Friday, March 6, 2009

The Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog

In December of 2007, at the request of Al Walker of the Animal Research Foundation, we launched an extensive ongoing investigation into the origins of the ABBB. We at the WEBPS feel it necessary to include this information concerning the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog on our site in order to provide a more complete picture of the WEB.



"The Alapaha is not the same dog as the American Bulldog and not to be confused with them or to be crossed with them." Lana Lou Lane


Our first step was to contact John Conner, Lana's breeding partner. My family and I have known John for years; he is a neighbor, close personal friend, and as well, is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dogs. You have to know a little bit about Johnny before I continue. He has lived his life here in Hawkinsville, Georgia, just an hour's drive from Rebecca. He graduated from high school here and most importantly to this investigation, he grew up with the WEB. His father, Curtis Conner bred and raised them and as a result, Johnny has first hand knowledge and experience of what a true WEB is and what isn't. He has what we at the WEBPS call a solid reference point that only growing up with the WEB can provide. I have heard his many memories of Lana over the years. According to John, she was a real character, somewhat of a rogue, hard-headed and very argumentative. He has spoken of many disagreements the two had, usually about breeding. She may or may not have entertained him or others with questions, yet do as she pleased in the end.







Johnny supplied me with a shoebox full of pictures containing well over a hundred photos of many of his father's dogs. The dogs in the photos were WEBs. There were a handful from more recent years that were ABBBs, specifically, one of his best sires, Toby. Clearly seen here are the physical differences of the WEB and the ABBB, specifically the head type.



We must first look back at "Otto", Lana's grandfather's dog, and her inspiration behind the Alapaha. From the photo provided by Lana, and as is presented on her video, Otto was an all white dog that lived during the 1940's in rural south-central Georgia. The accounts of Otto that Lana gives in the first page of her brochure, describe the character of a WEB perfectly. "Very protective of their property, that being whatever their master instructed them as theirs to keep guard over. They were very possessive of their 'family'; also highly intelligent and easily trained." 'They get along well with other dogs. They only show aggression when it's for defense. The ABBB does not have to be restrained with a log chain around it's neck, after all, what good are they for protection to you if they are chained?' Lana Lou Lane A perfect description of a CWE! We know the original "Ottos" were White English Bulldogs. The descriptions of Lana's describe WEBs. The dogs are not kept on chains like the original Pit Bulldogs and even two males can work together. "The Alapaha is a true breed of plantation dogs found only in a 75 - 100 mile radius of South Georgia." Lana Lou Lane Not only did Lana use the White English Bulldog but more specifically she used the Carr White English Bulldog. Lana Lou Lane stated that the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog derived from the Alapaha River Region and more specifically dogs within a 75 to 100 mile radius of Rebecca Georgia. What Lana was telling the world was that her dogs had come from a specific geographic location! However, Lana didn't want to give the whole secret away by telling exactly the location of the origins of her foundation stock. As other breeders would try to duplicate what she was doing in her new breed development. Mr. Jake Carr lived in Hawkinsville, Georgia and bred White English Bulldogs for over eighty years and this location is within the radius Lana specified in her brochure. The photo of Otto shows him to in-fact be a WEB. The photo on the inside of the first page of her brochure is in-fact a WEB. These rural southern farm bulldogs were and still are in-fact WEBs. They were and still are referred to as White English, Old English Whites, or 'bulldogs'. The photo at left is a vintage photo taken IN ALAPAHA, GEORGIA in 1923 of a man with his 'bulldog'. This is a WEB! What was and still is native to this 75-100 radius.



The ABBB is a relatively new breed, despite Lana's history of them. The information she provides about the ABBB is actually what she knew to be true of the WEB, as she had only begun developing the ABBB and had no dogs of any consistency to base her information on. To understand this; first you must understand some of Lana's background. Her father as well as grandfather, (Papa Buck), bred WEBs, not as breeders but to always keep one around. This was and still is a common practice in the south. "My granddaddy, Papa Buck Lane, always had an 'Otto'. " Lana Lou Lane



