The

Pit Bull

Bible

~ Master Collection ~

The Pit Bull Bible

is protected by Legal Copyright

Copyright © 2003-Infinity

John A. Koerner II

Library of Congress, TX 7-186-605

About the Author

The author and his favorite dog now,

Silverback, a son of MiSSy☺

For more than 20 years, I have been

known throughout the pit bull community

as “California Jack.” My brutally-

honest, outspoken nature has caused me

to be hated and loved equally by

thousands of dogmen around the world,

but my writings and teachings about the

pit bull breed have been copied to more

online APBT resource networks, and

have been placed in more magazines

(both with and without my permission),

than perhaps any other APBT author

today. I got my first pit bull in 1988 and

by 1990 I formulated Vise-Grip Kennels

during a time period where I was

driving and flying all over the country to

obtain the foundation dogs for my yard.

By 1992, I bred my best-known dog,

Vise-Grip’s Poncho, with whom I won

over Scratch-N-Stitch’s Dragoon in :32

in 1994, and then Poncho lost game in

1995 to Big Ernie’s CH Leonard. That

was the last pit contest I ever

participated in, but Poncho proved his

gameness so conclusively to me that I

based all my future breeding efforts on

him, and by 1999 there were so many

winners off of Poncho that I quit my job

as an insurance claims and fraud

investigator to become a full-time

professional breeder, basing all of my

efforts on Poncho and his offspring.

Now, more than a decade later, and after

devoting nearly half my life to breeding

a family of dogs around Poncho, today

the resulting bloodline has produced

more than 50 Champions and well over

400 wins—and the numbers are still

growing—although I myself have now

stopped breeding these dogs today.

Yet perhaps my biggest interest in dogs

has centered around APBT health and

welfare, and I have written scores of

articles all throughout my tenure in dogs

that have been published in just about

every APBT magazine and online

resource put out there. Thus in 2008,

because of the insidious laws against

even breeding pit bulls, I sold off most

of my dogs to dedicated fanciers of the

line, keeping only a few elderly animals

to myself. As such, I have now devoted

my life entirely to writing and teaching

The Truth about the pit bull breed and

how to best care for and manage these

animals every step of the way. In this

capacity, I have developed quite an

audience and am considered among the

more knowledgeable voices in the

APBT community today. This book

represents a composite of everything I

have ever put out there, and it will prove

be your ‘Bible’ for as long as you

own these dogs.

Table of Contents

Introduction (Pg. 5-26)

What is A Dog? (Pg. 27-36)

Book I

1. Devising a Game Plan (Pg. 39-46)

2. Setting Up Your Kennel (Pg. 47-

128)

3. The Secrets of Proper Nutrition

(Pg. 129-148)

4. Mandatory Kennel Disinfectants

(Pg. 149-154)
5. Common Ailments & Saving Money

(Pg. 155-184)

6. Herbal Medicinal Remedies (Pg.

185-204)

7. Understanding Antibiotics (Pg. 205-

218)

8. Furthering Your Technical

Education (Pg. 219-224)

9. How to Find A Good Vet (p. 225-

228)

10. Animal Husbandry and Raising

Pups (Pg. 229-252)

Book II

Introduction II (Pg. 255-256)

11. The 5 Keys to Success (Pg. 257-

266)

12. Schooling Your Dog (Pg. 267-276)

13. The Game Test (Pg. 277-282)

14. Evaluation: The Perfect

Performance Dog (Pg. 283-290)

15. The 60-Day Natural Keep (Pg.

291-316)

16. The 60-Day Mill Keep (Pg. 317-

332)
17. Preserving Gameness (Competing

w/ Class) (Pg. 333-336)

18. The Aftermath—Treating a

Wounded Dog (Pg. 337-360)

19. The Art of Breeding Dogs (Pg.

361-380)

20. The Evil of HSUS & PETA (Pg.

381-386)

Disclaimer

Be it known, that I, John A. Koerner II (aka:

California Jack, aka: Vise-Grip Kennels), do not

claim to be a veterinarian, and I certainly don’t

claim to be qualified to give veterinary advice, nor

will I dispense any medications for you. I am not

attempting to practice veterinary medicine here in

this book or to pass myself off as a licensed

veterinarian. Nor do I claim that the information I

provide herein will guarantee that any dog will be

benefitted in any way. All I claim is that I will

provide the best possible information I know of—

however, you, the reader and/or the purchaser of

my book, hereby agree that any information I

provide is given by me solely as an alternative for

those people to consider, who either cannot afford

veterinary care for their dog(s), or professional

consultation, and/or who do not have access to

veterinary facilities at the time. By reading or

utilizing any information I provide—you, the reader

and/or the purchaser of my book, “The Pit Bull

Bible,” understand that I am not acting as a

veterinarian and therefore you, the reader and/ or

the purchaser of this book, will be utilizing any

information I provide at your own risk to your own

animal(s).

Further, you, the reader and/or the purchaser of

this book, agree to waive any and all rights, claims,

causes of action, and/or any other allegations of

injury, property damage, and/or emotional distress

against John A. Koerner II, California Jack, Vise-

Grip Kennels, (hereinafter referred to as “John

Koerner, etc.”), and/or its owner, affiliated enti-

ties, associates, partners, printers, publishers, etc.

Further, you, the reader/user of any provided

information contained herein agree to defend,

indemnify, and hold harmless John Koerner, etc.,

against any and all such rights, claims, causes of

action, and/or any other allegations of injury,

property damage, and/or emotional distress against

John Ko- erner, etc. You, the reader/utilizer of any

provided information in this book, agree to use

said information at your own risk to your own

animal(s), with the full and total understanding

that no guarantee or warranty is being made here,

nor that whatever information that is being

provided will work. By reading, and/or using the

information provided by John Koerner, etc., you,

the purchaser, reader, and/or user of this provided

information fully understand the above and again

agree to utilize this information at your own risk to

your own animal(s).

Moreover, the information contained in this book is

not intended in any way to endorse or encourage

any business, group, or individual to conduct any

illegal activities with any animal. This book was

written to educate folks as to how to best raise

their dogs, and how to maximize any dog’s physical

condition and lifespan, as well as how to treat any

dog that becomes sick or wounded. Said

information has merely been created in this book

for the benefit of dogs who become sick, and/or

who suffer severe trauma, for whatever LEGAL

reason, as a means of assistance to LIFE and

HEALTH, where a party does not have access to

veterinary care. Again, I expressly make no claim

to be a veterinarian, and the information I provide

is nothing but a “layman’s guide,” and the

conditioning information I provide is being

provided solely as a “layman’s general guide” to

prepare for any LEGAL event, where optimal

condition is required.

Finally, while illegal activities are in fact discussed, analyzed, and even counseled in some
sections of

this text, it is always being done with the caveat

that one should NOT conduct these activities at all,

But “if” they’re going to anyway, then the correct

procedures are discussed.

The overall thrust of the written material being

herein offered for sale is not intended to promote, encourage, or endorse any illegal activity(ies)
or to

violate the Animal Welfare Acts of 1976 or any

state, federal, or local laws ei- ther—these

activities are merely being discussed on a

philosophical level. As such, any information or

statements that may appear to endorse any illegal

activity, should be viewed simply as my right to

express my view under the protection of my 5th

Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech and

Expression, and should not be viewed as any

attempt on my part at promoting, organizing, or

encouraging any kind of wrongdoing whatsoever.

Introduction

Most people consider a pit bull to be a

demon. Something evil. Something

dangerous. Something that no “good”

person would ever want to own. But the

fact is, most people have no

understanding of what a Pit Bull Terrier

really is. In their mind, in the fantasy

world created by their own imagination,

the majority of people have formed an

“image” of what a pit bull is in their

mind—but in point of fact that “image”

has little or nothing to do with reality.

As such, the image most people have of

what a pit bull terrier “is” is nothing but

a negative distortion of the truth. The

media is almost entirely responsible for

this false and negative image that the pit

bull terrier has in the public’s eye,

because the media always make it a

point to over-sensationalize any kind of

pit bull-related story they can get their

hands on. And the media does it for the

money, and they do it for the ratings,

without any regard for The Truth.

And every time the media tells some

new story about a pit bull-related

“attack,” or a “dog fight,” what happens

is the average citizen once again

solidifies (in his mind’s eye) that a pit

bull is an evil dog, a dangerous dog, and

that the entire breed needs to be

exterminated. Yet no one ever wants to

point his finger at what the real problem

is with any dog-related incident, and that

is always ignorant ownership. What

people always do is blame “the dog”—

or (worse) the entire breed. And plainly

and simply this is retarded.

“A breed of dog” is not the cause of dog

bite incidents, nor does “a breed of dog”

stage dogfights; irresponsible and stupid

owners are always the cause of these

things. I know this for an indisputable

fact, because I have bred and raised

between 10 and 80 American pit bull

terriers for over two decades now—and

yet I have never had one of my dogs bite

a person. Ever. I have also never had

one of my dogs get loose and harm

someone’s pet either. Ever. And the

reason this has never happened

involving one of my dogs is because I

am competent and responsible. This

means, when dog bite incidents do

happen, where a pit bull bites a person

or where it gets away to harm someone’s

pet, that the offending animal was owned

by someone who was incompetent and

irresponsible. Yet “the dogs” always

take the blame, or even a whole breed

takes the blame. And as someone who

has owned several hundred pit bulls, and

yet who has never had a single problem

with any of them, I am absolutely tired of

seeing these dogs get persecuted by the

media simply because they are

continually mishandled and

misunderstood by every imbecile who

wants to own one. The pit bull terrier is

plainly and simply the most

misunderstood (and mishandled) breed

of dog that has ever existed. And thus I

set out to write this book—to tell the

truth, the whole truth, and nothing but

the truth about this breed.

Unlike other “bubble gum” pit bull

authors who have tried before, I do have

a proven track record as a competent

breeder of these dogs. I have my own

established bloodline within the breed,

and it has an excellent record of success

behind it, and so I do know what I am

talking about on the subject of these

dogs. Most other pit bull authors have

been “watchers” or “students of the

breed,” but yet were never actually

successful in their own rights as either

breeders or dogmen. As a result, one has

to wonder about their true level of

expertise on the subject of pit bulls, if

they were never able to make a

difference with this breed in their own

rights. Still, all of us authors and

fanciers will tell you basically the same

thing about these dogs: when bred and

raised correctly pit bulls are among the

most stable and lovable of all breed

types. Again, I myself have never had

one of my dogs attack a person in over

twenty years of having several dozen

dogs. Not one. This is because I breed

my dogs right, and I raise my dogs right,

and I handle my dogs right, which is

something that all-too-few people know

how to do nowadays. Unfortunately,

when mishandled by the stupid, the

American pit bull terrier does have the

potential to be the most dangerous of

breed types. The problem with this

breed of dog is isn’t the dogs

themselves, it’s that too many ill-bred,

miscreant people want to get their hands

on too many ill-bred “representatives”

of this breed. In so doing these miscreant

“people” pervert and distort the positive

courage these dogs have into something

that is evil and negative.

Because, make no mistake, more than

being “lovable,” the pit bull is the most

loyal and courageous of breed types. It

is indisputable that no other breed of dog

has anywhere near the kind of courage

and inner mettle that a pit bull has, and

the reason is because there is no other

breed of dog whose courage is

continually tested and that is

specifically bred forafter being tested.

That’s right, the pit bull terrier is bred

for courage. Now, maybe courage is

becoming out of style in our pale and

plastic society, but there is no substitute

for courage in a man, and there is no

substitute for courage in a dog either.

“Talking” about courage is one thing, but

proving it in real life is quite another.

And that is what separates the pit bull

terrier breed from all of the other breeds

of dog on the planet is that he proves his

courage, over and over again, in real

life. He was bred to prove it in the pit,

and he has proven it in the pit—literally

for centuries—while owners of

other breed types “talk” about how loyal

and courageous their dogs are. Big

difference!

Well, if the Pit Bull Terrier is the most

loyal and courageous breed of dog there

is, then why does he have such a bad

“image” with the media, and why are

these dogs always portrayed in such a

bad light? The reason is, like anything

else that is good in life, courage can be

abused and misused by the stupid. As I

mentioned earlier, it is a combination of

well-meaning owners failing to

understand the breed, combined with

total sub-human idiots intentionally

misusing the breed— capped off with

the desire of the media to make money

by selling “hot copy” when anything

having to do with a pit bull occurs—all

combining together into one terrible

injustice against a truly superior breed

of dog. All of these factors have

combined to hurt the breed’s image,

perhaps beyond all repair, but this book

will attempt to launch a repair anyway.

Let’s face it, the mere mention of a “pit

bull” inspires passion in people (both

good and bad), and if the media stirs

your passion, then you will buy their

copy, and in so doing the media makes

money. That is the bottom line goal of

the media, is to make money, and they

know the whole world will watch every

“pit bull story” they can find (or

concoct). Sadly, the one who suffers in

the meantime through all of this is the

totallymisunderstood pit bull terrier. As

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “ What

we do is never understood, but always

only either praised or censored.”

Unfortunately, the pit bull terrier is

seldom understood or praised, but

instead he is always only misunderstood

and censored. This entire breed of dog

has been outlawed in some countries

(censored), and in fact it has been

outlawed (censored) in various cities

and counties here in our supposedly

“free country” in the U.S.A. Entire yards

of dogs have been destroyed, citizens

have been put in jail, all in a Salem

Witch Hunt-like fashion—and always by

people who do not even understand that

which they seek to destroy. Lies have

told, stories have been spread, and an

indellibly-negative “image” of what a

pit bull is has been painted—and

unfortunately this negative image has

been painted by people without even the

right to speak on the subject of these

dogs. Ignorant people. Biased people.

Fanatical people. And, as always,

people who don’t really know the

slightest thing about the very subject

which they vilify: the American pit bull

terrier breed.

Well, I do know this subject, as I have

been a major breeder of these dogs for

over two decades. I have seen,

interacted with, and raised more pit

bulls than whole cities-full of people. So

unlike some news reporter, who never

petted a single specimen of the breed, I

am qualified to speak with authority on

the subject of pit bulls. And my judgment

is this: outlawing the sport of dog

fighting, combined with totally

incompetent ownership by non-dogmen

“pet-owners,” is what has truly created

the problem with this breed.

If someone were to take on the task of

becoming a keen-eyed historian, he

would ultimately conclude that when the

sport of dog fighting became a “crime,”

the people who participated in this sport

automatically became “criminals,” as

defined by said laws. Yet no one has

ever sought to question the legitimacy of

the very laws themselves. No one has

ever questioned whether or not, in fact,

dog fighting “is” cruel, or whether or not

all of the people who enjoy the sport

are, in fact, “bad people.” This is

always what is assumed, rather than

what is questioned. While it may be true

that many of people involved with dog

fighting are outlaws, yet that is only

because (since the sport was outlawed)

all of the good people who enjoyed the

sport got out!

And you know what else? If you check

your history, you will see that the same

thing happened with Prohibition—when

alcohol was made illegal, once again

only outlaws remained in the alcohol

business, while the good people stopped

and got out of this venture too. So, ask

yourself, was the problem in “the

alcohol” itself? Or was the problem

really with the laws against alcohol?

History has already proven that the very

Prohibition laws themselves were in fact

the real problem in the alcohol industry,

not the alcohol itself, and that the

enactment of said laws are what created

the crimes.

Well, the same thing has happened by

outlawing pit fighting contests. The laws

against this

activity themselves have created the

now-rampant problems. You see, what

the lawmakers don’t want to stop and

consider is the fact that there really are

many intelligent, decent people, who

actually love dogs very much, and yet

who are simply fascinated with

developing the toughest, most

courageous dog on earth: the American

pit bull terrier. That is something that no

one seems to want to consider, the

possibility that there really are good

people who simply enjoy watching

rough and tough dogs fight, just as there

really are good people who simply enjoy

watching rough and tough human men

box and wrestle. Such fans are not “bad

people,” they are good people who are

simply fascinated by combat. Therefore,

the assumption that “all” people who

fight pit bulls are “bad citizens” is just

flat-out untrue! Yet no one wants to

actually use their brains and

acknowledge this. No one wants to stop

and realize that all kinds of people,

everywhere on earth, like to see fights.

You see, decent people, when they

participate in the sport of dog fighting,

aren’t being cruel when they set their

dogs down; they are merely testing and

maintaining the very standards by which

the pit bull breed came into existence,

and that is proving their courage in

battle. There is nothing wrong with

developing courage in battle; in fact,

nothing could be more right than

developing courage in battle. It is a

legitimate interest and it is a legitimate

pursuit. If there is something wrong with

the desire to develop and preserve

courage, then I’d like to hear what that

is. And if anyone knows how to analyze

and select for courage within a breed of

dog, other than by testing for it, I’d like

to hear how this is done. I mean, really,

why in the world would any sane person

seek to outlaw the very testing method

that develops and preserves deep

courage in a unique breed of

dog?

The truth is, the very premise that the

laws against dog fighting are “correct

laws” is the problem. These laws are

not correct, because they were

formulated by ignorant people who

really don’t know the slightest thing

about dogs at all, let alone the

specialized knowledge of the American

pit bull breed. And, yes, you guessed it, I

do not agree with these laws against dog

fighting, and as an American citizen I

have the right to speak my peace on this

subject—and as a successful breeder of

these dogs, I’d like to think I can speak

about this breed with some authority—as

opposed to inventing pure nonsense out

of my unfounded and over-active

imagination like so many animal

activists and lawmakers always do. I

will make my arguments that follow with

facts, not unfounded claims, and I will

be speaking from years of legitimate

experience with this breed as opposed to

“he-said,” “she-said” baloney.

The fact is, the very laws against fighting

these dogs have basically outlawed the

selection process required to test and

develop courage in our most courageous

breed of dog. These laws have caused

countless great dogs to be “seized and

destroyed,” and they have caused

countless good people to be imprisoned

and labeled “criminals,” and yet no one

has ever questioned the le- gitimacy of

the very laws themselves. Just like with

Prohibition, which made “outlaws” out

of decent people simply for having a

drink, the laws against fighting dogs

have made “outlaws” out of people just

for enjoying combat. Like Prohibition,

these ill-thought laws have created a

“crime” that doesn’t exist, and they have

inspired criminal activity where there

didn’t need to be any.

Does the name “Al Capone” ring a bell?

Well, you do realize that this kingpin

criminal was created by Prohibition,

don’t you? But you see, where

Prohibition was eventually repealed,

and sanity restored, the laws against dog

fighting still remain in existence. And (if

anything) they are get- ting stricter and

stricter. The truth is, the whole idea of

making dogfighting “a crime” really is

insane, same as the whole idea of

making the sale and use of alcohol “a

crime” was insane. The idea that

breeding and testing dogs for courage is

“wrong” or “a crime” is simply insane.

It is absolutely insane. To put people in

jail because they want to perpetuate and

develop a tough and courageous breed of

dog is nothing but the insanity of a

declining nation. Our society has now

legalized “homosexuality,” same-sex

marriages, yet we have outlawed the

development of courage?

That, people, is insane. And you need to

recognize it for the insanity that it is. Yet,

although I vehemently disagree with the

laws against dog fighting, I am forced to

obey these laws myself. In fact, I haven’t

matched a dog since Saturday,

November 25, 1995, when my Poncho

dog lost game to Big Ernie’s CH

Leonard. Yet, while I have obeyed the

laws against dog fighting myself,

regardless of how ridiculous they are, I

have always maintained an avid interest

in the fighting ability of pit bulls, and I

have kept in contact with those who in

fact still do contest and fight their dogs.

This doesn’t make me a bad person,

merely because I enjoy combat, any

more than people who enjoy watching

human boxing or wrestling are bad

people. It makes me normal. The simple

fact is, most normal people are

fascinated with “the fastest”—“the

strongest”— “the tallest”—“the

smartest”— something out there, and I

just happen to be fascinated by the

toughest dogs out there, and there are

many decent people just like me who are

also.

Think about it: there are people whose

whole lives center around the fastest

cars. There are people whose whole

lives center around the fastest horses.

There are people whose whole lives

center around the best boxers, the best

wrestlers, the best golfers, the best

tennis players, you name it. Simply put,

competition, and the desire to see

competition, is everywhere in the

world where there are men. That is a

fact, and there is nothing “abnormal”

about having such competitive interests;

in point of fact there is something

abnormal about NOT having such

interests! The desire to witness and

participate in some form of intense

competition is simply part of being

human. I just happen to be fascinated

with sportive competition that centers

around the toughest dogs, and there are

many other men and women just like me,

who are decent people and normal

people who feel likewise. So why is

there a problem? I mean, truly, why is

there a problem? The fact is, there

shouldn’tbe a problem, because it is our

Constitutional Right to pursue happiness,

so long as we do not interfere with the

rights of other men.

Having a deep fascination with fighting

dogs doesn’t make us “bad” people, any

more than having a deep desire to

develop the best racehorses makes

someone “bad” either; it only means we

all have our own unique interests and

fascinations. Everybody does.

Unfortunately, so many meddling animal

rights activists have lobbied together

and passed laws, that we dogfighters

now have had our individual interests

turned into something “illegal.” Yet who

are these animal activists to do this? If

analyzed accurately, it is actually the

animal rights fanatics meddling in our

business, and taking away our

Constitutional Rights and Freedoms

through high-dollar lobbying, that should

truly be illegal. Their actions have been

based on nothing but ignorance and lies,

and these laws have violated our rights

as American citizens to pursue our

passions. Not only is the enactment of

such laws a violation of our rights, but it

is my expert opinion (and anyone with

common sense can see) that outlawing

dog fighting has resulted in the sad fact

that only outlaws remain willing to par-

ticipate in the sport of dogs. The sad

result of these ridiculous laws is that pit

bulls suffer, they do not prosper, from

the very laws against fighting them. The

sport is now left to be in control of

(predomi- nantly) outlaws, who are

invariably stupid and barbaric people,

because the good people that are

legitimate fanciers of the breed

invariably “got out of the game” just to

protect their freedom. I again remind you

that the same thing happened with

Prohibition: only the decent citizens

stopped drinking and distributing liquor,

when alcohol was illegalized, while all

of the criminals continued to do so (in

fact, they flourished in this climate). Yet

when the voters repealed the Prohibition

laws, by God all that crime went away

too, didn’t it? And the good people came

back.

So why are so many people blind to this

parallel reality regarding the sport of

fighting dogs? After all, the same truths

apply! Since most of the good people

have bowed-out of dogfighting, this has

left only the criminals to remain in the

sport. Thus the perception the general

public has of both fighting dogs, and of

the men who contest them, is that “the

whole thing is evil and is conducted by

evil criminals.” What the general public

doesn’t understand is (again, just as the

distribution of alcohol was left to

criminals when Prohibition was

enacted) so too has dog fighting been

similarly left only to criminals. But I am

here to tell you that it is not “the sport”

which is the problem, it’s the laws

against it which are the problem! You

see, the perception people have of this

sport (and the people in it) is simply

unfairly slanted and flawed, and the

reason it is unfairly slanted and flawed

is because of the lies and agenda that

have been told and re-told by the animal

rights activists who pay the media to tell

these lies. The incredible irony is, in a

twisted way the public is right: the sport

of dog fighting is conducted mostly by a

world of criminals—but what they don’t

realize is that the very laws against the

sport are responsible for this! The sad

truth is, the human element around dog

fight- ing didn’t used to be that way. If

people bothered to study their history,

they would find that dog fighting was

once a world of sporting gentlemen who

simply bred and competed with a

superior breed of dog—a courageous

breed of dog—the American pit bull

terrier.

To be honest, I understand why most

people would want to outlaw the sport

of fighting dogs, as most people have

been brainwashed to think it is “cruel,”

and there is no sane or morallysound

individual who would tolerate cruelty. I

myself would never tolerate cruelty, and

no one of any sort of moral fiber would

tolerate it either. The trouble is,

dogfighting is not inherently cruel, any

more than two men boxing is inherently

cruel. Legitimate pit dogs want to fight,

they love fighting,

and they do not feel pain like other dogs

do. However, nobody really takes the

time to understand this. Again, as

Nietzsche said, “ What we do is never

understood, but always only either

praised or censored. ”

In this way, dogfighting has never been

understood by the people who have

outlawed it; it has always only been

either “praised or censored.” (Mostly

censored.) But the question remains, is

dogfighting really cruel? The supposed

cruelty is what the lawmakers “assume”

to be there, and yet this assumption has

never actually been put under the

microscope to be analyzed. So the

question remains, is dogfighting really

cruel? The answer might surprise you.

~ A Question of Cruelty? ~

A keen mind (that takes time to reflect

and analyze) soon realizes that cruelty

can only be judged by the participants of

the activity, not the “observers.” By this

I mean a tree-hugger watching dogs fight

and cringing at the thought of two

doggies “biting each other” has no

accuracy in judgment from the dogs’

perspectives. Similarly, a ping-pong

player being horrified at the thought of

“being hit” should not have his opinion

carry the same weight as the

boxer’s perspective of being hit in the

sport of boxing. Taking a punch from a

professional fighter might make a

pingpong-sissy cringe—and so it would

be cruel for the pingpong-sissy to be

forced to take a punch—but this has

nothing to do with how a professional

boxer feels about taking a punch. The

professional boxer doesn’t care.

Well, when bred and raised correctly, pit

dogs are just like human professional

fighters: they could care less about

“being bit.” The only thing a good pit

dog cares about is biting. So too, a

professional boxer could care less about

“being hit,” he only cares about hitting.

Thus, when looked at from the

participants’ perspectives, there is no

“cruelty” to the pit bull in a dog fight,

any more than there is cruelty to the

professional boxer in a human fight. In

fact, there is even less cruelty to a pit

dog, because he is tougher than any man

ever dreamed to be, for pit bulls are

actually bred to fight and to be tough.

Furthermore, the assumption that fighting

dogs are therefore “mean” dogs is pure

and utter rubbish. This is another totally

misunderstood aspect about fighting

dogs, and that misunderstanding is the

assumption that, just because a pit bull

enjoys fighting contact (while he’s

actually fighting), that this makes him a

“mean” animal when he’s not fighting.

That would be like saying, just because

a professional human boxer enjoys

boxing in the ring, that this makes him “a

mean man” outside the ring. This is

perhaps the biggest misconception in

these dogs: that a fighting dog = a mean

dog. This is pure and utter rubbish.

Again, to continue the parallel, there are

plenty of professional boxers who are

kind and decent human beings outside

the ring, and there are plenty of pit dogs

that are wonderful and loving “pets”

when not in the pit.

Thus the premise that “fighting dogs are

always mean” is totally invalid. Pure

fabrication by people who know nothing

about the breed. Here is another parallel

to illustrate: just because your pet kitty-

cat will attack and kill any mouse he

sees doesn’t mean your kitty-cat will

attack a person. That’s just what cats do:

kill mice! Another example: just because

a ‘coon dog will chase and kill a ‘coon

doesn’t mean he’ll chase and try to kill a

person too. That’s what ‘coon dogs do:

kill ‘coon! But this has nothing to do

with how a ‘coon dog sees a person.

Well, so too, just because a pit bull will

attack and fight another dog, or animal,

doesn’t mean he will attack and try to

fight a person. That’s what fighting dogs

do: fight! But this has nothing to do with

their temperament towards a human

being. I think even a simpleton should be

able to follow this logic.

Yet for some reason the majority of

people “assume” (and to assume is to

make and “ass” out of “u” and “me”) that

a dog which is bred to fight other dogs

“must” be dangerous to people too. Yet

this assumption is just flat-out untrue. I

myself have had many superb,

competitive, highlyskilled pit dogs, who

could not be beaten in the pit, but yet

they would romp and play with me (and

sometimes even other dogs) when not in

the pit. How is this possible? Well, it’s

possible simply because these dogs

were intelligent animals, who knew

when they were supposed to “do their

job,” and yet they also knew who was

their enemy, who was not, and how to

relax and enjoy “being a pet” when they

were not being called upon to do their

job. In short, these little warriors I had

were not mindlessly-aggressive brutes;

they simply were intelligent, well-

socialized performance animals— who,

although bred to excel at fighting, were

nonetheless able to understand when

they were “not supposed to do that.” In

the same way, a sweet & lovable kitty-

cat knows the difference between

the mice he is supposed to kill, and the

human beings he’s supposed to love. Just

because the cat will tear a mouse to

pieces and eat him doesn’t mean he

won’t be lovable to you, or to your

friends, when you go up to pet him.

The fact is, truly superior pit dogs are

complete animals. Properly-raised pit

bulls are credit to their breed, and they

are a joy to have around under any

circumstance. They are intelligent, they

are capable, and they are loyal. This is

the Breed Standard as to how the true

American pit bull terrier should be bred:

he should be a fierce warrior when

called upon—but a trusted, intelligent,

and affectionate companion when “off

duty.” And it is absolutely incumbent

upon future breeders of this breed to

keep these dogs like this: all-around

athletes, yes, but most of all Man’s Best

Friend, as the domesticated dog was

originally bred to be.

Did you know that scholars, professional

sportsmen, writers, and even United

States Presidents used to attend dog

fights, at pitside, in the early- and mid-

part of the 20th century? (In fact, some

still do now, whether you believe that or

not.) Did you know that the United

Kennel Club (UKC) itself used to

sanction pit fights and appoint pit judges

too? Did you know that none other than

The Police Gazette likewise used to

sanction pit fights and appoint referees?

You didn’t? Well, it’s true☺ This was

also around this same time period that

“Pete The Pup” was featured as the

children’s friend on the TV program The

Little Rascals. And no “little rascals”

ever got bit by “Pete” the pit bull pup

either☺

The truth is, pit dog fighting used to be

an accepted sport, and these dogs used

to embody the American ideal, courage,

because that is what this sport is all

about: a truly competitive event

involving the courage of truly superior

animals. But along came some “tree

huggers” in the mid-‘70s and they

spoiled everything. They decided pit dog

fighting was “wrong.” They began to

argue that pit dog fighting was “cruel.”

Yet these animal rights zealots knew

nothing of the breed they were talking

about; they knew nothing about the sport

they condemned, and so therefore all of

their hysteria was based on nothing but

their own over-active imagination.

Basically, the zealots who outlawed this

sport were nothing but “ping-pong

players” cringing at the thought of “being

hit,” and they were too caught up in how

“they” saw dog fighting, to consider the

fact that their opin- ions were irrelevant

to how the dogs saw it. In truth, the

zealots themselves knew nothing about

the sport of dog fighting which they were

condemning. And the same is true with

the masses of people against the sport

today: they “don’t understand, they only

censor.” That’s right, every single

animal activist today a$$ume his “moral

rightness” in outlawing the sport, but the

fact of the matter is every one of them is

flat-out wrong! These people have

condemned without taking the time to

fully under- stand that which they are

condemning. Every single one of these

fanatics assumes that the cruelty exists,

rather than actually investigate the

question as to whether or not the cruelty

“in fact” does exist. Sadly, man’s history

is full of such injustices—from The

Inquisition, to The Salem Witch-Hunts,

to Prohibition—assuming they know

there’s an evil without realizing only

they are evil.

You see, this human weakness that so

many people suffer from—the propensity

to condemn and destroy rather than

trying to understand—is hard to shake. It

is hard to overcome. Human stupidity,

prejudice, and the general refusal to

consider all of the facts has caused more

damage and more evil to occur in this

world than all of the other maladies

combined. And this human pathos to

have this kind of a knee-jerk reaction is

precisely what the majority of society

does when they contemplate dog

fighting: it stems from this same

primitive mentality. Primitive minds

can’t reason about a subject; they can

only react to a subject. Such people (in

fact most people) when they contemplate

dog fighting, only picture “blood and

guts” and poor terrified doggies

“fighting for their lives”—and so most

people can’t help but reflexively call the

activity “cruel” and seek to put an end to

it. Yet this is nothing but their over-

active imagination. None of these things

is, in fact, what actually happens in

professional pit contests. And thus the

opinions of the entire group of animal

rights zealots are based upon nothing but

the fabrication in their own minds—

which “images” they irrationally cling to

—rather than opening their minds and

seeking to gather and analyze the true

facts.

~ The Crux of Cruelty ~

We’ll get into what really happens in

these contests later, but the simple truth

is, as I stated earlier, the activity of dog

fighting itself is not necessarily cruel to

the dogs. The fact is, cruelty is a

subjective thing. The presence or

absence of cruelty depends on the

perspective of the participant, not on

what you think, and not on what I think.

This is the only way in which cruelty

can be truly understood is by trying to

understand the perspective of the

participant of the activity

As for the forthcoming discussion of

ethics and cruelty, I feel it necessary to

point out that I have a BA degree in

ethics and philosophy, from UCLA, and

so I am every bit as qualified to discuss

the ethical theory I will soon be

covering as I am qualified to discuss the

subject of the pit bulls them- selves.

Okay? So I repeat, the question of

cruelty is based on the perspective of

the participant of the activity, not on a

mere “observer’s” opinion.

Recalling the example I made of a ping-

pong player’s view of “being hit”

compared to that of the boxer’s, I will

now make another analogy to show the

subjective nature of “cruelty.” Suppose a

triathlete decided to run at a good clip

for 5 straight miles—in the hot sun. We

can easily see that there would be no

cruelty involved in a well-conditioned

athlete running like this, because this

activity would be easily-tolerated by

such a man. However, if we made a

grotesquely-fat man—with a heart

condition—run that same 5-mile run in

the heat, then such extreme activity

would most definitely be cruel to him.

The fat man would be in agony in a 5-

mile run in the heat, whereas the

triathlete would not.

Key Point: Thus, here again, we see

that cruelty is always subjective, and it

depends on the individual performing the

activity, not on the activity itself. One

cannot therefore judge “an activity” as

being cruel—in and of itself—one has to

judge the presence or absence of cruelty

based on the perspective of the

participant inthe activity. It really is

that simple.

Unfortunately, the clarity of this truth is

too clear for simple-minded people to

see, as too many can only operate out of

the inventions of their imagination rather

than on the actual facts before them. The

reality is, in our day and age, there are

too many self-righteous, self-centered,

meddling whiners out there trying to

force ‘their’ perspective on other

people, as if ‘their’ perspective is ‘all’

perspectives. Such meddling busy-

bodies try to control other people’s

behavior because they don’t have the

mental capacity to think about subjects

like these from anything but ‘their own’

perspective. They cannot listen to reason

nor can they consider another point of

view besides their own. Such people

think they ‘know’ dog fighting is cruel,

just because their toy poodle would

scream and be terrified of being bitten—

or because they themselves are

reflexively and irrationally mortified by

the thought of fighting—but such

people’s weak-kneed cowardice doesn’t

mean my pit bull is terrified of fighting.

My pit bull could care less; he enjoys

the fighting contact.

Key Point: This is the entire fallacy

behind the existing laws against

dogfighting today: the opponents assume

‘the activity’ is cruel, when in fact any

cruelty would depend on the

perspective of what animal is being

fought. The point that simple-minded

people can’t seem to fathom is what may

be cruel for one animal will not

necessarily be cruel for another. This is

the pivotal, key point that so many tree

huggers simply cannot understand.

Yes, a pit bull fighting a toy poodle

would be cruel—for the toy poodle—but

it is not cruel for the pit bull eating him

up. One individual (the poodle) would

be terrified and in agony during such a

fight, while the other individual (the pit

bull) would be having a blast in that

same fight. Thus we can immediately see

that the actual activity is NEUTRAL.

Therefore, what actually determines the

pres- ence or absence of cruelty can

only be judged by the perspective of

each participant! This is the crux in

understanding the heart of this whole

issue—for the activity is the same—yet

the perspectives of the participants in

the activity are much different—and thus

the question of cruelty will be much

different for each animal.

In this way, a person of superior intellect

can clearly see that “the activity” of dog

fighting is not inherently cruel. The final

truth on this issue of cruelty, therefore,

must always be judged on an individual

basis; there can be no ‘blanket

statement’ that will ever be true about

any activity. Only by understanding the

perspectives of the dogs (are they

terrified or are they ready-and-willing?)

can we determine whether any cruelty is

actually occurring in the unique,

individual fight we are now seeing. The

is why blanket laws against such an

activity are ridiculous by default: they

fail to account for individual

differences.

It is just like the question of whether or

not it is ‘cruel’ for a man to run for 5

miles in hot weather—the answer to this

question will also be much different for

a well-conditioned triathlete than it will

be for a grotesquely fat man, and so

there is no ‘one’ answer to this question

that can be given here either. Outlawing

‘the activity’ of running 5 miles in the

heat isn’t the answer here either, but

rather selecting the right individual for

the job is. So too, when we seek to ask

the question of whether or not it is

‘cruel’ to let two dogs fight each other in

pit contests—the answer will be much

different for a combat-bred pit bull than

it will be for a toy poodle. So here again

outlawing ‘the activity’ of

dog fighting isn’t the answer either, but

bringing the right dog for the job is.

This is the point of reconciliation that

not one of these animal rights activists

has the mental capacity to fathom. They

simply cannot fathom that ‘their’

perspective of dog fighting has nothing

whatsoever to do with the perspective

of a pit dog. You see, it is not cruel

when two combat-bred, willing pit bulls

go straight into each other and

commence to fight, because both dogs

enjoy it. That is what they’re bred for

and that is what they live for.

Unfortunately, most simple-minded

animal rights activists cannot think on

that level, and so they strive to outlaw

“the activity” for no other reason than it

disturbs their personal feelings about

fighting, rather than honestly attempting

to base their judgments on any factual

evidence gained from keenly observing

the animals. The truth is, just because an

animal rights fanatic’s heart flutters at

the thought of a dog fight doesn’t mean

that a fighting dog’s heart is fluttering.

And the factual evidence is, for any

person who takes the time to observe,

and who has eyes to see, that a true

combat-bred, well-schooled pit dog

loves to fight. The truth is, these dogs

enjoy what they are doing—and as such

there is nothing whatsoever that is cruel

about the activity of allowing them to do

it. When using truly combat-bred dogs,

and when the event is conducted by

professional sporting dogmen, dog

fighting is a legitimate sport and it

involves no cruelty.

~ The Failed Laws ~

Although the reason dog fighting was

made to be illegal was supposedly in the

interests of the pit dogs’ welfare, as you

will soon see the truth is outlawing the

activity has hurt the pit bull breed and

actually caused more suffering than there

ever existed for the dogs when the sport

was legal. Outlawing the activity

certainly has not helped a thing, because

(again, like Prohibition) illegalizing the

sport only made the good people get out

of it, while the outlaws and thugs (who

don’t care about laws) remained. As a

reminder, and lest we forget, pit dog

fighting used to be run by The Police

Gazette and the United Kennel Club

itself.

There have been similar efforts in a

human parallel. The same kind of pale,

faint-hearted, tree-hugging animal-rights

zealots (who have outlawed the sport of

dog fighting) have also tried to outlaw

boxing, no-holds-barred (NHB) mixed

martial arts (MMA) human fighting (e.g.,

the UFC), and many other completely

legitimate fighting activities, all based

upon this same (basically insane)

premise that these activities are “cruel.”

These people believe they ‘just know’

what is right and wrong for others.

