[Justlovemy]

These are the posters that are everywhere in Baton Rouge. It's on a billboard here as well.




And here are the criteria:

How to Spot Signs of Dogfighting in Your Community

• An inordinate number of pit bulls being kept in one location, especially multiple dogs who are chained.
• Dogs with scars on their faces, front legs and stifle area (hind end and thighs).
• Dogfighting training equipment such as
  
  • treadmills used to build dogs' endurance
  • "break sticks" used to pry apart the jaws of dogs locked in battle
  • tires or "springpoles" (usually a large spring with rope attached to either end) hanging from tree limbs
• Unusual foot traffic coming and going from a location at odd hours.

[raskrutkaseo]

It's the same thing as when school shootings were the big fear warning signs included: being a teenage male, sometimes moody, sometimes wearing black, talking back to authority figures, litening to heavy metal. What do you know all of the shooters fit the profile along with half the kids in america. Soon the list of dogfight warning signs on the posters will just be owns a "pitbull" and isn't friends with the right people, and that will be enough for a raid.

[Pharmaciest]

This is a tough subject, I'm not sure how you would be able to identify dog fighters from the rest of the general public...especially if you were asking the average Dick and Jane....

[Gymnfacymoota]

SO SAD!!!! I would like to know who is putting money behind that....

[lrUyiva1]

im getting the impression that there are quite a few "dogmen" on this site. I saw some of these supposed great dogmen being honored in the history forum by some of the moderators and what not. to me these guys look like scum bags. Calling these guys warriors and praising them, in my opinion, is a crock. Obviously, as everyone knows there are plenty of other sports and competitions to keep dogs athletic, competitive, and strong. and putting the little legal disclaimer at the bottoms of those posts is just an excercise in futility, why put it there if its not what you believe? Im starting to think that maybe im on the wrong forum if people think this stuff is okay here

[mensforyouthis]

I don't see why springpoles and breaksticks are considered dogfighting tools. Lots of dogs like springpoles, I've seen vids of other breeds playing with them. And if you own a dog that has a high chance of latching onto another dog, isn't a breakstick a good thing to have?

[Pcodaygs]

oh yeeees all pit owners who put their hyper active super energetic pups on a treadmill to tire them out are dog fighters! oh and letting your dog play with a tire attached to a tree too! (even though 80% of apbt raising handbooks specify that for some reason most pits tends to LOVE playing with hanging tires) I bet the next thing will be anyone walking a pitbull with a harness or prong collar on is a fighter too!

those posters are plastered all over my city too , altho there IS a fighting ring around here but still thats just as ridiculous as saying that all pitbull dogs will bite people and eat young children!

SO because I am a cripple and want to tire miss lexi out by popping her on a treadmill when I can not walk her I am apparantally a dog fighter.. I guess that means I am a horrible owner and I should just raise my hand now

[Gymnfacymoota]

im getting the impression that there are quite a few "dogmen" on this site. I saw some of these supposed great dogmen being honored in the history forum by some of the moderators and what not. to me these guys look like scum bags. Calling these guys warriors and praising them, in my opinion, is a crock. Obviously, as everyone knows there are plenty of other sports and competitions to keep dogs athletic, competitive, and strong. and putting the little legal disclaimer at the bottoms of those posts is just an excercise in futility, why put it there if its not what you believe? Im starting to think that maybe im on the wrong forum if people think this stuff is okay here

Can you please be more specific? What other sports? In comparison to what, weight pulling etc? Trust me, I am in no way talking shit, I really am interested to know what you are talking about and in comparison to what. I do not have the same impression that you do but have not read that history either, I am curious what you are talking about.

