Robert T

[gabbagabbahey]

Was there ever a write up on the dog & if so,is it possible for someone to put it up.

[Officially Retired]

I do not know of an actual write-up, no, and unfortunately what was told to me about the dog by two fellows who were there was a few years back--and it's getting cloudy. I do know that Robert T was campaigned around the same time as Tornado, and in fact they went on the same card a couple times. Ken Allen paid Ozzie Stevens to condition the dog on a few of his deals too.

Robert T was a straight ear dog that would hold a dog out on the ear and would rarely get touched. He would just control a dog until it got frustrated and quit. There was always a mile-long line by "hard core" dogmen to match into Robert T after every match, men who thought their hard-mouthed killers would "easily" defeat the "ear-sucker" ... only to find, come show time, that their hard-mouth killers were just more names to add to the list of wanna-bes who got frustrated and quit to the great Gr Ch Robert T.

One dog though, Ch Gomez (4xW), came awful close to killing Robert T. I forget what dogman owned him, but his buddy (who was a friend to The Old Man) took him aside before match time and said, "XX, this dog is a straight killer. He is the hardest-mouthed dog I have ever seen, and if he bites you twice, you die." The Old Man smiled and said, "How much would you like to bet he won't get there twice?"

Well, as it turns out, Ch Gomez got there a few times, but not with full leverage, as T was always still on his head. One of the times Gomez got in there so hard blood squirt out of T's stifle, and he was crippled for the rest of his life from that one hold. It was the classic Matador vs. The Bull, and at 3:10 Ch Gomez staggered out of his corner, with ears the size of eggplants, shook his head in disorientation, and took the count making Robert T the winner in 3:10. Robert T won two more I think, but was never the same after going over 3 hours with Ch Gomez.

At the age of 9, he finally lost either to a Champion (possibly even a Gr Ch, I forget), who came right out and broke the old dog's jaw within the first 10 minutes. Robert T tried for an hour unable to bite effectively, and finally stood the line at 1:10. Ken Allen told his kennel hand to "Take that cur out of here and shoot him."

The Old Man stood up and said, "Anyone harms or touches that dog, they will get shot. Do you know how much money that dog has won for us?"
So Ken Allen told The Old Man to take Robert T home and he did. It's a shame that no one formed a linebreeding program around the dog, but he did produce Ch Robert T. Jr (4xW), who beat four 4xWs and stopped each one from making Gr Ch, including Indian Sonny's famous Ch Bootlegger dog.

Jack

[Milky]

Robert T lost against Tito's CH Ninja.

[gabbagabbahey]

Thanks for taking time out to write that out Jack. Very nice read.
Any dog that has been to the well that many times sure deserves some credit.
I have just watched that show on dvd & i had to play it again as i thought i must have missed something. The full show is not there to see as there was only around 30min & that is not great quality. He looks typical in style to what you say,on the ear & when Ninja got in he took him straight back out with the same hold. Ken must have been happy with the way things were going as he released Robert T early on Ninja's last scratch. The scratch of my head was when Robert T could have scratched but refused.
I have to say that Ken's handling looked rough on Robert T,which i feel cannot have helped the dog.
Also you mention Robert T recieving a broken jaw early on,yet he still managed that same hold in the time i seen.

[Officially Retired]

Well, there comes a point in us all when we have just had enough.
Robert T had traveled down that road once too many times.
As with human fighters, it is best to judge their efforts when they were in their fighting prime, rather than when they went out "once too many times" in the autumn (winter) years of their lives.

By all accounts, in his prime Robert T was an absolute Ace head dog.

[OGDOGG]

Some people just don't like that type of dog(ear suckers) enough to do a breeding program with. I guess they thought since he can't finish off a dog, then they don't want any of his offsprings, and at the same time he's winning a lot of money for them they probably agreed to match him until his wheels fall off. That's a sad story. Which reminded me of the time one of my ex-partner had me work Ch Redman for his 4th when he should've been retired.

[gabbagabbahey]

Yes it is a sad ending after going through so much.
Thats an interesting note you made regarding him working till his wheels fell off. I cannot remember Ken being known as a breeder or conditioner. Am i wrong in thinking this or was he in the game more so on the money,than the dogs ?

[sam i am]

Sounds like Ken Allen was a hard man to please

[Officially Retired]

Yes it is a sad ending after going through so much.
Thats an interesting note you made regarding him working till his wheels fell off. I cannot remember Ken being known as a breeder or conditioner. Am i wrong in thinking this or was he in the game more so on the money,than the dogs ?

That is exactly what he was in it for: the money.

And actually, according to some who knew him well, it was just a pastime to his bigger operation: distributing pot.

Jack

[Officially Retired]

Sounds like Ken Allen was a hard man to please

The dogs only mattered as tools, not as individuals.

At the time, he had like 400 dogs, so it is not like he had a bond with each one :lol:

[gabbagabbahey]

Thanks for clearing that up,Jack.
400 dogs !!!