Читать книгу Pit Bulls For Dummies - D. Caroline Coile - Страница 31

Because dog fighting is no longer condoned in our society, the Pit Bull is among those breeds that can no longer prove its merit by performance. This doesn’t mean that the Pit Bull will die out, nor does it mean that we should let it. The goal of preservationist breeders is to preserve both the physical and the mental aspects of purebred dogs, even if their original function no longer exists. The Pit Bull is a noble breed, a breed that provides a unique link to our own heritage (see Figure 2-1). As such, it is a sort of living antique — one that must be re-created with every generation. We can look to the fighters of the past as models by which to judge the Pit Bulls of today and by which to create the Pit Bulls of tomorrow.

FIGURE 2-1: You can’t deny the noble look of this dog.

What did it take to win a dogfight? For the most part, it took intangible character qualities like gameness and attitude. In addition, it took wrestling ability, biting ability, and stamina — qualities based (at least in part) on the way the dog is built. Because a fighting dog is more likely to overcome shortcomings in build rather than shortcomings in character, the physique of winning fighters varied greatly from one dog to another. Nonetheless, the best of the fighters combined strong characters with strong bodies, and it is from these dogs that the ideals are drawn.