Interview with Larry Hedden:

Owner of the legendary WEBs Hedden's Spike of Carr, and breeder / owner of Hedden's Buddy Roe.

Conducted by Heather Wilkins

Q. This interview is to be used as a resource of information concerning the WEBs history and it's uses according to Southern WEB breeders and owners. Parts of your answers will be referenced in an up-coming book as well as an online web-site about the WEB.  Before we continue, do we have your permission to quote you in the said works?

Yes, of course.

Q. How long have you yourself owned and or bred the WEB?

15-20 years or so.

Q. Where and when were you born?

Hawkinsville, Georgia in 1946.

Q. Where did you grow up?

Here in Hawkinsville. Lived all my life here, still live here.

Q. Are they the same today as they were as far back as you can remember?

Yep, sure are.

Q. Did anyone else in your family have or breed them?  What did they use them for?  Did they sell them, trade them, or give them away?

My grand-daddy had them. He kept them as watch dogs and pets. He sold some, traded some and gave some away. It depended on who it was that wanted one.

Q. How long did they have/breed them?

As far back as I can remember. He always had at least 2, sometimes 3.

Q. What do you use them for? Do you or have you sold them, traded them, or given them away?

I keep them as watch dogs and pets. I always just give them away.

Q. How were they around livestock? What types of livestock?

I never paid much attention to it. I had horses and some cows over the years and they never messed with them. They just left them alone.

Q. How were they around strangers?

Good when I was around, but I better be around or they  weren't so good. People always used to blow their horn when they pulled in the yard; no one ever got out of their car until I came out of the house.

Q. How were they around strange dogs, wild dogs, or coyotes?

Oh they're fierce, fiercest dogs I ever saw.

Q. Were they people friendly to visitors at your home?

It depended on who it was. No one ever volunteered to walk up and pet one of my WEBs, but they never got nasty with anyone. There were a few people that the dogs just didn't like, and they made it plain enough. I never had any problems with stuff getting stolen or nothing like that, and I've lived in this same house near 25 years.

Q. Why did you have/breed them?

I already told you, watch dogs and pets.

Q. How much training was involved with them? What kind of training?

Training? I never trained a one of them. You don't have to train them. If you got to then it ain't a WEB, it's some kind a mix.

Q. How much catch work were they used for? What were they used to catch?

None at all.

Q. Did you ever use them for hunting? Hunting what?

Nah. Hunting ain't my thing.

Q. What do you and others you know do with WEB culls/curs?

Gave them to people looking for a hog dog.

Q. How many WEBs did you keep at one time?

Just 2. Never needed any more than that. Ol' Spike and Lady. Spike was the best dog I ever had.

Q. How many have you had over the years? 

Just 4 myself. 

Q. Were they kept tied, penned, or did they have free run?

Spike had free run. But that was near 20 years ago. The rest of them were penned. New laws said they had to be. I don't think a dog is really happy penned up though. Maybe that's part of why Spike was the best of them.

Q. Did they typically bark a lot?

Some did, some didn't. It was usually at a snake. We get several real big rattlers around my house every summer. They always let us know it's there and where it is.

Q. How long did they live on average?

Mine was around 10-12 years.

Q. How old was the oldest one you remember?

Buddy was my oldest. He died at 10, but it wasn't from old age, he got real sick.

Q. How big were they, male and female?

80 - 90 lbs. for both. My biggest was Lady, the only female I had.

Q. How do they differ from ABs?

A lot of people think they're the same, but they ain't. The WEB is a pure breed.

Q. Describe a WEB.

Well, they have a real good temperament, smart too. They're strong and muscular but not over-done; not like some of these so called bulldogs you see today. All that exaggerated muscle is way over-done, it serves no purpose other than for show. A WEB or a Pit is stronger pound for pound than these extremely muscled dogs. A WEB should never be built like that, it's too much mass to haul around and really lessens a dog's endurance level. The WEB is a real working dog, not a show dog that people claim is a working dog. Trophies, titles, ribbons, and certificates don't make a dog a true working dog. Real life situations prove a dog, not some staged event, and that includes "catching" so called "wild hogs" in a pen. Why not fish in a barrel and pin on a title of fishing champ cause you caught one. 

Q. Where did they come from?

I don't know. Never really thought about it. They've just always been around.

Q. Where are they found?

Middle  or south Georgia as far as I know. 

Q. How effective of a guard dog were they?

Real good. Like I said before, I never had any problems with any stuff getting stolen, or anyone trespassing.

Q. Why are they so hard to find today?

Mostly only older people know what they are and they're the ones that have them still. Most of them are getting too old to keep breeding them, and these younger people don't know about them, don't know what they are at all; they think of these new American Bulldogs are what bulldogs used to be. It's funny to me, they think they know so much about bulldogs. Huh.  I really feel sorry for these people; they've been so misled about the bulldog that very few really know what a real bulldog is anymore. That's why breeds go extinct; people don't use them for their original purpose, so the dogs change into some new breed. What ya'll are doing is a great thing. Ya'll aren't about making money; ya'll are about saving the WEB as it was and still is.

Q. Were they common long ago? How long ago?

Yes they were. Back when I was growing up. Now you can't find them.

Q. What did other people use them for?

Around here most used them as watch dogs and pets. The good ones that is. The rest were put down or used to hunt wild hogs.

Q. Did they have an on and off switch?

Yes. They better have if they want to live on my place. 

Q. Do you remember any specific events about a WEB that stands out in your mind?

There's several of them really. All with Spike. He wouldn't ever let anyone out of their car. He used to stand by their door looking at them. He could look right through you. And people knew he meant business. He would hold people hostage in their car. Another story about Spike was how he used to ride on top of my tool box on back of my truck. He stood up on top of that thing wherever I went. When I got out, he laid down on it and nobody, and I mean nobody got even close to that truck. He didn't bark at them, just stared them down, sometimes growling low. Boy he sure could give someone a look. One other time, I got up one morning and he was beat up. A pack of dogs had come on the place during the night and he fought them off right by himself. He was sore for a few days, but it didn't slow him up a bit. He kept right on being Spike. He sure was something. I still miss that dog. Won't ever be another like him. I've had one of his sons, Buddy, and now have Buddy's son. But none of them are quite like Spike. He was one of a kind. One of those you always remember.

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