Again, we see this same inability to

consider all perspectives, not just one’s

own. This total self-centered denseness,

this same inability to see any other

perspective besides one’s own, is then

combined with the same basic

unwillingness to examine all the facts in

order to reach a fair, balanced, and

accurate conclusion. Thus I write the

Introduction of this book. I write this

critical differentiation for the reader

(who perhaps might be against the sport

of dog fighting, but who re- ally doesn’t

know much about it), but yet who has a

mind that is open enough to—just

perhaps—be willing to listen. I write

this book to tell the real truth about

dog fighting

Let me be completely honest both ways,

however, because I believe this is

important. I will admit that dog fighting

can become cruel. It can become cruel

when any of the people involved in

staging the contests don’t have the ability

(or don’t care) to recognize cruelty when

it starts to happen. For even though two

dogs may both start out willing to fight,

there are many times when one of the

dogs really doesn’t want to be in there

anymore, but yet he is forced to remain

(often called “left down”) to continue to

fight in the contest anyway. This most

definitely is cruelty, to the one dog who

no longer wants to fight. When it is clear

one dog has had enough a compassionate

owner, handler, and/or referee should

stop the fight—and yet because most of

the good dogmen today have got out,

what’s left of the sport are thugs who

will leave their dogs down to suffer

abuse rather then ‘pick up’ and stop

things at that point.

~ Cruelty Defined ~

At any time during the contest, if one of

the dogs ‘gives up’ or no longer wants to

be there, then at that very moment the

contest is cruel to the dog who doesn’t

want to be there anymore— and every

second that the contest goes on from that

point forward becomes another step into

cruelty for that dog—and it is precisely

here where a good dogman will stop the

contest, but where a cruel handler will

not. (More on this soon.)

You see, this is precisely why outlawing

the sport of dog fighting (and leaving it

to outlaws) has hurt the pit bull breed,

and the individual combatants, rather

than help it or them. These kinds of

lowlifes will not stop pit contests that

need to be stopped, and they will thus

allow cruelty to go on and on for one

poor dog, precisely because there is no

presiding governing body overseeing the

event. Although a good, legitimate

dogman will stop a contest the moment it

no longer is a sport, even without a

governing body presiding, unfortunately

these are few and far between, again

because most of the good dogmen have

gotten out.

A similar parallel can again be drawn to

the human fighting contests of boxing or

the Ulti- mate Fighting Championship

(UFC): neither event, by itself, is cruel

for the human combatants, as they both

want to fight, and they are both good at

fighting. As such, there is no cruelty

involved in professional human fighting

contests. However, imagine if in a

boxing (or UFC) contest, if one of the

fighters wanted to quit, to tap out, or if a

given fighter was severely injured and

could no longer defend himself—but the

contest was still allowed to go on and-

on and-on, without referee intervention.

If this kind of thing was allowed to

happen in boxing, or in the UFC, then

one of the fighters in either sport could

eventually become seriously injured or

killed. Fortunately, because we have

sanctioning bodies and appointed

referees who stop human fights, no such

thing ever happens. Thus all human

fights are immediately stopped when they

need to be stopped, and as such any

injuries suffered by the human

participants are seldom serious—and so

there is never any cruelty involved.

Thanks to this kind of referee vigilance,

everybody (who wants to) can enjoy

professional human boxing, wrestling, or

no-holds-barred fighting, without ever

seeing a moment of cruelty. These same

truths ‘would’ apply to dog fighting too

—but unfortunately, because this sport

has been outlawed (again, like

Prohibition), the result is that nearly

always only outlaws wind up being

involved, and so cruelty is very often

allowed to happen because there is no

presiding body governing the contests.

You see before, when the sport was

legal, and when it was held by legitimate

dog men, such pit contests used to be

presided over by policemen, or by

legitimate UKC officials, and thus the

sport was seldom cruel because there

was a governing body overseeing the

activities. Now, however, these contests

are only presided over by outlaws, who

in general could give a damn about

rules, society, cruelty, suffering, or

anything else besides the possible

gambling money to be won—and the

natural conclusion of this is that most

dogs wind up suffering, not prospering,

because the sport of dog fighting has

been outlawed. These laws against

dogfighting have actually hurt the dogs,

they have not “helped” them. You may

not want to believe this, but it is the

truth.

Thanks to these dog laws (which have

made the good people get out of the

sport of dog fighting), the majority of the

uneducated, malicious people who

remain in the sport of dog fight- ing

allow their animals to be brutalized

without any regard for their lives or

health. The true spirit of what this sport

should be about (the tremendous ability

and courage that these animals have) has

now taken a back seat to the gambling

money to be made—as well as the

excitement of the fights. Instead of a

down-and-out (but still-willing) dog

being picked up and saved when he

needs to be—by a good dogman who

values his dog’s life and his courage—

the lowlifes who remain in the sport

either leave their dogs down (hoping

their dog’s courage will still win them

their money somehow)—or they just

leave their dogs down because they get

off on watching an animal lose its life

and could give a damn about it.

In neither case is the dog valued,

however, which is the mindset of most

outlaws (and which is why they’re

outlaws in the first place): they have no

values. This is the true result of the sport

of dogfighting being outlawed: the dogs

are left to suffer in the hands of immoral

outlaw idiots. As the saying goes, “A

pipe gives a wise man time to think—

and a fool something to stick in his

mouth.” In the same fashion, good

dogmen really do appreciate their

quality dogs, whereas immoral fools just

abuse them. This same truth obtained in

the alcohol business, after Prohibition

illegalized it, when there really were

decent people with class who enjoyed

drinking—they left—and so the drinking

and distributing of alcohol was left to

outlaws and thugs, all because of nothing

but the ridiculous laws.

What you, the reader, need to understand

is the fact not everyone who enjoys dog

fighting is a cruel thug. There really are a

few remaining combat dog enthusiasts

who are not outlaws, but

who just love this breed of dog and the

courage the animals represent—who

stay with the sport regardless of the

legality. True dog men look after their

charges like a father or a responsible

boxing manager looks after his favorite

fighter: with a passionate interest in the

sport, yes, and with the desire for his

fighter to be good at it and to win, sure

—but also with loving concern for his

fighter’s safety. And if his fighter needs

to have the towel thrown in, then (just

like a good boxing manager or a father

watching his son box) a good dogman

will throw in the towel and get his dog

if he’s in over his head.

I consider myself to be one of these

fanciers, a true dog enthusiast, and other

such fanciers like myself still want to

develop the best canine fighting athlete

we can. Testing these dogs in the pit is

the only way to do this, yet we strive to

do so humanely, in exactly the same way

as a boxing manager trains and manages

his human fighters. That is what these

animal rights activists simply cannot

understand. They simply cannot

understand that, when run correctly, a

dog fight is humane. A truly good dog

enjoys the work, and a truly good person

presides over what’s happening and

stops the contest when one of the dogs

needs to be picked-up. It really is that

simple.

Sadly, these unthinking laws against the

sport turn the good fanciers into

“outlaws,” when in fact all we are dog

enthusiasts who seek to test and preserve

the hallowed trait of courage in our

favorite breed of dog, by testing for it.

Folks, courage is a positive thing, and

there is no other way to maintain

courage (or any other trait) in a breed of

dog than by testing for it, and then by

breeding for it when the trait is

demonstrated in individual athletes. And

the only way to compare, test for, and

then breed for deep courage in a dog is to

evaluate the animals in the pit—one

against the another—to see who is who

—and then to simply make the

determination as to which individual(s)

really do have what it takes. The sad

truth is, when the lawmakers made the

activity of dog fighting “illegal,” they in

essence made selecting for legitimate

courage and bravery illegal to breed

for in a dog. This is the great irony about

this sport: by illegalizing dogfighting,

what the genius lawmakers have done is

ensure that true courage can no longer be

specifically bred-for, when courage is

one of the key traits everyone wants in a

dog.

You’re probably thinking, “ If this is

true, and if dog fighting really is not

cruel (when being staged by willing and

able animals), then what about the

risks? Surely, there are safety risks

involved to the dogs, regardless of how

willing or able they are to perform?”

OK, true. Yes. But although there is

always some safety risk to a dog when

he is placed in the pit, this risk is not

much different from when a human boxer

steps into the ring. The injuries are

usually minor. Should we ban boxing, or

anything in life that contains risk? Some

people think so, as some people have

tried to outlaw human boxing too (and

damned near everything else). I mean,

hell, should we never step outside then?

Should we keep ourselves (and our

dogs) in plastic bubbles to make sure we

are ‘always safe’ and ‘risk-free?’ Of

course not.

Most rational people realize that there

are risks involved in many different

activities, especially in boxing and other

forms of fighting, yet there is also the

right of the boxers to take that risk and

fight anyway—and this is what makes

the sports’ champions so special. So

why do we allow hu- man boxers to fight

but not pit bulls? Why do people risk

their lives rock-climbing and skiing?

Should we ban everything risky? This

makes no sense. In fighting, any sane

person realizes that virtually all risk can

be held to a minimum simply through

intelligent and compassionate

observation, and by removing a down-

and-out fighter (dog or human) from the

situation when it is obvious he has had

enough and cannot win. This happens all

the time in human boxing, when referees

stop fights and declare a winner, and

thus very seldom do we see anyone get

seriously injured in a boxing match.

Why is it so hard, then, for animal rights

zealots to see that the same truths

would apply to dog fighting if it were

made legal and had appointed referees?

Even now, there really is no real risk at

all, when the dogs are handled and

observed by caring, competent handlers,

and the injuries sustained are only minor

holes in the skin that heal up in a few

days. So what is the problem? The fact

is there are risks of injury or death in

any type of competitive sport, be it man

or animal. In baseball, basketball,

football, car racing, boxing, skiing, rock-

climbing, etc., human lives are at risk.

Similarly, in horse-racing, field hunting,

hog hunting, ‘coon hunting, bear hunting,

dog racing, varmint hunting, and dog

fighting, canine lives are at risk. So just

because there is “a risk” does not mean

there is cruelty. The presence of risk

does not make the activity either ‘wrong’

or ‘cruel,’ and just because sometimes

lives are even lost doesn’t mean there

isn’t a legitimate purpose and greater

good to be gained through achieving

excellence in any of these endeavors,

either. Hell, if

you want to get technical, there is a

greater risk in simply driving your car to

work than there is in 15

Introduction

any of these sports, but that doesn’t make

driving a car ‘wrong’ either. Any

vigorous competitor of any sport is well

aware of the risks, but the thrill of the

activity is what is important to them. The

risk does not make it ‘wrong’ for such

people to go ahead with the activity

either, nor does it

diminish the nobility of achieving a

championship or proven excellence in

the sportive activity.

Some people will point out the fact that

intended injury to the dogs is the point

of dog fight- ing, which they believe

makes things ‘different.’ Such people

state this is where it becomes more of an

ethical issue than mere ‘risk’ of injury, it

is that all of the fighting sports involve

intended injury, not ‘risk’ of injury. As

such, these people say, fighting sports

simply hold a greater risk of harm on a

contest-to-contest basis than other

sports. Yet this same thing could be said

of the intended injury to humans as being

part of the make-up of boxing. Yet

boxing is legal. I mean, if we can accept

the premise of human beings

intentionally-injuring other human beings

for sport, on the basis of a greater good

being achieved through proven fistic

prowess, then why cannot we accept this

same premise in dogs? Are dogs more

valuable than human beings? In fact,

staging fighting contests be- tween dogs

is even more sensible, ultimately,

because we can actually breed for

courage in dogs based on the results,

creating and perfecting a superior breed

type.

In fact, it is precisely through seeing

which dogs hold up better to continuous

injury, and seeing which dog’s will to

win shines brighter than whose, that

allows us to determine which of the

dogs, truly, is the braver and better

animal. Evaluating tolerance to injury,

resistance to fatigue, and which of the

combatants has an unyielding

determination to win, no matter what, is

exactly why it is necessary to stage these

contests in an effort to develop the

toughest and bravest of canine athletes.

In human boxing there is less of a point

to it all than dog fighting, since we don’t

actually ‘breed’ humans for courage. Yet

in dog fighting, not only is there the

superficial desire to see a competitive

sporting event in-and-of-itself, but there

is the deeper underlying point to it all in

actually testing and breeding for

outstanding courage in a unique breed of

dog.

Let’s face it, every pet owner ‘thinks’ he

has a courageous dog—and yet the pit

process that actually evaluates and

demonstrates legitimate courage has

been outlawed! I mean, how can you

actually prove that courage exists in your

dogs to an incredible degree, without

truly showcasing it? And how can you

maintain courage in a breed of dog, if

not by breeding to the most proven-

courageous individuals, which proof can

only be based on the results of actual

contests? Dedicated fanciers must

intentionally create a scenario that

induces combat, injury, fatigue, and

severe challenges to a dog’s willpower

in order to determine which dog handles

it the best. Even in boxing, though we

don’t actually ‘breed’ for courage, it is

precisely the intended injury and fatigue

to the participants—with one of them

prevailing through it all—that carries the

drama and which also carries with it the

greatest prestige and valor in sports.

Maybe that is why former World

Heavyweight Champion, George

Foreman once said, “Boxing is the sport

to which all other sports aspire.” The

reason George said this is there is no

greater test of courage in sports than

in the fighting sports.

Well, the fact of the matter is pit dogs

prove even more valor and courage in

their contests than do human boxers, so a

pit dog who has earned the title of

“Champion” is truly a special and

superior athlete. Only the frail of heart

can’t see passed the risks involved in

competitive sporting activities to behold

the far greater virtues. Frail people

simply have a weak passion for living,

which is over-ridden by their strong

‘fear of risk.’ Such milquetoasts tremble

at the thought of any perceived danger

involved in any vigorous activity,

whereas men and women of valor

savor the opportunity to achieve the glory

that dangerous risk bestows upon those

who can and do prevail over it.

Basically, there are people today (the

Humane Society, P.E.T.A., etc.) who are

themselves so weak that they try to

remove all dangers involved in living,

not just in their own sad lives, but these

insidious, meddling types reach-out and

try to remove any risk in the lives of

others as well. Rather than live their

own lives, such meddling cream-puffs

try to take the ‘life’ out of every one and

every thing else.

Ultimately, what these anti-risk fanatics

call ‘living’ becomes mere ‘existing’: a

trance-like state of tranquility and safety,

but not of passion. These meddling ‘fear

of risk’ types basically try to suck the

life out of all individuals who live more

passionately than they do. “Do nothing

risky,” they say, “ or be labeled a

‘criminal’ by us. ” This kind of a pale,

sickly life may be fine for such

weaklings, but it is not fine for all. The

unsung truth is, pit bulls are the

antithesis of the frail-hearted animal

rights people; these dogs embody

courage and they define daring. True pit

bulls are beaming with life

and they are beaming with vitality, and

as such they enjoy the sport for which

they were bred— fighting—and there is

absolutely no cruelty in allowing these

dogs to do what they were bred to do,

when handled and presided over by

knowledgeable, competent, caring

dogmen.

It is a sad commentary, that actually

reflects the change in our whole

country’s backbone, that at one point in

our history, courage in a man used to be

valued—and (not coincidentally) the

sport of dog fighting used to be legal

then, too. In fact, so true is what I am

saying that the pit bull terrier was

actually on an American war poster,

depicted as the courageous fighter he is

and sym- bolizing American courage and

tenacity. Yep, that’s right, during World

War I the pit bull terrier was actually

used as an American symbol of courage

for this Great War. He was flanked on

one side by an English bulldog and a

German dachshund, and on the other side

by a French bulldog and a Russian

wolfhound. And the caption below the

pictorial read, “I’m neutral, BUT, not

afraid of any of them!” Take a look at

this poster on the facing page and see for

yourself.

There was a time when the American pit bull

terrier’s courage was used as a symbol of the very

same rugged courage upon which America itself

was built—and, not coincidentally, as America has

turned its back on what the pit bull’s courage stand

for, so too has America’s own image been

tarnished.

Again, it is a sad commentary that in our

society today a game, courageous,

fighting spirit is no lon - ger considered

to be a virtue. Instead, being a pale

weakling is what is held to be of value.

Being a soft, weak ‘business man’ is

considered virtuous today. All day long

we see soft, unathletic, sickly men in

suits and ties working in ‘offices’,

drinking espresso coffee, discussing

their ‘business affairs.’ That is the

contemporary ideal of a man today—

rather than holding rugged men of action

and courage as the ideal any longer.

Hell, even being a homosexual has now

been elevated to ‘acceptance’ in our

society these days, while being a fierce

warrior is now deemed to be ‘unaccept-

able.’ I mean, really, how pathetic have

we become as a people?

Well folks, the good news is not

everyone in our society has a declining

sense of values. There are still people

today who admire physical excellence,

and who admire deep courage, both in

human beings as well as in our

domesticated animals—and we are

not criminals for valuing courage, and

we are not criminals for testing for it in

ourselves and breeding for it in our

dogs. If anything, we should be saluted

for maintaining a level of excellence in a

breed of dog that no ‘pet owner’ will

ever maintain with his lap dogs.

We true pit dog fanciers are not cruel,

like the media attempt to portray us; we

just under- stand that in order to create

the strongest metal, you have to forge it

in the hottest heat. The pit bull terrier is

the strongest canine metal, and it has to

be continually forged in the hottest heat

(the pit) to make sure that each

individual within the breed remains true

to standard. The simple truth is, fighting

is literally required to prove the mettle

in these dogs, and intelligent fanciers

can achieve the objective of producing

both a top-notch fighting dog while still

conducting each event without any

cruelty, by using plain old vigilance,

compassion, common sense, and

humanity.

We true bulldog fanciers are the ones

who have kept the impeccable standards

of this great breed alive, while treating

the animals humanely and giving them a

good life. Unfortunately, because this

sport has been made illegal, many well-

meaning pit dog enthusiasts (again, like

myself) are forced to quit our hobby, not

wanting to risk our freedom on account

of our interests. Thanks to such laws, the

sport is therefore left to people who

don’t care about the law, their freedom,

or any other potential consequences

involved in breaking the law—and this

means most pit dogs wind up suffering,

not prospering, thanks to these laws, by

being relegated to being owned by

criminals with this irresponsible

mentality. The sad truth of the sport

being outlawed is that very few well-

meaning enthusiasts can afford the risk

of ‘getting caught’ pursuing their passion

anymore, so

they get out of this hobby, leaving it to

criminals who don’t care.

Thus, rather than pit contests still being

held by intelligent, caring fanciers who

hold the integrity of the breed as the

supreme value, such contests are left to

be held by irresponsible, immoral

criminals who could give a damn about

anything other than the fast-action and

the gambling money to be won. Again, as

the saying goes, “A pipe gives a wise

man time to think—and a fool

something to stick in his mouth.” And

that is also why you have the problems

today with pit bull attacks: the dogs are

now left to be bred and raised either by

ignorant, foolish ‘pet owners’—who are

too clueless to handle these dogs

properly—or they are left to be owned

by unintelligent, immoral, outlaws. In

neither case, however, are these dogs

being handled and cared for properly.

You can see novices every day, who let

their pit bulls run loose, and you can see

criminal thugs every day who have these

dogs kept in deplorable conditions and

who simply don’t care about anything.

And yet the professional dogman, who

created the breed standard, and who

actually knows how to handle these dogs

properly, has been run off from keeping

this breed alive and pursuing his

vocation, thanks to these ridiculous

laws.

It is my view that pit bulls should only

be owned by intelligent, professional

dogmen—the dogfighters who created

the breed in the first place—and by no

one else. It is simply a matter of

historical fact that every bit of the ‘pit

bull problem’ has been caused by the

ignorant laws against the sport of dog

fighting. These laws have run all of the

good people out of the sport, which in

turn has left the breed to the hands of

either ignorant pet owners or outright

outlaws—and the resulting media hoopla

that constantly follows has done nothing

but attract the attention of both, neither of

whom knows how to handle these dogs

properly, simply because they don’t truly

understand them.

~ Hypocrisy Defined ~

It is a matter of unimpeachable fact that,

not only was it unconstitutional to have

enacted laws against dogfighting,

thereby abolishing a certain sub-

culture’s rights to pursue their legitimate

interests in creating a superior strain of

canine athlete, it is also contradictory to

what the animal rights fanatics ultimately

do to the very dogs they confiscate: for

they kill them. So let’s talk about that

and see if there really are “animal

rights.”

A nimAl Rights? What are animal rights

anyway? The Humane Society of the

United States (HSUS) and the People for

the Ethical Treatment of Animals

(PETA) both say that animals have

‘rights.’ They say we pit bull owners

cannot fight our doggies, and these

animal organizations have orchestrated

laws that will result in the arrest any

person for being caught (or even

suspected of) fighting a dog. Yet why

doesn’t anyone concern themselves with

the rights of these same pit bulls after

they get confiscated by these so-called

activists? Do you know what happens

after a dogfight raid? HSUS and PETA

take away the doggies—and then what

do you think they do with the confiscated

doggies immediately thereafter? They

kill them! That’s right, these incredible,

hypocritical animal rights idiots will say

out of one side of their mouths that pit

bulls have a right not to be fought, and

then out of the other side of their mouths

(as soon as they get ahold of them) these

animal fanatics will say those same dogs

don’thave a right not to be killed! This is ludicrous. And yet the entire United

States population says nothing.

Everybody just kinda goes along with it.

I mean, even a 3-year-old should be able

to see the logic that if pit bulls have a

right not to be fought, then they also have

a right not to be killed. Or, stated in the

reverse, if a pit bull doesn’t have a right

not to be killed by HSUS then he

doesn’t have a right not to be fought by

his owner either. You can’t have it both

ways!

Yet HSUS and PETA have lobbied

heavily enough to pass laws in our

country basically saying that it is wrong

if a person fights his property (his own

doggie), while HSUS and PETA feel

they are ‘in the right’ to forcibly take that

man’s property, and kill that same

doggie for its being fought (which isn’t

even the animal’s fault). Any person

with an IQ over 100 should be able to

see the logical fallacy here. If these dogs

have a right not to be fought, then they

also should have a right not to be killed.

Or, if these dogs don’t have a right to

life, then they also shouldn’t have any

rights

regarding being fought either. You can’t

have it both ways. In the end, the fact is

DOGS ARE PROPERTY and the ethical

truth is, no one has any right to tell me

what to do with MY property, EVER. It

is that simple.

Further, just think about all the other

laws which support this view, by

allowing us to straightup kill other

species of animal that we can own (let

alone just watch animals fight). I mean,

just think about this: it is “legal” for any

person to slaughter hundreds of cows,

chickens, pigs—you name it—we can

kill them all day long, every day of our

lives, on account of human food. Yet it

has been proven that man can survive

without eating meat. What this means,

bottom line, is that we allow literally

millions of animals to be killed each

year (animals who certainly don’t enjoy

their deaths) to make man money and to

give man pleasure, the pleasure of eating

meat.

Or, for that matter, any person can hunt

and kill all kinds of wild animals by

obtaining a permit to shoot and kill them

(again animals that certainly don’t want

to be killed). We don’t even need to eat

these animals, we can just legally kill

them ‘for sport’—or for a set of antlers.

Worse, a person can miss his shot and

send the poor thing into the brush to die

an agonizing death—legally—but for

some reason that same person cannot

legally take his pit dog (who loves to

fight) and place him with another pit dog

(who also loves to fight) and then just let

them do what they were bred for cen-

turies to do— fight—even if neither dog

ever comes close to dying. I mean this

is logically-ridiculous! Doggies are

basically elevated by our laws to be

‘more valuable’ than every other species

of animal, including humans! Only HSUS

and PETA are allowed to kill them with

impunity!

Another contradiction is, the way current

laws stand, I can legally have my pit dog

attack and maul a wild pig (which is a

form of fighting), yet the pig doesn’t

even like it. He does not want to be

attacked and mauled, but this is

considered legal. Yet my same pit dog

cannot legally engage another pit dog in

a fight, even though both enjoy the

combat. I mean, really, how much sense

does this make? My dog can attack a pig,

but not another pit dog? Even though the

other pit dog is my dog’s equal, and

enjoys fighting also, whereas the pig is

not my dog’s equal and does not enjoy

fighting? Just think about that. Somebody

needs to help our lawmakers think

accurately. Remember, we have proven

that cruelty is dependent upon the

perspective of the participant in the

activity, and so it is cruel to allow a dog

to attack a pig, because the pig does not

want to be attacked—yet this is legal—

whereas both pit bulls love to fight each

other, and so there is no cruelty in this

instance, but yet this activity is

considered ILlegal.

The hypocrisy and cluelessness of our

lawmakers truly is astounding. Anyone

with eyes to see, and a brain to think,

can immediately conclude the former

activity of willing dogs on unwilling

pigs does involve cruelty to the pigs.

This is true cruelty, from the pigs’

perspectives, because these animals do

not enjoy the fighting contact. Yet the

activity of willing dog on another

willing dog is not cruel, because both

dogs are equals and both dogs enjoy the

contact. Let me stress this point even

more clearly and graphically: we allow

several bulldogs to gang-up-on and

administer a slow death to a wild pig on

a hunt—that is unfair to the wild pig who

agonizes over the contact—but we will

not allow one dog to so much as nick

another dog’s skin, in a sporting contest

where both dogs are equal, and when

both dogs actually enjoy the fighting,

and even where neither dog actually

dies. I mean, really, any intelligent

person should be able to see that our

laws regarding animal fighting are

totally absurd, that they are exactly bass-

ackwards, and the reason for this is

these laws were created by people

without the slightest clue about the very

animals for which they have created said

laws.

Truth is those who have created these

animal laws (HSUS and PETA) know

nothing about the animals for which they

have created said laws. The truth is

HSUS and PETA violate the whole

concept of “animal rights” every time

they put a dog down. The truth is, we

blithely allow legitimate and

unspeakable cruelties of isolation to

animals that are being produced for

food. The total confine- ment of young

calves in the dark to produce veal

probably heads this list of

unconscionable cruelties which we

allow every day to be committed against

unwilling animals. We also allow

insanely over-crowded conditions in the

keeping of egg-laying chickens, who are

forced to live crammed in tiny cages

laying eggs all their lives. And you bet

these conditions are cruel, because none

of the animals involved enjoys this kind

of treatment at all; these animals are

miserable every moment of their brief,

overly-confined lives—the end of which

is to get their throats cut or their heads

chopped off to be eaten for food.

Yet the lawmakers allow this kind of

animal torture to go on all over the

country, but they won’t allow a pit bull

the joy of fighting another pit bull, even

for five minutes, and even when both

dogs have been raised in the house with

love their whole lives, as opposed to

being confined for their whole lives in a

dark shed to be raised for slaughter. And

again, we will also allow these same

bulldogs to fight and kill wild animals,

creatures which don’t enjoy the fight at

all, and which get killed by a gang of

attacking dogs, but yet these same dogs

that can legally kill a pig in an unfair

gang-fight cannot legally fight each

other, even when done fairly and singly,

where both dogs enjoy it, and where

neither dog dies! I mean, who can say

any of this with a straight face? Yet

this is the way these laws stand right

now.

The final coup de grace to this issue of

hypocrisy is the fact that I can lace on a

pair of boxing gloves myself, and legally

fight another man who does the same.

That’s right, two human be- ings can

legally have fun beating the hell out of

each other—black eyes, broken noses,

bloody lips, brain damage and all—but

these same two human beings cannot

legally let their dogs fight each other,

even for five minutes—when the dogs

are ten times better at it and only suffer

little holes in their much tougher skin.

Thus, not only are the existing laws

contradictory relative to animal rights

(which is a contradiction in terms), not

only are the laws contradictory in

legalizing injury or death to other kinds

of animals we own—but the existing

laws are further contradictory in that

they also say humans can legally injure

other human beings—through organized

human fighting—but yet these same

humans cannot let their doggies injure

each other, through organized dog

fighting! The inconsistency of our laws

is so ridiculous that they have basically

elevated the status of ‘doggies’ over and

above all other life forms, that dogs are

considered to be more sacred and

valuable than every other kind of animal

on earth, including the status of human

beings!

~ The Bottom Line ~

So why are the dog laws so

contradictory? Why are such ignorance

and hypocrisy so prevalent amongst

animal fanatics and the puppet

lawmakers who pass their ridiculous

and self-contradictory laws? In a word:

lobbying. The truth is, there are always

irrational zealots who try to ‘outlaw’

everything, everywhere—from guns, to

abortion, to hunting, to alcohol, to

boxing, to dog fighting, to even owning a

dog—you name the pursuit—and there

will always be a group of some zealous

idiots, somewhere, assembling together

in an effort to try to enact some kind of

legislation against the activity.

So why has dogfighting remained totally

illegal then, where other truly cruel

animal matters have been allowed to go

on legally? For that matter, why was

Prohibition made illegal—and then why

was it successfully repealed? Why was

boxing made illegal for awhile too—and

then why was boxing successfully re-

instated? Why can human beings once

again drink alcohol, and why can human

beings once again fight each other,

legally, while doggies still cannot fight

each other le- gally? Why can I shoot

and kill other animals, legally, but yet

why can’t I let my dogs have a good old-

fashioned brawl with other dogs (even if

nobody dies)? The answer is simple:

there are more people willing to stand

up and lobby for their right to have guns

—their right to drink, their right to eat

meat, their right to have boxing contests,

and their right to hunt wild game, etc.—

than there are those who are willing to

stand up and lobby for their right to

breed and contest fighting dogs. It is that

simple

The bottom line is our laws have nothing

to do with what truly is right or wrong,

the enactment or repealing of our laws

has to do solely with what gets lobbied-

for or not. That’s all of it. In the end, it’s

not that dogfighting is wrong, it’s that the

small segment of people who do fight

dogs for sport are simply not big enough,

and have simply not lobbied enough, to

stop the animal rights lawmakers from

taking away their freedoms—even

though those very animal rights idiots

can legally kill the same dogs they say

‘can’t be fought’—and even though dog

fighting is less cruel than either

slaughtering farm animals or hunting

wild animals—and even though human

beings can legally fight. It’s the power of

the vote, people, not the righteousness of

the ‘good,’ nor the intelligence of the

lawmakers, winning out here. That is all

zealous idiots have ever done, is try to

pass laws against every single activity

that people enjoy, and the simple truth is

groups people have always had to stand

up and defend themselves and their

rights from zealous idiots by lobbying-

back. The difference is, so many people

have fought for their right to drink, their

right to hunt, their right to box, their right

to keep and bear arms, etc.—whereas no

one has ever bothered to stand up and

fight for

their right to have professional dog

fights and to maintain and perpetuate

couragein a supe- rior breed of dog.

The irony is, we bulldog owners have

simply lacked the very courage that we

demand in our dogs and have not fought

back.

Now, mind you, I am no more in favor of

animal cruelty than any so-called ‘tree

hugger.’ I truly don’t want to see any

animal suffer and I truly am not a cruel

person. I don’t even like fish- ing,

because I feel sorry for the fish! Why?

Because the fish don’t like being caught.

I don’t like to kill insects or butterflies. I

don’t hunt for anything besides food. I

am even against hog hunting. The reason

is, I am subtle enough in my intellect to

clearly see that no animal wants to be

shot and killed, and so I really don’t hunt

much, except when varmint hunting

becomes necessary in my rural area or I

intend to eat what I kill. But I would

never just “trophy hunt,” as I myself do

not believe in this practice. So please

don’t call me “cruel,” because I most

definitely am not a cruel person. I am a

highly-intelligent individual, who can

actually make a determination as to

what, in fact, constitutes ‘cruelty,’ by

judging how the participant of the

action behaves whilst participating in the

activity. All wild animals run from and

are terrified of being either shot or

caught, whereas a good pit bull seeks to

get into a fight with another pit bull, and

so the pit bull truly enjoys the work. I

mean, how simple is that?

Therefore, I do love legitimate, willing

combat—both in human beings and in the

American pit bull terrier—and I have the

intellect and understanding to

differentiate between what is truly cruel

from what in fact is not cruel. And there

are a lot of other people who like to

watch fighting contests too, be they dog

contests or human contests, just as there

are a lot of people who like to watch

fast running, be it dog racing, horse

racing, human racing, or car racing.

Human beings simply love competition,

many different kinds of competition, and

there is nothing at all wrong with this. In

fact, that is how ALL forms of sport

originated: by man’s love of competition

So why is there all of the drama

surrounding dog fighting? The fact is,

this sport is really no different from any

other animal sport, when done

professionally and compassionately; it is

merely one more form of sportive

entertainment. What’s ‘wrong’ isn’t

man’s desire to see intense competition

and combat displayed in the arena—

what’s wrong are animal fanatics who

try to prevent the expression of this kind

of legitimate activity. These laws

against dog fighting are in fact what’s

wrong. People meddling in the affairs

of other people is what’s wrong—

especially when such meddling comes

from people who are absolutely ignorant

of the subject to begin with—and

especially again when they seek to kill

the very animals they claim have

‘rights.’

Wrong or not, these are our laws, and I

will obey them for the time being.

Unfortunately, those who won’t obey

these laws are often those who don’t

obey other laws as well, and again the

result is more often than not this great

breed of dog is being used by the scum

of our society, rather than being bred and

developed by its truly competent

devotees, who do so with intelligence,

compassion, and sophistication. Just as

horses are bred and raced by

sophisticated people in horse racing, so

too should sporting dogs be bred and

‘raced’ by sophisticated people who

understand them. But the current laws

won’t allow for this. Yet, while these

laws may control my actions, they cannot

control my mind. Thus I will do

everything I can to ensure the

perpetuation of this breed and its ideals

through my writings, while at the same

time obey the current laws as they stand

—or until they fall. As Edward Bulwer-

Lytton so famously wrote, “The pen is

mightier than the sword”...

~ The Real Solution ~

I personally believe that dog fighting

should be legalized, but that the contests

should be held under the scrutiny of a

governing body, with regulations, and by

permit only. I believe that this will likely

never happen, but if it ever did the

events could be taxed and the federal

government would benefit by bringing in

at least the revenue that boxing does for

Las Vegas or horse racing does for the

Derby. The level of combat ability,

stamina, and courage that a truly good pit

bull has is so much greater than even the

bravest of human fighters, as to make

there be no comparison be- tween the

two. The professional sports of horse

racing and greyhound racing utilize

animals that are nowhere near the all-

around athletes that a combat-bred pit

bull terrier is. As a result, the money

made in horse racing, dog racing, and

even human fighting is nothing compared

to the money that could be made in dog

fighting if it were legalized. I am talking

about honest money made on absolutely

the strictest standards of physical

prowess that can be graded: a pit dog

fight. If dogs are ‘man’s best friend,’ then

let us elevate and celebrate the bravest

and toughest of dogs, the

American pit bull terrier, and put him

back on his pedestal where he belongs—

rather than trying to find ‘value’ in a

world full of useless, fluffy mutts.

The standards that have created the

finest all-around canine athlete on earth,

the com- bat-bred American pit bull

terrier, should be cultivated and

improved upon, by legalizing the

activity. The proving grounds to build

and breed courageous dogs should not

be abolished, because in so doing we

threaten the extinction of our most

courageous breed of dog. I mean, how

many wonderful creatures, of all

different types, must continually be

rendered extinct by the plodding, stupid

human beings of this earth—who don’t

understand anything they do—before we

all wake-up and stop being so stupid and

destructive? Legalizing dog fighting, and

elevating the performance stan- dards of

our greatest of dogs, is in fact what

would benefit this breed the most. This

would minimize any suffering involved,

and it would also eliminate the criminal

element that has surrounded the sport

since it was outlawed. Again, recall

what happened when Prohibition was

repealed, when it was once again legal

to manufacture and distribute alcohol:

the organized crime element left, and

normal decent citizens could once again

enjoy a drink amongst friends. If the

sport of dogfight- ing were once again

legalized, so too would the criminal

element leave dog fighting, and once

again sporting gentlemen could go on

and enjoy developing the most

courageous breed of dog on earth—

while the dogs themselves would once

again enjoy being owned by more

competent, compassionate, better all-

around owners.

As famed dog author Jack London said

in his novel, White Fang: “He was

justifying his exis- tence, than which

life can do no greater; for life achieves

its summit when it does to the uttermost

that which it was equipped to do.“ Jack

London was an avid outdoorsman as

well as a renowned author, and he

himself attended pit dog fights. He

understood animals that were bred to

perform certain tasks. Former United

States President Dwight D. Eisenhower

himself coined the phrase, “It isn’t the

size of the dog in the fight that counts

as much as the size of the fight in the

dog.” That’s right; Presidents have

attended dog fights and have owned

fighting dogs. Teddy Roosevelt was

another one.

The rules, regulations, and presiding

bodies of sanctioned dog fights should

go back to the days of the UKC and the

Police Gazette. If this activity were to

be legalized in America again, and the

standards even further improved upon,

not only would much of the human scum

involved in the sport be eradicated by

the appropriate governing bodies, but the

level of care the dogs themselves would

be given would be elevated

immeasurably as well. The necessary

result of legalization would be that the

level of dog produced ‘as a breed’

would continue to be elevated also. I

mean, why not produce the very best

dogs we can, as opposed to the very

lamest and useless? Why not treat those

very best dogs to the very best care,

under the very best rules and regulations,

to be presided over by the very best

people we can to promote them?

More importantly, to those who actually

want to stop the real cruelty involved in

dog fight- ing (which is thug owners

allowing their dogs to be mutilated or

killed when they no longer can defend

themselves toward the end of a contest),

legalizing dog fighting would ultimately

benefit the dogs in this regard as well.

As things stand today, with the illegality

of dog fighting, and with no governing

bodies, cruel and stupid owners often

allow their dogs to get mutilated and

killed in the pit, because they are

lowlifes and not true dog fanciers, and

because there are no presiding referees

to control the standards. Without any

authority to say otherwise, most

miscreant thugs will not pick-up their

dogs if they are in losing, nor are there

any professional veterinarians available

to the dogs afterward. If the sport were

legalized, however, with a governing

body and specially-appointed referees to

preside over the contests, the dogs

would have their fights able to be

stopped by referee intervention (same as

in boxing)—and the dogs would

also have top quality veterinary care

available to them immediately after a

fight—instead of having a bunch of

drunk amateur “vets” trying to stick an

IV in their veins, as things often are now.

(That is, if they remember, or care, to

bring any medical supplies at all.)

If dog fighting were legalized with these

two changes combined—referees being

able to stop fights, and the availability of

immediate professional veterinary

attention after the fights—the frequency

of after-fight deaths and mutilations of

pit dogs would be reduced to virtually

nonexistent, just as they are virtually

non-existent in human boxing. So if it’s

the dogs’ welfare that HSUS and PETA

are really after, then legalizing the sport

is the only way to do it. Because, folks,

this sport will continue to go on—in

some remote warehouse, bayou, or

garage—regardless of the laws against

it, again just like drinking continued to

go on, somewhere, regardless of the

laws against it in the

Prohibition Era. The truth is, we need a

better way.

~ My Proof ~

My final proof that legalizing the sport

would be the best thing for the dogs is

that all of what I have said is actually

happening in Japan. That’s right, dog

fighting is legal in Japan, with a ranking

and sanctioning body, professionally-

appointed referees presiding over the

contests, and with professional

veterinarians taking care of the dogs

afterward—and it is a crime-free,

totally-professional operation over

there, even more professionally-run than

boxing is here in our country. The

Japanese are a highly-sophisticated

culture and they prove beyond any doubt

the merit of my beliefs (as did the UKC

and Police Gazette in our own country at

one point), and so there is really nothing

to debate on this subject. Legalizing the

sport is the answer!

