FORUM BULLDOGS,��

A Bit of "J" type History
contributed by Tom Phaneuf

The following is a question and answer interview with David Farneti. The purpose of this interview is to dispel some myths and rumors and inform people about Dave, his dogs, and dogs of that era.

For some of you people who are not familiar with David Farneti, here is a brief history. Dave is from upstate New York. He bred English Bulldogs in the 1970's and early 1980's and bred AMMICAN Bulldogs from the mid 1980's until the mid 1990's. Dave was the owner of "Dozer" and "Ruby" - the sire and dam of many modern day knerican Bulldog breeders foundation dogs such as two deceased dogs John D. Johnson owned Dick the Bruiser II (Tiny) and Elrod, MGK's Bam Bam, MGK's She's a "Doozy", and Crimson's miss White (Whitey) owned by Mark Landers, and Dick the Cruiser which was owned by Kyle Symmes at Sure Grip Kennels.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add ?
A. Yes alot of dogs I bred are foundation stock for some of the more established breeders, but you forgot to mention your dog Jake and some of his of f spring when he was bred to Whitey. There was a dog in the first mating I sold to a man in Utah that was the biggest dog I ever produced.

Q. What was the reason you discontinued your English Bulldog breeding program ?
I quit affiliating myself with the English Bulldogs because of their multitude of health problems. It was costing me a fortune to keep them alive. If you look at "The Complete English Bulldog" by Col. Bailey Haines, in that you will see old lithographs of what English Bulldogs used to be like and that was the type of dog I wanted as opposed to the modern day bulldog. English bulldogs of today are crosses between old Bulldogs and Pugs. In the 1800's the got tired of messing with the cantankerous real bulldog and wanted to downsize and exaggerate the features and make it a much friendlier dog. So they started crossing with the Pugs and they stumped it up and made it a much more manageable animal.

Q. How did you find out about the American Bulldog?
A. I found an ad in "Dog World" magazine, it was John D. Johnson who I called on first, and I had spoken with other breeders at the time Joe Painter and Steve LeClerc. Out of the three I liked John D. Johnson's reasons why he had the dogs.

Q. Who was your first bulldog ?
A. It took a few years but Dozer was my first bulldog. I purchased him from John Johnson, Dozer's father was "Machine Buckaroo" his mother was "Sugar Doll"#20.

Q. What was your-impfession of-tho dogs in John's yard ?
A. I thought Dozer's dad was an ugly dog I really did, he was long in the snout tall and lanky looking thing. But Dozer's mother was a real good bulldog. Dozer was a carbon copy of his mother I have pictures of both his parents the best c(xnparison to Machine Buckaroo would have been Elrod. Ruby was the second dog I got. I picked her up from James Ellerbe in Philadelphia PA. I picked Ruby up - she was one of two puppies that survived out of the litter,. Ruby's father was Bruiser Bo #6 (Bo-Bo) he was c(efinatly the biggest bulldog I have ever seen. That dog had a head like a bison. Ruby's mother was Sugar doll #6 she was a gorgeous female I would loved to have owned her, Sugar was a very scrappy dog. She had a fight with one of her kennel mates "Champagne" two or three days before I saw her, she was all bit up . It was not a staged fight , it was because they got through the fence at one another, its just unfortunately typical bulldog behavior.

Q. How many times were Dozer and Ruby brea to one another?
A. Three times.

Q. Were either bred to different dogs ? If so to what dogs ?
A. Dozer was bred to a dog from New York city I can't remember the dogs name offhand. He was also bred to James Ellerbels female Dutchess she was Ruby's blood sister . Alot of people think Ruby and Dutchess are out of the same litter, but they were NOT Ruby was the only female in her litter. Dozer was also bred to Dick O'Boyle's female Maggie and to Mike MacDonald's dog Dot but we never got any ties she bit Dozer and that was the end of that. Ruby was bred to Dozer as I said before, Ruby was also bred to Muscles. Actually Muscles II he was another dog I bought from James Ellerbels kennel. Muscles II was a son of Ellerbe's Muscles and a dog named Champagne , Muscles was out of Bruiser Bo #6 and Georgia Firecracker. Champagne was a dog that James had bought at a dog fight she was a black dog no one knew the true breeding of her, a lot of people say she was half Pit Bull half Labador Retriever but I saw her and I would have to guess more than likely it was Neopolitan Mastiff not Labador. Champagne was a very nasty, aggressive dog.

