Originally Posted by FrostyPaws
I must say this. If ANY of the chain fighting dogs I had were like a Robert T, I would just accept my fate, keep the dog, breed him and see what goes where. None of mine were Robert T. Hell, they probably weren't a hair on Robert T's nuts.
Ultimately, I would go with performance over habits if it were a chain fighting or hole digging retard. I can fix hole digging with a concrete spot. I could fix the chain fighting with one of my pens. Either way, dogs such as Robert T, or any dog with such abilities, is worth dealing with to possibly harness what they are/were.
That is pretty much my point.
No one wants to deal with difficult bullshit. That's a given.
But we are, after all, raising these dogs to beat anything their weight they face AND to have an indominable spirit.
And sometimes that "indominable spirit" and the relentless desire to "have their way" is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with
The point is, if a particular dog has exceptional ability, but is a PITA to deal with, you don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
You breed towards "elite ability" FIRST and let all other considerations fall second.
The moment someone breeds for "nice chain manners" (or coat color, nose color, conformation, "no mangy feet" ... or whatever other BS you want to put here) ... then they're no longer breeding for performance.
Some other consideration becomes the goal.
The Old Man is a great example.
He must have told "Robert T stories" to me a thousand times. He loved that dog, idolized that dog.
Yet he made breeding decisions to other dogs ... because of "mangy feet" ... and was left to scratch his head and wonder "why" he never found that kind of ability again
This simple reason is he didn't breed for it, and consequently he didn't get it.
It honestly doesn't get any more basic than that.
Jack
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