Again, just as Prohibition failed in our

country, and just as trying to outlaw

boxing failed also, so too has outlawing

dog fighting continuously failed on every

level. It is still going on everywhere in

the U.S., and the remaining good people

in it have been turned into ‘outlaws,’

when they really aren’t. Meanwhile,

taxpayers’ money is being wasted on

chasing a ‘crime’ that doesn’t actually

exist, while still more money is being

wasted imprisoning ‘criminals’ who

aren’t really bad people. By contrast, if

legalized, tax money would actually be

made off of the sport of dog fighting,

rather than being wasted in vain trying to

stop what is essentially unstoppable.

The truth is, the real outlaws are THE

LAWMAKERS who have enacted false

and self-contradictory laws that violate

our Constitutional rights. Fact: the

lawmakers have deprived tax-paying

citizens of their American right to Pursue

Happiness, with their poorly-thought and

senseless laws. Fact: the appointed

‘authorities’ who have raided the homes

of American citizens over these stupid

laws have in deed become the real

outlaws. These law enforcement officers

have mendaciously been given carte

blanche power to raid people’s homes,

to take and kill people’s animals

(unreasonable search and seizure)—and

in violation of their own ‘animal rights’

precepts—all because of an incredibly

short-sighted, logically-stupid, and

totally-ignorant set of ‘laws’—that were

created and passed by people who don’t

understand the first thing about these

dogs or about animals in general.

If a keen mind really analyzes the facts,

here is what these laws basically boil

down to: it is considered a ‘crime’ for a

person to allow his dog to bite another

dog—and yet the lawmakers can

‘legally’ come into this person’s home,

‘legally’ take away all of his dogs, and

then ‘legally’ execute every single one of

them. Forget a mere ‘bite’ now, we’re

talking execution. I mean, this is totally

insane: to call allowing one pit bull to

injure another pit bull ‘a crime’—while

calling the complete execution of that

same animal ‘legal.’ Ask a hundred

different people what they would

choose, if given a choice between being

in a really hard fight (but cared for

afterward), or being publiclyexecuted

into permanent oblivion, and all one

hundred of them will choose ‘being in a

really hard fight.’ You would chose to

fight instead of getting killed, so would

I, and so would a dog! Yet, as the law

stands now, it is ‘a crime’ for a person

to allow a dog to fight another dog—but

it is ‘legal’ for the authorities to execute

that same fighting dog, just for being in a

fight. They say a man’s doggie ‘has

rights’ when the true owner has him; yet

as soon as HSUS and PETA get their

evil hands on that same doggie, suddenly

it doesn’t even have the right to life.

This is absolutely insane!

Any rational mind realizes that our laws

should be designed to create order and to

prevent harm, not to create disorder and

to cause harm. It is an historical fact that

failed laws like Prohibition, outlawing

boxing, and outlawing dog fighting have

caused more disorder and harm than they

have ever prevented or relieved, which

is why two of them have already been

repealed. The facts are, such laws

accomplish *nothing* towards curtailing

the actions of their intended purpose.

This is why we repealed Prohibition,

and why we re-instated boxing in our

country, both of which legal flip-flops

prove my point. And, just as certainly,

the seamless order of legalized dog

fighting in Japan proves my point here

again as well. It is simply an

indisputable fact that the fighting dogs of

Japan are treated better than our fighting

dogs here, that there is absolutely no

crime surrounding the ac- tivity either,

precisely because the sport is legal over

there. Again, these are the indisputable

facts regarding the legal sport of dog

fighting in Japan, compared to its illegal

counterpart here in the United States—

there is nothing to debate!

~ New Standards ~

In conjunction with legalizing the sport,

as stated above, I maintain that pit bulls

should not be available to the general

public. The reason I say this is because

pit bulls are simply “too much dog” for

clueless people to handle responsibly. I

believe there should be government

regulation of dog fighting, not

abolishment, and that this regulation

should start with people being screened

and qualified before they can be

owners/handlers of this breed—and

there are plenty of recognized experts

within the breed who could draft and

preside over such screening and

licensing.

The tragedies involving people

(especially children) getting mauled by

pit bulls almost never involve owners

who are professional dog fighters.

Instead, such tragedies invariably

involve ill-bred dogs, that are bred and

owned by incompetent novices—truly

ignorant “pet owners” who have no idea

how to handle this breed responsibly—

and who generally get their dogs, not

from true dog men, but from other

irresponsible, totally-clueless backyard

breeders. Legitimately-superior pit dogs,

in the hands of truly competent dogmen,

are absolutely terrific animals—and

their incred- ible abilities deserve to be

enjoyed and perpetuated, responsibly

and professionally, but *only* by

proven-competent fanciers and dogmen

—not by any idiot who has the cash to

buy one (but who hasn’t the competence

or sense to handle it properly).

Therefore, only by obtaining a permit,

based upon passing a series of strict

examinations, do I believe an interested

person should be allowed to obtain and

own a pit bull, with training courses

being given as to how to handle the

breed responsibly. Such training courses

and tests could be created and presided

over by recognized experts on the breed.

Thus any interested ‘pet owners’ would

have to score very high on these

examinations, showing a high level of

dog-handling competence, rather than a

minimal level of competence. I honestly

believe that what should be abolished is

any non-permitted ownership of pit

bulls, precisely because of the constant

mishandling that happens with these

dogs in the hands of idiot-novices. These

dogs are powerful animals and should

not be available to the totally clueless,

but only to proven-competent, licensed

individuals who have demonstrated their

dog-handling competence on a very high

level, according to a series of strict

qualifying examinations set by us

experts.

I further believe interested pit bull

owners should have to prove that they

are home owners, with stable work

histories, and also proof should be given

that escape-proof quarters will be used

for their animals. If you think this

proposed testing and licensing sounds a

bit extreme, consider the fact that you

have to take a driver’s education course

to be able to obtain a license to drive a

car. The reason is the same, because of

the serious consequences that can

potentially be involved in the

mishandling of a vehicle. You also have

to pass a series of examinations in order

to adopt a child, again because of the

serious responsibility involved. You

likewise have to go through even more

paperwork to start your own business,

and to obtain the necessary permits and

licenses to prove your legitimacy as a

business, etc., etc.

Getting licenses and permits is part of

any serious and responsible person’s

life, so why isn’t it reasonable to place a

similar licensing requirement in order to

prove a person’s legitimate knowledge

and competence in handling as serious a

breed of dog as an American pit bull

terrier? People who are unwilling to go

through this kind of an education,

screening, and licensing process would

only prove their own lack of

commitment and/or unfitness to own this

breed—just as people who don’t want to

get the necessary work permits or

driver’s licenses would show their own

lack of commitment and fitness to enjoy

these privileges as well.

Does this sound harsh? Not to the

serious it doesn’t. I believe that the

strictest standards of excellence in

ownership should apply to the finest

breed of dog on the planet. Only lazy,

unsuccess- ful, and irresponsible people

would disagree—because truly

responsible and successful people are

already used to going the extra mile to

get the necessary licenses and permits

they need in life in order to get what they

want.

As things stand, I find it ironic and sad

that the finest of all dog breeds is all-

too-often owned by the lowliest and

cruelest of people (and/or the most

clueless), and again this is a direct result

of the laws as they are in the books now.

I believe the guidelines set forth above

(and below) would drastically change

this.

For this reason, I no longer breed my

dogs for sale to the general public, as I

do not believe it is fair to the animals

produced. It is too much of a heartache

to learn of one ownership incompetence

after another in the handling of my dogs

for me to be able to continue making

them available for more of the same to

the average dog owner. I do, however,

offer my males at stud, and

I still make puppies available to proven-

competent owners and fanciers of the

breed, who can establish enough ‘life-

stability’ so as to provide my pups with

a good home, whether as a pet, a show

dog, weight puller, or whatever.

Although I myself no longer engage in

any illegal activities involving these

dogs, I will continue to write my views

on how to raise these dogs responsibly,

as well as to provide my sound

arguments against the laws which forbid

dog fighting. Since the pen truly is

“mightier than the sword,” I believe my

writings will continue to benefit the dogs

owned by would-be dog fighters as well

as by regular pet owners.

Because the laws have become so strict,

to the point you can’t even take a picture

of a dog fight, or ‘promote’ dog fighting,

make no mistake here: I do not write this

book to “organize or promote” any

illegal activities, nor am I encouraging

people to break the law. I write this

book because (I believe) I still have my

First Amendment rights of freedom of

speech and written expression, and I

write this indictment to show the logical

absurdity of the current laws against the

sport. Admittedly, I also want to educate

those folks (who are going to fight dogs

anyway) on how to do so humanely. I

mean, let’s face it: dog fighting

will continue, legal or not, with or

without my involvement and with or

without my words. However, the

unfortunate truth is, because of these

laws against the sport, and because most

of the good people in the sport got out,

that leaves this activity to be carried out

(incompetently and inhumanely) mostly

by the thugs remaining in the sport—

thanks to all of the secrecy involved. But

there are some good people still left

who are interested in doing things the

right way. So while I write this book to

help change these laws, I also write it to

help those good folks who are going to

take their chances anyway, to do these

things properly, which means with the

least possible trauma to the dogs, while

still maintaining high standards. My goal

is not to promote people to break the

law here, my goal is (1) to show how

stupid, illogical, and ineffective these

laws are to begin with, and (2) to teach

those people (who are going to break the

laws anyway) how to raise and school

their dogs with the least possible trauma

to their animals. The truth is, pit dogs

are going to be raised for fighting

anyway, by individuals all over the

world, and these dogs desperately need

owners who truly know what they’re

doing—as opposed to being owned by

imbeciles who will make one ignorant

blunder after another with their poor

animals, without the proper guidance

and perspective. So rather than have

these dogs suffer through total ownership

ignorance and incompetence, as things

stand now, I write this book to outline

exactly how this activity should be done,

correctly and humanely, from beginning

to end. Without the proper guidance, so

many pit dogs (who are in this type of

situation anyway) are going to get totally

mishandled by their ignorant owners,

and I am simply trying to help prevent

this. Thus my intent in outlining the

proper way in which to go about raising

and schooling combat dogs is not my

“promotion” of any illegal activity;

rather it is simply my attempt to help the

dogs who are going to be in this situation

anyway, by showing their owners how to

raise and handle their charges properly

and humanely, as most would otherwise

be mishandled in ignorance.

I hereby expressly waive anything that

could be construed as my condoning or

promoting illegal activities. I DON’T

believe people should break the law,

and I myself don’t break the law. What I

believe is that people should obey the

law. What I also believe, however, is

that these laws should be repealed, as

they were created by people who know

nothing about this breed, nor even the

true nature of dogs in general. I

also know that people are going to break

these laws anyway, and in so doing they

are probably going to mutilate and ruin a

lot of wonderful dogs along the way—

unless they receive some sort of proper

instruction on how to bring a pit dog

along correctly and humanely. Thus I

explain these correct procedures, only

out of a deep interest in the breed, and

because of my heart-felt concern for the

welfare of its individuals. It is my hope

in writing this book that those dogs that

will be used for combat anyway (despite

the laws), will suffer the least possible

trauma while they are being groomed

and contested, and that every other

moment of their lives will be happy and

healthy, thanks to a better understanding

of all levels of pit dog ownership: from

kenneling, to feeding, to grooming, to

parasite control, disease prevention,

breeding, etc.

This is what I hope to achieve by

writing this book .

I hereby state, absolutely and

unequivocally, that I myself am not

involved in these activities any longer,

nor will I be ever again, unless and until

the sport becomes legalized. My interest

in providing this information on how to

go about these activities, properly, is

only to protect this breed from any more

abuse and misunderstanding than it

already has. I love this breed of dog, and

I know for a fact that when these dogs

are groomed and handled properly (like

a human boxer), that dog fighting is

not cruel, and that the end result of this

activity (when intelligently conducted) is

that it produces the overall finest breed

of dog on earth. Thus I verbally

challenge these senseless laws with my

Introduction, and I also outline the

proper way to handle these dogs—from

beginning to end throughout the rest of

this book—solely to minimize the

cruelty of ignorant ownership that is

rampant among most of the owners of

this breed today—in order to keep the

wonderful qualities of this breed intact

for future generations.

My intent is not to encourage people to

break the law; my intent is to show how

ridiculous the laws are to begin with,

and then to show those who are going to

break the laws anyway the proper

methods to achieve the best possible

results with their dogs, with the least

possible errors and suffering to the

animals. I myself am simply no longer

involved with the sport, out of my own

compliance with the laws (however ill-

thought they are), and out of valuing my

own freedom.

However, although these ridiculous laws

may control my body, they cannot control

my mind (at least not yet), nor can they

control my First Amendment right to

express my views orally and in writing.

Though our country may be forever

sinking in a downward spiral—in its

lack of respect for Truth, Human

Freedom, and Dignity—there still

remains my Constitutional Right of

Freedom of Speech and Expression. I

still have my Right to express my views

on an illegal sport, while not actively

participating in said sport, and while

neither promoting nor condoning it.

Although my actions may be limited, I

hope that through my writings I can still

manage to help this breed to be

understood better—and to avoid any

further mishandling and persecution that

it has suffered already—by telling the

whole truth about these dogs and this

sport, for one and all to take-in and

absorb.

What is a Dog?

When a dogman says ‘bulldog’ he means

the American pit bull terrier—a fighting

dog. In any attempt to understand the pit

bull breed, one must first come to terms

with this simple fact: the American pit

bull terrier is a fighting dog. He was

bred predominantly for one thing only: to

defeat other animals in combat, most

especially other dogs, and he has certain

superior capabilities bred into him in

order to accomplish this task. We will

get into those superior capabilities later

on, but all of them center around fighting

prowess.

The question is often asked: “Well, what

kind of person would want a fighting

dog?” This is a question I’ve been

asked more times than I care to count,

but let’s analyze this question, though,

and see if we can come up with a

legitimate answer.

To answer this question, however, we

must first answer a more basic question,

“What is a dog?” This question may

seem so basic, so silly, but in fact it is

right here (at its most basic level) where

most dog owners—and most people in

general—fail to understand what a dog

is and why the dog was domesticated by

man in the first place. Most people

simply have the wrong idea as to what a

dog actually is. In other words, they

don’t even understand the very creature

they are talking about or which is in their

care. Yet the truth is, if you don’t

understand the very creature which is in

your care, or that you are trying to

discuss, then how can you possibly care

for that animal correctly? How can you

possibly make correct decisions as to

the nature and purpose of that animal?

How can you even have an intelligent

discussion about any subject, if you

understand absolutely nothing about that

subject? These are fair questions that

need to be addressed.

Well, with this prelude in mind, the

answer to the question of “What is a

dog?” is, “A dog is a carnivorous

predatorthat man has domesticated

for various uses.”

This is what a person really needs to

keep in mind before he has the right to

ask the first ques- tion, “What kind of

person would want a fighting

dog?” What people need to understand is

that a dog is not a ‘toy’ or a stuffed

animal. A dog is nothing but a predator

that was originally designed by nature to

hunt and kill other animals for food.

You really need to internalize this in

order to understand your dog completely,

and even in order to feed him properly.

You also need to internalize this fact in

order to be able to speak with

intelligence on the subject of dogs. You

see, not only has man interfered with

nature in domesticating the wild dog in

the first place, but man has also created

an entire industry (the dog food industry)

that does nothing but poison dogs with

over-processed, inappropriate

ingredients to a carnivore’s survival.

Dogs were not designed to eat grain-

based ‘kibble’; dogs were designed to

hunt, kill, and eat raw, whole animals

in order to survive and thrive. It doesn’t

matter how ‘cute’ your neighbor’s little

foo-foo dog is, the fact remains that a

dog is biologicallydesigned to hunt,

kill, and eat raw, whole animals, not

grain-based kibble. (More on this later.)

Anyway, once we come to terms with

this fact—that dogs are predators

designed to hunt, kill, and eat raw,

whole animals—we then come closer to

understanding the wild dog that is still in

our ‘pet.’ In so doing, we will also come

closer to understanding why man

originally would want to breed and

domesticate wild dogs into companion

animals in the first place, and (finally)

we will come closer to understanding

why a person would want to have ‘a

fighting dog.’

The truth is, all of the original breeds of

dog were created by man to do

something, originally to do something

related to hunting and killing. Man,

through selective breeding, has simply

intensified the various hunting and

killing traits that the original wild dogs

had when he formed the first primitive

‘breed types.’ Therefore, if you think

about it, even today, owning anything

other than a hunting dog (or a

performance dog of some kind) is

actually owning an empty shell of what a

dog should be. A dog that is not bred for

some hunting purpose is just a

perversion of the original domesticated

dog (to say nothing of the natural, wild

dog) and is essentially a useless

caricature of a dog by comparison. And

there are many such abominations that

get mass-bred by ‘show dog’ people

today, people who have no concept of

what a dog really is or should be. These

abominations of the canine world get

labeled as ‘toy breeds’ or ‘show dogs,’

etc., and there are many people who are

attracted to their ‘cuteness.’ But the truth

is, such dogs are nothing but caricatures

of the reason why man first domesticated

dogs, and such perversions of nature

(and function) really have no practical

use at all. You see, real dog fanciers

don’t care about use less dogs, real dog

fanciers want use ful dogs, and as such

they have honed certain useful

characteristics in

wild dogs, way beyond what is natural,

and again this is the way man originally

came up with all of the original breeds

of dog—the hunting breeds—to

perform various hunting tasks. In short,

that is why dogs exist in Nature, to

hunt and to kill, and that is why man

first domesticated dogs himself: to

hunt and to kill even more effectively

than wild dogs

Go back in time, in your mind, and

picture the wild, and just think about the

evolution of man’s canine companion. In

order to hunt and kill other animals and

survive, wild dogs (even now) have to

possess many key traits. They need a

sense of smell to find their prey; they

need the ability to run and give trail to

wear down their prey; they need the

ability to dig in order to unearth their

quarry; they must have the propensity to

give voice to alert and keep in union the

other pack members; and—yes—wild

dogs need the ability to fight and kill

their prey once it is captured, so they can

eat it. And all wild dogs have a full

complement of every one of these traits

necessary to achieve this end, because if

they didn’t they would die off and not

survive. And, ultimately, that is what it’s

all about in nature: survival.

Well then, if a wild dog is simply an

efficient hunter, killer, and eater of other

animals in nature, why did man first

domesticate wild dogs and try to make

‘companions’ out of them? The answer

to this question is your first step in

understanding dogs. Simply put, wild

dogs were first developed and

domesticated by man in order to perform

the task of helping man eat and survive.

Again, those tasks that man selected for

when he bred his first wild dogs

(ultimately into the various breed types)

were based solely in relation to the

many distinct attributes and traits that

wild dogs possess that allow him to hunt

and kill effectively themselves. Man

simply recognized the uniqueness of

each of these distinct traits that dogs

possess, and so man tried to isolate and

intensify each trait, by selectively

breeding only for that trait. Thus man set

out to zero-in and develop each distinct

trait into a specialty, and to the

exclusion of all other traits, so that

each ‘new dog’ created could thereby

help man hunt even more effectively in

that one particular area. That is how

the breed types first came to exist, based

upon that lone trait that the specialized

dog typified. Further, man also noticed

that dogs have a deep sense of loyalty,

and this is also how the true bond came

to exist between man and dog: when the

dog did his job in his specialized

capacity to perfection for his owner.

Both man and dog have always enjoyed

‘that perfect moment’ together.

But you see, most people today only

keep dogs as ‘pets,’ and thus they have

no concept of why man first created

breed types to begin with. Thus most

people do not even un- derstand the very

dog they are keeping and feeding. Being

a pet is not the purpose for which man

originally domesticated dogs. Yes, I

understand the fact dogs can make great

companions; but even though such dogs

can be intelligent and tractable

‘buddies,’ and even though they are a

pure joy to have around as ‘companion

animals,’ the fact is dogs were originally

domesticated by man to help him

survive, not to be cute-n-cuddly. And

even though helping man survive may no

longer be necessary today, for most of us

anyway, the fact remains that this is why

dogs were first domesticated by man.

To understand domesticated dogs you

must first understand the reason why man

do- mesticated them! Since there are

many hunting tasks that dogs can do

better than man, man has thus utilized

dogs in these respects to help man hunt

and kill his own quarry since antiquity.

In this way, you can see that as man

began to breed and train wild dogs to

help him with his own hunting tasks,

man began to realize that certain dogs

performed certain tasks better than

other dogs—and man then started

breeding only those dogs together who

did what he wanted. This is how

breeding selectivity first took place,

all based on these critical hunting areas:

scenting, running, digging, killing,

retrieving, guarding, etc. Gradually, man

began to breed specifically for only one

of these certain individual hunting traits,

to the exclusion of all other traits,

thereby intensifying each of these key

traits beyond the means of any wild dog

—and thus the original breed types were

born:

The regal grace of a pointer is

something everyone should take the

time out to experience in the field!

(Photo courtesy of Okie Logan.)

♦ By breeding only those dogs that had

the propensity to freeze and lift their

front paws at the first sign of wild

game, Pointerswere eventually

developed, as specialists to signal to

man where small game was hiding, and

people still enjoy hunting with their

pointers today.

♦ By breeding only those dogs with the

most acute sense of smell,

Bloodhoundswere eventu- ally created,

as specialists in scenting, to aid man in

finding wounded game by its scent. And

people are still enjoy the benefits of

bloodhounds today, for finding

wounded prey, lost people, hidden

drugs, etc.

♦ By breeding only the fastest of dogs,

Greyhoundswere eventually developed,

as specialists in running. Originally,

this was to take down the swiftest of

prey in the open field, like a cheetah,

but now the greyhound’s tremendous

speed is mostly utilized to satisfy man’s

competitive desires in the sport of dog

racing—and people still enjoy the sport

of dog racing today.

♦ By breeding only those dogs that had

the propensity to bring back killed

game, Retrievers were developed by

man to bring back various small

animals shot by man in the field, and

people still enjoy hunting with their

retrievers today.

♦ By breeding only those dogs that

would dig the earth and go in holes

after pesky varmints, Terrierswere

eventually created, as specialist to rid

man of the vermin that infested his

farms and prop- erty. A true terrier

derives his very name from the earth

(terra firma) , into which he was

designed to dig and kill varmints. And

people still enjoy hunting with terriers

today. In fact, in some areas, varmint

terriers remain absolutely

indispensable for farmers to this date.

♦ By breeding only those dogs that had

the propensity to chase and kill rabbit,

Beagle Hounds were eventually

developed by man to catch and kill

rabbit in the field, and people still

enjoy hunting with their beagles today.

♦ By breeding only those dogs that had

the propensity to trail and bay after

raccoon, ‘Coon Dogswere eventually

developed by man to pursue and tree

‘coon for man, giving voice while doing

so, to let their owners know where they

are in the woods at all times. And

people still enjoy hunting with their

‘coon dogs today.

♦ By breeding only those dogs that

would corral and harness his sheep and

other livestock, Shepherds were

eventually created, as specialist to both

corral and keep in union man’s

livestock. Some shepherd dogs were

further developed both to corral and to

protect the herd from would-be

predators. And, even today, there are

people who still benefit from these

wonderful shepherds, now

expressed in many different breed

types.

Terriermen using their terriers as they

were originally intended to be used:

digging up varmints from the earth

and dispatching them. (Photo courtesy

of Henry Johnson, Fults Cove, TN)

On and on it goes with all true breed

types—they are bred specifically for

some function having to do with hunting

and killing— in fact, most of them get

their very name from this hunting/ killing

function!

♦ Well, by breeding only those dogs

with the most intensity and ability for

catching, fighting, and/or killing

tracked-down prey, Catch Dogsand Kill

Dogs(what pit bulls used to be called)

were eventually developed as

specialists for conquering all creatures

great and small. Called ‘Kill Dogs’ in

days of yore, our modern pit bulls

would be turned loose to kill the big

game trailed by the trailing and baying

dogs. One group of dogs trailed and

located the game (such ‘coon dogs),

and then the catch dogs and kill dogs

would be brought in to finish the

quarry.

A Change in Vocation

Eventually, man (being the way he is)

began to stage actual contests between

his ‘kill dogs’ against bears and bulls.

This involved one or more ‘kill dogs’

being released in an arena to attack

either bears or bulls for public

entertainment. Bear-baiting and bull-

bating became immensely popular in

Europe at one point, and that is how the

term bulldog first got coined—and that

is how ‘kill dogs’ eventually became

known as ‘bulldogs.’

Later (again, man being the way he is),

contests soon began to get staged to see

whose ‘bulldog’ was better than whose,

and so eventually contests began to be

staged between two bulldogs directly,

and that is how the ‘bulldog’ eventually

became known as the pit bulldog. As the idea of “fighting dogs” developed,

various crosses were made between

bulldogs and game terriers

(which terriers were also fierce animal-

killers, only on a smaller scale). The

idea of using game terriers was

experimented with to increase the speed

and agility of the powerful bulldogs—as

well as to increase the size and power of

the speedy little terriers. The perfection

of such crosses were ultimately how the

original ‘pit bulldog’ became known as

the pit bull terrier. And the pit bull

(terrier) has been bred and used

primarily as a fighting dog to conquer

other dogs in the pit ever since. The

point to realize is these dogs were bred

for a purpose all along—and courage,

tenacity, and fighting skill are the

superior traits these dogs have been bred

for. But now, laws have been enacted

against the very methods that created this

legitimate breed type. Basically, these

laws threaten the breed’s existence. A

whole and wonderful breed type is

critically endangered, thanks to nothing

but modern human ignorance—ignorance

that has to end here and now. The truth

is, there is nothing ‘evil’ about having a

fighting dog with tremendous courage

and spirit. What is evil

is the effort to kill these brave dogs off!

Even today, pit bulls are still legally

used as ‘kill dogs’ and ‘catch dogs’ on

wild boar and on farm animals, which

was their original and intended purpose

anyway. I personally believe that a pit

bull fighting another pit bull is actually

more humane than a pit bull fighting a

wild animal, or a farm animals, as again

these other animals don’t enjoy the

fighting contact, whereas another pit bull

does. But that isn’t the point right now.

The point of all this is the fact that man

originally domesticated wild dogs to

begin with because of their hunting,

fighting, and killing abilities—and each

ability that all wild dogs have (scenting,

running, digging, fighting, retrieving,

etc.) has been intensified by man,

through selective breeding, to the

exclusion of all other abilities, to where

these specific abilities have been

elevated way beyond the abilities of

even wild dogs. Again, this is how the

different breeds of dog originally

evolved: based on what they could do

Nowadays, however, breed types are

seldom maintained by performance

standards, but instead man’s so-called

“breeding standards” for dogs have

degenerated to be based on “looks” or

(worse) based upon absolutely no

standards whatsoever. Basically, this

shift away from breeding ALL dogs true

to type (that is, to maximize their distinct

hunting abilities) is reflective of our

ever de- volving, non-physical, pale,

plastic society—that shuns the outdoors

or natural realities of any kind. As we

human beings begin to live more and

more within a world of cement and

plastic, removing ourselves ever further

from what is natural, “conformation

shows” have become pretty much the

only means by which the so-called

“standards” of most breed types are

maintained today—with a dog’s “look”

being more important than its

substance in our modern, limp-wristed,

plastic society.

It is easy to see why most people today

simply have dogs as “pets”—as no one

really needs to hunt and kill his own

food anymore—but the flipside to this is

that most dogs today are therefore

useless. Most dogs today are “feed

burners,” who can do nothing but eat,

sleep, and shit. Most people today, who

have no true understanding of dogs at all,

can’t even imagine wanting a “hunting

dog,” so far removed from the reality of

dogs and what is natural are they. But,

you see, when a person really comes to

understand dogs, and to understand

nature itself, the real question is not,

“Why have a hunting dog?” (or a

performance dog of any kind), the real

question is, “Why have any dog that

isn’t specifically developed to do

something?” If analyzed by a knowing

mind, it is actually the toy dogs, show

dogs, mutts, lapdogs, etc. (that have lost

their true utility as beneficiaries to man)

who in fact need to justify

their existence, not the other way around.

Think of it, I mean really, what good are

dogs that can’t do anything? They waste

resources and they fill our dog pounds.

If one aligns his thinking to reality, it is

actually the performance dogs (of all

breed types) that are of truly lasting, real

value to man. This is not to say that toy

dogs and show dogs can’t be “loving

companions,” they can. But unless there

has been an equally earnest effort to

keep the performance aspect of a dog

intact, a show dog or lap dog is

essentially a useless ornament that pales

in value next to an equally-loyal,

equally-loving performance dog—that

is also a wonderful companion—but who

can do a hulluva lot more than wag his

tail, eat, sleep, and shit.

The simple fact of the matter is a true

performance dog will give you just as

much love as any “pet,” but he will also

offer a whole lot more than hugs and

kisses, should the need ever arise. And

even if the need never arises for you, it

is just nicer to know that you have a true

representative of a true performance

canine breed type, rather than a useless

pretender. In short, it is always better to

own a real dog, and it is always better to

breed real dogs if you are going to

create pups.

You see, real dogmen don’t care about

use less dogs, real dogmen want use ful

dogs, so they can continue to hone their

cherished and original useful

characteristics in the true breed types, by

testing them as they should be tested, and

thus making sure they keep these special

traits intact and way beyond the

capabilities of any other breed for the

future. This is the way man originally

came up with all of the true breeds of

dog (the hunting breeds) to begin with,

as I have shown, and only by continuing

to test and select for these traits may the

true breed types continue

to be preserved as unique. This is why

domesticated dogs truly exist, to

perform some sort of function in

relation to their breed type, and that is

what true dogmen live for, to make sure

their dogs can still do their jobs.

Therefore, to answer the question posed

in the beginning of this chapter, “the kind

of person who would want a fighting

dog” is the kind of person who

understands canine history, who loves

dogs—performance dogs—and who is

passionately interested in trying to

keep intact and perpetuate the fighting

aspects of the toughest, most skilled,

and most courageous fighting dog ever

developed by man: The American Pit

Bull Terrier.

In the meantime, these lying, evil

(basically insane) organizations like

HSUS and PETA are trying to kill-off

this unique breed of dog. As you will

see in the ending chapter to this book,

these organizations have raised hundreds

of millions of dollars to convince the

gullible public that courage and fighting

skill are ‘evil,’ rather than merely a

proving ground for maintaining superior

genetics within a superior breed type.

This whole idea that physically-weak,

impotent, useless animal “pets” are more

desirable to have than top-notch fighting

dogs is a contradiction in terms; it is an

abomination of reality. As Nietzsche

once said, “Verily, I often laugh at

those who think themselves ‘good’

because they have no claws ...” The

truth is, there is nothing “good” about a

physically-weak organism.

Which brings us to another question I am

often asked is, “So what is a fighting

dog good for ‘besides’ fighting?” The

answer is many-fold. First of all, the

overall courage, tenacity, and fighting

skill make pit bulls superior to most

dogs at many things. For starters, again,

pit bulls are utilized as catch dogs on

farms where they grab and pin out-of-

control cattle and pigs. Pit bulls are

likewise used by wild boar hunters to

grab and control wild pigs until the

hunter can get to the scene and either

finish the pig or hog-tie it and take it

home. Pit dogs have out-pulled huskies

as sled dogs, they have out-swum

Newfoundlands in swimming contests,

and they have even out-trailed

coonhounds in field trials. These are

some of the legal “spillover” benefits of

selectively breeding pit dogs for fighting

ability—these dogs simply come out as

better all-around athletes than virtually

any other breed of dog. There are, in

fact, many superior traits that a good pit

dog has to have in order to stand up to

the rigors of the pit which have transfer

utility to man. Aside from strength,

stamina, agility, indestructibility, and

intelligence way beyond most breeds,

what the pit dog has that no other breed

has is gameness—the will to win a fight

exceeding his will to survive. No other

breed of dog will continue his attack a

quarry in the face of his impending

death—their natural “will to survive”

takes over, and all individuals of all

other breed types will abort their attack,

and seek to flee, if they can’t dominate

and win in a fight.

True combat pit dogs (which most

people really don’t have—just street-

bred imitations), on the other hand, will

keep on going in any fight no matter

what, regardless if they are winning or

losing. Now this quality can be a

blessing or a curse. Placed in competent

hands, this kind of intensity is only

directed at other animals (just like a

pointer usually only directs his

‘pointing’ at birds), and so the pit bull’s

exceptional gameness is very seldom

ever directed at man. The reason is

obvious— who would want to have a

dog with that kind of ability and tenacity

indiscriminately directing this kind of

unyielding drive toward himself or a

loved one? Would you would want to be

in the pit with a dog who possessed that

kind of ability and have it come after

you instead of the other dog? No one

would. That is why the temperament

standards in the pit selection process, by

true dogmen, have made legit pit bulls

extremely tractable and friendly with

man. Again, in over 20 years of raising

these dogs, I have never had a single dog

bite anyone, ever.

Sadly, the trouble is, there are enough

uneducated street thugs who have

interbred enough temperamentally-

unstable pit dogs together to have

created a problem in cities—which

(again) which is why such people

shouldn’t have these dogs—and these

types imbeciles are exactly the ones who

have given the breed a bad name.

Unfortunately, the same thing happens

when wellmeaning (but essentially

clueless) novices get their hands on

these dogs: they mishandle them and

cause tragedies. But, here again, this is

the fault of the very laws against dog

fighting, which have driven-out most of

the true professional breeders, thereby

leaving what’s left of these dogs to

uneducated imbeciles who don’t really

understand them. Whether it’s a well-

meaning bozo mishandling the pit bull’s

latent tenacity, or whether it’s a street

thug intentionally misusing it, the result

is the same: a tragedy. However, when

bred and handled by professional dog

men, pit bulls

are actually so friendly they make

terrible guard dogs; they like people too

much! I personally have had pit dogs

stolen from me, because my dogs just are

not human-aggressive and so they let the

people take them. As I have mentioned,

in 20 years not a single dog of mine has

ever bitten anyone. So true is this, that

many professional pit bull breeders I

know actually have other

breeds of dog guarding their pit bulls!

Still, even the friendliest of pit dogs are

very loyal to their owners, so while they

may not protect property very well,

including themselves, a true combat-

bred pit bull will most definitely protect

his owner. A truly good dog is

intelligent enough to recognize a real

threat. So while a legit combat dog may

not protect your “yard” or your “home”

very well—nor even prevent

“themselves” from being stolen—these

dogs most definitely will protect you, if

you’re their owner and you need help.

This is where the benefit of legitimate

pit gameness comes out to shine in its

brightest light: for if there is ever a real

reason for your dog to defend you (or a

member of your family), then you will

most definitely pray to God that you

have the real thing.

Just think about it: if there were a really

serious threat to you or your family,

what kind of a dog would you like to

have defending you? A useless mutt? A

dog that has never had his courage

tested? A dog whose parents’ courage

was never tested either, nor the courage

of a single identifi- able ancestor of his

entire family tree? Is that the kind of

“home defense” you would want in a

dog you bought as a family protector?

These are serious questions. Would you

really want to have the lives of your

family relying on an ordinary dog who,

if hurt badly enough, will cry and run

away?

*OR* would you rather to have the kind

of dog defending the lives of you and

your family who, as long as he had a

breath of life in him, would defend you

and your loved ones to the very end? I

am talking about the kind of dog who

knows no fear, and who will continue-on

trying to “win” and defend you, no

matter what? Well, folks, there is only

one breed of dogthat has that kind of

mettle : The American Pit Bull Terrier.

You see, while every other breeder of

every other kind of dog “talks” about the

courage of their breeds, the fact is only

the breeders of American pit bull

breeders actually test and develop this

key trait of courage in their dogs by

fighting them in the pit. It is 100%

because of this testing process that a pit

bull’s pain tolerance and courage under

fire are simply unmatched in the canine

world—yet people act as if this is a bad

thing! It is my opinion that a person

would have to be blind not to see the

value in cultivating the incredible

fighting courage in these dogs. Basically,

a pit bull terrier is the textbook

definition of the perfect family defender

because of, not “in spite of,” his being

bred for the specific trait of courage in

battle. This is just one of many reasons

to have a fighting dog around, although it

is probably the most important to

everyone.

Another by-product of being bred for the

pit is the “game personality” of a truly

combatbred dog. Contrary to all of the

media hysteria, a true pit dog is a happy-

go-lucky, nothing-phases-me, tail-

wagger at all times (they even wag their

tails while fighting or being stitched up).

As mentioned, they may not defend your

“home” very well—when you are not in

it (because of their natural friendliness

to strangers)—but they will defend

you like no other if there is ever a real

threat to you, their beloved owner. Yet,

when no threat is present, most of the

time these dogs are simply relaxed,

happy friends that love everybody they

meet. You see, unlike many breeds (that

are prone to growl at strangers, or who

have to sniff each stranger you bring into

home for several minutes before the dog

‘feels comfortable’ about seeing the

stranger), a legitimate pit dog isn’t

intimidated by anything. Thus a true pit

dog just casually wags his tail and greets

everybody you care to invite into your

home—unless there is a legitimate

reason for him not to be so friendly.

In fact, if a particular pit bull is

indiscriminately people-mean, without

reason, it is considered a “bad sign” that

the animal is a cur (or quitter), precisely

because this kind of behavior is the mark

of being intimidated. A true pit dog is

supposed to have a confident and

unflappable tempera- ment. This calm

temperament has evolved in the breed

because the dog has to handle the pres-

sure of his job, unflinchingly, and

without any fear or emotion, even when

handled amongst groups of people. You

see, the media may portray “fighting

dogs” as wildly-aggressive brutes, but

this me- dia portrayal is exactly

backwards to the truth: a true pit dog is

almost invariably rock-calm, cool, and

collected—totally unaffected and not

intimidated by anything. These dogs

have to be able to handle large crowds

—as well as tremendous pressure and

pain—sometimes for two- to three hours

on end—and therefore only the most

stoic and confident of individuals can

make it in this type of setting. This is a

fact, and I say this as someone who has

lived this sport for more than two

decades,
not as a ‘journalist’ who has never

owned or petted a single specimen of the

breed.

Ask almost any vet or dog trainer you

come across what is his breed of choice

to work on—and almost invariably it

will be a pit bull. The rock-steady

temperament of these dogs is a direct

result of their fighting heritage and is

yet another by-product of this breed

being used and bred as true pit dogs. The

fact of the matter is, such a temperament

is not happenstance; it has to be bred,

forged, and created in the rigors defined

by the pit. Pit bulls that do not fit this

mold, and who get flustered under

pressure to where they become

aggressive or who “lose it” around

people when placed in such

circumstances, are invariably either bred

by backyard breeders, with no true

understanding of the breed, or they are

outright crossed with other kinds of dog

and are nothing but mongrelized versions

of the true pit bull breed. True pit bull

terriers are totally confident and

nonaggressive to people.

“Yeah, but aren’t pit bulls for macho

types who need to boost their own self-

esteem?” This is another sophomoric

question that is often asked. Of course

there are individuals who try to get their

hands on these dogs for such reasons, but

they are in the minority. The truth is,

some of the legitimately toughest and

bravest of men have been pit dog

enthusiasts: Jack Dempsey, Jack

Johnson, Teddy Roosevelt, John L.

Sullivan, Jack London, and Dwight D.