Q. How big was Dozer ?
A. Dozer with ribs showing was 125 lbs, when he was a year old. So when he was 3 in his peak he was probably 130 lbs or 135 lbs . But it was hard to get ribs showing on Dozer, especially since I had him outside all the time and I live in a very cold climate, so my dogs, well they would pork up in the winter.

Q. A lot of people think Dozer was the consummate American Bulldog. What do you think of that statement ?
A. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Dozer was probably one of the strongest, toughest dogs in the world. He also had to rank in the top 5 meanest and most dangerous. He was an incredibly dangerous dog, his disposition was not one Irecommended or wanted to strive to produce. But he was predictable - predictably mean, and that's overkill, without a doubt he was overkill.

Q. You have been open and honest that Dozer had surgery, how many surgeries did he have and do you think it was because of genetic flaws ?
A. The surgeries were on his knees and knees alone. He never had hip surgery, his hips were fine. Dozer grew at a ridiculously fast rate, thanks to me because I fed him "Eukaneuba". As a matter of fact Dozer was part of a study at Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine telling that large bone dogs should not be fed high protein as puppies.

Q. What would would you reccnmnd people feed their dogs ?
A Just plain dog food, you don't need to feed puppy food. The fat content is not an issue so a high fat is good but I recommend keeping the protein under 30%

Q. I know with your English Bulldog background what can you tell me about Westchamp's High Hopes, and do you feel he was instrumental in the modern American Bulldog ?
A. I have sent you pedigrees you know he was out of champion �. �. C. English Bulldogs CH. Snow's Big Fairy Prince and CH. Bulldog's Ego Trip of Daydel. He was instrumental in Dave Leavitt's olde bulldogge breeding program. John Johnson got a couple females from him (Bullmeads Queen and Sugar Doll #3). Westchamp's High Hopes is in Dozer's pedigree 4 times and Ruby's pedigree twice.

Q. You already said Bruiser Bo #6 was the biggest dog you ever saw, who were the biggest dogs you produced ?
A. Elrod was probably the biggest male I produced he was about 110 lbs at 10 months old when I gave him to John D.. He was much bigger than his brother Tinv (Dick the Bruiser ll)he was about 95 to 100 lbs rilled out. Elrod could-have pushed 140;lbs. because ; e was a tall dog and he was big. But he did not have the shape of Bo Bo. Bruiser Bo #6 was built like a buffalo. I believe the biggest female I ever produced would be Labet. Labet is a daughter of Jake (G.W.K.'s Big Jake Farneti) and Whitey (Crimson's Miss Whit6) Labet is a true 116 lbs. she is an absolutely gorgeous female, she is built like a male.

Q In your opinion who was the best Bulldogs you produced and why ? (male and female)
A. I would have to say the best female I produced is the one in my yard Brindy. Brindy is another dog from the Jake and Whitey litters, her personality , size, athleticism and control makes her the best female I ever produced. Males that's a tough call. But I have to say it would have to be Tiny (Dick the Bruiser II) I wish I never got rid of that dog. I thought he was a perfect specimen of a bulldog. He had perfect structure, beautiful head, athletic, stocky, strong, and quick. He was a great dog.

