Game Dog Guardian wholly and completely opposes dog fighting and all acts of wanton cruelty. We believe that dog fighters should be pursued and punished to the full extent of the law. Just as with other barbaric blood “sports,” the fighting of dogs against each other should be relegated to the pages of history books. Our belief in individual freedom and personal responsibility should never be mistaken as an implicit or otherwise endorsement of dog fighting. People who fight dogs and treat them with malice and cruelty will find no ally in Game Dog Guardian.
It is true that old time dog men contributed greatly to the development of old time pit bulls. But there are limitations to their influence in the breed we have today, as the bulldog is an ancient breed and the dog fighter’s window of influence has been relatively brief. Just as with many other breeds who were developed for violent purposes - against humans or other animals - most pit bulls have settled into the mainstream needs of modern society. Most pit bulls have never been fought, do not come from fighting lines and will never fight.
Gameness was a trait that was desired in bulldogs long before they were cast into the pit in the coal mines of Staffordshire County. With the prohibition of bull baiting, fighting the dogs against each other became a way to test the gameness of breeders’ lines. There are those who argue that fighting is necessary to preserve the gameness of these dogs to keep them what they are. Since gameness was desired and successfully fostered before the pits, we believe it can be after the pits as well, through more humane challenges that handler and dog can enjoy. Dog fighting has done at least as much to destroy and endanger the ancient bulldog as any good for which it could try to take credit.
There are also those who say the dogs enjoy fighting. This displays a great ignorance of dog behavior and body language, but also cheapens the true meaning of tenacity and gameness. A game dog is one that will never give up; it will press on in the face of great pain and anguish to the point of impending death just to complete the task it was set upon. If a dog truly enjoyed fighting then what would be the point of gameness? Do you really have to endure something you love to do? A good, tenacious dog will do what its owner wants it to, even when it is suffering great pain doing a task it otherwise would not. Just because a dog takes joy in completing the task it was asked to, does not mean it takes joy in the task itself.
Pit bulls are arguably the most abused animals in the country. Possibly the only other creatures upon which more violence and cruelty is visited are humans. Organized violence, such as dog fighting, and the callous attitude it takes to partake in such activities, in total disregard for the well being of a living creature that has impressed his complete love, loyalty and devotion upon his owner, says a lot about a person. It says a lot about that person’s values regarding individuals and life and how those values will translate into relationships with people.
We should respect the dogs we are responsible for by treating them well. We should respect our communities enough to only raise and keep pet dogs who are safe and well adjusted. Most importantly we should respect people enough not to expose them to things that will lessen their empathy for and connection to fellow human beings and other creatures and diminish the value of life in their eyes.