Eisenhower were all bulldoggers who

themselves defined courage. So while

some misfits may use pit bulls to cover

up their own lack of machismo, other

very macho types enjoy this breed out of

an appreciation and feeling of common

ground with these animals. However,

most of the people who actively enjoy

pit bulls are neither cowardly punks, nor

are they particularly decorated with

bravado: they simply admire the breed

for what it is: pound-for-pound the

toughest animal on the face of this

earth. To say that people who own pit

bulls are trying to make up for their own

lack of courage is as absurd as saying

those people who breed racehorses or

greyhounds do so only to make up for

their own inability to run fast. Racehorse

and greyhound enthusiasts simply enjoy

their sport, and the beautiful grace of

their animals, and we pit bull enthusiasts

simply enjoy our sport and the courage,

skill, and tenacity of our animals. Same

with breeders of pointers, terriers,

retrievers, bloodhounds, or what have

you.

I may not care much about horse racing,

but I respect the unique interests of those

who do. I may not be excited about a dog

that sniffs-out drugs or finds missing

persons by smell either, but I appreciate

the need for them and the right of those

interested in such things to develop these

kinds of dog to maintain these qualities

by testing and breeding bloodhounds.

Deep courage and fighting skill may not

be your cup of tea, but understand its

place for some and our right to develop

this trait in our breed of choice: the

American pit bull terrier. The fact is, the

laws that have made dogfighting illegal

not only endanger the very existence of a

legitimate (and the ultimate) perfor-

mance canine athlete, but they are

actually unconstitutional. As Americans,

we should have the right to continue to

breed and contest the American pit bull

terrier, if for no other reason to than to

keep alive a special and unique breed of

dog whose heart and skill have no other

equal in the canine world. And, just as

importantly, we should have the right to

Pursue our Happiness in doing so, as

defined in the Declaration of

Independence.

I realize some people will never

understand “why anyone would want to

fight a pit bull.” But such people should

also realize that fanciers of the breed

will never understand why someone

wouldn’t want to fight a pit bull. It’s like

anything else, some people hate it, and

some people are fa- natically into it, and

you have every degree in-between. It’s

the same thing with race cars, hunting,

playing golf, boxing, playing cards, or

breeding dogs—it’s called different

strokes and people in this country have

the right to pursue whatever their

happiness or “stroke” is, so long as it

doesn’t interfere with other people’s

rights. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that

way here in our country with bulldogs

anymore. The people who have tried to

maintain this breed have been made into

“outlaws” by the passing of ridiculous

legislation that has made breeding dogs

for courage in battle illegal. As I have

shown, the sport has been made illegal

by lawmakers who haven’t the slightest

idea what a dog is let alone what a pit

dog is, nor does any one of them really

stop to consider how precious a pit

bull’s courage is. It is called

oppression, and it is called ignorance,

and the great irony is that oppression and

ignorance are what is “truly” is

supposed to be illegal in this nation.

Instead, it seem as if they are becoming

pandemic.

No other breed of dog has had its very

standards of creation, and even its very

existence, outlawed like the pit bull has.

And it is always by ignorant people;

stupid people; people with no idea what

they are doing or even talking about.

These “eradicators of pit bulls” are

primitive human

beings, basically—individuals who

haven’t even evolved beyond a “Salem

Witch-Hunt” mentality. Because, truly,

anyone with a rational brain—and a

solid understanding of dogs—would

never want to lose as magnificent and

unique a breed of dog as what the

American pit bull terrier is. No one who

truly understands dogs (and by that I

mean performance dogs) would want the

courageous American pit bull terrier to

become just another useless animal, a

“feed burner.” Yet this is what will

happen to this entire breed of dog if its

qualities are not tested and maintained in

the pit, and then bred-for, in the same

way there are whole kennels-full of

“show-bred” Labrador retrievers that

can’t even retrieve! Any true dog lover

should want to keep the working

abilitiesof

all performance dogs intact.

Basically, the laws against dog fighting,

if followed by all, would eventually

render this breed extinct. And as an

educated person who understands the

difference between a performance-bred

dog and a non performance-bred

pretender, I have thus written this book.

You see, there is a big difference

between a “show” Labrador that stands

there looking pretty for a set of limp-

wristed AKC show judges (but which

dog couldn’t hunt if his life depended on

it)—and a performance-bred field-

tested Labrador)—who may not be as

pretty as his show counterpart, but who

will quarter a field, locate, and bring

back game with such precision and grace

as to defy belief.

Well, so too is there a difference

between a “pit bull” that some novice

has in his back yard, and a true combat

dog bred down from generation-after-

generation of proven performance stock.

The two dogs might look the same

standing next to each other—but if you

ever need that deep courage to protect

the life of your family, you’d better hope

you have the true pit dog at your side,

and not the pretender. Somebody’s got to

keep testing the courage of each

successive generation of these dogs, if

the integrity of the breed is to remain

intact, and so my hat is off to the few

true breeders and professional

competitors out there, who still keep the

true courageous spirit of this breed

alive, because no one will ever

accomplish this task at a conformation

show or by pulling weights.

It is my sincere hope in writing this book

that not only will I help the existing

fanciers of the breed better-understand

their dogs (to keep them better, to feed

them better, and to treat them better), but

that I make at least a few outsiders stop

and think about what they and their laws

are really doing to as fine a breed of dog

as has ever been domesticated by man:

they are rendering it extinct. The sad

truth is, mankind has obliterated many

species of animal, during the long and

bumbling course of his thoughtless and

ignorant existence; so let man stop and

think before he obliterates yet another

kind of animal: the very finest and most

courageous breed among the species he

refers to as “His Best Friend.” It is time

for the general public to stop the

madness—and for the general public to

understand, appreciate, and cultivate the

precious courage that has separated the

American pit bull terrier from every

other breed of dog. Let us no longer

outlaw the development of this

wonderful courage in our finest breed of

dog; let us cultivate it and let us

perfect it. There was a time in our

country, and in man’s history, where

deep courage was valued, not outlawed,

and it was a better time for us all.

Book I

Laying The Foundation

Chapter 1 Devising a Game

Plan

My first bit of advice to anyone looking

to get started with The Pit Bull Breed is

don’t. Forget about this sport and don’t

get caught up in this lifestyle. If you want

to be a responsible pet owner, fine, I

hope the other aspects of Book I help you

and your pets. But if you are looking to

get into the illegal aspect of it, just

don’t. Yes, that is what these dogs are

bred for; yes again, it is a thrilling sport

if conducted in the right way; and yes a

third time there is no finer example of a

canine athlete than a top-quality

specimen of the American pit bull terrier

breed. But even still, there are too many

drawbacks.

The first drawback is most of the rest of

society will hate you, misunderstand

you, and seek to imprison you. With a

yardful of dogs, every waking moment of

your life will be spent worrying about if

some zealot has “called the law” on you.

Truly, this is no way to live your life,

and there are thousands of different

pastimes you can pursue, that are more

accepted in society, and less of a hassle.

So if you haven’t gotten into the dogs

yet, then don’t. Just stay out. Do yourself

a favor and pursue a different hobby, as

my bottom line advice is if you don’t

break the law, then you can’t possibly

get caught breaking the law. How is

that for simple?

However, if you are already in dogs, or

if you simply “must” experience the

lifestyle that comes with these dogs, I

will tell you how to go about it in the

right way. Mind you, this is not my

promoting or endorsing you to go ahead

and do it, but if you are going to go

ahead and do it anyway, you may as well

be guided in the right direction by

learning how to rear your dogs properly

(rather than to being left to flounder out

there doing everything wrong), in order

to avoid ruining many potentially good

dogs. I myself do not even live this

lifestyle anymore, but I know enough

about it to give you sound advice.

OK, here goes—a person looking to start

out in this game is faced with many

options—what to do, what to get, and

from whom to get it. This includes both

dogs and supplies for dogs. Some

people have a game plan—but most

people do not. Most people are all full

of desire and wantto—but they’re

running short on how-to and where-to.

This book will bridge that gap.

Remember, nobody plans to fail—what

they do is fail to plan. If you want to

succeed in these dogs, then you need to

clarify what your goals are first. Where

do you want to go? Once you answer that

basic question, then you need to devise

the best way to get there, and then you

need to stick to this plan until you do get

there. In other words, know where

you’re going first—then plan your work

on how to get there—and then work your

plan until you finally arrive

The many options the beginner faces on

his journey, like anything else, can be

boiled down and analyzed. Basically,

they are (1) am I going to show dogs or

breed dogs?; (2) do I want to start with a

pup or an adult?; (3) do I want to start

with a male or a female?; (4) what

bloodline am I go- ing to go with?; and

(5) who can I trust to sell me quality

animals from my chosen line(s)? I

realize there is a lot of room for overlap

here, but this chapter is to get you

thinking. True, some people can be

breeders and conditioners of dogs; true

again, a person can buy pups and adults,

etc. Nonetheless, these are ultimately the

real breakdowns of the decisions you

will be making when you first get into

the game.

Let’s start with (1) Should you show or

breed dogs? I can tell you right now, if

you want to be a breeder, then you’d

better buy yourself a lot of land, ten

acres minimum, that is properly-zoned

for breeding dogs—or you will be

moving—a lot—and you will have to

give up many good dogs along the way

to make these moves easier. I know; I’ve

lived through it too many times. So learn

from my mistakes. I’ve had to let go of a

lot of dogs I wish I wouldn’t have, by

my failing to plan, so take it from me

(since hindsight is 20-20), if you want to

be a breeder of any significance, then get

yourself set up on a place that you own

first, a place where you will stay for

many years—that has a lot of land—and

again, that is properly-zoned for kennels.

[Check the Zoning Department in your

area before you buy your land, and make

sure you can run a kennel from that spot,

and (if so) then

set yourself up in that spot before you

buy any dogs.]

Yes, this may take 5 years of time and it

may require that you save a lot money,

but if you invest that time and money

first it will save you years of headaches

in the long run. Doing this may seem

more time-consuming at first, but it will

be nowhere near as much as the amount

of time and energy you will waste if you

fail to plan and buy a home where you

can’t breed dogs. Set yourself up to

succeed, not to go bust. Also, point

blank, forget about renting. No landlord

is going to put up with you slowly

accumulating a yardful of 20 bulldogs,

so why set yourself up for failure by

building up a yard of dogs on “someone

else’s” land—only to be told you have to

move? What do you do then? So, be

smart, and save up to buy yourself a plot

of land first, before you do anything

else, and

make sure the spot you pick is in a rural

area that is properly-zoned for dogs.

Another thing you want to do is select a

spot that does not have any animal

control or Humane Society within a

hundred miles, or at least not in your

county. The reason for this is simple—so

no one can call them on you. It is also

preferable to select a spot with a lot of

farm animals in the surrounding

properties, as the country people who

own farms and who have farm animals

generally understand “working dogs”

better than do pale, limp-wristed,

plastic-loving city-dwellers. If you

select a place to live where most folks

in the area have livestock, that also hash

no animal control or Humane Society,

then right away you lower your odds of

being around the kind of zealot who

could call the law on you—and you’ve

further made sure there’s no animal

authorities in the area for them to call

anyway. Believe me, an ounce of

prevention is worth a pound of cure, so

make sure you take these preventative

measures.

However, if you can’t afford to buy

acreage, then just forget about being a

breeder. Yes, you can work around the

land issue, to an extent, by forming a

“combine” (a group of trusted friends

who pool their resources and dogs

together and who can thus keep a lot of

dogs of a bloodline going between them,

with only a few in each man’s yard), but

this is not as good as what I’ve laid out.

In a combine, you will always have

personality conflicts to deal with, and

all kinds of differ- ing ideas, so it is

much easier to just do things yourself.

That doesn’t mean you can’t work with

other people—you have to and you

should—it means you don’t want to have

to depend on a group of people for your

goals, which can be a big drawback.

With me, I got dogs first—and started

breeding them—and I quickly had too

many dogs for my situation. So don’t you

be this foolish. Believe me, I have had to

get rid of many good dogs over the

years, to make my moving repeatedly

“easier,” and I hurt myself greatly as a

breeder by not following the above game

plan, and it still makes me sick to think

of all of the critical dogs I’ve had to

give up over the years by my failing to

plan. So all I can do is implore you to

listen to me and to follow my advice:

make a better start than I made. True,

I’ve still turned out some damned good

dogs over the years, but still nowhere

near as many what I would have been

able to, had I started out following this

advice myself. If I would have had

advice like this to read, years ago, and if

I would have actually followed it, I

would be light years ahead of where I’m

at now. Believe that. So take it from me,

this is the first and most major real issue

you need to address before you can take

off as a breeder—and that is finding the

right spot to do it. So clarify this

question first—are you going to compete

with your dogs or just breed your dogs?

If you want to breed, ask yourself if you

realistically have the resources (land) to

do it, as it should be done. If not, get the

land first. If you can’t afford the land,

you can try to form a group of

trustworthy friends to do so, or to form a

combine, but if you can’t do either then

forget about being a breeder and focus

on being a competitor. End of tip.

On the other hand, if you want to

compete, it is actually better that you

have a small yard of quality dogs, so you

can really form a deep relationship with

each good dog. Further, when you only

have a small yard of select animals, this

gives you the time to exercise each dog

daily, and spend quality time with each

one daily, throughout their lives, which

will ultimately make a BIG difference

between two otherwise equal dogs. But,

here again, if you are going to be a

competitor, then you should purchase all

of your conditioning equipment before

you buy too many dogs—or at least

before you start showing them. Too many

people get themselves a match dog—and

then hook him up for a show in their

excitement—and then they soon realize

that they know nothing about

conditioning. Worse, many folks don’t

even have any of the necessary

equipment, not even a scale.

How can you hook a dog if you don’t

know how to call his weight? How can

you find the weight of your dog without a

quality scale and without certified Test-

Ps to ensure that the mea-

surements are accurate? How can you

condition a dog without the necessary

equipment to do so, and without the

proper knowledge of conditioning? How

can you give your athlete the proper

nutrition without the necessary

knowledge of nutrition? All these things

need to be addressed before you hook

your dog to show him. In a later chapter

(The 60-Day Natural Keep) I will get

into all of this equipment, food, and how

to apply each, but this tip is just to get

you thinking

deeply about your job as the owner.

Ok, you’ve crossed that road now and

made your decision: you’re going to be a

breeder, a competitor, or both. Next

thing, (2) Should you start w/ a pup or

get an adult? If you’re a pet owner, go

with a pup, but this section isn’t really

addressed to pet owners (though

certainly there are principles here that

can benefit any pet owner). For a serious

dogman, though, getting a pup is the

slowest way in which to reach the top,

plain and simple. There are only two

advantages to buying a pup—one is cost

and the other is the fact you get to raise

that pup the way you want—and with the

latter comes the confidence that you

know his/her entire life history.

However, every other advantage goes

with buying an adult, especially if you

buy an already-proven performer and/or

producer.

Most pups are between $600-$1,500 and

most adults are between $1,000-$3,500.

Yes, you can get pups for less, and yes

you can pay more for adults, but this is

the average cost for each. Most people

prefer to go the cheap way and get a pup,

but it is actually more expensive in the

long run, in both time and in money, to

buy a pup. First of all, you have to wait

at least 18 months on a pup to even begin

his schooling. With an adult, you can

look at him right away. If you’re a

breeder, same thing, you still have to

wait awhile to use a pup for breeding,

whereas you can breed a purchased

proven adult right away. Either way you

go—as a dogman, breeder or competitor

—you can immediately begin to get back

from your investment when you buy an

adult.

What’s worse, with a pup, you can spend

18 months to three years of your life

raising and caring for it—plus all of his

shots, worming, and socialization—only

to have him quit and to have thus wasted

all that time and money on a cur. Which

means you have to start all over again.

Let’s say you paid $750 for that pup.

Well, in addition to wasting that money,

you just wasted two years of food, shots,

effort, exercise, etc.—only to be right

back where you started from if he

doesn’t work out—which means two

years of your life are now spent and you

took not a single step in the right

direction. And, if you start all over again

with another pup after that, you could

very well go through the same thing

again: two more years of wasted time,

effort, and money—and possibly have

yet another dud—and you would still be

nowhere in four years’ time! Who needs

that?

With an adult—especially if you really

hit your hip pocket and buy a proven

good dog— you’re in business right

away. Yes, proven adults “appear” to

cost more—but in reality the total cost to

you (especially in time and effort) is

actually much less if you buy a proven

adult, when you factor your time and

effort into the equation. You can show an

adult immediately, if that’s what you got

him for, or you can start your breeding

program immediately, if that’s what you

got him for. (Or both.) Therefore, either

way, you should always spend the extra

money and go for a proven adult. Even if

you can’t afford an adult “right now,” it

is still better to save up a whole year

and get an adult when you can afford it,

because it is better to wait a whole year

for a for sure good dog than it is to

waste two years feeding a pup that

grows up to be a bum. The only real

justification for buying a pup is if you

cannot find an adult representative of

that particular bloodline.

As to (3) Should you buy an adult male

or female?, I would say this depends on

whether you are going to breed dogs or

show them. If you are going to be a

breeder, then definitely go for a female.

Hands down, there is no contest as to

which is the better choice. For starters,

even if you bought the best male stud dog

in the world—he is useless as a brood

dog without a bitch J Therefore, if you

start off with a male, you’ve just forced

yourself in having to buy two dogs (a

male and a bitch) just to get started as a

breeder J However, if you start with a

bitch you don’t even need to buy a male.

You have the availability of dozens of

the very best stud dogs, from all over the

country, all being advertised to breed to

your bitch, so why buy a male? J

Therefore, if you are starting out with the

idea to breed dogs, your best bet is to

buy the very best adult bitch you

possibly can, and then breed her to the

very best, most proven producer stud

dog(s) you can—and within two months,

you’ll have your future male(s), and

you’ll also have yourself a bunch of

high-quality pups, right off the bat. This

is the quickest, most intelligent

strategy to get your feet off the ground

as a breeder of these dogs, and if you

check your top breeders

(Hollingsworth, Boyles, myself) this is

exactly what they did

What’s more, after you breed your bitch

to a key stud, you can then sell off a few

pups and recoup your initial investment,

in many instances getting back your

entire investment (or more) out of your

first litter. Think about it. Suppose you

spend $2,500 on a very good bitch, and

another $750 on a stud service. That’s

$3,250 out of your pocket to get started

as a breeder. Well, suppose the bitch has

8 puppies, of which you sell five for

$750 each (and if you get a super bitch

and breed her to a good stud, you can do

this with ease). My calculator tells me

that you just made $3,750 on the 5 pups

you sold, or in other words $500 more

than what you actually spent on both the

bitch and the stud fee J If you deduct

your initial $3,250 investment from the

$3,750 figure you got from selling 5 of

your 8 pups, this means your bitch was

basically free, your 3 remaining pups

were

basically for free, and you have $500

extra to cover your feed up to that point!

Think about it: you now have a free

$2,500 bitch, your stud fee was free too,

and on top of that you now have three

free $750 pups—with $500 left over.

That is basically a $5,250 total yield

from that wise investment J

Now compare the intelligent strategy

above to buying a female “pup”: if you

buy a female pup, you may only spend

$750 out of your pocket, but then you

have to feed her for two years with- out

getting anything in return for your

investment of time and money during this

two-year period. And then suppose she

quits or proves to be unacceptable

during schooling. You just spent

probably $1,500 total by the time the

two years are up—not to mention your

time—all for nothing. So rather than

make a $5,250 total yield doing things

the smart way, you are now $1,500 in the

hole, as well as two years behind, which

is a $6,750 total disparity in value. So,

you see, buying a good, proven adult

brood bitch is the best way to start out

an aspiring breeder. Any questions?

Didn’t think so J

On the other hand, if you are going to be

a competitor, my advice is exactly the

opposite: get an adult male. For starters,

with a male you don’t have to worry

about paying a forfeit if he comes into

heat. That alone justifies getting a male

over a bitch as a performance dog.

Secondly, especially if you have kennel-

space problems, you don’t have to worry

about breeding a male or his having

pups. Rather than breed puppies when

he’s retired, you can stud a male out—

instead of filling-up your small yard

with pups you’d have no room for

anyway with a bitch. And, if you’re

blessed with a really good dog, and you

have no desire to breed him at all for

yourself, you can just sell him as a

Champion for between $5,000 and

$50,000 after you’re done with him, no

problem, and you can take that money

and start over again on a new match dog.

That is, if you are 100% committed to

showing dogs and not to breeding them

at all. Just look at what STP Kennels

always did: this very thing J

Truthfully, if you become a really good

conditioner, you can turn being a

showman into a very lucrative business.

People will pay you to condition their

dogs—handsomely—so you will get

paid doing something you love doing.

Therefore why make it a ‘hobby’ and

only ‘an expense’ to yourself, when (if

you play your cards right) you can profit

enough from it to make it your life? Isn’t

this The American Dream, making a

living off of what you love doing? Sure

it’s risky, we covered that back in the

beginning, but if you’re going to take that

risk anyway, it may as well be for profit.

And with an intelligent strategy, you can

do this for a ton of money rather than to

be for free without any game plan

whatsoever.

On top of this, if you’re good, you will

win most of your shows and get still

more income from the bets—and finally

(when you’re using your own dogs) and

it’s time to retire the Champions, again

you can make a very good profit

studding them out, or selling them back

to their breeder (who will cherish these

returned animals back in his breeding

program). In fact, when a breeder and

competitor have a really good working

relationship, the competitor can depend

on the breeder to get him good dogs for

free, and the breeder can depend on the

competitor to give him back the retired

athlete for the breeder’s brood pen, once

the competitor retires the animal. This is

the best and most harmonious

relationship in these dogs

Or, if you really like the dog (or if

you’re more into a long-term cash flow),

you can just buy your dogs from the

breeder and keep your retired

Champions/Grand Champions, earning

stud fees on them for as long as they’ll

produce. This can ultimately amount to

prove a small fortune, if you have a real

good dog, all with no pups and with no

hassles. So my advice would be stick

with males if you are going to be a

competitor.

Next comes (4) What bloodlines should

you use? This really is a personal

consideration, but either way (if you

want to succeed) you need to go with a

high-percentage bloodline, which means

one that has proven time and again to

win more than they lose. It doesn’t

necessarily

have to be a high-percentage “game”

bloodline, but the dogs should definitely

win more than they lose, when that

money’s on the line. Why buy dogs that

come from a line that loses more than it

wins (or that never wins at all)? Instead,

go with a bloodline that wins more than

it loses. The rest is a matter of personal

style. Do you like wide-open

barnstormers, or methodical, slick

dismantlers? If you like barnstormers,

the Eli/Nigerino type dogs would be a

consideration. Many Red Boy/Jocko

dogs are like this too, and many Boyles-

bred dogs are also. The bonus of these

kinds of dogs is their style tends to make

them win early—which means you can

show them more often, because they

don’t take as long to win and (hence)

don’t take as much abuse. Their liability,

though, is they tend not to be as game—if

they are in there with a good one and are

forced to go the long haul—and so you

may get more curs out of these kinds of

lines. However, many people don’t mind

going through a bunch of curs to get their

barnstorming ace, because they know

that ace will be a money-maker.

However, if you like dogs that tend to be

long-distance athletes—who save

themselves for later and come on strong

in the end to pull out the win—then I

would recommend the Hollingsworth

dogs, my dogs, Mayday dogs, and CH

Butkus crosses (as well as the CH

Bullshit/White dogs). Pure Red Boy

dogs tend to be like this also, but they

also tend to be very stupid, but can be

very valuable as a cross. The bonus of

distance athletes is that, as a line, they

tend to be more consistently game than

other lines, which means you don’t have

to cull as many animals. The liability of

these kinds of dog is they tend to take

longer to win (and thus sometimes more

abuse), which means they don’t win as

many matches, per dog, as more

barnstormy dogs do (on the average)—

but when you’re in the trenches in a long,

tough match they will prove to be more

dependable.

Remember, these are mere

simplifications, and there are many other

lines not mentioned. You could write a

whole book on bloodlines alone, and

still not cover everything, but this

section is to get you thinking about what

style of dog you want. Once you answer

this question, you can then get pointed in

the right direction as to what bloodlines

tend to carry that style. I will say this:

“breeders” tend to prefer the longer-

winded, more consistently-game dogs—

because they have a higher satisfaction

rate among customers—whereas

competitors tend not to care about

“bloodlines” so much—they just want to

get their hands on whatever dog they can

that will get in there and win quick, so

they can move on to the next show. Thus

competitors are willing to cull through

more dogs to get that ace destroyer,

whereas breeders are wanting to work

with a line where the majority of what’s

produced are at least game dogs so they

have happy customers.

Finally, if you are going to be a

competitor, try hard not to become a

“dog-user,” and by that I mean try not to

be somebody who doesn’t give a damn

about his dogs and who is just in it for

the money. Yes, there is money to be

made, and I agree that you should try to

make it, but this effort should never be

at the expense of Life nor should it be

won by abandoning Fair Play.

Remember, this is a sport, and therefore

you should always be sporting in your

actions. That means you do not leave

your dogs down to die, when they should

be picked-up, and it means you do not

violate the accepted rules by cheating

just to try and win “at all costs.”

Because the true cost you will pay

through such despicable actions will be

to your human decency and your

integrity, and there is no amount of

money that can buy that back for you. So

play the game fair, and if your dog can’t

win (and live afterward), then be a man

and pick him up and show some class.

Be part of the solution, not part of the

problem. Fair play and sporting decency

make the game a whole lot nicer for

everyone, not just for you and your dog.

Likewise, be sure you only associate

with dogmen and competitors like this

also, and make sure you openly criticize

and ostracize anyone who is not like

this, no exceptions. In doing so, you will

weed out the human scum of the sport

and help return it to the days of

Gentlemen Sportsmen. Be a positive

ambassador and fancier of this breed,

and not the kind of monster that the

media likes to portray us all as.

Anyway, as to (5) Who should you get

your dogs from? , again, it depends on

what style or line of dog you want. I am

not going to give you any personal

recommendations here as to what

breeders to go to, as there are plenty of

both good and bad breeders out there,

for every line of dogs, but I will give

you these general guidelines: (a) buy

from a proven-successful breeder and

(b) buy from a breeder who has a

reputation for accurate paperwork.

Obviously your odds of getting a good

dog are dramatically increased when

you go with an already-established,

successful breeding program that

produces winners regularly. So too, your

odds of succeeding as a breeder are

greater if you know the truth about not

just how the dogs behind your animal

“are really bred,” but also that you are

told the straight scoop as to their

strengths and weaknesses(both as

individuals and as producers). Some

good performers can’t

produce, and some poor performers

can produce, so you not only need to

know the correct pedigree of your dogs

—but you need as much honest

information as you can about the traits of

each dog in their pedigrees, and the

percentages of both good and bad

ancestors—to be able to get a general

(and even a specific) idea of the gene

pool you will soon be working with as a

breeder. Knowing the general tendencies

of your dog’s genetic background will

also give you an idea how said dog is

likely to hold up in the trenches, should

you use him as a competitor, as well as

which directions you should breed them

as a breeder.

Again, you going to a successful breeder

to get your original foundation stock is

good, but going to an honest successful

breeder is even better. Why set yourself

up for failure by going to a breeder who

never bred a winner? Why buy from a

‘competitor’ who can’t even breed his

own winners? The best strategy is to buy

from the breeder who set that

competitor up with his winners and who

set other good breeders up with their

foundation animals. But make sure that

breeder is still doing this today! Some

famous breeders may have produced a

lot of winners, say 20 years ago—but if

you look closely they have bred their

lines out and haven’t produced anything

of note in today’s game. Why go to a

breeder who already has a reputation for

paper-hanging, so you will have no idea

as to how your dog is really bred, when

you can go to a breeder who not only

produces good dogs, but who sells good

dogs that are bred as represented?

This brings us to the subject of paper-

hanging, which is pandemic in our sport.

In fact, just about every dog out there at

one time or another is questioned as to

how it’s ‘really bred.’ Ultimately, we as

buyers of someone else’s dogs, from

someone else’s breeding program, have

to rely on the honesty and integrity of the

breeder from whom we are purchasing

our pup(s) or our grown dog(s). And

with some breeders this is no problem—

however, with other breeders, that’s like

trusting a fox in a hen house—they’ll

paper a dog ‘just like you want it

papered,’ so they can get the sale. As a

buyer, nothing is more disappointing and

angering than if you later find out you’ve

been scammed on how a dog is bred,

even if the dog turns out to be a good

one. You see, even if a dog is good, you

don’t know what the heck you’ve got

now, genetically, so how can you know

how to breed it? I will get into breeding

and genetics later, but knowing how your

dog is truly bred is as important to a

breeding program as is knowing how he

is as a performer. Anyway, here’s what

can you do to protect yourself as a buyer

of what you really want—as opposed to

buying a dog that is ‘papered that way.’

Here are a few things you can do to

better your chances of getting a

correctly-papered bulldog. They are:

1. NEVER buy a dog from a breeder

who already has a reputation for hanging

papers. If you go to such a breeder, I

mean right out of the gate there is a

chance that the dog you are looking at is

already falsely-papered (and if not that

particular dog, then its parents, or some

dogs in the parents’ background,

probably aren’t accurately-represented).

Just make a rule of only buying dogs

from breeders who have a good

reputation for delivering good dogs,

with accurately-represented paperwork,

and you will increase your odds for

success dramatically right from the start.

Again, don’t even waste your time with

a breeder who isn’t producing winners

in today’s game, because if the breeder’s

dogs aren’t winning in today’s game,

then you won’t win using their dogs

either. Go with proven success—and

then go with proven integrity on top of

that.

2. BE CAUTIOUS if a breeder single-

registers his dogs. Old Man

Hollingsworth told me that this is the

classic stamp of the paper-hanger, and if

you think about it, it’s true. Conversely,

if a man makes a habit of registering

whole litters then he has to account for

each and every pup born at the time it

was born—which means he cannot come

up with a ‘new’ pup out of that litter,

years later, since said litter was already

been registered at birth. By contrast, if a

man single-registers all of his dogs, that

means he makes up the paperwork for

you right there on the dog you want.

Since there was never any documented

record (in the form of a whole litter

registration) as to how many dogs were

actually in that litter—when it occurred

—there is nothing preventing this

breeder from adding “one more” to the

list, papered “just the way” the customer

wanted that pup bred. Case in point:

there are something like 27 dogs

registered off of the breeding of

Carver’s

Pistol to Carver’s Miss Spike. Now, we

all know that Miss Spike didn’t have a

litter of 27 pups, and I don’t believe

there were 2 to 3 repeat breedings, so

this means Maurice Carver lied to his

custom- ers on the majority of the pups

he sold off that breeding. And breeders

today do this all the time. No, not every

breeder who single-registers his stock is

a paper-hanger—especially in this day

and age where some people don’t trust

the registries anymore (whose records

can be turned over to the authorities).

Therefore, just because a man does not

register (or only single-registers) his

stock doesn’t make him a crook. He may

just not want his breedings in the hands

of a registration body, so don’t jump to

conclusions. Just keep in mind that the

practice of single-registering dogs

makes paper-hanging much easier to get

away with. This brings us to ...

3. If you choose to go to a breeder who

single-registers his dogs, never state to

that breeder what you want prior to

seeing his yard. Go over his yard of

dogs, in silence, and let him tell you

each dog’s breeding first, while you

simply jot down what he says. Then go

back and select the dog you want after he

tells you how it’s bred (and what its

strengths and weaknesses are). You are

much more likely to get a true pedigree

that way than if you came over to the

yard, and before seeing a single dog

announce: “Mr. Breeder, I’m looking for

a dog off of So-And-So bred to So-And-

So.” If you come out and say something

like this, right out of the gate, and you

are dealing with a guy who single

registers each dog sold at the time of

purchase, believe me, you very well

might get a dog ‘bred just like that’—on

paper J Therefore, walk around and ask

for the breeder to tell you the pedigrees

on all the dogs first, and then make your

purchase decision after he has gone over

everything.

As a recap, if you make sure to follow

these three steps: 1) Only buy from

successful and proven-reputable

kennels; 2) Avoid those who single-

register their dogs, if possible; but 3) If

you do go to a man who single-registers,

don’t tell him what you want first, but

instead make sure you ask him how

everything is bred first and then select

what you want, once he’s told you the

pedigrees himself. If you follow these

guidelines, you will have protected

yourself from 99.99% of the chance of

being sold a falsely-papered dog, and at

the same time you will dramatically-

increase your chances of starting out

with a good dog. Buying a well-known

winner, or a proven-producer, will

further increase your chances of success

(and of getting a correct pedigree),

dramatically, but you must be prepared

to pay a lot of money for either a proven

winner or (especially) a proven

producer.

Ultimately, of course, the best way to

know how a dog is truly bred, and

whether or not it is good, is to breed

your own. Still, everyone has to start out

somewhere, and all of us always start

out in the dark. This book is intended to

be your “light.” Just remember to ask a

lot of questions, which will help keep

the light on for you, but remember to be

respectful as you ask. Just because

someone single-registers doesn’t make

him a bad person, so don’t treat someone

who single registers like a crook. Be

respectful.

Finally, the last bit of advice I have on

starting out is, once you have made a

decision, and once you get a quality line

of dogs, stick with it. Don’t be

discouraged if the results aren’t

instantaneous. Remember, you are

inexperienced, and (as with any other

skill) it takes time to develop your

bearings and to gain your competence as

both a breeder and a competitor. I

promise, if you keep switching

bloodlines, you will never get to know

what you’re working with. Remember,

the bumps and bruises of lost shows, or

failed breedings, are still experience,

which (good or bad) is still invaluable

to have! Rest assured that if you stick

with the same bloodline, then as you

continue on in your breeding and

conditioning efforts, you will have the

insight to make the necessary

adjustments, because you will be gaining

the necessary experience and savvy, and

thus you will gain the necessary

competence. By contrast, if you jump

ship every time you have a

disappointment of failed breeding, you

will always be “starting over again” and

therefore a perpetual beginner!

So do not “abandon ship” just because

you don’t rocket to success right away.

Remember, if you stick with a good line,

sooner or later you will come to know

what the best individuals are of that line,

and with the deep knowledge you

develop with your ongoing experiences

you will eventually become an expert in

that bloodline—and the only result you

can get from true expertise is SUCCESS

Chapter 2 Setting up Your

Kennel

When a person sets out to build-up a

yard of purebred animals the reality of

confinement sets in.

The simple fact is, you can’t let all of

your dogs run loose everywhere, and so

you must figure out a way to confine

your animals effectively, safely, and

comfortably for them. This really is true

for even a simple pet owner also. Even

if you have only one dog, of pure (or

nondescript) breeding, that one dog still

needs to be confined effectively while

you are away or busy.

There are many people who think it is

“cruel” to kennel a dog or to keep a dog

on a chain; how- ever nothing could be

further from the truth. The fact of the

matter is, however, that it is both humane

and responsible to kennel or chain a dog

properly. The truth is, it is actually cruel

and irresponsible not to confine an

unsupervised dog and instead to just let

that dog run free. This is true even if you

have only one dog and a fenced

backyard. Why can’t you leave a dog in

a fenced back yard? Because even if you

have a cinder-block wall surrounding

your property, many dogs learn to jump

over that wall, learn to dig under that

wall—or they learn to wait for your

gardener (or kids) to leave the gate open

—but one way or another, your beloved

pet will eventually escape if you leave

him or her loose and unsupervised. And

do you know what happens to dogs when

they escape? I’ll tell you what happens.

They cause trouble, they kill each other,

they get hurt, they get run over by cars,

they get shot by farmers, they get lost in

the woods or the city—and they get

placed in dog pounds when other people

find them. Nothing good ever happens

when your dog escapes your yard. And

the only way a dog can escape from any

yard is if that dog has a negligent owner

who didn’t confine him properly.

Dogs are not moral beings, they are

animals, and they need to be in the

control of humans at all times. This

means when humans are not present to

provide personal control over their

dogs, then the animals need to be

confined. The only real exception to this

would be shepherd dogs being used at

their job herding livestock on huge

ranches, or guardian dogs patrolling

huge estates and premises, but every

other kind of dog needs to be kenneled

when not at work or when not inside the

house. But this isn’t a book about

shepherds, it is a book about pit bulls,

and all pit bulls need to be confined.

Period. No exceptions. Pit bulls are

essentially convicts—if they get loose,

they will either kill themselves or

something else—so you need to take

extra care in how you are going to

confine them

Therefore, a person needs to address the

question of how he is going to keep his

animals: which essentially means either

in a kennel run or on a chain set-up.

Contrary to many professional dog

breeders, I do not like kennel runs; in

fact I think they make a dog miserable,

and I will list many irrefutable reasons

for this posture. But first, let us examine

what we are trying to accomplish when

we confine our animals:

1) We are trying to prevent our dogs

from escaping;

2) We are trying to keep our animals

as happy and comfortable as possible,

within

3) We are trying to meet these goals

as conveniently, and for as little

unnecessary expense to us, as

possible.

Kennel Runs:

A lot of people believe that kennels are

where it’s at in keeping a volume of

dogs, but I am here to tell you this is not

the case. The only justification for a

kennel run is if you have one dog, or just

a very few dogs—that you let out all the

time—or if you live in such a nice

neighborhood that you can’t ruin your

carefully-pruned, landscaped backyard

with a chain being drug back-n-forth

across your lawn. One other advantage

to a kennel run, with proper drainage, is

that you can hose the urine and feces

down a drain, which helps eliminate

odor, again which is a necessity in a

populated residential area where your

neighbors might not appreciate “essence

of dog kennel” permeating the air.

However, as you will see in the

forthcoming pages, there are better and

cheaper methods to confine your

animals, which if managed properly are

far superior systems to kennel runs, and

this is especially true when you’re

raising and breeding a volume of dogs

on a large and rural property (which is

where you should be if you are a serious

dogman).

Let’s take a look at the 3 goals above,

and draw an immediate conclusion:

kennel runs meet #1, they prevent our

dogs from escaping, but the fact is they

fail miserably to address #s 2 and 3.

How is this so? First of all, regarding

our dog’s comfort, kennel runs have

concrete floors which are hard on a

dog’s joints—day-in and day-out, every

day, of every week, of every month, of

every year—your dogs will have to

move around on rock-hard concrete.

Dogs were not designed to run or lie

down on hard concrete, they were

designed to run and lie down on soft

earth. Therefore, when you force a dog

to repeatedly walk and lie down on

concrete, by keeping him in a kennel

every moment of his life, the animal will

soon begin to develop sores on all of the

contact points his body repeatedly makes

with said concrete or cement. If forced

to be in a kennel every moment of every

day, these sores the dog develops will

get bigger with time, and will quickly

worsen, while at the same time the

animal’s weight-bearing joints will be

likewise challenged while he moves

back and forth on the unforgiving

flooring. For that matter, just picture

yourself, every day of your life, having

to walk barefoot on concrete, and having

to sit and lie down on this substance, and

eventually you too would be praying for

a soft spot and a way out of that

uncomfortable situation. And that’s

exactly how your dog feels on concrete.

Many people believe kennel runs are the best way

to keep dogs, but they are not. They are the most

expensive way for you, while being the least-roomy

(and the least-comfortable) for the dog. These runs

pictured here are 6’x10’ in dimensions—for a total

of only 60 sq ft of living space for each dog. Since

this kennel run is comprised of 10 kennels, this

means the total square footage for all 10 dogs is

600 sq ft. And, remember, the whole thing is set on

a rock-hard concrete slab. Is this how you would

like to live every day? (These kennels pictured are

also inadequate as they have no roofing.)

