Breeding for "the total package" is an admirable goal, but most dogs simply are not the total package, but wind up having strengths and weaknesses. Naturally, the ones that get shown are going to have to have more strengths than weaknesses

As a breeder, I quickly realized that I have to make my dogs possess strong points in areas that do not rely on human conditioning. For this reason, I have always bred for extreme speed, athleticism, and intelligence. Things you can't condition for. The reason is, when you sell dogs, you have to factor-in the possibility for owner error. No amount of conditioning (or human stupidity) can make a dog more intelligent or dumber; he is either smart or he is not. Therefore, if I create dogs that are much smarter than the average dog, then I am ahead of the game right there. Same with speed and natural reflexes, athleticism, etc. You canNOT condition for speed, timing, or reflexes. Sure, you can sharpen these things, but basic speed/timing etc. is either there or it's not. Now, you *can* condition for strength (and you *can* mess that up by bringing in a dog too light, etc.), but true freak strength is genetic and is what I used my Coca Cola dogs for (and later Silverback).

Anyway, the bottom line is this: a dog has to have the tools for the job ... and the intelligence to use those tools in the right way for the right opponent

I agree that watching super-strong dogs annihilate an opponent is an awesome thing to watch. However, not every dog can BE "annihilated." When you get in there and draw a bulldog, the contest isn't going to be over with in :20 to :30 min ... it's going to go awhile ... and your dog will have to be able to pace itself, to realize "he's drawn something" this time, and he's going to have to have the will, the plan b/c/d (as Evo said) + the staying power to prevail in the end. Part of staying power is going to be conditioning, but part of that is also going to be style, smarts, and willpower. Lotta intangibles come into play in the trenches ...

Anyway, I personally chose the alternate handle "SmileWiper" precisely because my dogs could nearly always be counted on to reverse an early lead and be victorious when the smoke cleared. Poncho dogs were 8.5x out of 10 able to assess the opponent, to systematically dismantle it as time progressed, and (most importantly) they were absolutely willing to go the full route ... slowly wiping that "early smile" off the other owner's face ... and leaving both standing in the corner on that last scratch.

Naturally, those dogs of mine that were "the total package" were my favorites ... but sometimes the unbelievably tough, come-from-behind-and-getcha dogs were too ... like Secretariat ... you thought you were ahead the whole time ... until you rounded the last stretch ... which is where he'd really pour it on

Jack