Professional Dog Fighters: What is Wrong with These “Dog Men”?

The recent attention to dog fighting because of the indictment of Michael Vick has made me think, “What is wrong with these dog men?” Professional dog fighters call themselves “dog men”. I think that a more accurate description is “inhumane monster” because these men do not care about the welfare of the dog. They only care about the money and reputation the dogs can get them. These people exploit dogs in the worst way possible!

Every puppy is born loving trusting and wanting to please its human master. These “dog men” take advantage of this desire by praising the dog when it exhibits aggressive behavior. Often, these dogs are “conditioned” not trained to fight. Conditioning includes running on a treadmill, running on a jenni or catmill, or pulling weights. These exercises alone are not enough to cause a dog to fight. In fact, weight pull is a competition sponsored by various kennel clubs, including, UKC, CKC, and ADBA. The problem with “fight dogs” comes due to lack of socialization. If a dog is not properly socialized, it does not know how to respond when approached by another dog. Natural instincts come into the picture and the dog wants to protect itself and its territory. Pair this with the inhumane conditions the dog is often kept in and well, you have a mad dog.

Dogs that fight are often kept in tin kennels that are not insulated so they are hot in the summer and cold in the winter. These dogs have little or no human contact and usually no contact with other dogs except when the owner teases them with another dog or small animal to see how the dog will react in a fight. These small dogs or other animals are called “bait animals” and are often found in free to good home ads. They are often kept on thick heavy chains.

When a dog is involved in a fight it goes on in rounds until one of the dogs is either too hurt to continue or will not continue. The dog that wants to keep going is considered the winner. But, is there really a winner when the dogs are both hurt? No, there is no true winner. The prize for the champion in these fights can be as high as $100,000. This “purse” comes from the admission fee that individuals pay to watch the horror that is dog fighting. In my opinion there is no amount of money worth injuring a living creature. Now , back to the loser and winner. The winner is most often stitched up and treated by a street vet since no self respecting licensed vet would return a dog that has been fought to the owner. The winner sometimes meets its untimely death hours or days later if infection sets in because of the unsanitary conditions in the fight pit. The loser is often killed by electrocution, hanged, or shot. Sometimes, it is just left to die. This is absolutely ridiculous!

Now, back to my original question: What is wrong with these “dog men”? I think that they are sick individuals who have serious mental issues. Sometimes they were raised around fighting. If a child is raised around dog fighting, which is often the case, they become desensitized to pain and suffering. They can also begin to love violence and think that laws are meant to be broken. These men who treat animals so inhumanely often become abusive in other ways including to humans. What can we do about this? We can work with law enforcement to stop these dog fighting rings if we think they are happening. There are even some organizations that pay rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of people involved in these rings. We can also work to help promote responsible pet ownership. For example, my husband and I breed pit bulls for temperament so they can become loving and loyal family pets. Anyone who buys a dog must sign a contract. In this contract, it states that the dog will not be used for fighting or any other illegal purpose. It also states that if we learn the dog is being used in one of these ways, we will confiscate the dog. We keep a close eye on all dogs that we sell and we will not sell to anyone who we think will fight the dog. When someone comes to purchase a dog, we talk to them at length. No, I am sure this will not always work, but it is better than just selling to anyone who has money. We are breeding to better the breed not to make a profit.

I would like to encourage anyone with questions or comments to contact me. Furthermore, I urge everyone, even those who do not own an animal, to help others practice responsible ownership. Every dog is born a good dog, so as most pit bull owners have heard, it is important to punish the deed and not the breed. This means that every owner should be responsible for the conditions a dog is kept in as well as the actions of the dog!!!