The next issue where kennel runs fall

woefully short is on living space. Not

only are kennel runs terribly

uncomfortable for the dogs who have to

live on the rock-hard concrete to begin

with, but they are also woefully-small

enclosures on top of this, being either 6’

x 10’, 10’ x 10’, or 10’ x 12’ in

dimensions. As you will see in a

moment, even the biggest kennel runs are

only about one-third as roomy as the

average chain set-up, while the average

sized kennel run is only one-fifth as

roomy as the average chain set-up. In

fact, let’s get some irrefutable numbers

on these dimensions:

• 6’ x 10’ kennel = 60 sq ft of total

living space

• 10’ x 10’ kennel = 100 sq ft of total

living space

• 10’ x 12’ kennel = 120 sq ft of total

living space
The irrefutable mathematical fact of the

matter is, most kennel runs are of the

first dimensions, as seen in the set-up on

the facing page, and only offer a

miserable 60 sq ft of total living space

(on a rock-hard surface) for a dog to

spend his life on. And even if a person

really wanted to spend a fortune and

build an enormous 10’ x 12’ kenneling

system, the fact is the dimensions of

even this set-up still only add-up to a

paltry 120 sq ft in total living

dimensions, per dog, which is less than

half the living space of an average-sized

chain set-up. Finally, regarding the

desire to meet the need to confine your

dogs “con- veniently and inexpensively,”

you can forget about either with kennel

runs. A truly adequate kennel run system,

with concrete flooring, roofing,

drainage, and thick-enough fencing will

cost you several thou- sand dollars to

implement—and they will take many of

months to construct—whereas an entire

yardful of top-shelf chain set-ups will

only cost you a few hundred dollars to

buy and will take only a couple of days

to set-up. In fact, let’s examine all of the

advantages to chain set-ups even closer:

This is a much nicer kennel set-up in appearance,

but yet the dimensions of each kennel are only 5’ x

15” (or 75 sq. ft. apiece). This system also has a

drain run-off in front and tin roofing overhead. It is

ideal for someone living in the city, but then again

the city is not an ideal place to raise dogs. This

entire system cost the owner $12,500 for just 5

kennels in a row like this.

The Proper Chain Set-Up:

Let’s start right off the bat by clearing

the air of one of the oldest myths

perpetuated by animal rights fanatics,

and that is “chains are cruel” or “chains

make a dog mean.” This is pure,

fabricated baloney. I have raised

hundreds of dogs on chains, for two

decades running, with every one of my

dogs being happy and healthy every

moment of their lives, and not a single

individual who has ever “become mean”

because he was on a chain (or for any

other reason). Therefore I know first

hand, for an indis- putable fact, that all

of this malarkey against “dogs being on

chains” was invented by zealots who use

their over-active imaginations as a

substitute for legitimate experience.

These zealots invented this entire

concept in their heads, or they repeat

“what they’ve heard” from other

inexperienced folks (like parrots), when

the truth is not a single one of these nay-

sayers has any actual first-hand

experience of their own raising dogs that

have actually been kenneled on a proper

chain system.

I will prove here and now, factually,

with irrefutable mathematical numbers

and statistics, how and why chain set-

ups are better for a dog (physically and

psychologically), than any kind of fenced

kennel run could ever hope to be.

Let’s start out by discussing the drastic

difference in the living space of each.

Again, the average kennel run size is 6’ x

10’ which indisputably and

mathematically translates to a pathetic

60 sq ft of living space for a dog to live

out his entire caged life on concrete.

Again, even a “huge” 10’ x 12’ kennel

run indisputably and mathematically

translates to only 120 sq ft of caged

living space for a dog live (on

hard concrete). Now let’s compare these

miserably-inadequate numbers to the

open and spacious dimensions of a

professional chain configuration, set-up

on nice soft earth, while using just an

average-sized chain.
Chain space set-ups, when anchored on

a central axis, become circular living

areas for a dog, and so to understand

how much living space a dog will have

on a properly set-up chain, we must first

dis- cuss some simple geometry. The

surface area for any circle is pi(3.14)

multiplied times the radius, squared.

This is an indisputable mathematical fact

of how to obtain the surface area of a

circle. Therefore, since the chain-length

itself is the radius, a 10-ft long chain,

squared, equals 10 ft squared—which

equals 100 ft—which figure we then

multiply by pi(3.14) to come up with

314 square feet of living space for a dog

on a 10’-long chain, when secured on a

central axis. Again, this is an

indisputable mathematical fact.

10' Chain

314 Square Feet of Living

Space

The mathematical facts of the matter are simple:

one ten-foot chain, secured on a central axis, gives

a dog 314 sq ft of room to enjoy himself—which is

more than 5x the room of a 6’x10’ kennel run.

'x1

0'Ke

n 1 ne l

52

If one 6’x10’ kennel affords only 60 sq. ft. of living

space, the mathematical truth is, therefore, that

you could (quite literally) stuff FIVE6’x10’ kennels

into ONE 10’ chain space. And yet the animal

rights geniuses try to enact laws against tethering,

rather than kenneling! The truth is, both systems

need some kind of “minimum standard” set as to

their allow- able dimensions. In other words, both

kennel dimensions as well as appropriate chain

lengths need to be based on the size of the dogs. But

here again, it is the chain-and-axle system which

allows for this kind of flexibility.

Now then, for all the bleeding-heart

animal rights zealots out there who sob

at the thought of a dog being “on a

chain,” I ask that you please wipe away

your tears, so you can see straight, and

ask yourself this serious question: if you

were an animal that had to be confined,

but you had a choice, in which system

would you rather be confined: (1)

behind bars in a kennel, trapped within a

mere 60 sq ft of living space, set upon

rock-hard concrete, where you can’t

even be petted by your owner except

when he pokes his fingers through the

fence?—or—(2) out in the open on a

chain, on 314+ sq ft of living space, set

upon soft earth, where you can jump on

your beloved owner and be fully petted

and held every time he walks by you? I

think the answers is obvious.

These are all simple facts folks:

irrefutable, mathematical facts that are

as plain as day. Therefore, if anyone

wants to think about it for more than a

second, with a sound and rational mind,

a proper chain set-up is an infinitely

more humane, infinitely more

comfortable, and 5-10x as spa- cious a

manner in which to keep dogs than any

kenneling system—and yet sadly there

are some cities and counties (and some

states even) where chaining a dog is

now considered “illegal.”

This happy dog has lived all her life on a 10’

chain. Instead of being forced to run around (and

lie down) on rock-hard concrete, she gets to do

these things on nice, soft earth. And instead of

living within the minimal space of 60 sq. ft. be-

hind bars, this lucky dog has more than 314 sq. ft.

of living space out in the open country. This dog

has over FIVE TIMES the living space of the dogs

kenneled on pp. 48-49, and yet the cost for this

entire system was less than $70 rather than several

thousand.
All such laws against the chaining of

dogs were created by animal rights

activists thrusting their ignorant

propaganda down the ignorant

lawmakers’ throats, without any of them

truly having even the slightest idea what

they were talking about regarding the

confinement of animals. So much have

animal rights activists lobbied against

the chaining of dogs, that many people

automatically recoil at the thought of

putting a dog “on a chain.” Many people

automatically have a reflexive, negative

reaction to the idea of chaining a dog—

and yet this is entirely based on their

own over-active imagination, which is

the result of the pre-conditioning done

by animal fanatics, and not on their own

actual life experience raising dogs.

Do you remember our 3 goals for

confining our animals? They were 1) to

prevent our dogs from escaping; 2) to

keep our animals as happy and

comfortable as possible within their

state of confinement; and 3) to meet

these goals as conveniently, and for as

little unnecessary expense to us, as

possible. Well, folks, I have done things

both ways, and while both systems will

prevent your dogs from escaping, I can

truthfully promise you that raising dogs

on a professional chain-and-axle system

is the most comfortable system for the

dogs, the most spacious and roomy

system for the dogs, and the least

costly system to implement for you as

well. Everybody wins! Further, if you

wish to give your dogs even more room

to live, then you also can give your dogs

several hundred square feet more room to

roam with a chain, for just a few dollars

more, rather than being forced to spend a

few thousand dollars more to give a dog

more room in a kennel.

These are much larger dogs than the one featured

in the previous page, so they need more space to

live. The dog here in the foreground has an 11’

chain (and therefore has 380 sq ft of living space),

while the dog in the background has a 13’ chain

(and therefore 530 sq ft of living space).

The dogs featured in this photo needed

more room to be happy. Had I invested

thousands of dollars in a kennel

construct, these dogs would simply be

stuck in a tiny 6’x10’ kennel. Either that,

or I would have had to invest $12,000-

$15,000 more money in building them

kennels more suitable to their size. Yet

even if I designed 10’x12’ kennels for

these animals, and spent nearly twenty-

thousand dollars to get them done, what

would I have done for them, really,

besides give them a paltry 120 sq ft to

live on? By contrast, doing things the

intelligent way (since even the best

chain can be bought for about $1/ft), it

only cost me $1 more to give the front

dog 66 sq ft more room in which to live

than the previous dog (for 380 sq ft

total), and it cost me only $3 more to

give the rear dog more room in which to

live (for 530 sq ft total). So how’s that

for having a little common sense?

You see, remember, since the surface

area of any circle is pi(3.14) multiplied

by the radius squared—and since the

length of chain you want to use is the

radius—this means all you have to do is

add another foot or two of chain and you

have dramatically increased the living

area of your dogs. For merely $1 more

spent I gave the dog upfront more room

than an entire 6’x10’ kennel, and for

merely $3 more spent I gave the rear dog

nearly 4x the space of such a kennel—

and that is over and above the

dimensions of a 10’ chain, which is itself

already offers more than 5x the space of

a 6’x10’ kennel! In fact, let’s come to an

exact understanding as to the actual

square-footage of various chain-sizes:

• 6’ Chain = 113 square feet of total

living space.

• 8’ Chain = 201 square feet of total

living space.

• 10’ Chain = 314 square feet of total

living space.

• 12’ Chain = 452 square feet of total

living space.

• 15’ Chain = 706 square feet of total

living space

Thus an 11’ chain, squared, equals 121

ft, and then multiplied by pi(3.14) equals

379.94 sq ft. And when we do the same

thing for a 13’ chain, we get a whopping

530 sq ft for the dog.

This is a closer view of the rear dog in the previous

photo, on a 13’ chain, who therefore has 530 sq ft

of living space to enjoy himself, right out there in

nature, rather than being trapped in a tiny 60-sq ft

caged prison on concrete.

Therefore, take it from someone who

actually does have the life experience

raising dogs both ways, and who

actually has compared, measured, and

just plainly seen the difference—a

professional chain set-up is by far the

roomier, nicer confinement protocol to

use for the dog who actually has to live

in it

So just forget about kennel runs. They

are tremendously expensive to

implement, and after you have thrown

away all that money to get your kennels

constructed, even the best of these

constructs are not even one-fifth as

roomy as even an average chain set-up,

nor anywhere near as comfortable for

the dogs to live in as just putting those

same dogs on a professionally-

constructed chain (that costs you about

seventy bucks apiece to make, rather

than several thousand dollars apiece to

make).

True, for the simple pet owner who has a

finely-pruined backyard in the city, and

only one or two pets that she lets in and

out, a kennel is fine for such a person’s

in-and-out doggies. However, for the

serious dog man, who has a large yard of

performance animals out in the country

(which is where you and your dogs

should be if you really are serious,), and

which animals essentially have to live in

confinement for most of their lives—a

proper chain kenneling system is better

for you and your dogs on every

conceivable level

Even a smaller 9’ chain still gives a dog 254 sq ft

of living space, which is more than four times the

meager 60 sq ft living space that a 6’ x 10’ kennel

run offers, and still more than twice the 120 sq ft

that even a large 10’ x 12’ kennel run offers. And

again, these dogs shown are out in nature and they

get to enjoy themselves in a natural setting; they

are not stuck in a tiny metal-and-concrete world

with no interesting view or stimulation.

This bitch is on a 15’ chain, which gives her 706 sq

ft of living space to enjoy herself, which is more

room to move around than all ten of those other

dogs had in that kennel run, combined. To state this

in the reverse, all 10 of those dogs pictured in those

kennel run photos on pp. 48-49 were cramped into

*less space* than what you are seeing here for this

*one* dog!

I hope by now my point has been made.

As far as meeting the original 3 goals of

confinement (preventing our dogs from

escaping, keeping our animals as happy

and comfortable as possible, and trying

to meet these goals as conveniently and

for as little unnecessary expense to us as

possible), the professional chain system

is clearly the winning protocol, hands

down. Still, as important to good

dogmanship as a proper chain set-up is,

surprisingly few people know how to

construct such a chain configuration

properly, and that is because there is a

lot of confusion as to how to do so. Even

when I have visited some of the most

successful and experienced dog men and

breeders in the country, I have left there

absolutely amazed at how precarious

some of their chain set-ups were. Many

of the constructs I have seen have had

adequate chain length, proper housing,

and even clean kennel upkeep—but the

same problem I invariably keep seeing

is inadequate

hardware from which a dog can (and

will) escape, sooner or later. And if a

person’s dog can escape his chain set-

up, then he hasn’t properly addressed the

#1 goal of confinement, has he. Just

remember that each way “you” can get

your dog off his chain is a way your

dog can get himself off his chain.

Therefore, you need to reduce the

number of ways your dog can come off

his chain. It’s that simple.

The Chain Itself

The very first part of designing a proper

chain set-up begins with the chain itself.

Many people do not realize that there are

different ‘grades’ of chain, which

therefore means there are different

strengths and qualities of chain. Make

sure that you use high-grade chain and

make sure that the thickness of each link

is about ¼-inch. You do not really need

to put your dogs on thicker chains than

that. I have seen people use these huge

yacht chains for their larger and more

powerful dogs, but this is over-kill and

it can actually be a detriment to your

dog’s joints and health, especially if the

dog is either very young or very old.

Lugging all of that weight around is

simply burdensome for any animal and

unnecessary also. All you really need is

a ¼-inch-thick, high-quality chain (see

below), at a length between 10- and 12-

feet long, for an average-sized dog.

From there, you need to utilize the

proper connecting hardware for your

rigging, which we will get into in a

moment.

Regarding chain length, I have seen

some dog yards (where the owners had

no room for dogs), and these folks kept

their dogs on 3- to 4-foot chains. This is

wrong, people, and this is just the kind

of fuel the animal rights zealots love to

have a field day with. A tiny 3- to 4-foot

chain space is unhealthy for a dog as it

only gives him 28 to 50 square feet of

living space in which to live. This might

be okay for a little puppy, or a tiny

terrier breed, but for an average-sized

pit dog this is just way too small of a

living space. Dogs kept on such small

areas cannot exercise properly and they

will also be walking around in their own

feces all day. Therefore, don’t get

started off this way; make sure you have

your dogs on 10’ to 12’ chains, affixed

to a central axis, because this kind of

set-up gives your dogs 314 to 452

square feet of living space by

comparison. If you don’t have this kind

of room, refer to Chapter 2 again. You

can use longer chains if you have bigger-

than-average-sized dogs, or you can use

shorter chains if you have smaller-than-

average-sized dogs.

Smaller chains (in this case, 6’ long) should only be

used on puppies that are too old to be in a pen any

longer, but too young to be on a full-sized chain.

Either that, or for very small 10-15 lb terrier

breeds. Accordingly, your chain thickness and

hardware weight should be lighter as well. This 4-

month-old still has 113 sq ft of living space, which

is still nearly twice the amount of living space as a

standard 6’x10’ kennel run.

Some states have actual laws regarding

chain length (which is a good idea

really). Texas,

I believe, has stipulated that the chain

securing any dog should be 3x the length

of the dog’s back, which means from the

base of his neck (where it meets the

back) to the end of his spine (where it

meets the tail). Whatever length that is

for your particular dog, you are

supposed to multiply this figure by 3 to

get the minimum legal length of the chain

you intend to keep your dog on. So if that

is the law in your state then you need to

follow it. Still, why go the “minimum”

when you can just follow my guidelines

and exceed them? In my opinion, the

average 40-60 lb dog will only need a

10’ to 12’ chain space. Less space than

that should only be for smaller adults, or

young pups, and if you have such small

dogs like this, then you will also need to

purchase lighter-weight chains and

lighter-weight hardware than discussed

here, so as not to place a burden on your

comparatively-smaller animals.

In the reverse fashion, I have also

noticed that dogs don’t really make use

of a living space greater than a 12’ chain

provides, therefore in real-life practice

chains much longer than 12’ ultimately

prove to be unnecessary, as most dogs

simply don’t use all of that space. I will

discuss how to set-up a proper chain

spot in a minute, but first let me give you

a tip as to chain quality:

Tip: Regarding the grade of chain to

buy, the “average” kind of chain that

most people buy at the local hardware

store is called Grade 30 Proof Coil, but

this is a lower grade of chain that will

quickly wear out going back-and-forth

over the ground all the time as your dogs

move around. As such, using this kind of

chain will likely result in a tragic kennel

accidents or an escape at some point.

Because of this, you will be better off in

the long run is you buy premium-quality

Grade 43- to Grade 70 Transport Chain,

as such rigging will last you much longer

and it will keep your dogs much safer.

Yes, such quality chain “costs more” to

buy per-foot, but what is the cost of a

dead dog being lost because a cheap

chain wore out and broke and allowed

him to escape? Take a look at the

difference in load limit between heavy-

grade Transport Chain and your average

proof coil:

Grade 30 Proof Coil

Chain Working Weight Thickness Load

Limit per 10’ (in.) (lbs.) (lbs.)

1/4” 1,300 6.3 5/16” 1,900 9.1

3/8” 2,650 13.5

Transport Chain

Chain Working Weight

Size Load Limit per 10’’ (in.) (lbs.)

(lbs.) 1/4” 3,150 7.4

5/16” 4,700 10.0 3/8” 6,600 14.5

As you can see, the ¼” Transport Chain

is almost three-times as strong as the

corresponding ¼” proof coil chain, yet

doesn’t weigh much more. In fact, the ¼”

Transport Chain is stronger than even the

largest 3/8” proof coil, yet only weighs

half as much. Unfortunately, you can’t get

Transport Chain like this at your typical

Home Depot hardware store—but you

can order this kind of chain from various

vendors. Here are a couple:

http://www.lacledechain.com or

http://www.accochain.com

So make sure you order Transport Chain

for your prize animals ü

In truth, Transport Chains will in all

probability out-last your dogs. You don’t

need buy massive yacht chains to keep

your dogs safe, like some of these bozos

do. Big chains don’t make your dogs

macho, and they don’t even keep your

dogs safer. All a giant, heavy chain will

do is ruin your dogs’ joints when they

have to tote the extra weight around all

day, every day. Instead, simply buy high-

grade Transport Chain (Grade 43 to 70),

because it is just as strong yet it is light

weight. These kinds of chain are special

heat-treated so they are resistant to wear

and last much longer. In other words,

they are stronger than these super-

weighty, thick chains that you see—and

yet they are light enough for even your

elderly dogs to tote around comfortably.

All any dog really needs is ¼”-inch

thickness (which gives over 3,100 lb of

resistance) with these kinds of chain,

regardless of how big he is. Rather than

wearing out after a year or so (like a

thick, heavy chain will when dragging on

the ground—because they are made of

cheap steel), transport chains are built to

withstand friction contact, so they can

take being rubbed on the hard ground

from the activity of your dog—and yet

will still look like new two years later,

with no wear. What this means is you

will have much greater peace of mind

knowing that your entire yard of quality

animals is secured with Class-A chain

rigging, as opposed to the cheap rigging

most typical dogmen use. At the same

time your dogs will be comfortable and

not overburdened by unneeded weight.

Why start your career off on the bottom

—in either dogs, supplies, or in your

chain configura- tion materials—when

you can get off to the right start by

shooting for the best in broodstock, as

well

as in the best supplies and materials

house them, right from the get-go?

Connecting Hardware

Remember, a chain is only as strong as

its weakest link, so even if you purchase

premium

grade transport chain rigging remember

that each time you use connecting

hardware you create a potentially ‘weak

link’ on your chain set-up—unless the

connecting hardware you choose is also

as strong (or stronger) than the chain

itself. Thus, the more you utilize strong,

permanent connections on your chain

set-ups, the safer your dogs will be also.

By contrast, the more you use weak

connecting hardware (that either ‘clips’

or in any way can be ‘put on’ or ‘taken

off’), the greater your dogs will be in

danger of being able to free themselves.

And as soon as your dog is ‘free,’ he

will either get killed, kill something, get

away, or he will get in trouble. That is

what happens when serious dogs get

loose.

Therefore, it is your job as a

professional to use hardware that is

both strong enough to last and that when it

is connected to the chain it does not ever

‘come off’ again. So let’s analyze some

of the many kinds of connecting

hardware there are. Before I get into the

‘right’ kind of hardware to use, let me

first show some examples of the wrong

kind of hardware not to use

The Snap Link

The Snap Link : note how tiny the pin is which

forms the hinge on this link (bottom arrows). These

hinges will break at this pin and/or they can open-

up with complete ease. Snap links are the weakest

of chain-connecting links and are prob- ably

responsible for more kennel escapes and deaths

than any other kind of link, so DON’TUSE THEM.

Let’s start with the worst kind of link

that there is, the Snap Link. This piece of

garbage is one of the most commonly-

used ‘quick fix’ chain set-up devices that

you will see people have on their yards,

because admittedly they are a breeze to

attach swivels to chains with—but the

problem is they are just as much of a

breeze to come off, when you are not

home. All your dog has to do is lean into

something hard with his chain, where the

pressure is on the opening of the link

(for instance looking around his house or

whatever)—which action will push-

open the Snap Link—and you just earned

yourself a kennel escape as the result,

which will probably end in a fight or the

escape and loss of at least one dog. The

bottom line is this kind of connecting

link is a very shabby piece of hardware

to use, and should not be a part of your

chain rigging. EVER.

Cotter Pins
Any type of connecting device with a Cotter Pin in

it is going to be precarious also, so why take the

chance? DON’T USE ANY CONNECTING

HARDWARE WITH A COTTER PIN IN IT

EITHER.

If you are out shopping for connecting

hardware, and you see a piece with a

Cotter Pin in it, just automatically

realize that this is unsafe. Those little

cotter pins are the first thing to rust out

when exposed to the elements—and a

tiny, rusted piece of metal is no match

for a chain-snapping performance dog,

challenging this tiny piece of rusted

metal, all-day, every day. Again, a chain

is only as strong as its weakest link, and

you are setting yourself up for tragedy by

utilizing anything with a cotter pin in it.

So don’t use them.

The S-Hook

S-Hooks are one of the most often-

implemented pieces of connecting

hardware, but they can be very unsafe to

use. Most S-Hooks are comprised of

weak metal and are too thin to correctly-

secure a powerful dog. These inferior

products are generally dull-grey and are

not galvanized. When in doubt, check the

load-limit capacity, and if it is less than

1,250 lb, don’t use it.

S-Hooks come in so many varieties that

they are hard to differentiate for some

people. Some styles ‘can’ be superior,

usually when they are galvanized, while

again other styles are totally inferior due

to poorer-quality metal being used. You

just really have to look and check the

limit capacity in each one. In addition,

some S-Hooks can be angled in such a

way that a strong puller on the end of his

chain will gradually pull one back apart,

and this is especially true, again, if they

are made out of inferior metal. Still, as

nice as they fit and flow with the chain,

no S-Hook is as strong as either Quick

Links or Cold Shuts, as we will see in a

moment:
S-Hooks come in a wide variety of strengths and

styles. The hook on the left is dull grey and is very

weak, while the hook on the right is galvanized and

much stronger. Still, all S-Hooks are weak when

compared to other pieces of hardware you can

choose, so DON’TUSE THEM.

The Laplink

The Laplink (like even the galvanized S-

hook) is one where you have to use a

hammer or vise to put it on and connect

it to your chain, and what this means is

once you connect your chain with this

hardware, it will never come off. That

part is good. The trouble is, like even

the galvanized S-Hook, is that the

Laplink is simply not as strong as either

a Quick Link or a Cold Shut.

The Laplink is one where both the chain and swivel

are placed inside the open end, and then (once in)

the open end is then pounded shut-with a hammer

or squeezed-shut with a vise. These links, while

permanent, are simply not as secure as other kinds

of connecting hardware. SO DON’T USE THEM.

In fact, let’s make a simple comparison

as to the different kinds of connecting

hardware we can use:

Comparison

Quick Link Cold Shut Laplink S-Hook

Connection Type

Quick Links Cold Shuts Laplinks S-

Hooks

Thickness & Load Limit Thickness &

Load Limit Thickness & Load Limit

Thickness & Load Limit

1/4” = 880 lb 5/16” = 1,760 lb 3/8” =

2,200 lb 1/2” = 3,300 lb

1/4” = 750 lb 5/16” = 1,250 lb 3/8” =

1,900 lb 1/2” = 3,500 lb

1/4” = 300 lb 5/16” = 500 lb 3/8” = 825

lb 1/2” = 1,500 lb

1/4” = 200 lb 5/16” = 270 lb 3/8” = 350

lb 1/2” = 800 lb

As you can see by the above statistics,

not all connecting hardware is created

equal. You will also notice that the most-

often-seen hardware (Laplinks and S-

Hooks) are in fact the weakest and worst

kinds of connecting hardware to use.

The other thing you need to understand

about connecting hardware is this: even

each type can vary in its strength,

depending on who makes it. I have seen

3/8” Quick Links and Cold Shuts that are

as weak as S-Hooks, and the reason they

were so weak is they were cheaply-

made by cheap companies. Therefore,

once again, you really need to pay

attention to the load limit capacities of

any kind of connecting hardware you are

going to implement, and you need to

make sure that you purchase these

products from a superior company. As a

general rule, you want to have a load

limit of at least 2,000 lb. This means you

want to stick with 3/8” to ½” Quick

Links or Cold Shuts. (Naturally, if you

are making puppy chains, you can use the

smaller ¼” sizes.) As for a superior

company to get your Cold Shuts or Quick

Links from, again you can go to

http://www.lacledechain.com
If you are so inclined, you can shop

prices by going to www.google.com and

click ‘Cold Shuts’ or “Quick Links” to

compare quality and price amongst a

whole host of manufacturers. Anyway,

let’s take a look at these two superior

kinds of connecting hardware (Quick

Links and Cold Shuts) to compare their

strengths and weaknesses:

The Right Way!

Quick Links

Quick Links : These are generally constructed of

top-notch steel, and they are extremely strong, but

my only problem with them is ‘what screws-on can

screw-off,”’so I honestly don’t trust them too much.

However, if you can weld or oth- erwise secure the

“‘screwing’ mechanism then this is a very strong

connecting piece.

Again, Quick Links are constructed of

some of the strongest steel, and they

possess an outstanding load-limit

capacity as a general rule—and as such

they can be very secure (for awhile). But

remember, what screws-on can also

screw off. And I have seen these things

come unscrewed before. So I don’t think

you want to be away from home and

have your favorite dog bang this type of

temporary fixture against a rock or

something, repeatedly enough to un-

loosen it, and then come home to a

missing dog or other tragedy.

Note: If you decide to use Quick Links,

here are some ways to ensure they won’t

come unscrewed: 1) Dip them in water

before you screw them on, as doing this

will cause the inner area to rust shut; 2)

Use a wrench to scuff-up the threading

before you screw them on, so that they

will be much harder to come undone; 3)

Use the product Locktite on the

threading. (You can also com- bine 1 and

2 or 2 and 3.) But, if you decide to use

these connectors, then you need to

address the issue of preventing them

from ever un-screwing again, once

tightened.

When properly-secured, Quick Links

are as strong (or stronger) than any

kind of connecting hardware, and they

also flow nicely with the chain links, so

in many ways they can be considered

worth the extra effort to utilize.

However, I myself have always

preferred Cold Shuts, which we will be

discussing next ...

Cold Shuts
Cold Shuts are also generally constructed of top-

notch steel, and in fact are so sturdy you need to

use a vise to clamp them onto your chains and

swivels. And, unlike Quick Links, there is no

possible way Cold Shuts can “unscrew”—which

makes them MY FAVORITE CONNECTING

HARDWARE.

Cold Shuts to me are where it’s at with

connecting hardware. They flow fairly

nicely with the chain, but more

importantly they are incredibly-strong

with no possible way to ‘unscrew’ or

come off. With this kind of hardware

implemented, the only way to get your

dog on and off his chain is with his

collar. While this may sound like too

much of a hassle to go through,

remember the idea is precisely to make

it impossible for the chain to break or for

the connecting hardware

to break or come undone—which means

your dog won’t be able to escape.

Therefore the peace of mind that comes

with knowing there is no way your dog

can get off of his chain rigging is what

you’re striving for. All of this will make

sense in a minute, when I show a photo

of the completely-constructed chain and

hardware. A chain set-up consists of a

chain, yes, but it also consists of

connecting hardware, as well as O-rings

and swivels. We have discussed the

chain now, and we have just discussed

the proper connecting hardware, which

is what connects your chain to the O-

rings and swivels you are about to see.

So, you guessed it, as important as it is

to use the right kind of connecting

hardware, it is just as important to use

the right kind of swivels and O-rings

too. As before, I will begin this example

showing you the wrong kinds of swivels,

which you should not use, and those are

swivels that come in the form of snaps

and bullsnaps:

The Wrong Way!

Snaps & BullSnaps

Snaps and bullsnaps are devices that are

very convenient to use in a chain set-up;

the problem with them isn’t their

convenience, the problem is in their lack

of safety for long-term use. Quite simply,

while these “snapping” devices make it

very easy for you to get your dog on and

off the chain, but unfortunately they also

make it very easy for your dog to get

himself off his chain. I realize that it’s

nice that you can just clip him on and

clip him off, but again your dog can also

get himself off the chain too, by accident.

These kinds of device are, at best, good

for a month or two—maybe several

months (depending upon how hard your

dogs hit the chain)—but a professional

piece of hardware to a serious dogman’s

kennel they are not

Let’s examine two of the more popular

kinds of swivel-snaps and see why they

are a poor choice for a man who doesn’t

like losing dogs to kennel escapes and

accidents. For starters, remember that

our #1 rule of thumb in constructing our

chain set-ups is to be escapeproof. So if

you can clip this thing “on” your dog,

then he can clip off too, it’s as simple as

that. Because, if a dog rubs one of these

snaps against an object in the right way,

he can inadvertently push the lip open

and come off the chain. Second, aside

from the fact these kinds of device can

open accidentally, is the fact the actual

swivel itself is miserably weak

compared to a true swivel, and as such

these snaps are inadequate to hold a

powerful dog for very long. Let’s take a

look and see why:

Although the simple Snap & Swivel may seem

convenient to use, the arrows show the weaknesses.

The little tongue that opens back & forth, can

accidentally get forced-open, and the hinge itself

that controls it is Mickey Mouse at best. Finally, a

quick look underneath this swivel shows you just

how precarious the swivel itself is.

... that little swivel pin can (and will) slip out

eventually, with an active dog hitting the end of his

chain, which might prove be the loss or death of

your favorite dog—DON’TUSE THESE.

So you see, while snaps like these

‘seem’ as if they will be convenient to

use, at first blush, the unfortunate fact is

that these kinds of connecting device are

too precarious to trust, as the arrows and

photos above show. The arrows indicate

all of the places where something can go

wrong. This is true for any kind of snap.

Next we will talk about another type of

snap, the BullSnap, which is probably

the most popular snap to use. The

BullSnap is a heavier-duty snap than the

previous snap, and they in fact can take a

bit more wear and possibly last you for

awhile—and as such they are a

bit safer to use than a standard snap. But

they still are too weak to trust. For,

unfortunately, at the end of the day a dog

“secured” by these devices can

ultimately get loose in the same two

manners as the above kind—which is out

of the snap itself, or by the swivel

pulling through the

main housing.

Remember, the lives of your dogs are at

stake every single day when you have

them on inferior hardware, yet inferior

hardware costs just as much to buy, and

it takes just as long to hook together, as

superior hardware. Therefore why

would anyone waste their time and

money (and risk the lives of their dogs)

by setting themselves up for failure in

purchasing weak and unacceptable

hardware? Ignorance and laziness are

the only two possible answers.

Unfortunately, too many people simply

don’t know any better. They’re thinking

of ‘their’ own convenience, rather than

their dog’s permanentsafety. They’re

thinking about how easy it is for that

snap to clip-on and clip-off, rather than

how easy it would be for a dog to snap

that snap also.

The BullSnap is a step up from the standard snap,

but it ultimately falls short of acceptable safety

standards to the seri- ous dogman. Again, the

arrows point to the areas of liability. If you can get

a dog off if this thing, then the dog can get himself

off of it. DON’TUSE THESE.

Well, I am finished showing you ‘the

wrong’ hardware not to use, so let’s

finish this section off right by showing

you the RIGHT hardware to use. The

crazy thing about it is, the proper

hardware doesn’t cost any more to buy

than the lousy hardware! Lousy

hardware may make things a bit more

convenient when you want to take your

dogs on-and-off their chains, but that is

*precisely* because lousy hardware

isn’t as secure. You need to forget about

‘your’ ease and convenience, and start

thinking more about your dog’s safety

and security. Because at the end of the

day, the term ‘ease and convenience’

simply means ‘unsafe and insecure’

when it comes to the chain rigging for

your animals.

The Right Way!

Rather than using ‘clip-on laplinks’ and

‘convenient bullsnaps’ to make his life

more convenient, the savvy and

intelligent dogman uses Cold Shuts and

bona-fide Swivels to make his dogs’

lives safer. And finally, a dogman caps-

off his professional chain rigging with

two collars and two high-grade O-Rings.

Yes, that is 2 collars and 2 O-Rings.

This means you must take your dog’s two

collars off in order to get him off the

chain, and yes again that is the *only*

way your dog is coming off. With this in

mind, the collars you use are important

and we will discuss those later. So let us

now look at the right kind of swivels to

use, the right kind of )-rings, and then let

us look at the fully-constructed proper

chain set-up all put together.

Bona Fide Swivels

Rather than a weak “snap-swivel,” true

swivels are much thicker, and they have

a much heavier turn-bolt than a clip-

swivel. Consequently, true swivels are

MUCH sturdier, and MUCH safer to use.

The True Swivel is a dogman’s best friend besides

his dog. Sturdy and dependable, these

indispensable connecting devices are no more

expensive to buy than BullSnaps, and while they be

more of a hassle to use daily, the bottom line is their

far superior security is definitely well worth it. So

YES, DO USE THESE J

In fact, let us compare the difference

between the load limit (and therefore the

security) of true Swivel versus a bull

snap:

Connection Type

Swivels

Bull Snap

Thickness & Load Limit Thickness &

Load Limit Thickness & Load Limit

Thickness & Load Limit

1/4” = 1300 lb 5/16” = 2,350 lb 3/8” =

3,940 1/2” = 4,730 lb One Size = 500 lb

As you can see, even the smallest of true

swivels is nearly 3x as strong as a bull

snap, while the more common sized

swivel (5/16”) is nearly 5x as strong.

Bull snaps pretty much come in one size

only, and again the reason the load limit

is so small is again the central plug that

comprises the swivel itself not only is

made of inferior metal to begin with, but

barely is bigger than the hole through

which it turns. By contrast, the true

swivel turns around a huge octagon bolt

where there is no way it will pull

through the hole through which it turns.

Regarding the size swivel to get, the

5/16” to 3/8” is plenty big. Any bigger

than that can become a burden to your

dog, as well as can’t bang-up against his

body and bruise or otherwise injure his

flesh. Having addressed the swivels, this

brings us to the last 2 pieces of

hardware for your chain configuration:

the axle and the O-Rings.

The Axle

The axle is the central component of

your chain set-up; it is that which

secures your chain as its axis. The axle

technically is the “spindle” of a total car

axle, which you can obtain at any

junkyard.

An Axlelooks like a giant nail. It is very easy to

obtain and you can get them at any junkyard for

about $5 to $10 apiece. You simply drive them into

the ground with a sledge hammer, all the way in.

Many people make the mistake of trying

to tie their dogs out on those little

Mickey Mouse “doggie tie-outs” you see

offered at pet stores, the kind that

corkscrew into the ground. Yet these

weak pieces of “equipment” are for

puppies, or at best a casual, temporary

tie-out—they are not designed to kennel

dogs professionally, so don’t use them.

What you need to secure a dog with,

as professional system is an old car axle

as depicted above.

I am going to get into the exact way in

which to secure a dog onto one of these

in a moment, but let me first clear the air

of one of the most common mistakes

people make when trying to use an axle:

they try to drive it through an O-ring and

use “this” to secure their chain. This is

wrong. O-Rings have their use, but it is

not to secure the chain to the axle, so let

us examine why this is:

O-Rings

O-Rings are an important capper to a

good chain set-up, but they can be

misused as well. Many dogmen

commonly use these rings to pound the

axle down through, to secure the chain

into the ground and axle, but that is NOT

the proper use of O-Rings.

O-Rings should only be used to put the

dog’s collar through, at the dog-end of

the chain, O-Rings should never be used

to drive the axle through at the “axle-

end” of the chain set (more on this in a

moment). On the next page are depicted

the typical kinds of O-Rings to utilize. It

is through these that you will be running

your dog collars.

O-Rings are a vital part of your chain

configurations, but you use them *only* to run your

dog’s collars through. At the point in the ground,

through which you drive your car axle to bury your

chain and form your central axis, you do NOT use

O-Rings for this. *Only* use O-Rings at the “dog-

end” of the chain set-up, to run his collar through,

not at the “axleend” to drive your axle into. Use

Quick Links or Cold Shuts for that.

The reason you do not want to drive the

axle into the ground through O-Rings is

that they are not as strong as the other

hardware: they are the weakest link of

your set-up. This is tolerable on the dog-

end of the chain, as these rings are only

rubbing against your dog’s two collars—

which are soft and they give to pressure

—but if you make the O-Rings the

grounding point of your entire chain set-

up, then they are up against the

immovable iron column of your axle,

where these weakest of links must bear

the full brunt of all your dog’s weight.

And if your dog keeps hitting the end of

his chain, this means the O-Rings will

always be getting slammed into the axle,

and they are not designed for this type of

wear. The end result will be your dog

will break the O-Rings, eventually,

through this repeated impact, and he will

escape.

On the collar-end, however, these rings are free to

rotate and all they come up against is the soft

collar.

Therefore, only use the O-rings to run

your dog’s collar through, to secure your

dog to the chain on his end, but use

another method to secure the chain to the

axle. To secure the chain into the ground,

by driving the axle through it, you should

instead use Cold Shuts. To do this is

simple: you just take the chain and form

a loop with it back into itself, and then

you connect the chain to itself with a

Cold Shut (or Quick Link). This way,

you can drive the axle down through the

chain loop itself to secure the chain set-

up in the ground:
\

In order to drive the axle into the ground to secure

the entire chain set-up, you DO NOT use O-Rings,

but rather you just make a loop with the chain, and

you simply lock it together with a Cold Shut. Then

drive the axle all the way into the ground through

the chain-loop. Note: This photo is not complete.

You do not leave your axles sticking up out of the

ground like this; rather, you drive the axles all the

way into the ground after you make your loop. I

only left this one sticking up for the photograph.