Q. Out of all the bulldogs that you have seen in your lifetime, who was your personal favorite and for what reasons?
A. Well, it's very difficult to give you the scope, but I would think. Dozer without a doubt was my favorite with respect to he was my f irst and he was the best guard dog I have ever seen. But he was a dog that was only good if you were up in the mountains and you wanted somebody that would absolutely die for you. He was great that way, he was also excellent with my children. With other children he was terrible. So again, that kicks him out of the league as far as being a good dog. Jake I'd say is pound for pound as good a bulldog as I have ever seen. And he is the'fastest male I have ever seen, he's the hardest dog I have ever seen, he's got great character as you know, a heck of a personality. The only f law Jake cduld possibly have is he is a little cross-eyed so he doesn't have the depth perception where you want it, but if that's all you can get wrong with a dog that's fine. I think he is an excellent example of a bulldog. I think for females, oh god, it I s so hard to call. Ruby was probably my family favorite. She had all the courage that any dog could possibly have. She would die for you in a heart beat. She was just excellent around people. She was just a great, great dog. She produced better females, however, I think Whitey was as good a female as there ever was in the breed. She was tough as nails yet she's lazy and I like that, she's athletic but she's not hyper, she's very trackable and very easy going until it's time not to be then she reminded me of Dozer in that way. Again, I think the culmination of my breeding was when I bred Jake to Whitey and got Brindy. Brindy for me is what I want. She's bigger, faster, stronger than my other females and she is a sweetheart... and when I say sweetheart that's exactly what I want because all my bulldogs will take it on and take it on in a hurry. So I don't have to worry about courage with my dog.

Q. How do you feel the dogs of today compare with the dogs of 10, 15, years ago and beyond that?
A. Well, I think there has been way to much breeding of these dogs. I think there has been an over abundance of certain dogs and certain lines and I think there has been too much influx of breeding. We have just taken these dogs... I remember in the late 80's you would see two or three ads in the Dog World Magazine, now I haven't gotten a Dog World Magazine in a year or so, but you know, they flood the pages with these bulldogs and they are all cross bred, but not all of them. The quality of the breed is fading because it has been handled in a nonprofessional and in a money making manner. People want to make money as opposed to bettering the breed . The only way you can better the breed is to come up with an idea of what you want the breed to be. People want dogs to look like Dozer, but you should never really want-a dog to act like Dozer.

Q. What, if anything, are breeders of today doing wrong and what could be done to rectify the situation?
A. I think there has to be more selective breedings and probably a slow down in the breeding process. Really get the bulldog people together and define what they want. You have people who want dogs to look a certain way but in reality you should want looks and temperament to be equal. We ail know there have been crosses of Pit Bulls in these dogs, along with crosses of Bull Mastiffs and Lord knows what else. You want a dog to look a certain way and more importantly to me to act a certain way. We have to get rid of the riff-raff and trailer trash mentality. They have just got to go. They are going to take this breed to a level that nobody wants it to go to.

Q. If you were still breeding dogs today, what would you be looking to do and what would you look for in the dogs that you were producing?
A. I would want a dog to look like a bulldog. So you would want a dog with an undershot jaw, good size wide head, solid body and I would really pay attention to athleticism and health. Finally and not lastly is temperament. I would look to breed dogs such as Tiny, and Jake would be a great breeding dog with respect to the temperament they have. You want dogs that are trackable. That will make the breed a pleasant breed for people of the future. We have to get ourselves out of medieval times - you don't need a Dozer-like dog. You just don't.

Q. When picking a puppy, what should people be looking for ?
A. What I look for in a puppy is athleticism , when they are 5 or 6 weeks old you better make sure your puppy can get up on its back legs, jump around. Because if it can't I'd bet the farm there is something wrong with it genetically. That's number 1, number 2, you do not want a puppy that does not want to play. I've bred them, I've seen them, I've sold them, and I've given tlrenrawayr"A puppy That does not want to involve itself with it's littermates or people is a massive accident waiting to happen.

Q. Do you have any advice to give any potential Bulldog breeder/ owner as far as how raise your Bulldog to become a attribute to it's family, and community ? What type of training do you think these dogs require ?
A. I am vehemently against protection training, I think its a huge mistake! I did it with Dozer and you don't need to do it, if you have good Bulldog stock. Since the 12th century Bulldogs have been bred to protect and no training is going to make them any better at it (either they have what it takes or they don't). If anything it will just increase their ability to kill and these dogs just don't need to do that. My advice is to always treat these dogs like a big puppy.

T.P. Thank you very much for your time.