Being a Dogman ain't easy

[SOUR-MASH]

I liked your questions. I was answering as I read, yep, yep, yep, yep. At some point I was going to have to admit I have a problem.

The guy that turned me onto dog back then ran with Mr. Edwards, Mr. Stephenson, Ms. Marlowe, Mr. Bass, Mr. Colopy, Mr. Brewer, Mr. Jackson and the guys of that era in and around the Carolinas. He use to tell us kids that if we did all we wanted to do in these dogs and at the end of that time, however short or however long, and no one knew you name. That is called mission accomplished.

On the flip side he would say.. "people know, people find out, you can't hide from good dogs and you can't hide behind good dogs".

Those were different times.

EWO

The Carolinas has always had such a rich history within the sporting dog world with some of the best dogmen to ever handle a bulldog and some of the very best bulldogs to ever look through a collar.

[EWO]

I can remember being a kid and not being able to go when they left with the dogs. We had made a old horse barn into a clubhouse where we camped out. My best friend and I would 'camp out' on those nights. It was our ploy to be up when they got back to hear the news.

It was the Carolinas in the late 70's and early 80's. We camped a lot. LOL

EWO

[SOUR-MASH]

Nice, thanks for sharing that. It's funny, seems the older I get the more time I spend reflecting on the past and as these ol' bulldogs have been a life long love affair, I am often reflecting on my life and experiences shared with and around them. Many, many years ago when I was a yard boy learning what I could I remember my mentor telling me to stick two dogs together for a breeding he wanted doing lol. Well sir, till the day he passed away he always called my Poop Chute lol, so my aim was a little off lol.....good memories.

[EWO]

Funny.

I'm not sure if I was a yard man or not but from the time I was 10 or so, til high school my best friend had to clean, rake, water and feed all the dogs before he could go play. The fastest way for that to happen was us doing it together.

My biggest reflection is not so much the dogs and people but the changing of the times. Imaging a 10 year old walking down the road with a 46lb. match dog pulling him forward and the kid leaning back for all he is worth. There were two fields on opposite sides of the road with a tree line hiding both of them. As a 10-11 year old kid one of our job's was to hand walk dogs. There were grading sticks set up with painted ends. At each grade marker you in hook the traces and drop the chains. My best friend would come along with the dog he was walking and hook up. We made laps around those fields and back to the house where the ol' man was sitting on a bucket. He would put on the treadmill for ever so long, then back to hand walking.

It was great set up and worked beautifully. Even with that experience I made the decision once a dog had been touched he was off limits to my son at that age.

Times and perspectives change. Reflection is a big part of these dogs once the years roll by.

EWO

[EWO]

We would get a dollar a mile back then. I could make three-four-five dollars in an evening after school. $5 in the rural south as 10 year old in 1979 was just about being a Rockefeller. LOL

EWO

[SOUR-MASH]

Funny.

I'm not sure if I was a yard man or not but from the time I was 10 or so, til high school my best friend had to clean, rake, water and feed all the dogs before he could go play. The fastest way for that to happen was us doing it together.

My biggest reflection is not so much the dogs and people but the changing of the times. Imaging a 10 year old walking down the road with a 46lb. match dog pulling him forward and the kid leaning back for all he is worth. There were two fields on opposite sides of the road with a tree line hiding both of them. As a 10-11 year old kid one of our job's was to hand walk dogs. There were grading sticks set up with painted ends. At each grade marker you in hook the traces and drop the chains. My best friend would come along with the dog he was walking and hook up. We made laps around those fields and back to the house where the ol' man was sitting on a bucket. He would put on the treadmill for ever so long, then back to hand walking.

It was great set up and worked beautifully. Even with that experience I made the decision once a dog had been touched he was off limits to my son at that age.

Times and perspectives change. Reflection is a big part of these dogs once the years roll by.