After you form a loop with the chain itself, and

secure it with a Cold Shut, make sure you drive

your axle all the way into the ground. That way the

chain will not get tangled around it, ever.

This is why you DO NOT leave your axles “up”—

dogs can and will get tangled around them (note

the debris that ac - cumulates around the axle also,

which helps make this happen). This dog is lucky

he has shade cover all day, for if he was caught

like this out in direct sunlight he would die of

sunstroke, as he would be unable to get to any

shade or water.

Again, it is important that you

completely bury your axle into the

ground, so that the dog has nothing to get

tangled around. So let’s go over this one

more time: you only want to use O-Rings

at the dog-end of the chain, not on the

“axle-end” of the chain. The reason why

it is okay to have the two O-Rings at the

dog-end of the chain set-up is you will

use them to put the dog’s collar through.

If the dog is hitting the end of his chain,

the O-Rings do not have any real impact

against hard metal (like they would

against an axle); rather, the O-Rings are

just coming up against a soft collar.

Further, even where they contact the cold

shut, the O-Rings always turn

through the cold shut, which greatly

reduces the brunt of the impact at the

dog-end of the chain. Therefore, at the

dog-end of the chain the O-Rings do not

suffer any real impact or trauma.

Moreover, you can see the O-Rings there

also,

and thus you can keep an eye on them

and make sure that they are always in

good shape. With this all said, we are

now ready to take a good look at what a

well-crafted chain set-up looks like:

The proper chain set-up has its axle driven through

a loop in the chain itself (secured with a cold shut),

and then which axle is driven completely into the

ground. On the dog-end, the chain it is connected

to a swivel with a cold shut, and then the swivel is

connected to 2 O-rings with another cold shut,

through which the collar is run. This large,

powerful animal is secured and has never escaped

once, during all 6 years of his life, because each

component of his chain is comprised of top-notch

hardware, as depicted in this chapter. He has a 12-

ft chain which gives him a total of 452 sq ft of

living space to move around, which is larger than

any commercial kennel, anywhere. This entire set-

up—from collar, chain, hardware, and house cost

me only about $50.

Now, let us take a visual step-by-step

look at how a proper chain configuration

is put to- gether, from beginning to end:

Chain to Swivel : After you make a loop of the

chain and connect it to itself with a cold shut, you

drive the axle through (as shown on p. 68 & p. 70).

But now you need to finish-off with configuring the

dog-end of the chain, and the first step is to connect

the chain to the swivel with another Cold Shut.

The Vise : Once again, with the Cold Shut, you

need a vise to close the hardware down, and once

closed it will never re-open again.

Locking It Down : Make sure that when you

squeeze the Cold Shut closed that you leave enough

room at the top for this to happen. Once you

connect the chain to the swivel with a Cold Shut,

then get another one to connect the swivel to the two

O-Rings. Again, you will need your vise to complete

the procedure.

~ Putting it All Together ~

A Proper Set-Up: Cold Shuts make smooth-flowing

chain set-ups, and (at 3/8” or greater) they are as

strong as the Swivels and Transport Chains

themselves. The only thing you need to check every

so often are the O-Rings.

Fully-Connected Hardware

Remember, that the purpose of a chain

set-up is to secure your dog . If you

don’t use secure

hardware, then your kennel of dogs will

not be secure. This is basic logic. I

stress these points, over and over again,

because I have seen too many people

hedge on basic safety standards, over

and over again—and unfortunately such

people only ‘get it’ after it’s too late and

they lose a good dog. The bottom line is

that the only place you should be able to

get your dog off his chain is via his

collar. That’s it. The rest of your

hardware should be permanently-

secured. Again, each way you can get

your dog off of his chain, he can get

himself off of his chain. If the only way

your dog can get off is via his collar, and

you have two good collars (one a larger

2-ply, with a second small collar as a

backup)—and you put them both on

tightly enough—you will drastically

decrease the probability of having any

dog escape or get injured in a yard

accident.

What this means to you is peace of

mind.

When your chain rigging is set up

correctly, you will have to get your dog

on and off of it by way of his collars.

You should put the collars on tightly

enough so that there is no way your dog

can pull his head back through it. Some

dogs have thick necks and thin heads,

and these are the worst at trying to keep

from pulling their heads out of their

collars. So really test it, and try yourself

to get your dog’s head back through the

collar, and if you can, then tighten the

collars up a bit. You must be cautious,

though, as if you put the collar on too

tightly the dog’s neck will get chapped,

rubbed raw, and eventually infected.

This is called “collar rot” in the

vernacular, and so you want to avoid

putting any collar on too tightly also. But

I would rather come home to collar rot

because of a collar too tight—than to

come home to a dead or missing dog

because of a collar too loose.

It is almost impossible for a dog to slip

his head through two collars at the same

time, nor will a dog ever break two

collars at the same time. Therefore, if

you get into the habit of using this kind of

chain set-up, and then securing your dogs

by way of two collars, you will

dramatically decrease your odds to just

about zero as far as having any kennel

accidents is concerned—and as such you

will dramatically increase your peace of

mind while you are away from home.

Ideally, you should just be able to wedge

two fingers between your dog’s collar

and its neck, no more. Not easily, but

just barely. This way, you can be sure

your dog isn’t going to escape from his

chain set-up, but yet you also allowed

there to be a little breathing room, so as

to avoid any chaffing or infection to your

dog’s neck. I will discuss some good

brands of collar to use in a moment.

The last thing you want to make sure you

do, is drive your axles all the way into

the ground. This will ensure that the

chain never wraps around the axle,

which in turn will mean that your dog

will always be able to get to the end of

his chain and reach the shade as well as

his water. If you leave the axle up and

exposed, your dog will eventually get

his chain tangled on sticks and rocks, all

of which will get wound-up around the

exposed axle, and if you are not home

when this happens, and it is a hot day,

your dog can and will die of heat

prostration. So get in the habit of driving

those axles all the way into the ground

when you make your chain set-ups, and

this will prevent any possible tangling

from happening.

Recap:

(1) Make sure you use ¼-inch Grade 43-

to Grade 70 Transport Chain. (2) Make

sure your chains are at least ten feet in

length for adult dogs, though more than

fifteen feet is unnecessary. Then (3)

connect this chain to your hardware with

permanent connecting rigging such as

Cold Shuts or Quick Links. (4) Make

sure you use true (and high-load-limit)

swivels, not snaps; and yes you need the

swivels to keep the chain from binding.

Then (5) make sure you use two high-

quality ORings to run your collars

through, and (6) use two collars also to

attach your dog to his chain set-up. Cap

that off with (7) drive your axles all the

way into the ground, and you will know

in your bones that you have set your gear

up professionally every step of the way.

If you make sure each step of your chain

set-up has been done right, then you

experience of peace of mind knowing

your dogs are safe and secure.

Next, regardless of how hard you try to

incorporate the most professional set-

ups you can, remember that everything

wears out over time. A good habit to get

into is to schedule a complete chain

inspection once per month. Physically

inspect every single inch, of every single

chain set-up that you have, at least once

every single month, because some chains

will just wear out faster than others.

Truthfully, with this set-up, your chains

will not wear out, but it is still a good

habit to get into to schedule the

inspection anyway. For instance, you

may have had to shorten a particular

chain by tying a knot in it. Well, those

knots you’ve tied are now going to

weigh twice as much as the rest of the

chain, and as such these knots will rub

along the ground, rocks, etc. much more

emphatically than will the other parts of

the chain. This means any such knots

will wear out much faster than the rest of

the chain will. Consequently, you should

make sure you keep an eye on

them.

Furthermore, you will do yourself and

your dogs a favor by making it a habit to

upgrade and change every single chain

spot you have, every three years. That’s

right. Every 3 years, you should go

ahead and buy all new-chain and all-

new hardware for every single dog that

you have, just as a precaution. That

means from the tip of the chain

underground, to the O-Rings at the other

end, and everything in between (as well

as all-new collars). Replace everything,

every 36 months, and I promise you will

never have a lost dog due to your chain

configurations. This will cost you about

a $750 investment every 3 years, which

translates to about $0.69-per-day

“insurance policy” for your whole yard

of dogs. Spending sixty-nine cents a day

to protect your entire yard of valuable

stock is but a small price to pay, is it

not? And, with Herc Alloy Chain, or

Grade 70 Transport, you really won’t

need to change these but once every 5 to

7 years; however, you will still need to

change the con- necting hardware once

every 2 to 3 years, regardless.

Saving Money

Finally, you can save yourself a whole

lot of money by getting all of your chain

and rigging supplies from a wholesaler

or by comparing prices at some of the

internet vendors. A wholesaler is the

outfit that furnishes all of your local

hardware stores with their supplies. For

instance, your local hardware store may

charge you $1.80/foot for chain.

Multiply that times 10 feet of chain per

dog, times having to do that for (say) 20

dogs, and you have $360.00 tied up in

chains alone, not including tax. By

contrast, your local wholesaler will

probably have that same chain at (say)

$0.98 per foot. Buying the same amount

of chain through your wholesaler would

therefore only cost you $196.00, saving

you $164.00, just on the chains alone.

Factor in similar savings on the swivels,

O-rings, and connecting hardware, and

you can literally cut your costs in half by

going directly to a wholesaler instead of

a retailer. The more you buy, the more

you save. In fact, you can buy the

hardware for (say) 100 dogs, and then

sell the remainder of the hardware to

your friends for profit. Or, you can store

the remainder to be used as replacement

rigging when you need it. Either way,

you will do your wallet a big favor by

purchasing your chain and hardware

through a wholesaler. If you can’t find a

hardware wholesaler in your Yellow

Pages, then go to a mom-n-pop hardware

store and ask them if they have “ten

thousand feet” of chain right now.

Naturally, neither mom nor pop will

have this much chain available

immediately, and so then just ask them,

“Do you know of a large-volume

wholesaler nearby?”—and you will

soon have the information you need as to

where your local hardware wholesaler

is J

If you can’t find a local wholesaler, then

again you can order your Transport

Chain and Cold Shuts directly from the

internet at:
http://www.lacledechain.com

and you can get your True Swivels and

O-Rings from

http://www.usahardware.com

If you want to get even larger, stronger

O-Rings, you can get them at

http://www.farmhardware.com

Well, there you have it: step-by-step

instructions on constructing top-quality

chain rigs to keep your dogs SAFE, from

one end of the chain to the other,

followed by an inspection and

replacement plan for good measure—all

the while saving money in the process—

to provide the very best kenneling for

your dogs, the most room possible for

your dogs while yet still secure

and confined, without having to get a

second mortgage on your home to make

it happen.

Collars

There are many different places to get

your collars from, but in my opinion the

absolute best equipment I have seen is

hand-crafted at Hurricane Kennels (of

Sweden). When looking for a collar to

chain a dog with, clearly strength has to

be your #1 consideration, with comfort

after that.

Leather Collars : For this reason I do

not recommend leather collars to tie a

dog out with. Leather collars, although

very pleasing to the eye (and touch) will

stretch when used to tie-out a dog, so do

not use these for this purpose. Buy a

leather collar to show your dog with, or

to walk him around the park, but do not

use leather collars to chain your dogs.

Nylon Collars : Nylon collars are the

preferred way in which to chain-keep a

dog, but there is a vast disparity in

quality between the (no telling how)

many different kinds of collar are

available out there. Generally speaking,

the collars available at pet stores are

unsuitable to chain a dog to, as they are

too thin and too cheaply made. You want

at least a 2-ply quality nylon collar to

which to chain your dogs. However,

some companies make these ridiculous

4- and 5-ply collars which are overkill,

too rigid, and thus uncomfortable to your

dogs.

Hurricane Kennels produces absolutely

rugged nylon collars and yet the feel on

them is as smooth as a silk necktie. This

is obviously of great benefit to your dogs

because a rough collar will chap their

necks and can create sores. However, be

prepared to pay for such quality

craftsmanship before you visit their

website:

http://www.hurricanekennels.com

Another quality craftsman (in the United

States) is O’Brien’s Kennel Supply.

O’brien’s doesn’t make quite as elegant

a collar as Hurricane, but yet they still

make a great collar, some of which are

fleece-lined. They are a bit cheaper too.

O’Brien’s also makes some tremendous

fleece-lined conditioning harness, as

well as “firehouse tugs” which are great

toys for working dogs:

http://www.obriensk9supply.com

I generally prefer a 2- 3-ply collar,

around 1.5” to 2” wide for the main

collar, with a simple 1” collar for your

back-up. Naturally, however, if you have

some of the smaller terrier breeds then

you can scale this down a bit. Any wider

(or thicker) than the above for your main

collar is simply a waste of money in my

opinion. However, a good-quality collar

is another “must have” as the final part

of your chain-kennel configuration, and

so you should take this part every bit as

seriously as any other point on the chain.

Housing

The next step in kenneling your dogs

properly is to provide comfortable and

adequate housing for them. There are

basically two kinds of houses that you

can build for your dogs: wooden houses

and plastic barrel houses. Wooden

housing is more of a hassle to create, the

material is more expensive to buy, and

finally, wooden housing simply does not

last as long as plastic housing. However,

wooden housing looks nicer, and (more

importantly) wooden housing can be

tailored to create much warmer housing

conditions for the animal in colder

weather. As such, wooden housing is

preferred if you live in an area where

extremely cold temperatures exist. By

contrast, if you live in a warm climate,

plastic barrel housing is preferred;

plastic is easier to clean-up after, and it

will last much longer. This is especially

true in a humid climate. The plastic

barrels will not rot after a few years like

the wooden house eventually will.

In order to understand how to build a

dog house, you must first understand

what a dog house is. I know this sounds

kind of funny, but plainly and simply a

dog house is shelter. This may seem

obvious, but if you look at many of the

commercial doghouses available at pet

stores and feed stores, it seems as if

modern design and/or “cuteness” are the

predominating blueprints after which

many of these monstrosities are

fashioned. Such fanciful pieces of junk,

besides being functionless, usually come

with a hefty price tag.

Basically, a dog house has 3 functions:

1) to keep a dog warm, 2) to keep a dog

dry, and 3) to provide a dog with his

own “space” where he can retreat. But

the two most important things a

doghouse must do is to keep him warm

and dry. Most of the commercial dog

houses available offer protection from

the rain just fine, but they fall miserably

short in their warmth provision. Why?

Be- cause the openings for these

commercial houses (especially “Igloo”

houses) are usually big enough for a dog

to walk into and out-of without ducking.

Now this may seem convenient to

somebody who doesn’t think too deeply,

but the fact of the matter is a large

opening to a doghouse in fact can be

terrible for a dog in a very cold

climate. To understand what I mean, try

envisioning yourself sleeping next to a

wide-open door at night, in freezing

weather, without any blankets over you.

Do you think you’d get a little cold? You

bet you would, and so will your dog.

If you live in a very cold area, the

opening for your dog houses should be

small—just big enough for your dog to

squeeze through—barely. That means the

entrance should only be about 9” x 9”

for a 50 lb. dog. (Naturally, the entrance

of the house would be bigger or smaller

if your dog is bigger or smaller.) Not

only should the opening of the house be

very small, but it should be raised at

least 9-12” above the ground so that

wheat straw or wood shavings can be

added as bedding. The funny thing is,

many of the commercial dog houses

offered don’t have any dam, or any way

in which to fill the house with straw or

cedar, as these contraptions (Igloos

again come to mind) were obviously

invented by someone who knows nothing

about dogs. The fact is, dogs need

bedding when they sleep, and therefore

the dog *houses* you uses need to be

constructed in such a way as the may

actually contain bedding.

Note: Never use “hay” for a dog’s

bedding, as hay is a food, and thus hay

can grow moldy and your dog can get

any number of respiratory infections if it

sleeps in hay every night. Also, never

use blankets or rugs either, for two

reasons: 1) rugs and blankets form a

perfect environment for fleas, and 2)

your dog may eat a blanket or rug, which

can then lodge in his stomach and

eventu- ally cause a serious intestinal

blockage problem which may require

surgery. Therefore, only use cedar

shavings or wheat straw. Finally, even

with the preferred bedding of cedar or

straw, you should change either of these

at least once a month, up to even once a

week (with straw), if it is raining or

snowing. The reason is the dog will be

bringing in moisture from the elements,

and not only can this cause mold

eventually, but in extremely cold

weather can be dangerous.

Of these two preferred bedding

mediums, straw is what you need to use

in the cold months, because it acts as an

insulator, and you can really pack it in

your dog’s house for insulation to keep

him warm. Conversely, cedar shavings

is a better bedding choice for the

summer, as while it is not so much of an

insulator (which isn’t needed in warm

weather anyway), but what cedar does do

is repel fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes—

and it makes your dogs smell better J

Warm-to-Moderate Weather

Housing

Barrel House

Barrel houses are a snap to make, and

are perhaps the most useful constructs

overall of any housing structure you will

ever see. Whereas a wooden house

might cost as much as $110.00 to build,

and take up to two days to make, a barrel

house costs only about $16-$20 to build,

when all is said and done, and it takes

only about forty minutes to make. The

amazing thing is, as with chain set-ups,

some animal rights whackos (who have

no real understanding of animals—or

anything else, really) have actually made

barrel houses “illegal” in some areas of

the country. I mean, this is absolutely

ludicrous, but you should check your

area for legality before making ten to

twenty of them.

As you can see, all this house is, basically, is a

plastic barrel with a hole cut on the smooth-ended

bottom, a piece of 2x12” board bolted onto it to

keep the construct from rolling, and a visor bolted

onto the roof. That’s it! This is the easiest kind of

house to make, and in many ways it’s the best. It’ll

last forever, it won’t let a drop of rain in, you can

load it up with lots and lots of straw (or shavings)

for insulation and bedding—and the small opening

keeps the dog warm by not letting any of his body

heat out.

As I will show, a properly-constructed

barrel house is 10x as efficient at

providing legitimate and comfortable

shelter as any Igloo house, and at about

1/5th the cost of these fanciful pieces of

en vogue junk. To build a proper barrel

house, you first have to find a soda

company, or a syrup vendor, or some

other outlet that has lots of 50-gallon

plastic drums. Do not buy any drum that

has contained a poisonous substances, or

your dog might get sick or develop

cancer. Only utilize barrels which have

had harmless substances, like apple

cider or soda in them. If you find a good

whole- saler, your barrels should be

around $5 - $10 apiece, and they may be

cheaper if you buy them in large

quantities.

All you really need to make one is a

circular saw, although a jigsaw (or

reciprocating saw) might be more handy

for the opening. Other than that a power

drill, with socket wrench extensions, is

needed. You will have to buy some nuts

and bolts, and get yourself a piece of

2x12 wood to form the front brace. As

you are about to see, with these simple

tools and supplies, you are about

to build some pretty impressive housing

structures for your stock J

To make one of these houses is quite

simple. First, drill your hole on the

smooth end of the barrel (the end without

the plugs). Drill the hole to be around 9”

wide, and no wider, unless you have a

very large dog. Also, make sure that the

bottom of the hole is elevated above the

ground at least 9”-12” so as to be able

hold a substantial amount of bedding for

the dog.

9-inches

Make sure that the hole you cut out for

the door is elevated above the ground,

so that the barrel will hold lots of straw

or shavings. Don't make it any wider

than 9 inches.

Once you have drilled the hole in the

barrel with a reciprocating- or jig-saw,

simply take a 45” piece of your 2x12

board and cut it so the bottom is still 45”

long, but the top is 22“ long:

22”

45”

Once you cut your 2x12 board to size,

then you cut an 9-inch wedge in it, to

accommodate the door opening, like

this:

9-inches The next thing you do is simply

bolt a 2x12 onto the face of your barrel,

using four 3” bolts, tightened down with

nuts. If you really want to get fancy, you

can add a visor-roof by cutting up an

unused barrel into 6 sections. I will

show this in detail below:

Making The Visors

The arrows indicate where you will need to use

your nuts & bolts, and that is to secure the 2”x12”

board on the front, as well as to secure the visor on

top.

To make the visors, you will need to cut

a full-sized barrel into 6 sections. Cut

the ends off the barrel first, and then cut

the barrel in half length-wise. From

there, you can then cut each halfsection

into three segments. A full barrel will

thus make 6 visors. You affix these

visors above the dog door with the 2”

bolts. Below is a visual of how easy

these are to create J

123

456

First, cut both ends off of the barrel.

Then, cut the barrel in half, length-wise,

and then

cut it twice cross-wise in 3 equal

segments.

Each barrel will make you a total of 6

visors that

you can bolt over 6 different Barrel-

Houses that

will shield each house-opening from the

rain and

snow in inclement weather.

If you live in a warm climate, you may

want to use this type of house all year

round, as the cold factor isn’t a problem.

These houses are great because making

them is a cinch, and cleaning them is a

cinch—all you have to do is hose them

out and let them dry. Fill ‘em up again

with cedar (or straw) and you’re ready

to go again. They work better than any

“Igloo” house at keeping the heat in—at

a fraction of the cost. However, if you

live in an area where it gets significantly

below freezing (below 10º F), then I

recommend that you use the extreme

winter house (on p. ) when it gets this

cold. Otherwise, for areas in which the

weather gets no lower than 10º F, the

barrel house is the simplest, cheapest,

easiest-to-maintain house that you can

find (or make) anywhere: all for about

$16 to $20 in total parts—and an hour or

so total labor J

Additional Tips

If your dog is in a spot where he has no shade

during some moments of the day, you need to make

him a shade board. Just take a 4’x8’ piece of

plywood (or an old car hood from a junkyard), and

lean it against the doghouse with the bottom of the

board (or hood) anchored by resting it against the

base of the water tub. Bolt the board to the house so

it can’t fall off. Your dog can now go under the

board (or hood) for shade. It is critical that a dog

have a source of shade at all times. If trees afford

shade for your dog, during ALL times of the day,

then obviously you don’t need a shade board. (PS:

As for the wash tub, I just washed this little guy’s

tub, and he is looking at it and waiting for me to

bring it back.) J

In fact, rather than buy a 10-gallon metal

wash tub, you can just cut one of your

plastic barrels in half, which will give

you two water tubs that you can use for

this purpose also . Place the tub of water

approximately at the base of his shade

board for anchorage. Well, there you

have it. Probably the best (and cheapest)

dog housing ever devised: the plastic

barrel house. If your area allows this

kind of house, and if your area never

dips below 10º F in temperature, then

this is the house for you.

Wooden House

However, if you live in an area which

allows no barrel-type housing, or if you

prefer to be able to add a bit more

insulation for your animals, then a basic

wooden house might be a good

alternative for you. In order to build a

solid wooden house, you need a few

tools and you need to get the right wood.

Plywood will comprise most of your

wooden housing, but how thick to make

the plywood depends on your area. If

you live in a generally-warm area, you

can get away with ¼” thickness

plywood, but if you live in a really cold

area you will want ¾” thickness (or

more), and you may even want to use

double layers or to add insulation in

between the layers. For the purposes of

this article, I will suggest ½” thickness

in the plywood, as it should be adequate

for all but the very coldest areas of the

country. As far as tools go, for this

project, here is what you will need:

♦ Circular Saw

♦ Power Drill

♦ Paint Brush

♦ Box of 1¾” Screws (for Plywood)

♦ Box of 3” Screws (for Heavier

Boards)

♦ 1 Can of Thompson’s Water Seal (or

equivalent)

♦ Measuring Tape

♦ Square

♦ Pen (or pencil)

On the next page are the set of plans for

you to use when you build this house,

and I have photos of the process you

will need to go through in order to build

it. It is important to have yourself a

workshop as a dogman, because building

things like doghouses, pens, flirtpoles,

springpoles, etc., will become

commonplace if you work with your

animals for awhile. Since you will

forever be working on some new project

in these dogs, or forever refurbishing an

old one, investing in truly good tools

(like DeWalt or Makita) is a wise thing

to do. You can use these plans to refer

to, or you can use the upcoming

photographs (or you can use them both),

but these plans will create for you a very

solid, very dependable housing structure

for your animals.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that

when we say ‘2x4’ there really is no

such thing. A 2x4 is really a 1½”x2½”

piece of lumber. Likewise a 2x6 and a

2x8 are really a 1½”x5½” and 1½”x7½”

pieces of lumber, respectively. You

should always keep this fact in mind

when you are making your

measurements!

Figure 2

Figure 1
4” Top

2x6 2x6 2x6 2x822” 26”

3” 2x2 Nailing Strips

36” 96”

Side 1 Side 2

2x4 Supports 26” 4” Waste

Figure 3

8” 26” O Door 9" 4"

Front Back

12”

As far as the wood you will need, here

is a list:

♦ 4’x8’ (48”x 96”) piece of Plywood,

½” thick ♦ 9’ of 2x6 Board

♦ 3’ of 2x8 Board

♦ 16’ of 2x4 Board

♦ 18’ of 2x2 Board

This right here is the actual 4-ft x 8-ft (48” x 96”)

piece of ½”-thick plywood. I have marked off the

measurements of where to do the cutting as

illustrated by the plans on the previous page. These

simple plans will turn out a pretty nice house for

you.

The above photograph is the actual sheet

of plywood that will ultimately comprise

the sides, top, front, and back of your

wooden dog house. The bottom of your

this house, however, will be comprised

of more solid wood (see facing page).

The reason for this is 1) to keep the

house off of the ground, and 2) to

provide better insulation from the

ground. Just as a human house is only as

strong as its foundation, so too is a dog

house only as strong as its foundation.

Here are the materials you will need for

your wooden dog house foundation:

These are the pieces of supporting lumber you will

need for the foundation of your Wooden Dog

House.

Before you get your plywood measured

and cut, you will need to measure and

cut your foundation components. Your

2x4s will be laid on their sides and will

form the outer support structure of the

foundation, as well as the inner bracing,

while the 2x6s and 2x8 will be laid on

top.

The 2x2s will form the supporting

foundational framework for the plywood

sides, front, back, and top to be

connected. On the next couple of pages

you will see how all of this comes

together:

First, you build your 2x4 foundation, as above.

Then, you screw down your larger boards on top of

the structure to form the flooring.

Review the master plans on the previous

pages if you have any problems

understanding this. To construct the

foundational flooring, you will be using

your 3” screws.

You will construct the 2x4 framing, and

then you will add a centerpiece for

support. Once the framework is done,

you will add the larger boards on top of

it to form the foundational bottom of the

house. See the next page.

Now is the time to screw down your larger boards

on top of the framework. Again, this forms the

foundational bottom of the Wooden Doghouse.

After you finish your foundation, you can

then cut your plywood into the sections

indicated on the preceding pages. With

the plywood cut, you can then proceed to

attach the main housing onto the

framework:

It is easiest to erect the front and back elements

first. Make sure you attach your 2x2 boards to the

outer edges of the front and back beforeyou try to

affix them to your framework. Also, allow for a

1.5” lip overhang on both the very bot- tom as well

as the very top.

Close-up of the 1.5” lip overhang on bottom. Make

sure you do this for the top too.

The Side : From the side, you can see how the front

end (26”) is 4” higher-up than the rear (22”). This

is to allow rain to drain off the roof. You use the

1¾” screws to secure the plywood to the 2x2

support.
The Front: Remember, the front is 4” higher than

the rear, so make sure all of your calculations

reflect this.

theReAR: Again, the rear is 4” lower than the

front, so make sure all of your calculations reflect

this.

Part of the process of building the

plywood front, rear, and sides onto the

frame will be the utilization of the 2x2s.

As the photo below reflects, the 2x2s

give you something to screw the ply-

wood onto:

i nside: As you can see, the 2x2’s form the support

beams into which you drive the screws to secure the

plywood. You will also notice I left 2” of space

between the top of the 2x2’s and the top of the

plywood. This is because the top of the house also

has 2x2’s affixed to it, that need room to fit snugly.

The Top : You will have to measure the internal

area of the house, and then draw it on the top

portion of the plywood, and screw in the 2x2s into

the diagram. If you do this correctly, the 2x2s

should fit snugly within the inside parameters of

the open house, for a completed project.

Finished House , taken from an angle.

Finished House, taken from the side

Once you are finished screwing the

plywood onto the 2x2s, and have

finished fitting to top properly, now is

the time to add two coats of Thompson’s

Water Seal. After both coats have dried,

you now have a wonderful basic

wooden house for your athlete. This

house takes a few hours to complete, and

it costs between $60-$85 to make, but if

you have a whole yardful of houses like

this, it really does make for a

professional appearance. The nice thing

about this house set-up is you can add

insulation if you want. Simply put the

insulation on the inside, and screw

smaller plywood boarding to the inner

2x2s, and you have a really warm house

for your charges. Most areas of the

United States don’t really need this kind

of insulation, unless you are way up in

the upper mid-west, so this house is

perfect for most situations. The final

touch for the house would be an added

4’ x 8’ shade board. A shade board

should be added to any housing set-up

that is not under heavy tree cover, as

your dog

should always have shade available to

him. Here is what this kind of a shade-

board set-up looks like:

Any house out in an open area should have a shade

board added to it. If your area gets really hot, like

in the desert, then the water dish should be a 10- to

15-gallon bucket, not a mere bowl (as shown). A

large water bucket is needed in these really hot

areas so the dog can immerse himself in the water

if need be. Rather than against the house, you

would put the huge water tub all the way to the left,

at the base of the shade board, to brace it on the

ground. You can also screw-in the shade board

directly to the roof of the house at the high-end.

This would ensure that your board does not get

knocked over. However, if you have lots of tree

cover protecting the area, then you don’t need a

shade board.

As you can see, there is plenty of room

inside this house to load-up with clean,

fresh straw (or cedar shavings) in order

to provide comfortable bedding for your

dogs.

SavINg MoNey: Again, you can save

money by going to a wholesale lumber

yard or even by just building your

houses out of other people’s scrap

wood. These houses seem complicated

to build at first, but after you build a

few, they are a snap to put together.

But what about if you really do live in an

extremely cold climate? What if you are

in such a cold area that neither of these

houses shown thus far would be

adequate to protect your valuable dogs

from the elements? Well, the next

doghouse is your answer.

Severe Weather Housing

Fully-Insulated Wooden

House

Severe-Weather House: When the cold months in

your area truly are unforgiving, then you will need

to build a truly durable, warm, and fully-insulated

house for your animals

In some areas of the country, as well as

the world, the cold weather months can

be severe and will take the lives of any

animal not adequately sheltered during

these months. For this reason, a higher

level of craftsmanship and materials is

required to house your animals safely

during these months. The following

plans should suffice in this regard, and I

would like to thank R.B. for letting me

use them in this book.

Same Tools: As with the previous house, the same

tools will be required, although a jigsaw or

reciprocating saw might come in handy for the

door openings.

48" 48"

Side Side Inner Wall Inner Wall

27" 24" 27"

Entrance

24" 24" 24" 24" Waste

Front Back

96" 45" W 28.5" Bottoma 96"st e

45" Entrance

24" 24" Inner Wall Inner Wall 40.5" Top

24"

48"

♦ Plywood: ♦ 2x4s:

♦ Insulation: ♦ Caulk:

Materials Needed

2-3 (Two to Three) Sheets of 0.75”

(¾”) Plywood.

8 (Eight) 8’-long 2x4s.

Several Sheets 1.5” wide Insulation.

All-Purpose Adhesive/Caulk.

OverHead View Completed

The overhead schematic of the severe

weather house is the 2-plywood model.

If you wanted to add a 4th wall of

insulation you would need an additional

sheet of ¾” plywood, divided up (as I

will show later toward the end).

The first thing you need to construct is

your foundational base. You should have

this resting atop six-inch 2x4 stilts. The

reason, again, is not only is the ground

cold, but since this house is specifically-

designed for cold weather, you don’t

want rain, sleet, and snow in constant

contact with the plywood flooring. For

this reason, we elevate the base onto

plywood stilts. However, if your area is

really bad, use treated 4x4 stilts

instead of 2x4s.

After you get your plywood cut and separate the

bottom, front, and back, then you elevate your base

atop six-inch 2x4s.

You can’t see it from the photo, but there is also a

2x4 stilt in the center of the base.

Elevating the foundation allows for

water and snow to pass beneath the

construct, rather than having this

moisture and debris accumulate

underneath (and thus deteriorate) the

foundation. This will be critical to the

longevity of this house, which at over

$100 apiece aren’t cheap to make, and

with

a day’s minimum work to complete nor

are they easy to make either.

The reason why your bottom (base) is 28.5” wide is

to accommodate two ¾” pieces of plywood, which

total 1.5” of space. The outer paneling is 27”, so

when you factor-in the 1.5”extra of the base piece,

it is designed to accommodate the width of the 2

plywood side components that will be resting on top

of it.
Your next order of business will be to

prepare the bottom of the house to

accommodate the outer side paneling. To

do this you will need to flip the base

upside-down and screw-in two 43.5”-

long sec- tions of 2x4, edge-wise, along

the 45” sides. All around the edges, you

will be allowing for the ¾”-thickness

of the plywood
Be sure to inset your 2x4 by ¾” before you screw it

in to your base board, to accommodate your front

and back boards. The best way to get this

measurement perfect is by holding a piece of

scrapwood from your project up against the 2x4 so

that the scrapwood is flush with the outer edge of

your bottom (base) board.

You will notice at the top of the plans

that you have a couple of 3” sections of

wasted scrapwood from your 4’x8’

piece of plywood. Rather than saw these

sections off in 3” segments, I recommend

that you sheer them off in two 1.5”

segments instead, so that you can use

them as guides to help you measure the

insets of your base (as depicted above).

The other reason to do this, you will see

a little bit later on, but it is simply

because the 1.5” segments will also

form an attractive “trim” on the opening

of your finished house.

Once you have 2x4 edging firmly

screwed-in to your baseboard, it is then

time to flip the bottom of your house

back over, right-side-up, to begin to

attach your plywood siding. Ideally, you

should have a

¾” inset border all around your

baseboard to allow your plywood siding

a perfect fit, both up against

the 2x4 edging as well as being flush

with the outer edges of your 28.5” x 45”

baseboard which forms the bottom of

your construct.
When you flip the bottom of your house back over,

your edging should be 43.5” x 27” sitting on top of

your 45” x 28.5” piece of plywood, with a ¾” lip

all the way around, to allow for the outer plywood

siding to sit atop the baseboard. From there, you

want to start constructing your innerwalls.

Just as the plywood is ¾” thick, the 2x4s

are actually 1.5” thick. Therefore, when

you subtract 1.5” twice(for both sides)

from the 27” outer wall dimensions, you

come up 24”—which are the dimensions

of the inner walls. In order to set these

walls up, you need to attach 2x4s along

each outer edge. Even though the

plywood inner walls are 24” high, you

must compensate for the 3.5”

widthwise of the 2x4s now, and cut

several 20.5” pieces of 2x4,

In order to connect your inner walls to both your

2x4 bottom-edging, as well as to the outer walls,

you need to affix upright 2x4s to the inner walls.

These must only be 20.5” long, as the 2x4s on the

bottom make-up the extra 3.5” dif- ference.

As you fit the layers, you will see that on one of the

plywood edges you will need to have the 2x4

overlap a bit, by ¾”, again to accommodate an

intersection with another plywood side panel. So,

once again, your saved piece of scrap- wood will

help you get the measurement perfect.

As you finish-off 2 of your sides, both

inner and outer, you will be securing

them with both kinds of screw: your 1¾”

as well as your 3”. Your 1¾” screws

will be going into plywood then into

2x4, but there will be times (as on the

photo on the previous page) where you

will be going into plywood and then

through two pieces of 2x4. to connect the

side panels to the back and to the front.

With the 24”x24” inner walls connected to the

lower 2x4, and sporting upright 2x4s along their

edges, you can now add the 27”x24” outer side

wall, affixing it both to the bottom 2x4 as well as to

the upright 2x4s you attached to the inner walls.

Doing this gives you the 1.5” of space between your

inner and outer walls into which you are going to

add

your insulation. The 1.5” difference between the

28.5” base and 27” side wall will be divided in two

with a 0.75” lip on each side for the other panels.

At this point comes another 2x4 comes across the

bottom, against which you are going to place the

27”x24” piece of plywood. This piece of inner

plywood is where you make your 9”x9” inner

opening to the sleeping area. You will also have to

cut a 1.5”x3.5” wedge at either bottom side to fit

over the 2x4 (1.5x3.5) trim. Over this I add

another 2x4 secured into the post.

After you finish erecting your inner wall, go ahead

and put up your front and back. This is the extent

to which the interior can be built with just 2 pieces

of plywood. Fully-insulated on 3 sides with two

separate entrances to offset the wind. You may be

wondering why there is an open space in the front

entrance, but you will soon see the outer lid will

cover it.

And last but not least, you need to fit the 40.5”x48”

top. The first step is simply to place it over the

construct and to posi- tion it properly for the

appropriate measurements. You allow the 1.5” of

lip to hang over the back and sides, with the

remainder outstretched over the front.

Starting with the back, and then the sides, take a

piece of 2x4 scrapwood and align the top so that it

overhangs both only by enough to allow a 2x4 to

run flush along the side of the house and to be

completely covered by the plywood.

Once you have placed the top exactly correct, then

simply go around the entire underside of the top

with a felt-tip marker and mark where you need

the 2x4 trim to be placed.

You will notice that the 48”-wide board

will fit perfectly over the 45”-wide

house, leaving 1.5” of overhang on both

sides of the house. Position the board to

allow for the same 1.5” of overhang on

the back as well. Naturally enough, a

2x4 is in point of fact only 1.5” thick, so

this allowance on the sides and back

will enable you to fit a 2x4 perimeter

trim around your house perfectly.

Up front, you will have an extra 9” of

overhang to act as a visor to protect the

entrance from the elements. This is

important also, as if the rain or snow

gets in your dog’s house it can leak its

way into the bedding.

Once you have drawn your perimeter, then you

screw-down 2x4s around it edge-wise.

Once you get the 2x4 trim secured all the way

around the carefully-marked perimeter of your top,

then simply drop it on and you’re pretty much

done.

That is the finished house, according to

the plans at the beginning of the chapter.

From this point, it is simply a matter of

adding 2 coats of Thompson’s water seal

to your finished project and then letting

each successive coat dry for a day per

coating.

Extra Finishing & Paneling

48"

Extra Panel Extra Panel

27"

24" 24"

Extra Panel Extra Panel

27" 96"

24" 24"

Extra Panel Extra Panel

27"

24" 24"

Waste For Trim

The house up to this point was based on

2 pieces of plywood and should be more

than adequate for most any winter

condition in the United States, Canada,

and pretty much any area. In fact, it is

more than adequate for many areas, and I

wouldn’t even bother with this house if

you live in a warm climate. On the other

hand, if you really do live in a severe

colder climate, you can make the house

even more protecting (as well as add a

touch of class), with a 3rd piece of .75”

plywood. For as you can see on the

upper half of p. 102, the house to this

point only has 3 insulated walls, because

the plans only allowed for three 27”x24”

panels. In buying a third 48”x96” piece

of .75” plywood, this allows you to

make six (6) more 27”x24” walls, of

which you will only need one to

complete your house. Thus, you will be

left with five extra panels that will cover

another five houses. The remaining 15”

of waste can be cut into 1.5” strips that

you can add as trim, for a touch of class,

as you will soon see.

