There is tremendous misinformation concerning the matching of dogs. This misinformation comes from both sides of the issue, both from those who enjoy matching dogs and those who see it as repugnant. Authors which embrace dog fighting generally attempt to paint a naively "squeaky clean" image of the people and activities surrounding this illegal, underground activity. On the other hand, humane groups (which fall into two groups, those actively seeking to distort information about pit bulls in their efforts to destroy them and those who simply disseminate inaccurate information due to lack of knowledge) are also guilty of gross inaccuracies in describing both the animals and activities involved. Much of the information presented in this section is taken directly from "fast lane" dog fighters themselves, in their own words.

You be the judge.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF
DOG FIGHTING:

For those of us who enjoy our dogs as partners in work, sport or simply as life-companions, it is difficult to believe that a subculture of people raise and keep dogs for the purpose of using them as gambling tools; pawns to be used in attempts to raise their status, and to fulfill their desires to be "hangers-on" to someone or something bigger and better than themselves.

There can be no denying that the use of bulldogs throughout the past couple thousand years as hunters of rough, large game, controllers of bulls and as gambling tools against bulls, bears, badgers and their own kind, has shaped the dog into the breed we know today. But the use of the bulldog exclusively for dog fighting is a modern development which came about when bull-baiting was outlawed in the 1800's. You might be surprised to know that the "kennel club" breed known today as the "English Bulldog" wasn't even developed until a couple decades after bull baiting was outlawed.

The baiting of large, fierce animals such as bear or bull, was historically considered fit entertainment for royalty while the fighting of dog against dog was looked upon as a "poor relation" to the baiting of larger, more powerful animals. As long as there are men with no regard for societal laws seeking to prove the prowess of their dogs, there will be dog fighting. As law enforcement officers and concerned citizens, the best we can do is make an effort to educate ourselves and others about the realities of this bloodsport and make all efforts to come to the aid of the pit bulls which are the innocent victims.

While animal fighting occurs almost everywhere in the world, dog fighting and fighting dogs have historically been associated with the United Kingdom. The baiting of bulls by dogs was even required by law. Mr. Perkins in his treatise of Cases of Conscience (published 1632) states: "The baiting of the bear, and cockfights, are no meet [not good] recreations. The baiting of the bull hath its use, and therefore it is commanded by civil authority; and so have not these."

Stuff and Nonsense!
The "Bulldog" Myth

Just what was the original bulldog? What did it look like? Is it extinct? Are modern recreations of "Olde Bulldogges" accurate recreations of true bull baiting dogs?

Study the color drawings to the left. They were painted by noted authorities on bull baiting, dog fighting and cock fights from the early 1800s. These two artists painted many, many pictures of baitings, badger hunting, bear baiting and dog fights. Without exception, they always represented the bulldogs as those you see: long, straight legs, agile body, nothing overdone about it, full straight tail, in size about 40 to 60 pounds, deep, full muzzles giving a strong bite. There are no short, deformed noses. There are no bowed legs and fiddle fronts. No weak, wide shoulders. No short tail, no wrinkles on the head.

Why?

Because the deformities listed above would all be detriments to a real baiting dog. Short, bowed legs do only one thing - make a dog less agile. A dog facing a maddened bull must be able to spring about tirelessly, leaping, dodging, all things a dog with a weak front cannot do well. A dog with an overly wide chest, legs hung on the "outside" of the dog (not under it) with weak pasterns and flat feet is simply not an athlete. Neither is an overly large dog; one over 80 pounds. Large, heavy dogs lack wind and the agility to survive close contact with a bull. [Note: Australian Cattle Dogs, a breed which work bulls in the Australian Outback to this day, are small, 35 pound dogs. Large dogs simply cannot do the work.]

So, sadly, while cute and rolly polly, the short, bowed legged, heavy bodied, heavy headed, short muzzled dogs marketed today as "recreated baiting bulldogs" are no less a fancy of the overactive imagination then the AKC "bulldog". Looking at old prints of actual baiting dogs shows us what form baiting actually required. Looking at short and wide "bully" dogs bred today show us what man thinks a baiting dog should look like.

Is the original bulldog extinct? If it is, why would dogs identical in appearance to baiting dogs still exist today - still be catching hogs? If you study the picture above, you see that the dogs could easily meet the standard for an American pit bull today. These dogs came over with the earlist pioneers, and have thrived here. I think that anwsers the question. In America, they have diversified into several different types, such as the large, mastiff like white "American bulldogs" used primarily as guardians, the tiny fighting dogs of Boston who became the Boston "bull" terrier, the 35 to 65 pound, athletic pit bull, the AKC registered "American Staffordshire" - and in the past several years - the oversized, "fad bred" pit bull mixes which are quickly losing their resemblance to true baiting dogs.