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White Knight's "Hog Hammer"
(Click on thumbnails for larger images of Hammer. Pedigree is at bottom of page.) Hog Hammer was bred by James and Laura Stout in South Carolina and then owned by Jay Dorsey who used him as a hunting dog at the Trophy Hunters Lodge in South Carolina before Jay later sold him to Ralph Citarella.
Hog Hammer was the holder of a UCD CDIII catch dog title and an American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen award. He also achieved some success in the show ring. Hammer was awarded an OFA Good hip-score. Hog Hammer's father "Twist of Cain" was a dog owned by James Stout and bred by Billy Hines. Hammer's mother "Hillsides Lady" was a working "Southern" bitch the Stouts got from Jay Dorsey.
Hammer passed away in December 2005. I spent some time with Hammer and I can say that he was one of the sweetest natured dogs I have met. I sat down with Ralph Citarella late one evening at his home in New Jersey and watched a few old videos of Bosshog, Snowbird and some other Dorsey dogs with ten year old Hammer asleep on the floor in the room with us.... as soon as Hammer heard the sound of Jay's voice on the tape he woke up and his ears pricked and he started moaning to himself and wagging his tail.... he obviously still remembered the sound of Jay's voice very well after all those years (and who could forget that voice!) When he heard the baying of the hounds on the tape you could see that old man Hammer still wanted to get out there with them! It was a really sweet moment.
I chose to use Hog Hammer as a stud due to the combination of his bloodlines, his stable temperament around people and his good hip-score. Basically, what I was looking for was an old-fashioned style bulldog. He had a UCDA CDIII title, but because we don't use bulldogs for wild boar hunting in England I didn't want a stud that was just focused in that one direction. What I was looking for was a dog that would hopefully compliment and refresh some of the Hines/Scott bloodlines already here in England. Three breedings were done using frozen semen imported by me in to he UK. Sadly the third (and last) Hammer semen breeding, which was the one that I had the highest hopes for, didn't take (to my old bitch Hunter). I am grateful to Hog Hammer's owner Ralph Citarella for undertaking the fairly major hassle of having semen collected from Hammer and frozen for export to me in England. There is no frozen Hog Hammer semen left. It has been brought to my notice that there are some dogs in the UK that are being passed off as being down from Hog Hammer: there were only six true direct offspring of Hog Hammer in the UK. Beware of dogs with falsified pedigrees. Click here to view my Semen Import Licence for Hog Hammer.
ABA Pedigree for Hog Hammer (Owned by Ralph Citarella)
In his own words, Ralph Citarella has summarized for me something of the backgrounds of Hog Hammer and his parents Stout's Cain and Hillside's Lady: Stout's Twist of Cain (Hog Hammer's father) was a Hines bred dog that the Stouts bought from Bill Hines . Cain was a Litter mate to Chris Kelley's Blue Grass Napoleon . Cain was line bred off of Smith's Bradley Spot Bull through Loki Von Sanctuary and Hines' Country Boy (Loki and Country Boy were half brothers).
Cain was shown a hog and caught it the first time out. He was also a home
protector and a stable pet living with young children in the house. Cain was
a well rounded dog ...I really believe Cain was a outstanding dog and what I
believe to be a perfect farm utility dog. Hog Hammer was bred by the Stouts and lived the first 2 years of his life at Jay Dorsey's Trophy Hunters' Lodge where he caught trophy hogs on paid hunts. He was a professional catch dog and the featured dog on the 1997 Trophy Hunters' Lodge Show tape. After I bought Hog Hammer, I brought him back to Jay's quite a few times and hunted him there and on my own else where. When shown he always got placed. At Grantville PA the last time he was shown he won Best Male. He shows well in spite of his Back Woods Antics like crapping in the Show Ring! I guess Hog Hammer and I both feel the same way about shows..... JUST JOKING! Soon after I bought him from Jay Dorsey I put a Canine Good Citizen award on him without any work. His work as a
professional catch dog has earned him a UCD CDIII title from the American Bulldog
Association where he is also registered. He passed OFA with a hip-score of OFA GOOD at 52 months of age. You can also see Hog Hammer on page 76 of Lem Miller's "American Bulldog Stories, Facts and Legends" book. I am very proud of him and what he has produced so far. He is the classic Alabama Farm Utility Dog! Calling Hog Hammer a stable dog is an understatement! He is 100% trustworthy with small children and was never raised with them. He is just a great dog to own. We are also very proud that Hog Hammer is being used to preserve the Ol' Southern White /Hines Lines in the UK . Sincerely, Ralph Citarella White Knight ABs (USA)
Please note: Some of the dogs listed on the above pedigree may be different to some of those which appear on NKC pedigrees. The pedigree I have outlined above is taken from the records of the ABA database, which is today generally regarded as being the more accurate of the American Bulldog pedigree registries. The reason for most differences is that the NKC have stood by whatever information they were originally given when dogs were first registered with them, whereas the ABA have updated their database as and when newer and more accurate information has come to light about a dog's ancestry. (This is not in any way a slur on the NKC, they took in good faith the information they were given when some of the earlier bulldogs were registered with the NKC stud book and the NKC can't be blamed for Mr Hines and others sometimes giving them inaccurate pedigree data. Stricter standards do apply today and the NKC continues to be one of the leading registries for American Bulldogs throughout the world. I will always register my dogs with them). |