For, as you will notice, the inner panel

that contains the inner entrance is by

itself. While there are four (4) 24”x24”

inner walls, including the one with the

opening, there are only three (3) outer

27”x24” walls to the plans. In making an

extra 27”x24” piece of plywood, we

now are able to make four insulated

walls inside the house, not just three,

and so we will also have to cut another

9”x9” entrance hole into the extra panel,

measured to scale with the hole on the

inner panel (in the house I have featured,

the inner entrance is 3” down from the

top and 4” in from the side, as depicted

on the next page:

With adding the extra inner 27”x24” panel, you

will need to cut 1.5”x3.5” wedges in the bottom, on

both sides, to al - low for the 2x4 lying lengthwise

between the outer and inner front and side panels.

You will also have to cut a 9”x9” entrance hole

scaled to fit perfectly with the entrance hole to the

inner panel. The placement I chose for the

entrance opening here was 3” down from the top

and 4” in from the side. This allows for plenty of

wheat straw to be heaped inside without falling out

of the hole.

Once you complete the 4th inner wall,

you can now lay your insulation. This

you can get at any Home Depot, Home

Base, Lowe’s, etc. There are many kinds

of insulation to get, but for this house I

just got styrofoam insulated slabs. You

may want to get something heavier for

your situation, but I am only making this

house here for illustration (as I don’t

actually live in an area cold enough to

warrant this kind of house—for my own

needs I just use the previously-

illustrated barrel housing and light wood

housing).

After you complete the installation of

your inner wall, and after you add the

insulation, now you can take some of

your plywood trim and start screwing it

around the outer edges of your dog

openings, both inside and outside the

house. Not only does this trim add a

little bit of class the whole thing, but it

actually helps prevent wear on these

openings from your dogs scraping his

chain going in-and-out of the house. On

the facing page is how the interior of the

house looks, completed:

This is the nearly-completed interior of the house,

with the top off, showing both the added insulation

as well as the added trim around the openings. The

only remaining work left to do is add caulk and

then to add the Thompson’s Water Seal.

Use a basic caulking sealant to prevent unwanted

cold airflow into the house.

Since you are building this house for extreme

weather, after you add the insulation and trim, then

you will cap it all off by talking a caulking gun and

an all-purpose weather sealant, and you will run

the caulk along all crevices of both the interior and

exterior housing. As sturdy and well-constructed as

this house is, there are still imperfections and gaps

in the wood, and ice-cold air will flow through

them. If you painstakingly caulk each and every

crevice, both from the outside as well as from

within, you will dramatically reduce all

unnecessary “drafts” and airflow through the

house, that would otherwise remain present if you

didn’t caulk.

The completed house, with all creases caulked, and

with Thompson’s Water Seal applied, is now ready

to shelter your dogs in virtually any cold climate.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, this house is built to

keep a dog warm. Again, do not even

bother to waste your time and money on

this house if you live in a warm area.

Build one of the previous two houses if

that is the case, as both of the previous

two houses will save you time and

money to construct, and they will be

perfectly suited to your needs. However,

if you really do live in an ice-cold, sub-

zero climate come winter time, then this

house here will do more than either of

the other two houses could possibly do

to keep your dogs warm and comfortable

in such a severe climate.

Keep in mind, if you are so inclined, you

could even add insulation to the

bottom of the construct as well as to the

top. I did not bother to show this here,

but all it would take is laying some 2x4

flat-wise around the interior bottom

perimeter and top perimeter,

respectively—adding the in- sulation—

and then screwing-in a piece of plywood

on top. I don’t really think this is

necessary, but it’s something you can

consider.

As an additional thought, if the area

where you live is windy too, you can

add a flapping door to both the outer and

inner openings, simply by adding two

hinges to the upper portions and affixing

them to the very plywood cut-outs you

created when you made the openings to

begin with. The house itself already

addresses the wind issue by virtue of the

two openings themselves, with the inset

entrance being out of the way of direct

wind exposure. However, if you so

choose, you could really reduce the

wind issue by adding flaps to both

openings as well, simply by using the

plywood cut-outs that made them.

If you do decide to add flaps to your

entrances, then you may need to drill-in

a drain pipe into the back of the house

from the inner area leading to the

outside. This would allow the moisture

the dog brings-in to escape the house.

Many times the lack of ventilation the

flaps cause creates water condensation

to form inside. When the dog brings

snow and ice into his bed area, the heat

will cause all the ice to melt after which

(with no ventilation) the whole area will

get moist and humid in general. To

combat that, you can install such a drain

pipe leading from the inside of the

sleeping area to the outside, so the

moisture can drain-out of the pipe. The

highpoint of the pipe would start inside

the bed area, close to the top, and then it

would be angled in a downward

direction so as to exit the house from a

lower position on the outside than where

it went in. Again this would allow the

condensation a route of escape.

A final point of consideration would be

to add a heater. You might have to be in

Siberia to need this, but I actually

happen to know a few dogmen in

Siberia, as well as Finland, Switzerland,

Sweden, and many incredibly-cold

areas. In areas such as these, a final

precaution would be to simply add a

heating source. To do this, you could run

a power cord into the back of the house

also, into a nother drilled hole, directly

into a heating lamp or light bulb on the

inside. You would have to make sure the

cord was comingin from the back on the

outside, and you would have to lead it

there underground to make sure the dog

couldn’t get to it. On the inside, to

pretect the dog, you would also have to

place a metal barrier in front ofthe bulb

so the he couldn’t get to that either. A

simple way to do this would be to install

a parallel set of 2x2s on either side of

the heating source, and then place an

appropriately-bent piece of rugged

plastic or sheet metal in front of it. In

this way, the dog could not tamper with

the electrical device in any way, shape,

or form. You would not really need to

add a super-hot bulb at all (nor would

you want to with all of that straw in

there).

You may also install an interior heater As we wrap up the winter house, we are nearly

finished or light bulb. If you do, you will need to

with the whole section on kenneling

now, but there is yet an form a protective

barrier around it, as other kind of housing

protocol you will also want to

implement shown, to keep the dog from any con-

as well—Above-Ground Pens. These constructs are

ideal to raise tact with it.

puppies in, to isolate bitches in heat, to

house expectant bitches, as well as to

quarter injured dogs that need special

care. Above-Ground pens can also be

used to keep your most critical dogs in

to protect these them from wild animals,

such as rattlesnakes, coyotes, etc. So

let’s take a look at

these:

The Above-Ground Pen

In the previous section of this chapter, I

mentioned the superiority of

professional chain setups over keeping

dogs in kennels, and on almost every

single level this is true. Kennels do not

offer a dog adequate living space and

they come with the other limitations

already mentioned. However, there

are some instances where keeping a dog

in a kennel or pen is needed—yet even

when these few special instances

appear, you will find using an Above-

Ground Pen will prove to be superior to

a cement kennel—which is why we are

about to discuss these structures J

Any experienced breeder will tell you

that when you have puppies that are very

young, fresh off the mother, you don’t

want them running around on the dirt

outside. When raised on the dirt, in a

group, a litter of pups will continuously

poop everywhere and then run around in

it, which creates a virtual breeding

ground for worms. The pups aren’t big

enough to be separated and put on a

chain yet, but yet keeping them on the

ground isn’t any good either. Even in a

cement kennel, they still are forced to

run around in their feces all day. This is

where the above-ground pen comes in,

because it has separated flooring that

allows the droppings to fall through.

Also, when you have bitches in heat, you

don’t need them on a chain either,

available to every roaming mutt within a

mile’s sniff, only to have him get ahold

of her and provide you with 6-10 useless

pups two months later. And again, as

previously mentioned, if you live far

enough in the woods where there is

dangerous wildlife—like coyotes,

rattlesnakes, and whatnot—you don’t

want young dogs or critical dogs out

there on a chain, exposed there like

sitting ducks to these dangerous animals.

Well, that is where the Above-Ground

Pen comes in.

The advantage to this kind of pen is that

1) your dog will not get re-infested with

worms after you worm him, because he

is no longer on the ground; so if you

worm him (or her) again in two weeks

later you will then have a clean animal.

2) Being 3-ft above ground, your dog is

now protected from poisonous snakes,

other dogs getting loose, wild coyotes

prowling about, etc., and so your

valuable animal is up and out of harm’s

way should danger come to your yard.

These, and other critical reasons, are

why Above-Ground Pens are so

valuable to the serious dogman. In fact,

it is good practice to have one of these

pens for every five head of dog in your

kennel.

Aside from the basic tools you will need on the

previous page, you will also need the following

specific structural mate - rials: 3 sheets of tin

roofing (ten feet long), 19 pieces of 2x4s (8 feet

long), and 3 pieces of 4x4 wood posts (12 feet

long), cut-in-half, which will form 6 pieces of six-

feet-long 4x4s. You will also need another sheet of

plywood (not shown).

Aside from the basic building tools and

equipment you needed to build the dog

houses previously shown, you will also

need the following unique lumber

requirements to complete the pen:

Materials Needed

♦ Plywood: 1 (One) Sheet of 0.75”

(¾”) Plywood.

♦ 2x4s: 19 (Nineteen) 8’-long 2x4s.

♦ 4x4s: 6 (Six) 6’-long 4x4s.

♦ Tin Roofing: 3 (Three) 10’-long

sheets of 24”-wide Tin;

or2 (Two) 10-long sheets of 36”-wide

Tin.

The tin roofing you will leave as is, but

the 2x4s will need to be cut into various

dimensions, while the three twelve-ft

4x4 wood pillars will all be cut in half

to form 6 six-foot posts that will form

the supporting framework upon which

the 2x4s will rest. The plywood (again,

not shown) will be used to make a little

home to set inside the pen. We will

begin the process by cutting insets into

our 4x4s as depicted on the next page:

The first thing you do is take a square and

measure 30” up from one end of each 4x4—and

then you cut a 3½”-wide wedge, that is 1½” deep.

This is to allow an 8-ft 2x4 to be inserted into the

4x4 pillars.
The 3½”-wide wedge is measured with measuring

tape and your square, and the 1½” depth is

achieved by setting your circular saw to a 1½”

depth. First, delineate the outer perimeter. Then

you simply saw back-and-forth several times, and

even make an “X” with the saw. From there, you

simply use a wood wedge to get out the wood chips.

After you clear away the large wood chunks with

the wedge, then pull back the blade protector and

then sweep the circular saw back-and-forth to

create a smooth inset where you can fit your 2x4s.

(Remember, a “2x4” is really a

1½x3½ ... this is why your inset is 3½” wide and

1½” deep!)
The completed wedge.

This wedge is the most important part of

the pen-making process, because all else

is built upon this foundation and frame.

Again, the bottom of the wedge is

measured 30” from the end of the 4x4

pillar. This means that the floor support

rail for the pen is going to be 33.5” off

the ground when you stand it up. When

all of the wedges have been cut out, you

will then lay three of the 4x4 pillars in

line, with the wedges in a perfect row,

and then you will lay an 8-foot-long 2x4

down across all three wedges, and then

you will use two 3” screws per wedge

to secure the board across all three 4x4s.

This will form one side of your pen.

Repeat this procedure on the other three

4x4s, and

you will have made the other side of the

pen.

After you cut the wedge, you then lay the 2x4

across it and secure with two 3-inch screws.

Lay three of your 4x4s in a row, measuring each

the same, and lay your 8-foot 2x4 across fitting it

into each wedge. The bottom of the 2x4 will be 30”

from the ground while the top will be 33.5” from

the ground. The middle 4x4 will begin exactly 36”

from the front of the first 4x4. You are going to do

this in two pairs.

Flush

To connect one side of the pen to the other, you will

need to attach 2x4 crossmembers. They will lay

across the 2x4s in the wedges for the most part, but

you will need to give them something to lay on

between the 4x4 posts. The easiest way to do this is

to screw-in pieces of 2x4 scrapwood to the inner

side, exactly flush with the 2x4s inset into the

wedges you just made.

Screw-in pieces of 2x4 scrapwood onto the 4x4s, on

the opposite side of the wedge-side, and make the

top of each piece of scrapwood be perfectly flush

with the top of the 2x4s you have set into the

wedge.
After you get all of the scrapwood in place, then

you are ready to connect the sides of your

framework. To do this, first align the frame-sides

properly, then just stand them up together

Keep in mind that this construct is 48”

wide. This means that you will be

cutting most of your 8-foot 2x4s exactly

in half at 4-foot (or 48”); however, keep

further in mind that because the 4x4s are

each 3.5” wide that the crossmembers

between the 4x4 posts will only be 41”

in width. You see, because the two 4x4

support posts on each side of the pen are

really 3½” wide apiece (this means they

combine to form a total of 7 inches of

width), and so therefore, the

crossmembers

between the 4x4s will be 41” long.

Once you secure the 41” crossmembers between

the 4x4s, then you fortify them with 48” 2x4s

stretched across the entire framework. Add two

more 48” 2x4s to the bottom legs, as support, for

both the front as well as the back. This will enable

you to move the pen securely out in the open so you

can go to work on it. Truly, at this point, you really

want to move it to where you want it to be for good,

as these pens weigh a few hundred pounds when

complete!

Now that you have the basic frame

constructed, before you do much else,

now is a good time to allow for rain

runoff. The pen at this point is 6’ high all

the way around, but you want the rear of

the pen to be 6” shorter than the front. To

accomplish this, you are going to need

your measuring

tape, a pen, and a free 8’ 2x4:

To get a 6” downward slope on your pen, you will

want to mark your rear post 6” shorter than the

front. Under these marks, you will want to drive a

screw an inch into the post, at the very top of the

front, and at the very end of the rear. Since the pen

is eight-feet long, just take an eight-foot 2x4 and

rest it on the screws. From there you can mark-off

the slope.

Where the wood meets the screw, mark-off the

correct angle; then remove the 2x4 guide and take

out the screw.

And then you can cut-off the tops at the perfect

angle ...

Once you saw-off all your posts, now is the time to

move your pen to where you want it to be and to

finish laying all of the 2x4s in place, both on top

and on the flooring.

You will want to keep the cut-offs to the 4x4s also,

as you can use them to help level-out your pen in

rough

Your pillars have now been angled and

sloped properly, on both sides, and now

you can move your pen to its designated

spot, from where you can begin to lay

the remainder of the 48” 2x4s cross-

ways on top of the 8’-long 2x4s you

have set into your original wedges. You

want to provide space between each

board, but you neither want to space

them too wide nor too close. In general,

1” spacing is ideal, but you can adjust

this depending on the size of the dog.

terrain.

Once you have put your pen in the appropriate

spot, make sure it is well-balanced and firmly

aground.

With puppies, you maybe want the

spaces to be 0.75” apart. If you have

some colossal 100-lb dog, you might

want the spaces 1.5” to 2” apart.

However, in general, a 1” gap is ideal: it

is wide enough so that the droppings

will fall through, and yet it is narrow

enough so that the dog will not get his

paw or leg stuck inbetween the wood

slats.

One other thing to mention, do not use

pressure-treated wood. Pressure-

treated wood is carcinogenic (meaning it

causes cancer), and so this is not an

advisable material to use for your pen.

Regular old pine slats are all you need

and they will last just as long as the

other, without running the risk of the

other.

If you have any low or unlevel spots under your

pen that make it teeter or feel otherwise unstable,

here is where your saved cut-offs come into play.

Just use them to fill-in the gaps.

While you are laying your flooring, using 48” 2x4s,

make sure that you leave a 1”-gap between each

piece of lumber. This will allow the dog’s feces to

drop out of the pen making clean-up a cinch.

On the next page, you will see the

completed frame. All of the 2x4s are in

place to form the flooring, while the top

of the pen gets connected together too,

also with 2x4s. You will also have

placed a 4’x8’ (48”x96”) piece of

plywood over the top as a buffer for the

tin roofing.
As you are completing the flooring, you will also

want to cut 3 more 41” crossmembers for the top,

setting them on scrapwood to anchor. After you

have installed allof the crossmembers, for the

flooring as well as for the top, then put your 4’x8’

(48”x96”) plywood board on top. This board will be

underneath the subsequent tin roofing. The added

layer of plywood will absorb the heat from the

metal roof on sunny days, which can be critical to

your dog. You will also notice (again) that while the

pen is 6-ft high in the front, that it is only 5½-ft

high in the rear, which again is to allow for rain

runoff.

Once this is done, and once the tops of

your pillars have been angled and

sloped properly, on both sides,you then

lay an eight-foot-long 2x4 on top of

them, length-wise across one whole side

of the pen, and then screw that 2x4 on

tight into the tops of each pillar. You do

the same thing on the opposite side of the

pen. Then you connect the top sides of

the frame together with three more 41”

crossmembers, either utilizing more

scrapwood as shown above.

Once you have finished the basic frame,

then it’s time to build the door. This is

easily-done by measuring the dimensions

of the doorway, side-toside and top-to-

bottom, and then by building a fit- ted

frame out the remaining 2x4s you have

left. You will also need to attach a

couple of small hinges to the center 4x4

post, and to the front 4x4 post you will

add a latch. Build your door, install the

rear hinges and the front latch, put it on

the frame and make sure that it fits, but

you do not yet install the door, at this

point, You just want to create the door

for now, and make sure that you have

fitted it properly, but then you want to

uninstall it.

The reason you don’t want to fully-

install your door yet is you need to add

the fencing first, and you don’t want to

be smashing your hammer into the door

while it is on its hinges. Therefore, get

your door made, install it correctly, but

then unscrew it for now.

A basic 24”x24”x24” plywood house is all most

dogs will need.

After you have completed the basic

framework and door, you then need to

build a house for the dog. This is easy,

as in most climates all you do is make a

24” x 24” construct out of plywood, and

seal it together with 2x2 strips. The

house for this pen shown to the right is

simply a 24” x 24” x 24” plywood box

and is so simple to make I am not going

to say much more about it. However, if

you live in an exremely cold area, you

can actually make a 27” x 24” house,

and add insulation, in a very similar

fashion as was shown in the previous

“severe winter housing” project. In fact,

you can even fit that entire house inside

this pen, with some minor adjustments.

But for the house shown to the right, it is

a simple 24”x24”x24” construct, which

is all any dog will need for

A basic 24”x24”x24” plywood house is all most

dogs will need, most weather conditions.

but if you need more you can certainly build more.

Now that you have your door made as

well as your house completed and

positioned properly, it is at this point

where you are going to add your fencing.

You want to install two layers of

fencing: one inner layer for puppies and

another (stronger) outer layer for adults.

Even if you never intend on having any

puppies in this pen (though one of its

primary benefits is specifically

for puppies), placing an inner layer of

fencing simply is an added level of

security. For starters, it prevents even

adults from poking their noses through

the much wider gaps of the outer fencing,

which can prevent your prized animals

from being bitten (either by a wild

animal or a domestic one). And it also is

an added measure of protection if you

have a bitch in heat, as even though she

is probably safe up 3’ off the ground, it

is still nicer to have an extra layer of

small-opening fencing between her and

some giant stray Great Dane, should a

behemoth like this come to visit your

prize brood bitch in the wee hours of the

night, during her prime breeding points

when she’s in season.

The inner layer of fencing for you AboveGround

Pen should be basic cage wire for small animals.

You should install this fenc-ing before the heavy-

duty fencing.

You will need to hammer-on your

fencing and again you don’t want to do

this while your door is on the pen.

Instead, you are going to hammer-on the

fencing layers while your door is off,

and when you put the fencing on the door

itself you want to place that door firmly

on the gound. Regard- ing what kind of

fencing to use, the first (inner) layer will

be a thinner fencing material, while the

second (outer) layer will be heavy-duty

9-gauge fencing or better yet hog panel.

DO NOT USE STANDARD CHAIN

LINK. Dogs can bend and eat-out of

standard chain link, so make sure that

you use 9-gauge fencing or hog panel for

your pen. You will tack-on the smaller

fencing with smaller fence staples/tack,

so puppies can’t stick their noses

through, and you will tack-on the heavier

fencing with heavier tack. Trim the

excess cage wire with tin snips and

trim the excess pig wire with bolt

cutters. You can get both kinds of

fencing from any Tractor Supply Co.,

meaning the cage wire as well as the

heavy duty hog panel. If you wish to

shop online, you can Google “fencing”

and “hog panel” and come up with

internet providers as well. Regardless of

where you get your materials, the light

inner fencing is a critical component of

the Above-Ground Pen. Not only will it

prevent puppies from getting through the

larger openings of the hog panel, as well

as adults from exposure also, but doing

so can also protect children from being

bitten by any aggressive dog that might

be in the cage.

Therefore, make sure you take this extra

step in putting the two layers of fencing

qround your pen, as the extra step you

take here may save you an immeasurable

amount of grief down the road.

The first (inner) layer of fencing should be a thin

cage wire for pups. This thinner fencing also keeps

adult noses from protruding outside the larger bars

and thus away from potential exposure to other

animals. It likewise would prevent an aggressive

dog from possibly injuring a small child, as outside

access through the larger openings of the hog

panel is likewise nullified.

The Finished Pen

The tin roofing is what you put on last.

After you place your hog panels over the

inner fence, the overlap will be sticking-

up higher than the pen. This will need to

be trimmed with bolt cutters, after which

you can then place the tin on the roof.

When completed, these pens comprise a

4’ x 8’ dimensional structure (32 sq ft),

and again as such they should only be

viewed as temporary housing enclosures

as they are too small for a dog to spend

his entire life in one. Again, these pens

are for expectant mothers, weaned as

well as growing pups, injured dogs,

bitches in heat, or key dogs that are

being conditioned. The end result is a

construct where your valuable animals,

your puppies, or your injured dogs can

be up out of harm’s way—where no

snake, no worms, and no other animals

can reach them. I also make a habit out

of bathing and worming any dog

before I put it in the pen. This way,

once the dog defecates and his stools

drop to the ground, he can basically

remain clean and parasite-free

indefinitely while he or she is in that

pen. He will no longer re-infect himself

in the soil. In fact, I do two sets of

complete “worm-purgings,” as relayed

in Chapter 6.

Before we conclude this section, I

would like to point out that the

possibilities for AboveGround Pens are

virtually limitless. The pen we have just

covered is but one “version” and a

rather simple and basic version. You can

scale the pen down by half, to create a

much smaller “puppy only” pen, or you

can even double (or quadruple) the size

of this pen to an 8’x8’ or a 16’x16’ pen if

you wish to make a permanent home for

a key animal. It would simply take some

re-shuffling of the basic dimensions to

accomplish, and yet would really be

about as easy as this one to make. In fact,

on the facing page I will quickly go over

a way in which to create a smaller ½-

sized, 4’x4’ (48”x48”) puppy pen, in an

“above-ground” fashion, that you can

make for about $35 worth of material

and within about an hour or two of your

time.

This project is made entirely out of

2x4s, plus a half-sheet of plywood ...

The Puppy Pen

This is a very simple and basic project. You simply

cut ten (10) eight-foot 2x4s in half and connect

them together. Make 2 side-sections as depicted on

the left, and then join them together with more 4’

pieces as depicted on the right.

As before, you lower the rear posts by 6 inches.

Then you connect another 4’ side-beam along the

inner portion of the posts, connecting them fore and

aft with 45” crossmembers.

The mini-puppy pen will cost you less

than half of one of those flimsy wire

cages you can buy at pet stores (about

$35 compared to $65), and yet it is a

hundred times more convenient. Rather

than having a wire cage you have to put

on your kitchen floor to raise your pups

(that is a bit unsanitary, to say the least),

or rather than putting these store-bought

cages on the ground outside, where the

puppy has to live on the dirt, the mini

above-ground puppy pen accomplishes

all of the conveniences of a standard pen

—yet it adds the further convenience of

removing the puppy droppings from your

home—at the same time it also adds an

element of cleanliness to the puppies

themselves, who don’t have to run

around on the dirt as in a standard pen.

After you have constructed the basic framework,

move your puppy pen to its designated location and

then add the house. The house is just a simple

12”x24” plywood construct, connected with 2x2

framing segments. The two end-pieces will be

12”x12” and the four (front, back, top, bottom)

pieces will be 12”x24”. Simply cut a 6”x6” hole in

front and you’re in business.

Once you have completed the house, just

fill it up with some cedar shavings and

then add a 4’x4’ plywood roof. You do

not want to attach the house to the actual

pen, but instead leave it loose. It will be

too heavy for any puppy to move, but

when it gets dirty you can still just slide

it out, from where you can unscrew one

of the sides, and bleach it out, which

will keep it clean from repeated use. If

you live in a very cold climate, you

might want to put a little more work into

the house, and make a little more

insulated version that what is shown

here. Still, for most normal climates, this

simple house shown will prove to meet

your needs just fine.

A side shot of the mini Above-Ground Puppy Pen,

right be- fore being fenced with hardware cloth.

The simple 12”x 24” puppy house is a cinch to

make. And, yes, having a cold beer while working

outside is es- sential J

After the house just add your 4’x4’

(48”x48”) plywood roof, and from there

all you have to do is add some fencing.

To fence this little bitty pen, you can just

use basic hardware cloth with little ¼” x

¼” holes. You can use smaller fencing

staples to nail it on, or you can even use

a staple gun to affix the screen mesh to

the wood. To trim the excess hardware

cloth/ screen mesh, simply use the same

tin snips that you used to trim the excess

cage wire you had when you constructed

the standard aboveground pen. Either

way, it takes but a few extra minutes to

conclude the task. You don’t even need

tin for this roof, the 4’x’4’ plywood

board is all you really need, but you can

add tin roofing

The final step to this project would be to

over it if you want.

add a door—two simple hinges and a

basic latch,

plus a few pieces of scrap 2x4, are all it

takes to put

together to complete the pen. The result

is a very

convenient way in which to keep a

single puppy or

a couple of puppies. Therefore, if you

are a brand

new puppy owner, or if you happen to

get just a 1-

or 2-pup litter, this basic mini-pen is a

great way to

keep them while they are small, without

tying-up a
bigger pen.

This chapter has covered the most effec

tive kenneling methods you can use to

confine

your dogs. These methods satisfy both

the desire to

house your dogs safely and comfortably,

while not

costing an arm and a leg to implement.

Another

great truth about these pens is that they

are mobile.

Unlike traditional, installed cement

kennels, you can

move above-ground pens.

The completed mini pen after being fenced and

with a door being installed out of 2x4 scrapwood.

In closing, I hope this chapter has

opened your eyes to the realities of

canine confinement,

and provided you with the means

necessary to achieve these goals cheaply

and effectively, and

yet absolutely professionally. With this

critical information out of the way as to

how to keep and confine your dogs

optimally, now its time to learn how to

feed them.

Chapter 3

The Secrets of Proper

Nutrition

Most of us have been conditioned to

believe that “dry dog food” is the diet

our dogs were meant to eat. We see our

friends feed dry kibble to their dogs, our

neighbors feed their dogs the same thing,

and we watch commercials where it

seems like every dog gets fed some sort

of dry kibbled dog food. Thus we are

conditioned to think that dry dog food “is

just what dogs were designed to eat.”

What we don’t stop to consider is the

sum and substance of Chapter 1: the fact

that dogs are carnivores that were

designed to kill and eat raw whole

animals. With this light turned on,

anyone who truly understands dogs

recognizes the fact that the commercial

dog food industry isn’t about “canine

nutrition” at all, what this industry is

about is human convenience and

profiting from ignorance. These

companies create products “cheap

enough” so humans will buy them and

“nutritious enough” so that the dogs

won’t die being fed it (at least not right

away, but the truth is many dogs do die

eventually from being fed some of the

lower-grade products, over time, and as

many of these recent “dog food recalls”

have proven).

The scientific truth is raw flesh, organ

meats, bones, and fats are in fact what our dogs should be eating, if they are to

be ingesting a truly optimal diet for their

species. But these kinds of ingredients

are more complicated to obtain for the

average person, so most of us just go to

the feed store to buy some over-

processed low-grade feed instead. Yet

when most dogmen go to a feed store to

buy 10 bags of cheap corn-based feed to

throw at their yard of dogs, they fail to

realize how virtually all such feeds are

something their dogs were not

biologically-designed to process.

Well, what do you think happens to a

group of animals when they are fed a

diet they weren’t intended to eat, day-

after-day, month-after-month, and year-

after-year? Do you think such animals

will live longer or live shorter? Do you

think these animals will perform better

or perform worse when fed something

they weren’t designed to process and

utilize to begin with? In short, can any

animal reach his full potential, when fed

over-processed ingredients they weren’t

designed to eat, or are such animals

going to be limited to achieve a level

much less than what they could have

achieved being fed optimally?

What we feed our dogs, if we really get

right down to it, basically defines what

they have the potential to become—

just about as surely as do the dogs’ God-

given genetics. Yet when most people

shop for dog food, the last thing on their

mind is, “Is this the best I can do for my

dog, to help him reach his full

potential? ” Instead, what is usually on

an owner’s mind when he is shopping

for pet food is “How can I spend as

little as possible to keep my dogs

alive? ” That’s right, skimping on the

nutrition of his prize dogs, in an effort to

save a buck, is the motivating force

behind most so-called dogmen when

they shop for dogfood. Which basically

is retarded.

By contrast, good dogmen think of

themselves as managers of their stable

of canine athletes, because this is the

correct perspective on things. As such,

good dogmen immediately realize that

skimping on nutrition is not solid

practice—feeding cheap feed to world

class canine athletes diminishes their

potential. In the same fashion, no top

world class race car drivers and

manufacturers are going to “skimp” by

putting cheap 87 octane gas in their

finely-tuned high-performance racing

vehicles. You can bet on that.

In order for any machine to perform its

best it needs to be fed the optimal fuel it

was designed to run on. So why do so

many dogmen take their performance

athletes and basically give them

mediocre “fuel” to run on? These are

questions that really deserve careful

thought. Because while less expensive in

the short term, feeding cheap

inappropriate feed actually hurts our

goals in the long run. Problems like lack

of fertility in both males and bitches,

diminished litter sizes, physical ailments

in adults as they grow older, shortened

lifespans, etc.—all of these are “costs”

that we fail to consider and add to the

price of buying cheap feed for our stock,

over time. I know this first hand,

because I watched the gradual falling

apart of my first key dogs, who

themselves stopped producing and died

way too early in their lives because I

was myself feeding cheap feed when I

got started. You see, I was like most dog

owners, I wasn’t thinking about “optimal

nutrition,” I was trying to get

inexpensive feed “for $16.00 a bag” as

my main priority in providing

nourishment for my athletes. I simply did

not know any better. I fed my dogs

Diamond dog food, and they looked

great—for a few years they looked great.

But that was only because

they were young and the effects of my

stupidity hadn’t caught up with them yet.

However, as their initial years wore on

to middle age, my dogs suddenly

stopped looking so great. Their coats got

shabby, the hair began to fall from their

faces, and my stud dogs started shooting

blanks. And of course, with PoNcho, he

slowly succumbed to cancer, way before

a natural lifespan should have come to

its end.

The only “good” thing that resulted from

my watching PoNcho fall apart

prematurely was that it made me analyze

what happened to him and why? And at

every angle I analyzed his demise I

reached the same conclusion what I was

feeding him and the rest of my dogs was

killing them. Toward the end of his life,

PoNcho got to the point he could no longer

take ANY form of kibble. I mean I tried

all kinds of “special blends.” I tried

kangaroo, venison, I mean some really

expensive “food allergy” diets and

kibbled concoctions, but none of them

worked. PoNcho would always vomit, he

continued to have mucus-laden stools,

and he would itch and scratch himself

like crazy, regardless of the kind of

kibbled food I tried to put him on. The

only product that finally worked was

whole ground raw beef patties. That

was it. But by then it was too late. All I

was able to do was prolong his life, but

he never became fully healthy again nor

did he regain the ability to produce. It

was a tough lesson for me to learn, but

the reality of what I had been feeding my

dogs finally came home to me— the

kibble I was using was slowly

poisoning my dogs.

None of us is born knowing a thing about

canine nutrition. We feed what everyone

else feeds: dry kibbled dogfood. Some

of us are so clueless we will buy brands

like “Old Roy” (which actually has

received Class Action Lawsuits against

it for being unsuitable for dogs), because

we just do not know any better. We think,

“Dogfood is dogfood, right? ” Well, I

am here to tell you this is WRONG!

After you read this chapter, it is my hope

that you will take the job of feeding your

dog much more seriously. It is my hope

that you will realize that what you feed

your dogs is just about as important as

what dogs you are feeding. The two are

inextricably linked. The best race car is

useless without the right fuel, and the

best dogs are useless without top-quality

nutrition. If you are a professional

breeder and you get two more $800

puppies a year, out of each of your 10

bitches, because you are feeding better,

that is $8000 a year in extra income.

Was it really worth saving $150 a month

($1800 a year) in buying cheap dog food

to have less healthy dogs, smaller

litters, and to have a year’s worth of

slow poison in your yard of dogs—as

opposed to spending an extra $150 a

month on a year’s worth of top nutrition

to get $8,000 back and healthier dogs at

the end? Was losing your dog’s fertility

at an early age worth it too, when he or

she might still be siring or whelping

litters on into their 12th year, had you fed

healthier feed as a matter of daily

practice?

Do some of you cheapskates add all that

up and factor this into your “monthly

feed bill?” When you begin to look at

feeding your yard this way, you begin to

think of dog food not as an “expense,”

but as an investment. You begin to

realize that you “have” to spend some

kind of money on feed anyway, if you

want your dogs to live, and so therefore,

rather than wasting your money on cheap

feed (which compromises your dogs’

current and future health), you begin to

have a desire to invest your money in

top quality feeds (which maximizes

every potential in your animals).

Looking at it in this way, you will set

yourself up to receive positive

dividends paid back to you from your

investments by improved results in the

future. Dividends like (1) better vitality

in each dog every day of its life; (2) less

vet bills through less breakdown and

improved overall health and fit- ness;

(3) improved fertility in your brood

animals, which translates to better

conception rates and lit- ter sizes; (4)

animals that live longer and allow you to

benefit from them for a much greater

amount of time, with less problems

along the way, and more positive results

every step of the way. So now that you

have a clearer perspective on feeding,

let’s get into the heart of the matter and

find out just exactly what we are feeding

our dogs—as opposed to just exactly

what we should be feeding them.

Although somewhat of an omnivore, it

must always be kept in mind that our

dogs are primarily carnivores, and as

such they have NO nutritional need for

carbohydrates. Our dogs “can” utilize

carbohydrates to a small degree, if the

carbs are properly broken down

(cooked) first, but in point of fact dogs

thrive much better getting their energy

sources from animal fats and oils, not

carbs. So right out of the gate, any food

that is primarily of carbohydrate origin

(corn, wheat, soy, glutens, rice, bran,

etc.) is thus primarily concocted of

material that your dog doesn’t need.

Since

feeding your dogs is probably the single

most important daily management

practice of your yard of athletes, to feed

your dogs something that they don’t

require (or that is outright harmful to

them) is ridiculous. Worse, doing so for

prolonged periods of time can and will

ruin their health and eventually kill them.

I know, my main stud dog was useless at

7 yeas of age and was dead by

9—and yet his 13 year old son is lying

on my bed as I type because I learned

how to feed better.

In order meet the nutritional

requirements of your dogs, you need to

understand what constitutes “a complete

and balanced diet,” so that you can

either buy this proper diet for your dogs

or attempt to make it at home. Whether

or not you are meeting your dogs’

nutritional requirements already with

your chosen commercial feed (or home-

made concoction) is what we are going

to examine from the womb to the tomb.

There are a multitude of concepts to be

learned through critical reading about

canine nutrition, but these four concepts

really stand out:

1. Dogs require protein and energy of

high biological value in order to

thrive, which means their nutritions

sources should always come from

primarily MEAT and FAT (oil) for

optimal results, and the meats should

be raw. Plant source proteins will ruin

a dog.

2. Although a dog “can” utilize

carbohydrates for energy, if cooked

properly, a dog actu - ally has no

nutritional need for them.

3. At extreme levels of stress, most

authorities recommend not only

increasing the percent fuel from fat,

but also from protein, while

minimizing any contribution of

carbohydrates at all. Again, we need to

utilize critical diet applications to get

the most out of our canine athletes,

which means we have busted the myth

of “carb loading.” We find that carb

loading is actually the opposite way in

which you should feed the extreme

distance performance canine athlete.

4. Just because a feed product has a

“listed” protein value rating on its

bag, does not mean that said “value”

actually represents what your dog is

really getting. The Biological Value

(digest- ibility and usability) of the

feed is the most critical aspect of its

true value—which can only be known

by a laboratory analysis.

The “biological value” of a protein

source is the most important

consideration to a dog’s diet. For

example, if a dog food label says its

feed contains “26% protein” but the

source of this protein content comes

from corn gluten, then really your dog is

getting very little protein out of eating

this feed, because he can’t digest the

protein source very well. By contrast, if

you are feeding your dog raw or soft-

boiled eggs, your dog is utilizing almost

every bit of what he is eating. This is

called “biological availability” or

“value,” and it is a key concept to master

as you decide what you are going to feed

your dogs. Here is breakdown of the

biological value of various protein

sources we commonly see in dog feeds:

Biological Protein Values

Eggs (whole) = 100 Eggs (whites) = 88

Chicken / Turkey = 79 Fish = 70

Lean Beef = 69

Cow’s Milk = 60

Unpolished Rice = 59 Brown Rice = 57

White Rice = 56

Peanuts = 55
Peas = 55

Soy beans = 47

Whole-grain Wheat =44 Corn = 36

Dry Beans = 34

White Potato = 34

These values can be further altered, for

better or worse, depending on whether

these items are served raw or not. Meats

are rendered less usable through

cooking, while grain sources need to be

cooked in order to be used at all. For

instance, a dog will get much more

biological value from eating raw

chicken than he will from eating “what’s

left” of the chicken after the ultra-

cooking and kibbling process of making

dog food. By contrast, if a dog ate raw

corn it would come out looking the same

as it went in, as a dog simply can’t

digest raw corn at all. Yet although

“cooking” the corn may make it “more

usable” to the dog, corn still remains at

best a very poor source of nutrition for

him, with little biological value. Yet dog

food kibbling companies cook the

bejesus out of their

feeds to make the corn “more usable”

(which the dog doesn’t even need), but

at the same time this very process

destroys all of the food value of the

meats, which is what the dog does need.

The entire kibbling process itself is

flawed

Thus reading dog food labels becomes

more confusing that what it seems at first

blush. Not only are you trying to sift

through the ingredients profiles of the

various feeding manufacturers in order

to come to a conclusion about “what

would be best for your dog,” but then

you have to figure-in the degradation to

the feed that the kibbling process itself

causes.

To confuse people even further, almost

every dog food package says

“Premium,” or some other such claim of

excellence, with many labels depicting

photographs of raw, nutritious foods, all

of which is to attract customers to buy

the product. But the fact is, this is just

dishonest marketing, as there are no

raw, nutritious foods to be found in

any kibble, and no kibble is as

“premium” in its nutritional profile as

the raw, whole animals your dog was

truly designed to eat. Thus the consumer

is left scratching his head as to what

really is best for his dogs, and while I

am admittedly not at the forefront of

canine nutrition science, there are a few

things I have learned along the way in

my breeding and raising dogs—and in

my never-ending quest to learn more

about them—that will help steer you in

the right direction concerning your feed

choices. Basically, there are three major

types of nutritional requirements your

dogs have:

ü Tissue-Building Requirements

(Proteins); ü Energy-Producing

Requirements (Fats & Oils); ü Micro-

Nutrients (Vitamins & Minerals).

