog should have. Two dogs may be in perfect condition, but one of them will be able to work longer. If the dog does not have gameness, it loses. If the dog is suffocating, it loses.
After gameness and the natural ability of endurance, I place other criteria in the following sequence of importance. This ability to hold hostage. This capability will allow the dog to keep the enemy from away from vitals. Good demolisher knows how to reach the goal and how to break down a defense. It can also change tactics. Strong bite always helps to win. However, I would put the bite after the game, endurance and total capacity. I do not believe game pit bulls quit when severely bitten. Many game dogs, such as Ch. “Marcel”, showed a good game when they could not win. I noticed dogs that showed a stronger bite and greater rarely maintain those attributes for long. The reason for this is they come out fast pace. They use all their strength and energy to bite and after 20 or 30 minutes they begin to slow down and often lose to a gamer dog that can breathe. If you see a dog in a short time, they look very impressive. Deep game dogs with the same ability may pace themselves and start to show more control after 20 minutes.
Some believe in breeding for a strong bite by breeding hard biter to hard biter. This theory says that if you bring two strong biting dogs, then you will get a dog that will destroy their opponents. Gameness to the people that believe in this theory is often second. This hard biting theory is more popular now than it was 20 years ago. Some breeders are trying to develop dogs with super abilities. These dogs though are often too big (bulky & strong) for most game dogs and may win for 20 minutes or even less, so they believe or say. These breeders were almost always new to the game and not too good at understanding dogs. They have not respected the dogs that achieve a win by going longer than an hour. They believe any dog that has to go two, three, or four hours is too harmless. However, if their dog wins a longer match, these same people will now say this proves that their dog game. These guys are inconsistent and have limited proof of their theories. In fact, no successful breeders with a lot of wins puts the ability to bite as top priority in the framework of their breeding program. Yes, there is some evidence that dogs with great ability do not need to be game to win, but this theory never worked on a large scale, and it has never proven itself true over time.
I believe that all these qualities (gameness, energy, stamina, bite) are transmitted genetically to the offspring, but not just by the dog being bred. What you produce is genetic is a product of all the dogs in his pedigree. A dog can have a very strong bite, but if none of his predecessors had such a bite, it is unlikely that his puppy is a strong bite
Quoted from Mr. Patrick...
I have owned game dogs since1968 I got my first really good dog's, Patrick's Tater and Patrick's Faith from keith Allen. Tater and Faith were heavy Clouse's Saber, Tater beat Carver's Rastus in 1970. Patrick's Henry (Tater-Faith) beat Sorrell's Red Jack and Patrick's Tuffy(Tater-Faith) beat Sorrell's Safire in 1971. In the early 70's I had Patrick's Tombstone and Indian Bolio in my yard. Bolio was bred by Eddie Klaus and Maurice Carver. Tombstone was bred by Don Maloney. Tombstone and Bolio became the biggest part of my breeding program. Tombstone died young but Bolio lived to 13 and I really loaded up on his blood.
I bred daughters of Bolio to Tombstone and daughters of Tombstone to Bolio. The percentage of good to great dogs that came from these breedings was very high. I bred Bolio to my Tater-Faith bitches and a daughter of (Caver's) Ironhead and a daughter of Davis' Boomerang. He sired great dogs from all of the these breedings. Bolio bloodlines can be inbred with good results. Commander Whitehead was 7/8th Bolio and he beat a two time winner from Maurice Carver's yard. Some of the best I ever saw came from the Bolio-Faith breeding. The best known are Chen-leng (Maloney said he was the best dog he ever saw after conditioning him to a win in Texas), and Ch Princess. Almost all the Bolio blood and the Tombstone blood in the world today came directly or indirectly from my yard in Arizona. The dogs I have sold have always been of high quality. I am very proud of the success my dogs have had and I worked very hard to achieve this success.
I have bred more Champions and Grand Champions than any other breeder past or present. My dogs have done very well on the Register of Merit list. Tombstone, Homer, and Bolio became Register of Merit in my yard. Bull Boy Bob and Red Baby were born in my yard and became ROM. Otter's Ch Tonka Bear, Boyle's Dirty Mary, and Gr Ch Buck were bred in my yard and made ROM for their new owners. Other ROM dogs that carry a lot of my blood are Boyle's Ch Bolt Action, Lee's Ch Reno, Boyle's Limited Edition, and Hollingworth's Dolly. Gr Ch Buck, Gr Ch Ozo Azul and Gr Ch Hope came from my yard. Gr Ch's that carry a large amount of my blood are Hall's Andy Capp (7/8 my bloodlines), Lardnier's Bronson, Grit's Hell Ben, Baby Huey's Red Eagle, and Abraham's Queen of Hearts (all 1/2 my breeding), and Southern Kennel's MayDay.
The dog's I have sold have been successful all over the USA and all over the world. This includes Europe, Asia, North and South America and Australia, Well known breeders other bloodlines often use my dogs to compliment their own line. Rushing Bill's new Handsome line is based on the Handsome dog I exported to Holland. Otter used Tonka Bear and Indian Moon as a big part of his yard. Ozzie Steven's purchased Ch Rastus and Ch Tammy from me. Sorrell's Ch Shaft came from my yard via stud service. Hollingsworth's dogs were based almost entirely on my dog's. The great breeder Ronald Boyles used my dogs as a big part of his breeding program. Tom Garner, another prominent breeder of today, often uses dogs of my breeding; Frisco is 25% my breeding. Windy City Combine uses a lot of Patrick bred dogs in their breeding program. The dogs I have today are of the same type breeding I've always has because they work. The largest concentration of Bolio blood is still right here in Arizona.
