Face Dog = Head Dog?

[Officially Retired]

That is the thing about losing: people in dogs seem to think it means the dog is no good if he loses ... or is somehow "less than" another dog that never lost.

"Oh, if so-and-so lost, then he can't possibly be as good as X, who never lost."

In some cases this could be true, in others nothing could be further from the truth.

The dog who lost to one opponent may whip the daylights out of some other dog who never lost.

Three things are true:

1) Styles make fights, and one dog's style may have been a problem for Silver, but the next several dogs were not;
2) Sometimes dogs are "off" one night, and have bad days just like anything else;
3) Truly great dogs learn and improve, and sometimes could not overcome a difficulty they first faced ... but know how to handle it the next time.

Jack

[EWO]

No truer words have ever been spoken.

I lost to a bitch one time who was an absolute freak mouthed dog and had a ton of 'pound for pound' strength. At the hour mark it was clear I didn't have enough dog there to get her into deep enough water. My bitch was all night game and the other was a rough, front running cur. I just didn't have enough dog to go maybe 5 or 10 minutes more. (Like all, I thought I did when I left home, LOL).

The winning dog was sold pit side for $$$$ and they asked my opinion. I was honest, if I could have had five more minutes and get the scratch on her I would have won on gameness alone. I was called a hater amongst other things. Several months later the 'winning' dog quit in less than 15 for a lot of $$$$$$. Months after that I bred my bitch. Two years after that the two males in the litter won on the same night. In the grand scheme of things I won, alike 'lost the battle but won the war' concept.

Great post Jack. Although 'winner' carries a lot of weight it can be a misleading term.

That is the thing about losing: people in dogs seem to think it means the dog is no good if he loses ... or is somehow "less than" another dog that never lost.

"Oh, if so-and-so lost, then he can't possibly be as good as X, who never lost."

In some cases this could be true, in others nothing could be further from the truth.

The dog who lost to one opponent may whip the daylights out of some other dog who never lost.

Three things are true:

1) Styles make fights, and one dog's style may have been a problem for Silver, but the next several dogs were not;
2) Sometimes dogs are "off" one night, and have bad days just like anything else;
3) Truly great dogs learn and improve, and sometimes could not overcome a difficulty they first faced ... but know how to handle it the next time.

Jack