[costamarianavia]

im getting the impression that there are quite a few "dogmen" on this site. I saw some of these supposed great dogmen being honored in the history forum by some of the moderators and what not. to me these guys look like scum bags. Calling these guys warriors and praising them, in my opinion, is a crock. Obviously, as everyone knows there are plenty of other sports and competitions to keep dogs athletic, competitive, and strong. and putting the little legal disclaimer at the bottoms of those posts is just an excercise in futility, why put it there if its not what you believe? Im starting to think that maybe im on the wrong forum if people think this stuff is okay here

If it wasn't for those "scumbags" you wouldn't have an American Pit Bull Terrier, you would have something else. These days dog fighting is illegal. Then, it wasn't. So those dogmen did nothing wrong. I love my two dogs, and I would never purposely harm them, but I am under no dillusions about where they come from.

By the way, Christopher Columbus was a slave owner, and helped prepare the so-called Middle Passage that was used for hundreds of years to transport slaves from Africa to the West. During slavery thousands were killed, men castrated and women raped, and their babies taken from them at birth and uncerimoniously killed. Slave owners used to breed slaves the way people breed dogs, looking for the strongest females and the strongest males, mating them, and then taking the babies who would also grow up to be big and strong and selling them at birth or as children to the highest bidder. Yet every year we celebrate Columbus day, for the man who discovered America (Native Americans not withstanding), and we feel pride in being an American even though American government of the day condoned slavery. Why don't you write a letter to the government and tell them that we should stop celebrating Christopher Columbus as a hero? He wasn't even American, he was a citizen of Spain!

The past makes us who we are, and we can no more change it than deny it. All we can do is remember it and learn from it so as not to repeat those same mistakes while striving for the same results or better in the future.

So get your head out of the sand

[Gymnfacymoota]

If it wasn't for those "scumbags" you wouldn't have an American Pit Bull Terrier, you would have something else. These days dog fighting is illegal. Then, it wasn't. So those dogmen did nothing wrong. I love my two dogs, and I would never purposely harm them, but I am under no dillusions about where they come from.

By the way, Christopher Columbus was a slave owner, and helped prepare the so-called Middle Passage that was used for hundreds of years to transport slaves from Africa to the West. During slavery thousands were killed, men castrated and women raped, and their babies taken from them at birth and uncerimoniously killed. Slave owners used to breed slaves the way people breed dogs, looking for the strongest females and the strongest males, mating them, and then taking the babies who would also grow up to be big and strong and selling them at birth or as children to the highest bidder. Yet every year we celebrate Columbus day, for the man who discovered America (Native Americans not withstanding), and we feel pride in being an American even though American government of the day condoned slavery. Why don't you write a letter to the government and tell them that we should stop celebrating Christopher Columbus as a hero? He wasn't even American, he was a citizen of Spain!

The past makes us who we are, and we can no more change it than deny it. All we can do is remember it and learn from it so as not to repeat those same mistakes while striving for the same results or better in the future.

So get your head out of the sand

I would have to disagree that they didn't do anything wrong just because it wasn't illegal at the time. It may be true that I would not have the dog I have today but it doesn't make it right.

[lrUyiva1]

The sports i speak of are the weightpulling, Ive seen some long and high jumps, the tire swings etc. Maybe im out of line here, maybe i got the wrong impression. And just because something is legal or illegal dosent mean that its not right or wrong. Maybe I wouldnt have a pitbull today without those guys, i dont know. I dont have the best understanding of the history of the dog but maybe if the fights were outlawed sooner the other sports would have became more prominent sooner. Yes, I do realize that the pitbull has a long history in fighting and im not denying that. The fact of the matter is that the dog does exist and will exist from now on with or without dog fighting. I absolutely despise the fighting of dogs for sport and acknowledging them is one thing but pay such respect and homage to them for fighting dogs is just a little bit disturbing to me atleast.

And please, dont even get me started on the analogy between slavery, christopher colombus and dogs.

[lrUyiva1]

im sorry if i didnt make myself clear about the dogmen thing. I am talking about the forum dedicated to dogmen in the history portion of the forums.

