as i've already described, dogs got very upset at being left behind when other dogs were loaded up to go match. dogs would be all excited & wiggly happy while being washed before the match. there were lots of obvious signs of wanting to & enjoying matching.
in most cases other breeds were put in the box BECAUSE the showed a love of fighting. in the 1880s a retriever racked up an 84 win record. that dog was put in the box in the first place because it showed a love of fighting on the street, in the field and/or in the kennels. other dogs were bred for & used for matching and were tried against the bull & terrier breeds like the shar pei (old pics show the shar pei looking almost identical to an APBT) or the dogs had enough similarity in build and natural drive to accept a challenge that they were tried, like boxers between the world wars.
a lot of bulldogs now are curs because they have been crossed w/ junk under the table, and scatter bred from cold pet type dogs. lots of game dogs still out there and proving it today in japan and other places.
again people let their kids engage in activities that could get them killed because the kids love it, so did most of the dogs.
those fights were remembered because they were the exception. yes i am sure there were people who were all about seeing blood just like there are people who watch nascar hoping for a bad wreck, but they weren't the majority.
lastly you are projecting YOUR feelings onto people you don't know. just because you cannot conceive of yourself matching a dog you love deeply doesn't mean they have the same thought process. i can assure you many matched their dogs BECAUSE they loved them and wanted them to do what they loved & were bred for.
we called it rolling the dogs and it was a training technique before the dog ever got matched. rarely was a dog hurt rolling do to the way it was carried out. it was basically a series of 5-10 minute matches against dogs of similar weight (within one weight class up or down) but more experience. this was how they learned to fight. yes it could involve more than 3 rolls.
in most cases other breeds were put in the box BECAUSE the showed a love of fighting. in the 1880s a retriever racked up an 84 win record. that dog was put in the box in the first place because it showed a love of fighting on the street, in the field and/or in the kennels. other dogs were bred for & used for matching and were tried against the bull & terrier breeds like the shar pei (old pics show the shar pei looking almost identical to an APBT) or the dogs had enough similarity in build and natural drive to accept a challenge that they were tried, like boxers between the world wars.
a lot of bulldogs now are curs because they have been crossed w/ junk under the table, and scatter bred from cold pet type dogs. lots of game dogs still out there and proving it today in japan and other places.
again people let their kids engage in activities that could get them killed because the kids love it, so did most of the dogs.
those fights were remembered because they were the exception. yes i am sure there were people who were all about seeing blood just like there are people who watch nascar hoping for a bad wreck, but they weren't the majority.
lastly you are projecting YOUR feelings onto people you don't know. just because you cannot conceive of yourself matching a dog you love deeply doesn't mean they have the same thought process. i can assure you many matched their dogs BECAUSE they loved them and wanted them to do what they loved & were bred for.
we called it rolling the dogs and it was a training technique before the dog ever got matched. rarely was a dog hurt rolling do to the way it was carried out. it was basically a series of 5-10 minute matches against dogs of similar weight (within one weight class up or down) but more experience. this was how they learned to fight. yes it could involve more than 3 rolls.
Not to turn the thread OT, just don't see your reasoning for dogs wearing clothes as cruelty. Its your opinion, but I just never understood that logic.