The Carr family, residing within this 75-100 mile radius, were no different than this, they were simply known to have the best WEBs around. Many of the local farmers and ranchers would seek out stock mainly from the Carr family and breed accordingly, therefore all WEBs in the local area either descend from or are kept pure Carr. "Most all WEBs in this area trace back to Mr. Jake Carr." John Conner Lana's mother, Mrs. Vivian, raised Colby Pits. According to John Conner; in 1986, Lana had a WEB and Colby cross that accidentally got bred by a neighbor's Catahoula. This WEB and Colby cross was in-fact Roseanna. (I have several handwritten pedigrees on Marcelle IN LANA's HAND, showing TWO, (2), different sires for Marcelle, who was the result of this breeding.) The resulting pups were beautifully colored that sold very quickly. Lana capitalized on this and began producing these dogs on a regular basis. They could not be sold locally as WEBs, as locals knew the difference, rather, they had to be sold under another name; thus the advent of the Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog. Indeed, Otto was not an ABBB at all, but a WEB. It wasn't until the accidental crossing of the Catahoula with a WEB and Colby cross that the ABBB first began in 1986. Lana never crossed ANY "original ABBB" with other breeds as the ABBB did not yet exist. She developed the ABBB from the WEB, Colby Pit and the Catahoula Leopard Cur in the mid 1980's! In the very first sentence of her brochure, under the photo of the WEB, she states, 'The ABBB is the result of many years of effort toward rescuing an almost extinct breed, the old timey 'plantation dog' of the Alapaha River region of South Georgia.' Lana Lou Lane The old timey plantation dog she was referring to was in-fact the WEB, the dogs her PaPa Buck always had around. Also in her brochure, she points out that, 'some are solid white.' In the photo to the left with the tub full of pups, we see a litter of very inconsistent pups, with obvious throwbacks to the WEB and Catahoula. These throwbacks are the result of unrelated genes being put together. The genetics are so far removed that they do not combine to create a new type, rather, the pups are of the separate types used in the mix. Many of you with ABBB's may relate when I say that the heavily merled dogs are typically 'hotter', being more aggressive, more prey driven, more hyper, and harder to train; while the mostly or all white dogs are typically more laid back, less aggressive, and are more intuitive...all classic traits and evidence of the WEB genetics at work. She also states that 'Silver dollars are not rare.' These are quite simply, the pups with dominant genes of the Catahoula. This pup to the left could easily be mistaken for a Catahoula!!



Below are two pictures; to the far left is Lana's Dakota Connor Lane (ARF ABBB484), and the other dog is Arnold's Cody. I spoke with Ed Arnold, who is a neighbor of mine and long-time resident of Hawkinsville, (as are John and Curtis Conner, Lana's breeding partners). Ed is the brother of Marvin Arnold, the breeder of this dog Cody. Both photos are taken on the same day in the same yard. They are exactly the same dog. At the time, Arnold's Cody was NKC registered as an American Bulldog, (as the NKC did not acknowledge the WEB as a separate breed), that Lana got registered with the ARF as a purebred ABBB, by providing the ARF with the NKC American Bulldog papers. This was the advent of Lana's Dakota Conner Lane (ARF ABBB484). Below is a link to an email sent to me by Al Walker of the ARF concerning this dog and the 'mystic' surrounding her origins. Cody email.






Lana's Ike Conner (ARF ABBB483) aka John Conner's 'Ike', a full brother to Cody, above. Another female, Lana's Millie Lane (ARF ABBB485) is also a littermate to
Cody and Ike. These 3 dogs were bred by Marvin Arnold of Hawkinsville, Georgia. The 'official' parents of these 3 dogs, Lana's Conner Lane (ARF ABBB481M) and Lana's Cannie Lane (ARF ABBB479M), were MERIT REGISTERED by the ARF. The 'Official Pedigrees for Cody, Ike, and Millie are FALSE!! We have obtained the true pedigrees of these dogs from the source. They are sired by CWE Rad Max-A-Million!!!! Notice the reg. numbers of the dogs above, they are consecutive: 483-484-485. We have discovered, so far, that all merit registered dogs, except Marcelle, NEVER EVEN BELONGED TO LANA!! To date, all of these merit registered dogs were actually WEBs belonging to other people that Lana purchased pups from. We have found STARTLING PROOF of the widespread use of the WEB, specifically the CWE, as a foundation for Lana's stock. We have discovered that many ARF registered dogs with Lana's name never belonged to her either, such as Lana's Frank Frankenstein Lane (ARF ABBB522) was actually a dog that belonged to John Conner, the infamous Frankenstein, and a full brother to Curtis Conner's Toby and Curtis Conner's Rock, all 3 sired by Van Shelton and out of Lana's Dakota Connor Lane (ARF ABBB484) aka Arnold's Cody!!
Thumbing through Lana's brochure: page 2 shows her grandfather, Papa Buck, directly under a photo of a WEB: Page 5 at the bottom is a photo of a Catahoula puppy: in the photo above this are three dogs in the water, (one dog facing front shows a heavy Johnson influence): The bottom of page 7 shows an ABBB watching a WEB swimming, the caption states, 'usually unrelated pairs available', (the definition of a pure breed is that the dogs are related no matter how far removed in the pedigree.): Page 12 in the center is Roseanna, according to John Conner, she was a Colby Pit: and WEB cross. Page 17 at the top is a wash tub of 5 puppies, two of the pups look to be Catahoula, a 3rd cannot be seen well, the other 2 closely resemble WEBs, (this inconsistency is a common occurrence in a crossbred litter): Page 24 is a photo of what appears to be a Johnson dog with a merle coat, it has an obvious basketball head and protruding eyes that point in opposite directions: Page 29 is a photo of Hank with a heavy Catahoula influence.
Based on previous research of the various so-called 'breeds' of bulldogs in the south that were registered and sold to the unwitting public, one look at Lana Lou Lane's brochure proves she had nothing to hide!!

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