Here are my comments on these rules:

1. Flooring should NOT be "cushioned," but carpet only. The scratch line should NEVER be "imaginary," as how in the world could can a referee determine if a dog's feet are placed behind an "imaginary" line? This is preposterous and invites dispute.

2. Again, the judge should be agreed on prior to the contract IMO.

3. Fine.

4. Fine.

5. Fine.

6. Fine.

7. Interesting variation to have "two" seconds (thirds? ).

8. Fine.

9. Fine.

10. I have always thought this was bullshit, the idea that a ref can only call a turn "if asked" by one of the principles.
He is the ref, for Chrissakes, and if he sees a turn (or a foul) it is his job to call it. I can't think of any other sport IN THE UNIVERSE where refs have to "wait for someone's permission" to make a judgment call. This is preposterous.

11. Fine.

12. Fine.

13. I agree with this. When I handled Truman, the other handler (Stubbs) sat there watching it like it was TV. His dog (Ollie) came after me and jumped for my dog, and I kneed Ollie out of the way. Some people thought what I did was a foul, but this was bullshit. I made a fast handle, I had my dog, and the other handler wasn't doing his job and getting his dog. When his dog ran and jumped for me and mine, I do NOT have to allow his dog to bite mine, while mine is being held. I have the right to protect myself and my dog, and that is what I did by kneeing Ollie to prevent the contact. That happened several times, in fact, and I think the other owner deserved to be fouled-out for not making handles when they were right there to be made. Good rule.

14. Fine.

(* In the event that a dog scratches, but fails to "take hold" of his opponent after ten (10) seconds because the other dog ran away, the judge will consider this a COMPLETE scratch with no winner yet and a resulting scratch-in-turn will ensue.)
Huh? I don't get this at all. If the other dog fails to take hold, he should lose on a quit. If the dog he scratched to "runs away" then that dog should lose for being a rank cur. Either action is a POS move.

15. Fine.

16. Fine.

17. Fine.

18. Fine.

19. Again, I do not agree with separating the dogs to deal with a fang. It is my opinion that any "defanging" should really only take place in the corner, after a legit handle, or not at all. If one dog gets fanged, that is just too damned bad for that dog, and is part of the natural flow of the contest, which IMO should never be tampered with at all. Any artificial effort to stop the flow of the contest changes the natural momentum.

20. Out Of Holds Counts should be 10 seconds, not 30 seconds, IMO.

21. The issue of sponges should be agreed upon prior to the contract being made, not prior to the match.

22. Fine.

23. Fine

24. Good rule. I have always thought this whole idea of "a substitute dog" is bullshit, in all but the lowest-level of dog matching. For example, if I have a first-time out dog, I don't give a damn what you bring, we're just having a first-time deal. However, IMO, if we are doing a Name Contract, you better bring that Name Dog or you need to pay me a forfeit. For example, if I have a highly-regarded Champion, and from my list of available options I have selected your highly-regarded Champion as an opponent (to further my dog's record), and if I have then wasted 6-8 weeks of my life (time and money) conditioning my Champion to meet your Champion, specifically, I damned sure don't want to go into some "substitute dog," I want your GD Champion!! And so if you don't produce that Champion when it comes time to rock & roll, then I should get some sort of compensation for wasting my time like that. I should NOT have to be forced to get holes in my famous Champion against some no-account "substitute" dog.

25. Fine.

26. Fine.

And I agree, ignorance of the rules is no excuse: it is every man's job to know them!


Cheers,

Jack