game bred dogs

Tight breedings, linebreeding/inbreeding, have been common practice with the OFRN strain tracing all the way back to its origins in the old family dogs from Ireland. These dogs were tightly inbred but renowned for their gameness. Because of this they were sought after by men such as william j. lightner and con feely. These men utilized the irish imports in their pit dog programs. In the states these old family dogs were used to create what we call the Old Family Rednose Strain. These dogs were made most famous by bob hemphill. He was a very well respected and active dogman. Under his hands the ofrn dogs became known as the some of the gamest of their time. Hemphill listed several open challenges in pit dog gazettes. Wilder was friends with bob and received the dogs from him..

Modern times many are still using the the hemphill/wilder ofrn dogs. You will find them excelling in all aspects of dog sport; conformation, weight pull, shutzhound, hunting, etc.. They tend to be extremely intelligent hard working animals. The reference to being watered down is likely in regards to the "paper breeders". The strains popularity has long attracted peddlers looking to cash in on them. These breeders usually do nothing to prove the dogs before breeding and are only after "pretty papers" with high percents of past famous dogs. Occasionally even these programs do produce good dogs, but the odds are much lower than from an active performance breeder.

Morgans dogs are solid straight hemphill/wilder stock. In the woods they tend to be quick, agile, long winded, game and skilled at avoiding significant damage. The only downside I have seen is several have been on the small side and don't serve as much of an anchor and while their bite is sufficient to perform the task its certainly not the hardest. This description stands true for many other straight ofrn dogs produced by other programs. While I do keep and work the straight stock, the best all around performance stock is with an out. Ive tried several different crosses, but so far have had the greatest success with OFRN/Chavis. These crosses tend to carry all the benefits of the OFRN line, but have the added benefit of possessing a bear trap for a mouth.