To King Tone Capone: Whats next, a site dedicated to black people with a forum dedicated to great slave owners and stories about slaves? i think the slavery argument has been squashed.

[costamarianavia]

I would have to disagree that they didn't do anything wrong just because it wasn't illegal at the time. It may be true that I would not have the dog I have today but it doesn't make it right. __________________ Fair enough, let me re-phrase that. They did nothing illegal. But as with all things illegal, once it is illegal then it becomes the domain of criminals who are usually lacking in ethics anyway, For example, when alchohol was illegal during prohibition it gave rise to some of the most prominent gangsters in American History (Al Capone and Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr., JFK's dad, to name a few ) and hundreds died. Once it became legal, the mob got out of it and found something else to do, and it became manageable. I think it is the same with dogfighting. Back when it was legal dogs and handlers had better access to life saving information, medicine and treatment than they do now that it is illegal. I am still hoping that with our modern technology we can find a way to get the same results in our dogs without the cruelty of bare mouthed fighting, but weight pulling or catching a Frisbee is just not the same.

[costamarianavia]

im sorry if i didnt make myself clear about the dogmen thing. I am talking about the forum dedicated to dogmen in the history portion of the forums.

To King Tone Capone: Whats next, a site dedicated to black people with a forum dedicated to great slave owners and stories about slaves? i think the slavery argument has been squashed.

Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea. It may be quite educational. As for the slavery argument being squashed, how so? Is it not true that Columbus did alot of things that by todays standard would be deemed unethical? How can you deny that? Yet we still celebrate him every year don't we?

This post is not about slavery, it's about Pit Bulls, but this is an apt analogy. If it is not then please explain how so.

[Gymnfacymoota]

The sports i speak of are the weightpulling, Ive seen some long and high jumps, the tire swings etc. Maybe im out of line here, maybe i got the wrong impression. And just because something is legal or illegal dosent mean that its not right or wrong. Maybe I wouldnt have a pitbull today without those guys, i dont know. I dont have the best understanding of the history of the dog but maybe if the fights were outlawed sooner the other sports would have became more prominent sooner. Yes, I do realize that the pitbull has a long history in fighting and im not denying that. The fact of the matter is that the dog does exist and will exist from now on with or without dog fighting. I absolutely despise the fighting of dogs for sport and acknowledging them is one thing but pay such respect and homage to them for fighting dogs is just a little bit disturbing to me atleast.

And please, dont even get me started on the analogy between slavery, christopher colombus and dogs.

I would have to agree but, I don't see the connection of dog fighting and weight pulling, frisbee throwing, etc.

Fair enough, let me re-phrase that. They did nothing illegal. But as with all things illegal, once it is illegal then it becomes the domain of criminals who are usually lacking in ethics anyway, For example, when alchohol was illegal during prohibition it gave rise to some of the most prominent gangsters in American History (Al Capone and Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr., JFK's dad, to name a few ) and hundreds died. Once it became legal, the mob got out of it and found something else to do, and it became manageable. I think it is the same with dogfighting. Back when it was legal dogs and handlers had better access to life saving information, medicine and treatment than they do now that it is illegal. I am still hoping that with our modern technology we can find a way to get the same results in our dogs without the cruelty of bare mouthed fighting, but weight pulling or catching a Frisbee is just not the same.

While I get where you are going I don't see what options there are. Virtual dog fighting for dogs? Just because they were originally bred for something doesn't mean they have to do that in order to survive or be happy...... Maybe I am not understanding your point for the breed..... Are you thinking the breed will change in the end because they no longer fight each other?

[lrUyiva1]

Capone, you were the one who brought the slavery stuff up not me. I personally dont give two pieces of pitbull fecal matter about columbus day. Let me be blount. I think paying homage to people who fought dogs is messed up. the people who posted the articles honoring these people are probably good people who do not fight dogs, i dont know, i just disagree with them about the honoring of past "dogmen." it dosent mean i think that the posters are bad people that i wouldnt get along with or agree about other things. i do know that there is a person or two on this site who do condone dog fighting. I wont name names but i have had arguments with them on youtube over the subject, along with several others who probably dont come to this site. yes capone, i do think we can continue to have strong, athletic, competitive, great looking apbt's without technology or dog fighting. I also think dog tug of war is a great head to head competition that can be used instead of the fighting.