EWO

In many ways it's sad to see the modern direction of the sport but that is not to say there is still not top notch dogmen and woman, as well as first class shows going on and I know this next comment will be controversial but I honestly feel that the upper best of dogs today are better then at any other point in history and the men behind those fine animals deserve all the credit in the world. I personally feel it's just not worth it to attend smaller shows because of rats, thugs, rubs as well as law enforcement coming in at any time. Of course I am just someone who appreciates this from a historic standpoint and have no first hand knowledge or know anyone first hand who partakes in fighting dogs at present time. I comment only on what I have read and what is readily available to anyone with access to the internet.

[EWO]

I kind sorta agree.

The biggest improvement in the dogs is not so much the dogs but the advancement in nutrition and supplementation across the board. The daily feed, even out of bag is better than times past.

I remember feeding Field Trial. Fill a bucket 1/2 full of dog food, fill with water and thirty minutes later there is a 5 gallon bucket of mush. Even a feather or two. This stuff was maybe a step better than card board in comparison to the feeds available today.

High end people understand this more so than ever and feed an athlete as an athlete. Once upon a time it was whatever slop kept them from starving to death and then a keep feed. Keep feeds of yesteryear are closer to daily maintenance feeds of today.

Take the dogs back in time or bring the older dogs to the present and I put my money on the older dogs. One the majority of dog men back then were doing dogs. There were some peddling and hoo-doing no doubts, but there was a higher percentage of people in the dogs were doing the dogs.

Today there are far more people with dogs who are not doing dogs. There is a lot of money to be made with no risk. The risks of today puts things in a smaller box where as back then you could put a sign on the side of the road advertising game dogs.

The very best dog of today may very well win over the very best dog of yesteryear. It could be a coin flip as well. But take the top 10, top 20 of yesteryear against their present day counterparts and I think the older dogs take the majority.

Another factor would be the same reasoning for the older dog men vs. the newer group.

EWO

[SOUR-MASH]

I kind sorta agree.

The biggest improvement in the dogs is not so much the dogs but the advancement in nutrition and supplementation across the board. The daily feed, even out of bag is better than times past.

I remember feeding Field Trial. Fill a bucket 1/2 full of dog food, fill with water and thirty minutes later there is a 5 gallon bucket of mush. Even a feather or two. This stuff was maybe a step better than card board in comparison to the feeds available today.

High end people understand this more so than ever and feed an athlete as an athlete. Once upon a time it was whatever slop kept them from starving to death and then a keep feed. Keep feeds of yesteryear are closer to daily maintenance feeds of today.

Take the dogs back in time or bring the older dogs to the present and I put my money on the older dogs. One the majority of dog men back then were doing dogs. There were some peddling and hoo-doing no doubts, but there was a higher percentage of people in the dogs were doing the dogs.

Today there are far more people with dogs who are not doing dogs. There is a lot of money to be made with no risk. The risks of today puts things in a smaller box where as back then you could put a sign on the side of the road advertising game dogs.

The very best dog of today may very well win over the very best dog of yesteryear. It could be a coin flip as well. But take the top 10, top 20 of yesteryear against their present day counterparts and I think the older dogs take the majority.

Another factor would be the same reasoning for the older dog men vs. the newer group.

EWO

We will agree to disagree on this one my friend but one do raise some valid points for sure and certainly the argument can be made.

[EWO]

Absolutely. it is a common debate.

In theory they should be better based on selection over time. Some have but there is so much more money involved in the dogs now, so much more to be made.

Maybe I hold the dogs on a higher plane, yet do not have a lot of faith in my fellow man. LOL

EWO

[SOUR-MASH]

One of the biggest slights dogmen of today are faced with more so then those of yesterday is public awareness, law enforcement, animal rights groups and the judicial system handing out prison sentences that surpass in many cases that of sex offenders. In North America this makes it extremely hard to keep larger yards, harder to school younger dogs and even harder to travel freely and match into the best from different areas, let alone countries. All of this hinders dog and dogman alike which is why we are seeing such a rapid progression in top caliber dogs and dogmen overseas (where animal rights and laws are not as strict) to the point North Americans are importing dogs from countries that not so long ago the exported to.

All of that said I have know and have known men from every era and now as in then, there will always be standouts in both dog and man but for the dogs if I had to lay my money on a top 10 of the modern era in their prime vs a top 10 of the past, I would beat on the dogs of today to get the more W's.