[costamarianavia]

While I get where you are going I don't see what options there are. Virtual dog fighting for dogs? Just because they were originally bred for something doesn't mean they have to do that in order to survive or be happy...... Maybe I am not understanding your point for the breed..... Are you thinking the breed will change in the end because they no longer fight each other? The thing is, believe it or not, these dogs enjoy a good match, just like hunting dogs enjoy a good hunt. So maybe a dentist could own a Labrador Retriever without ever having to go on a hunt, and maybe the dog would be just fine, but its not the same as having a Retriever that actually gets to retrieve things.

Actually, I would like to see some kind of prosthesis that would allow the dogs to match while mitigating serious injury (think boxing gloves on a boxer). That is hard to imagine but it may be possible with modern materials and polymers. Anyway, I am in the process of brainstorming some ideas so when I have something more solid I'll let you know. But if we were able to figure out a way to minimize the damage to humane levels then we can actually have a sanctioned sport that would drag Dog Matching out of the shadows and into a forum where there is more oversight, and more accountability.

[costamarianavia]

Capone, you were the one who brought the slavery stuff up not me. I personally dont give two pieces of pitbull fecal matter about columbus day. Let me be blount. I think paying homage to people who fought dogs is messed up. the people who posted the articles honoring these people are probably good people who do not fight dogs, i dont know, i just disagree with them about the honoring of past "dogmen." it dosent mean i think that the posters are bad people that i wouldnt get along with or agree about other things. i do know that there is a person or two on this site who do condone dog fighting. I wont name names but i have had arguments with them on youtube over the subject, along with several others who probably dont come to this site. yes capone, i do think we can continue to have strong, athletic, competitive, great looking apbt's without technology or dog fighting. I also think dog tug of war is a great head to head competition that can be used instead of the fighting.

Yeah, I don't give a rats ass about the holiday either, I am just making a point, which is that all around us we can find examples of huge injustices that are still celebrated to this day (like Thanksgiving, for example). As I said before, I don't like to see dogs getting hurt or abused just like I don't like to see two kids get into a fight due to peer pressure and someone ends up hurt. But I don't mind going to a good prize fight and watching two athletes test there mettle, and I think it could be the same with these dogs if the right safeguards were in place. Of course we would have to have a regulatory and oversight committee and certain laws, for example Canine athletes (lets call them K-9 wrestlers) would need to be licensed and insured, and a K-9 wrestler would not be allowed to been in a residential area unchained and un-muzzled under strict penalty of law. But I think if the best dogmen, vets, and other people in the field put their heads together then we could come up with something that would be as humane as Horse Racing, Dog Racing, or any other animal sport. As I said in one of my previous post, I live in japan, and they have a long history of fighting dogs (Japanese Tosas) which still survives to this day, and those dogs rarely ever die or are seriously injured from a match. This is because Tosas are seen as national treasures, and the dog fights are closely regulated (there is only one place in Japan where it is legal, and there is no gambling allowed.)

Boys will be boys, and dogs will be dogs, and I just think that there must be some way to let these dogs do what they do best because we love the breed for what it is, and still protect them because we love them individualy and as a society.

[MightyMasc]

*raises hand*

In addition to all the usual "tell tale signs" like breaksticks, springpoles, and treadmills... I have foot traffic at odd hours because I don't get off work until 1 a.m. and then hang out with people

I could get my tarantulas to fight before Ruger ever would LMAO

[Prererularl]

Did you get that as a aleaflit in the mail?

Love the title, it will help me get threw the day..LOL