That’s it. The basic needs your dogs

have all boil down to (1) the perpetual

rebuilding of their tissues, which

requires protein; (2) the constant need to

supply themselves with energy and vital-

ity, which requires fats and oils; and (3)

the need for micro-nutrients and trace

minerals which your dogs get from

various sources. Dogs simply need high-

quality meats and eggs to do the first,

they need animal fat and oil sources to

do the second, and they need to ingest

pre-digested vegetable matter (found in

the stomach contents of his prey

typically) to provides him with essential

micronutrients—as well as to consume

the bones of his prey to provide him

with needed calcium. With these

nutritional needs in mind, as well as the

biological usability profile on the facing

page, let us now take a look at and

analyze the ingredients profiles of some

of the most common feeds offered on the

market today:
Ol’ Roy Dog Food :

Ground yellow corn, soybean meal,

ground whole wheat, corn syrup,

poultry fat, Meat and bone meal

(Animal Fat Preserved with BHA and

Citric Acid), Chicken by-product Meal,

Rice, Animal Digest, Salt, Calcium

Carbonate, Potassium Chloride,

Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc

Oxide, Vitamin D and E Supplement,

Niacin, Copper Sulafate, Manganous

Oxide, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium

Pantothe- nate, Biotin, Vitamin B12

Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride,

Thiamine Mononitrate, Meadione

Sodium Bisulfite Complex Source of

Vitamin K, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin D3

Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement,

Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Sodium

Selenite, Folic Acid.

I can’t believe a company would try to

offer this kind of trash to the public as

dog food. Ol’ Roy is perhaps the worst

feed available on the market today, and

yet you’d be surprised at how many “dog

men” feed this garbage to their prize

dogs. The first ten ingredients are all

among the least biologically-available

protein sources possible, one of which

is nothing but a sugar. The fat they toss in

there for energy is preserved with BHA,

a known carcinogen proven to cause

cancer in rats, dogs, and human beings.

To this useless waste material, the

company adds “vitamins” and then calls

their product “dog food.” Why anyone

would spend thousands of dollars to

obtain topquality dogs, only to feed them

this kind of crap, is anyone’s guess. This

would be tantamount to buying a Ferrari

and then trying to run it on urine instead

of gasoline. Ol’ Roy costs about $21

for 40 lb (or $0.53/lb), which I guess is

why people buy it—cheap price. But

again, this product has actually failed to

sustain the lives of dogs in the past, to

the extent the company has received

class action lawsuits against it, and

when you read the ingredients it is not

hard to figure out why.

Diamond Premium Dog Food :

Chicken by-product meal, whole grain

ground corn, wheat flour, chicken fat

(preserved with mixed tocopherols),

brewers rice, beet pulp, egg product,

flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish

meal. Vitamins,

minerals and chelated minerals.

To Diamond’s credit, at least they start

with a meat source as their protein

offering (although “chicken by-product

meal” translates to the feet, beaks, and

discarded wasteproducts from chicken

houses that get discarded as unfit for

human consumption). Then Diamond

defaults to the usual garbage of cheap

fillers: corn, wheat, brewer’s rice, beet

pulp, etc. Not only are wheat, soy, and

corn hard for a dog to digest, but they

are also among the very most likely

ingredients to cause food allergies in a

dog! Beet pulp is nothing but a filler

designed to hold a hundred times its

weight in water, which is added to give

the illusion of a firm stool. Diamond

Premium costs about $35.50 for 50 lb

(or $0.71/lb), and there is not a single

“premium” ingredient to be found in it.

Iams Dog Food :

Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole

Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product

Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with

mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin

E), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor,

Chicken Meal, Potassium Chloride,

Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried

Yeast, Salt, Flax Meal, Fish Oil

(preserved with mixed Tocoph- erols, a

source of Vitamin E), Caramel, Calcium

Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals

(Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide,

Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate,

Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide,

Cobalt Carbon- ate), Vitamins (Vitamin

E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A

Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin,

Thiamine Mononitrate (source of

vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement,

Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source

of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine

Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6),

Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid),

DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract.

Again, we see a common dog food start

off with chicken, but then default to

essentially garbage again. Corn,

sorghum, beet pulps, etc., are simply not

things dogs need to be eating. So even

what little bit of good ingredients this

feed does have (chicken) becomes

utterly destroyed in its biological value

by the very kibbling process required to

turn it into kibble. Iams dog food costs

$37 for 40 lb (or $0.93/lb).

Science Diet Dog Food :

Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn,

Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground

Whole Grain Wheat, Chick- en By-

Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Corn

Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved

with mixed tocopherols and citric

acid), Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver

Flavor, Soybean Oil, Flaxseed,

Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt,

Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride,

Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-

Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of

vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement,

Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin

A Supplement, Cal- cium Pantothenate,

Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement,

Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin,

Folic Acid, Vi- tamin D3 Supplement),

minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide,

Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide,

Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-

Methionine, preserved with Mixed

Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-

Caro- tene, Rosemary Extract.

This is perhaps my least-favorite dog

food on the market. Where at least Ol’

Roy is moderately honest in its

packaging and sales distribution

(admittedly filling the niche of being a

cheap feed for cheap people), Science

Diet tries to pass-off its products as the

absolute height of canine nutrition, when

the actual “science” shows that this feed

is pure and utter garbage and not even

remotely close to what a dog should be

eating. Of the first 10 ingredients, only 3

are actual animal matter (what your dog

should be eating), while another

(“chicken liver flavor”) is a deception.

The reason I say deception is because it

is not actually chicken liver, but the

“flavor” of liver added to the feed. The

remaining 6 of the first 10 ingredients

are nothing but pure and utter garbage

(corns, sorghums, wheats, soy, glutens,

and brewer’s rice)—a literal “who’s

who” list of the very worst pos- sible

ingredients to be found in dog food.

Yet what galls me the most about this

company is you will see these products

offered on the shelves of virtually every

veterinary office in America. Do you

want to know why this is? Because it

will kill your dogs, and cause them

every imaginable health problem along

the way, ultimately leading to their

slow and agonizing deaths, that’s why!

If you think I am being radical or

extreme

in my statements, you haven’t seen a dog

literally eat its feet off due to food

allergies; you haven’t seen 5-year-old

dogs die of lymphatic cancer thanks to

these feeds; you haven’t seen dogs

develop auto-immune problems that

require lifelong cortico-steroid therapy

to combat the body’s reaction to the very

feeds being fed to the dogs—all

orchestrated by the vets who offer these

feeds to their clients—because the

resulting breakdown and sick dogs is

what will bring them their business. And

you need to know the truth about Science

Diet dog feeds, and that is there is no

science anywhere that will show corns,

sorghums, wheats, soys, glutens, and

brewer’s rice to be anything but utter

garbage and poison to a dog. And best of

all, Science Diet retails for ~ $46.99

for

40 lb (or about $1.17/lb). This product

is a sham and that is all it is!

Folks, you can do better than this! You

can do better in cost, and you can do

100x better in nutrition for your animals.

As you are going to see in a moment the

cost-per-pound is going to be your

guiding light, along with a true

understanding of quality ingredients

With all of the brands of kibble out

there, you are probably wondering how

do you select the right one? How can

you recognize the difference between

cheap garbage kibbles and truly good

dog food? These are the kinds of

questions that most people ask

themselves prior to buying their feed.

First of all, it simply makes no sense

keeping so many dogs that you have to

feed them substandard feed. If you are a

breeder, you should only keep as many

dogs as you can do your very best for

With this in mind, the question thus

becomes “What is best?” I have my own

personal preference as to kibbled feeds,

but this does not mean there aren’t other

superb formulas available from what I

prefer. My purpose here isn’t to steer

anyone in the direction of buying the

exact food I have used myself (and for

that matter I no longer feed any

commercial dog food, I feed raw); my

purpose is to attempt to point the reader

in the right direction of making his

own better choices in general. As a

general rule, you do NOT want to feed

any product that contains any of the

following ingredients:

1. Corn, Wheat, or Soy - BAD

2. Glutens, in any form - BAD

3. Beet Pulp - BAD

3. Excessive Carbs of any kind - BAD

4. Artificial Preservatives - BAD

5. Meat from Diseased Sources (or

Byproducts) - BAD
You will note that virtually all of the

common brands listed on the last few

pages were comprised of nothing but the

above lousy ingredients. Conversely,

what you are looking for in a kibbled

feed is what your dog truly needs:

Protein from high-quality sources (meat,

fish, eggs—hu- man grade); fats and oils

from high-quality sources (fish oil,

chicken fat, flax); trace nutrients from

wholesome sources (blueberries,

carrots, spinach), etc. Ultimately, meats

and fats/oils should form the bulk of any

high-end feed, and you should realize

that carbohydrates are not needed by

your dogs. In truth, carbs are added to

dog food really just for filler. You must

realize that all kibbled feeds are going to

contain some carbs, as they are trying to

profit, but any carbs should be held to a

minimum.

Another key element to look for in a

truly high-end kibbled feed are

fermentation products and added

digestive enzymes. The reason these are

so critical is that, as mentioned

previously, natural raw meats contain

enzymes in them, to aid the animal in

digestion—but which enzymes are lost

through the heated extrusion process

needed to create the kibble. Therefore,

this extreme heat (which is necessary to

render the carbs usable in the kibble)

actually renders the meat unusable, or of

lesser use and biological value, due to

the loss of these important enzymes.

Therefore, truly good dog feed

manufacturers compensate for this by

adding fermentation products and

supplemental enzymes back in to make

their product easier on your dog to

digest (and thus utilize). So here is what

you are looking for in a superior kibbled

feed:

1. Meat and Egg Protein Sources

(Human Grade) - GOOD

2. Animal Fats and Oils - GOOD

3. MINIMAL use of Carbs - GOOD

3. Human Grade - GOOD

4. Added Fermentation Products -

GOOD

5. Added Digestive Enzymes - GOOD

Therefore, let us look at an example of a

top quality feed, for a reasonable price,

and compare it to the lousy feeds we just

looked at, to give you an idea of the

difference in quality and what to look for

in selecting something new and better to

feed your athletes:

Dog Lover’s Gold:

Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Chicken Meal,

Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with

mixed Tocopherols), Flax- seed, Whole

Dried Eggs, Chicken Liver Meal, Fish

Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Kelp, Garlic,

Lecithin. Potassium Chloride, Calcium

Carbonate, Vitamin A Supplement,

Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E

Supplement, Inulin, Ascorbic Acid,

Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin

Supplement, Niacin Supplement,

Calcium Pan- tothenate, Choline

Chloride, FolicAcid, d-Biotin,

Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine

Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite, Freeze

Dried Aspergillus Oryzae

Fermentation, Aspergillus Niger

Fermentation, Bacillus Subtilis, Mixed

Tocopherols, Silica Dioxide, Freeze

Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Iron

Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Sulfate,

Manganese Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate,

Zinc Amino Acid Chelate,

Ethylenediamine Dihydrio- dide, Beta

Carotene, Yucca Schidigera extract.

Dog Lover’s Gold is a truly excellent

kibble at an affordable price. It is less

convenient to purchase, as you have to

go to a special vendor, but its quality

and value make it worthwhile to a

serious dog owner, if “kibble” is what

you insist on feeding. You will notice

that of the first 10 ingredi- ents, 6 of

them are meat and fat sources (human

grade), while another (brewer’s yeast)

is actually a highly-nutritious fungus.

Even its main carb source (brown rice)

is a non-allergen and fine to feed a dog,

without any of the resulting problems

associated with corns, wheats, and soys.

Because it is sold on a personal level,

through distributors, the price of Dog

Lover’s Gold for a 33-lb bag varies,

based on how much you order. If you

have a kennel of 50 dogs, and if you

order this food by the pallet, you might

be able to get it for $0.65/lb. You would

have to try to find a vendor in your area

willing to do this by contacting the

company direct at

www.DogLoversGold.com.

If you only order this product in low

quantities, you may well pay over

$1.00/lb. The importance of the “per-

pound” price will dramatically affect

your budget, but if you just have a few

dogs and don’t mind paying the full

retail price, you can order this food

online at:

http://metropetservices.com/
Of course, there are many other great

kibbled feeds you can choose from,

ranging from Timberwolf Organics and

Innova, to Abady and Wellness, to

Nature’s Logic and Solid Gold, but none

of them can be purchased for as

cheaply as you can get Dog Lover’s

Gold. Now, I do not believe that one

should skimp on cost when his dog’s

health is in question, but neither do I

think a person should waste money

where doing so doesn’t make a

difference.

For instance, I could buy a 50-lb bag of

Ol’ Roy or Diamond for between $30

and $36 ($0.60/ lb to $0.71/lb), but

these feeds are garbage and compromise

the health of my animals. I am very

willing to pay more than this to buy a

vastly superior product like Dog Lover’s

Gold because I am getting more than

twice as good a product in this much

higher-grade feed.

However, the same is not true with (say)

Timberwolf Organics. Like DLG,

Timberwolf Organics is all human-grade

and is a great product, but unlike DLG

Timberwolf is about $65 for a 30-lb bag

(or $2.17/lb). Timberwolf is more than

twice as expensive as DLG, but it is not

more than twice as good a product. It is

barely any better, if at all, and yet costs

more than twice as much to feed. There

is simply no reason for a serious dogman

to spend that kind of money to barely do

any better for his dogs. In my opinion, if

you can stick to spending between

$0.70/lb and $0.90/lb in your expenses

for truly premium, human-grade dog feed

you are doing well. If you spend more

than this you are not doing so well, but if

you can get a better deal then you are

doing great.

While we are on the subject of premium-

grade dog feeds, there is a new trend in

dog food companies to come out with

these extremely-high-protein products.

This trend began with a product Innova

Evo, but now there are many companies

offering many similar super-high-protein

products, and in my opinion they are all

equally bad news. Let us use Innova Evo

as the example. Ingredients-wise, this

product is simply wonderful:

Innova Evo :

Turkey, chicken, turkey meal, chicken

meal, potatoes, herring meal, chicken

fat, natural flavors, egg, apples,

tomatoes, potassium chloride, carrots,

vitamins, garlic, cottage cheese,

minerals, alfalfa sprouts, ascorbic

acid, dried chicory root, direct-fed

microbials, vitamin e supplement,

lecithin, rosemary extract

The problem with Innova Evo isn’t it’s

ingredients, they are excellent, the

problem is in its high (and dry) protein

content. At 43% protein, and basically

bone-dry, Innova Evo can actually be

dangerous to a dog’s kidneys. One of the

main functions of the kidneys is to filter-

out nitrogenous (protein) waste from the

body. What the body cannot digest the

kidneys filter-out and excrete through the

urine. High-quality, biologically-

available protein (like raw flesh) does

not generate large amounts of waste that

need to be removed from the body,

because it is easily digested. However

poor quality protein (as what’s found in

Ol’ Roy), which is difficult to digest,

does produce

lots of waste and thereby does put stress

on the kidneys.

Now Innova Evo does use outstanding

ingredients, but you must remember that

regardless of how good the ingredients

are, a cooked kibbled feed is not a

natural diet to a dogRaw, whole

animals, dripping with blood and

moisture, form the truly natural diet

dogs were intended to eat. Even though

we humans typically eat meat that is

cooked, it is still moist, so even we still

get a lot of moisture when we eat meats,

and thus we still get much of the

remaining enzymes inherent in meats, all

of which helps our bodies process the

protein.

Unfortunately, in highly-processed,

cooked kibbled feed, there is no such

thing as “moisture” or “natural enzymes”

left in it. The kibbling process robs the

protein of virtually all its moisture, and

it destroys all of the valuable enzymes

inherent in (what was once) raw tissue,

but which is now highlycooked nuggets.

Remember, raw animal tissue is 70%

water, which aids a carnivore in

processing it, most especially the

kidneys. Since the kidneys are a

filtration system, the 70% water inherent

in raw meat is part of what makes raw

meat so “biologically-available,” and it

is what greatly assists the body in

digesting it. This ease of digestion and

processing is what minimizes the

kidneys from having to filter-out any

excess, undigested protein.

In kibbled feed, however, all of that

natural water content has been

removed, as have the natural enzymes, so

you what you have left is basically

concentrated, dry protein matter, in an

unnatural form, that the dog is given and

expected to digest. The natural, helpful

enzymes in the meat have also been

destroyed in the kibbling process, and

the natural, helpful water content has

been removed, on top of which the entire

molecular structure has been changed.

This is the big lie you will never see on

any bag of kibbled feed, the fact that by

its “being” kibble it is now an inferior

food to raw flesh. In fact, let’s examine

the difference in water/protein

composition between Innova Evo and

the kinds of raw meats a dog would

actually eat in the wild:

Innova Evo : Water

Protein

Fat:

07.50% (!) 43.16% (!) 22.22%

Carbohydrates: 14.46% Fiber:

Raw Wild Poultry : Water

Protein

Fat:

Carbohydrate: 00.00% Fiber: 00.00%

01.52%

57.21% ☺

14.05% ☺

28.74%

Raw Wild Rabbit :

Water 75.89% ☺ Protein 21.79% ☺

Fat: 02.32% Carbohydrate: 00.00%

Fiber: 00.00%

Raw Wild Venison :

Water 74.62% ☺ Protein 22.96% ☺

Fat: 02.42% Carbohydrate: 00.00%

Fiber: 00.00%

In creating this “Evo” feed, Innova has

actually created a feed that is exactly

bass-ackwards from the composition of

natural, raw tissue.—by creating a very

HIGH protein content and a very LOW

water content—with all of the natural

digestive enzymes removed as well,

through the kibbling process. The effects

of this totally bungled strategy will,

quite literally, ravage a dog’s kidneys

over time in trying to process this stuff.

The same is true for Black Gold and

some of these other super-high-protein

feeds. So don’t buy them!

The body needs water, and it needs

enzymes, in order to process protein .

Lots of water, lots of enzymes, and a

modest amount of raw (not cooked)

protein. By contrast, this “Evo” product

(and other feeds like it) have a

ridiculous amount of protein, almost no

moisture, and while some of them

do try to add-back enzymes, it is still a

poor substitute for the enzymes found

naturally in raw meat. Again, the kidneys

are what is forced to filter-out all of this

excess (and unneeded) protein from the

body, so what do you think happens to

any filtration system when it is over-

burdened with content, and without

enough water to help pass the particles

through the filters? The answer is the

filters (kidneys) get clogged-up.

If you choose to ignore my advice and

feed this product anyway, or some other

super-highprotein concoction, you will

see this struggling filtration process

begin to manifest itself with your dog

drinking about 5x more water than he

does normally as soon as you change

him to this kind of feed. He will also

start urinating 5x more than normally.

This is because the body has to get a ton

of water into itself to make up for the

moisture deficiency in the product, to

help it filter and pass the exces- sive

protein. The extra urinating is indicative

of the extra burden and struggle to

continuously pass all of this excess

protein and excess water. And when

owners aren’t smart enough to

understand what’s happening, eventually

their dog(s) will go into kidney disease,

if not outright failure. And at $55.49 for

28.6 lb bag, this feed is $1.94/lb!

It is therefore my personal opinion that

anyone would be wise to steer clear of

this kind of unnatural high-protein feed,

and instead stick with a kibble like Dog

Lover’s Gold, that has a protein profile

comparable to what is in natural meats

(22-26%). Therefore, if you must feed

kibble, make sure you go to an easily-

digestible kibble, lower in protein, but

where the protein is high-quality and

human grade (no byproducts, glutens,

corns, soy, etc.)—and then add a little

water with the meal to aid in the

digestion. At the end of the day, though,

there is no kibble that is better than

feed- ing raw, whole animals—but

there are some kibbles that are so bad

they will literally kill your dogs quickly

—and there are other brands of kibble

that are so well-made that they really are

excellent for your dog.

I hope this section leaves you seriously

rubbing your chin about the subject of

kibbled dog food. I hope it leaves you

better-educated about what constitutes

good kibble—from mediocre kibble—to

outright lousy kibble—and I also hope it

keeps you aware of the $$/lb ratio too.

As I said in the beginning, the more you

begin to think of what you feed your

dogs as an investment, as opposed to an

“expense,” the more you will take a look

at the label on the product you are

feeding and begin to ask yourself if this

food is the very best you can do for your

canine athletes—or if you are slowly

killing your dogs with poison?

When you think about the total savings of

decreased vet bills, improved fertility,

and the lengthened lifespan of your best

broodstock, feeding the best you can

possibly feed your dogs simply makes

good practical sense. And, in the long

run, you will find that feeding excellent

nutrition is the wisest investment you

will ever make in your dog career—

equal in importance to the investment

choices you make into your stock. As a

final note, whatever brand you are using

keep checking the ingredients. The

reason why I say this is many time-

proven kibble products get their

ingredients changed by the money-

grubbing companies that own them. For

instance, Canidae used to be the best

kibbled feed money could buy several

years ago, with 7 out of the first 10

ingredients being human-grade meat and

fat sources, that you could but wholesale

for about $0.70/lb. But today, that same

brand label now only has 3 out of the

first 10 ingredients being meat/fat

sources, and the price is now over

$1.00/lb. If you are buying 600-lb of dog

food a month, that is $180/month

increase in price for a product that is

now not even half as good as it once

was, so again I remind you: keep

checking the ingredients of your feed,

and make sure that the company is still

putting out the same quality.

Feeding Raw

One way around having your dog’s diet

controlled by others is to feed raw and

make your own dog food. Because the

fact is, to the person looking for the

absolute best manner in which to feed

his canine athletes, he should forget

kibble altogether. To feed a dog in the

best manner possible, a person will

attempt to mimic a dog’s natural diet

exactly, which means he will use raw,

whole animals. Not only are raw, whole

animals the best diet possible for a dog,

but the feeder animals themselves should

have been fed the absolute finest plant

material in accordance with their own

natural diets. That is nature’s perfect

balance. Feeder animals like goats,

rabbits, chickens, etc.—themselves all

fed organic foods—are the ideal food

source for your dogs. Ideally speaking, a

person would have to learn how to

slaughter his own animals, grind them

up, and individually

freeze-pack the results to accomplish

this. Going through all this trouble

would be the best a person could

possibly do his dogs nutritionally.

Simply put, this is what your dogs were

designed to eat: raw, whole animals, and

no “commercial kibble diet” can

adequately duplicate God’s

perfect balance that is already created

for you.

The trouble is, it is just not practical for

most of us to raise and feed our dogs

whole animals, so we must cut corners

somewhere and choose a feed based

upon what it is “convenient” for us,

while still trying to provide outstanding

nutrition. Conscientious owners at least

try to supplement and make up for the

inherent inadequacy of kibble, by

feeding some raw to their dogs, while

careless (or clueless) owners just feed

their dogs “cheap kibble”

However, if you want to go the extra

mile and feed raw whole animals,

without actually raising them yourself,

the first and easiest method to do so

would simply be to buy already-ground

whole feeder animals from a supplier.

The raw, whole animal vendor I have

used is Hare Today (http://www.hare-

today.com), and they provide

impeccable service. If you would like to

shop and compare prices among the

various potential animal-feeder

distributors, go to Kingsnake.com

(http://www.kingsnake.com), and

search their classified ads in the

“Feeder” section. After all, this is what

reptile aficionados have to do—

constantly buy whole feeder animals for

their reptiles—so you will find a lot of

vendors of whole feeder animals on the

above website. Now keep in mind,

unless you buy in massive bulk, this will

cost you more money than any kibble,

but if you have that kind of money, the

added expense is worth it.

A way in which you can work around the

high cost of feeding whole animals, but

yet provide equivalent nutrition, would

be to go to slaughter houses to get beef

scrap bones, tripe (intestines), organ

meats, heart, etc. You can go to chicken

houses and get the whole animals that

have died that day, load them up too, and

take all of it back home. You will of

course need a pick-up truck for this, as

well as a deep freezer at home to store

all this meat in. Another method to get

lots of good raw meats and bones cheap

would be to go to a taxidermist during

deer season and get as many of the

discard deer bones, organs, and meat

scraps—and again load as much as you

can and taking it home. You will need a

meat grinder for this:

Doug Care Equipment

P.O. Box 1058

Springville, CA 93265-1058

(559) 539-3076

http://www.dougcare.com/

Meat Grinders like this (which can also

grind bone) cost about $1,200, and are

needed to process and mix your meats

and bones properly. Doug Care

Equipment not only has meat grinders

that range from large to small, but it has

meat saws, shrink wrappers, vacuum

sealers, and a full complement of food-

processing equipment that would apply

for processing either whole feeder

animals or in combining meat scraps

from slaughterhouses. If you are grinding

whole animals, just grind them all up

and package the output by weight.

If you are combining meat and bone

scraps (rather than using the whole

animal), use a formula like 50% muscle

meat, 10% bones, 25% tripe (intestine),

and 15% organ meats (lung, heart, liver,

kidney)—and you will be feeding a very

nutritious replication of a raw, whole

animal diet.

If you buy 300 lb of meat and bone

scraps at the slaughterhouse, comprise it

of 150 lb beef flesh, 30 lb of bone, 75 lb

of tripe, and 45 lb of organ meats, etc.

You would then grind all of this together

in your meat grinder and then package

and freeze the output, preferably in 10 lb

bags. If you didn’t want to invest in a

meat grinder, you could package all of

these components separately and pull out

some of each every evening, to let thaw

for the next day. You would then have to

weigh each component prior to

combining and serving. Of course, if you

got whole chickens from a chicken

house, you would either grind them too,

or you could chop them into the right

sizes for your dogs, but grinding is

preferable.

You can also try

http://oldweb.nationalby-products.com

to order rended meats. This company is

a major supplier to professional

greyhound kennels.

If you don’t want to do this much work,

there are several dog food companies

that offer both superior canned foods as

well as raw-frozen diets. The company

Nature’s Variety makes perhaps the most

wonderful raw-frozen diet available,

already blended and formulated, and

(true to their name) they have a

wonderful “variety” of meat sources,

including chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit.

venison, and salmon. Nature’s Variety

Raw-Frozen is an absolutely top quality

feed, and if you compare the ingredients

profile of this feed to that of the wild

animal profiles on p. 124 you will see

that the specs are nearly identical. This

product comes in 6-lb sleeves,

comprised of twelve ½-lb patties, which

are conveniently separated by wax

paper. The problem with this raw-frozen

feed isn’t its quality, it’s the atrocious

price. The best you can possibly do

price-wise is try to find a wholesaler

and buy it by the case, possibly in

several cases (the more the better). Each

case is 36 lb of meat in total, with the

cheapest two formulas being beef and

chicken:

Case of Complete Raw-Frozen Beef

Diet:

Case of Complete Raw-Frozen

Chicken Diet: $89.89 per 36-lb case

(or $2.50/lb) $89.89 per 36-lb case (or

$2.50/lb)

For the person who doesn’t mind

spending a little extra, Nature’s Variety

Raw-Frozen diets are simply superb,

and they give you back quite a bit of time

in exchange for the extra cost:

Nature’s Variety Raw-Frozen comes in 6-lb sleeves,

comprised of twelve ½-lb patties, conveniently

separated by wax paper. Your best bet is to buy it by

the case: six 6-lb sleeves or 36 lb total.

Nature’s Variety Raw-Frozen Patties

(Chicken) :

Chicken, Raw Ground Chicken Bone,

Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart,

Apples, Carrots, Butter- nut Squash,

Ground Flaxseed, Chicken Eggs,

Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp,

Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey,

Salmon Oil, Olive Oil, Blueberries,

Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Duck

Eggs,

Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Inulin,

Rosemary, Sage, Clove.

Moisture: 68.00%

Protein: 13.00%

Fat: 06.00%

Carbohydrate: 02.05%

Fiber: 02.00%

Nature’s Variety’s other formulas are

equally-high quality, but most are even

higher in price.

All of Nature’s Variety’s formulas are

comprised of 95% meat, organ & raw

ground bone, with the last 5% being the

other trace elements. Unfortunately, if

you try to buy this product in individual

rolls, the cost is absolutely astronomical

—around $25 for 3 lb (or $8.33/lb!).

Again, if you can go to a wholesaler, you

may be able to get it by the case for the

prices already discussed, but because

even that price is rather high, most

people cannot afford to feed this product

to a large yard of dogs for regular

maintenance. Still, if you factor-in the

time you’d save in not having to prepare

your own raw diets, this might balance

the cost a bit, so if you have that kind of

money Nature’s Variety Raw-Frozen is

simply the best and most time-saving,

convenient raw feed you can offer your

dog.

Wonderful Homemade

Concoctions

If you are wondering what other

alternatives you might have—if you

don’t wish to order raw, whole animals

—and if you don’t wish to go to

slaughterhouses periodically either to

load-up on scraps, bones, and organ

meats—and if you can’t afford Nature’s

Variety—there is still one more option

for you to feed raw that you might

consider: go to WalMart to get your

supplies. The main tools you will need

to feed your dogs this raw diet are 1) a

Cutting Board, 2) a Meat Cleaver, 3) a

Postal Scale, 4) a Juicer, and 5) a

Vegetable Chopper {not shown}. With

some smart shopping and a little bit

extra time devoted, you can feed all of

your dogs an absolutely outstanding

raw diet—for less than it costs you to

buy anytop quality kibbled feed:

The main components to feeding your dogs

correctly are 1) a Cutting Board, 2) a Meat

Cleaver, 3) a Postal Scale, 4) a Juicer, and 5) a

Vegetable Chopper {not shown}.

Remember, all of these prices I am

discussing are subject to change, but as

of this writing, WalMart offers 10-lb

bags of chicken quarters for $5.78,

which pans-out to be only about $0.58/

lb. You can likewise get 24 oz of

chicken hearts/gizzards for $1.36 (which

is around $0.91/lb), and you can get 24

oz of chicken livers for $1.48 (which

comes to about $0.99/lb.). You can also

get a carton of 60 (5-dozen) eggs for

$7.24 (which comes to $0.97/lb), and

you can buy a 2-lb bag of mustard greens

for $3.86 (which comes to $1.76/lb).

And finally, you can buy a quart of plain

yogurt

for about $1.57 each (which is about

$0.79/lb).

Now, the chicken quarters already

include bone for calcium, and the yogurt

and greens also add considerable

calcium, along with a whole host of C-

and B-vitamins from the greens. The

reason why calcium is so important to

keep track of in a raw diet is because the

Calcium:Phosphorus Ratio is supposed

to be 2:1 (2 parts calcium to 1 part

phosphorus). When you feed raw meat

(as opposed to the whole animal) you

tend to give too much phosphorus, and

the addition of yogurt and greens to the

diet helps balance that out. (The yogurt

also adds important friendly bacteria

cultures to aid in the digestion. The

Nature’s Variety Beef formula, for

instance, has its calcium level at 0.458%

and its phosphorus at 0.256% (which is

very close to the ideal 2:1 ratio). Its

chicken formula, however, has its

calcium at 0.320% and its phosphorus at

0.256% (1.5:1), which is okay but not

quite as good as the beef. Compare that

to Diamond which is imbalanced at 1:1

or Ol’Roy which is further imbalanced

even worse at 0.7:1. These are still

more of the hidden nutritional

imbalances of kibbled feeds.

Anyway, the hearts and gizzards that you

add, along with the liver, supply the

organ meats dogs thrive on—and the

whole egg provides an assortment of

nutrition also, on top of which it is the

most biologically-available protein

source that there is. You will need to set

aside more time to make food for your

dogs when feeding this diet. Of course,

if you are a pet owner reading this, then

your cost/time factor is going to be

negligible. If you are someone feeding

10-15 dogs, you should allow an extra

hour to 1.5 hours for preparation time—

but if you have more dogs than this, then

you should seriously consider the

slaughterhouse/meat grinder method of

feeding raw.

You can store your 10-lb bags of chicken

in a separate deep freezer, but since the

vegetable content is so small you can

store these in your own refrigerator. You

won’t need a lot of kitchen space to

make the meals, and you will you’ll only

need a few extra kitchen components (as

shown above and below).

The vegetable chopper is a great tool to help turn

cumbersome green leaves into a usable food for

your dog.

Again, it takes me about an hour to feed

my 10 dogs this diet, and this is but one

of the 3 different rotational homemade

diets I provide them. The funny thing is,

the cost of feeding my dogs this stellar

meal balances-out to a little less than the

cost of feeding any of the mainstream

premium kibbled feeds, including

feeding Dog Lover’s Gold, but it

provides an immeasurably greater

nutrition profile than any of them. In fact,

let us break down the cost-per-dog to

feed this diet:

Feeding A Premium Raw

Diet

Food item Cost PeR meAl

Raw Chicken Quarters (6.4 oz) $0.232

Chicken Hearts, Gizzards (2 oz)

$0.113

Chicken Livers (2 oz) $0.124

Whole Egg (2 oz) $0.121

Plain Yogurt (2 oz) $0.049

Salmon Oil (1 oz) $0.260

Green Veggie Mix (2 oz) $0.220 17.4

oz me Al $1.12 = totAl Cost

Earlier I told you the price for most of

these ingredients. If the chicken quarters

are $0.58/lb (and 1 lb equals 16 oz,),

then they really cost $0.036/ounce. Since

I used 6.4 oz of chicken, multiplied

times cost-per-ounce, this means that

drumstick cost me $0.232 (twenty-three-

point-two cents). If the chicken gizzards

are $0.91/lb this means they are

$0.0569/ounce (five-point-six-nine cents

an ounce). If I used 2 oz then this cost me

$0.113. If the chicken livers cost me

$0.99/lb this means they cost me

$0.0619/ounce. If I used 2 oz of liver

then this cost me $0.1238. If the eggs are

$0.94/lb this means they are

$0.0588/ounce. If an egg weighs 2 oz

then each one costs me $0.1175 to use. If

the yogurt costs $1.57 for 32 oz, then 1

ounce only cost me $0.049. If the green

veggie mix (mustard greens and turnip

greens) are each $1.76/lb this means

they are $0.11/ounce, and so if I use 2 oz

of the veggie mix this costs me $0.22.

And finally, I add the Salmon Oil (which

I can get for $0.26/ ounce), and since 2

tBsp is an ounce this means I add

another twenty-six cents.

This meal right here consists of a raw chicken

drumstick (6.4 oz), chicken liver (2 oz.), chicken

gizzards/heart (2 oz.), soft-boiled egg (2 oz. - yolk

still moist), 1 tBsp plain yogurt, 1 oz salmon oil,

and finely-chopped mustard greens, along with an

orange/apple mix (2 oz). [The added apple/orange

is the waste from my own juicer, after I make juice

for myself in the morning. Rather than throw the

discarded pulp away, I simply dump the remains in

along with the green

veggie mix I make for my dogs.] That is a 16.4 oz

of absolutely nutritious ingredients for my dogs.

So what’s my total? Well, 23.2 cents +

11.3 cents + 12.4 cents + 11.8 cents +

04.9 cents + 26.0 cents + 22.0 cents =

111.9 cents for 17.4 oz, which is

$0.0643/ounce, which ultimately

translates to just under $1.03/lb, and I

am feeding just a little more than a

pound a day. Now, the above meal costs

me just over a buck a pound, while Dog

Lover’s Gold costs me only around

eighty-five cents a pound, but which do

you think is better for my dogs, long-

term? As good as Dog Lover’s Gold is,

it

just doesn’t compare to the above meal.

Feeding Raw On A Budget

What if you want to feed raw, yet you

can’t afford $0.90-$1.10/lb? Is there a

way you can do this, without going to a

slaughterhouse? Sure, you could do the

following:

Food item Cost PeR meAl

Raw Chicken Quarters (6.4 oz) $0.232

1 Cup White Rice (8 oz) $0.087

Whole Egg (2 oz) $0.121

Plain Yogurt (1 oz) $0.049

1 Tsp Lard (1/6thoz) $0.013

½ Vitamin Pill (0 oz) $0.014 18.6 oz

me Al $0.52 = totAl Cost

You would be substituting the cheap

white rice as filler for the organ meats,

which would cut your costs. You can get

20 lb of Matma white rice for $13.12 at

WalMart. Keep in mind that 1/3 cup of

rice grains makes a full cup of cooked

rice (after you add 2/3-cup of water and

heat it). There are 50.5 cups of rice

grains in the 20-lb sack, which make

151.5 cups of rice for $13.12, making

each cup of rice cost only $0.087. You

can also get a bottle of 300 Equate

Multi-Vitamin pills for $8.42. Since a

little dog doesn’t need the full horse pill,

you can cut each vitamin in half, which

means you get 600 multi-vitamins for

just over eight bucks (or $0.01/pill). The

best way to feed the half-vitamin pill is

to stuff it in a teaspoon of lard. You can

get a 4-lb tub of Armour Lard for costs

$4.82, and since 4 lb = 64 oz, and since

1 tsp = 1/6th of an ounce, this means you

get 384 servings for less than five bucks,

or $0.013 per serving,

This means the above meal would cost

23.2 cents + 8.7 cents + 12.1 cents + 4.9

cents + 1.3 cents + 1.4 cents which

would equal a total cost of 51.6 cents for

18.6 oz of feed, which translates to

$0.028/ounce—or just over $0.44/lb—

and it’s still a better meal compared to

just about any commercial kibble. That’s

right, you can shop at WalMart and feed

your dogs a low budget raw diet for less

than what it costs to feed Ol’ Roy, the

lousiest feed on the market!

Some of you might be worried about the

chicken bones (or any other kind of

bones), and many people incorrectly

believe bones will harm your dog if they

eat them. The truth is, bones are a

danger to a dog onlyif you cook them.

They become hard and brittle weapons

when cooked, but hen fed raw, however,

all bones are much softer and more

pliable and so they don’t pose a problem

to a dog. On top of which, again, bones

(along with the yogurt) provide a needed

source of calcium for the dogs. The only

thing “bad” about this low-budget diet is

the white rice as a carb source, but the

simple fact is, of all the carb sources,

white rice is about the mildest on a

dog’s stomach. Even puppies off parvo

get rice as their first feed.

I mentioned it on the previous page, but

another way to add virtually free veggies

to your dogs’ diets is by juicing. Rather

than buy specific greens for your dogs,

instead just get in the habit of juicing

your vegetables yourself, and give the

garbage to your dogs.

The basic meal on the previous page can be

supplemented with a wonderful vegetable mix for

almost to additional cost to you. If you and your

family eat healthy to begin with, all you have to do

is make a lifestyle change to juicing and give your

dogs the garbage. On the left is a bushel of carrots,

a bushel of asparagus, and a bushel of celery, as

well as a few head of cauliflower, two tomatoes, an

apple, half a jalapeño pepper, and a horn of garlic.

On the right are the two large glasses of nutritious

juice for me and my girlfriend ... but now watch

what else happens:

All of what you would basically throw away is still

nutritious shredded vegetable matter that can be

scooped out of your juicer and added to your dogs’

rations.

Simply mix-up the discarded contents real well

(LEFT), and then add a little bit to your dog’s

rations (RIGHT). The meal depicted in the right-

hand photo is the budget meal featured on pp. 131-

32 (chicken, a cup of rice, an egg, yogurt, lard,

vitamin), and to that I have now added 3 tsp of

wonderful veggie mix. The described vegetable

medley routinely pans-out to my being able to give

10 dogs each 3 tsp of vegetable-mix with their

meals. I myself am an avid juicer anyway, so it

really doesn’t cost me anything extra to give the

garbage to my doggies—but it sure is healthy for

them— a lot healthier than any form of kibble

anywhere—and it’s cheaper to make too. And you

can even get this extra large

“big mouth” juicer at WalMart too.

Maybe a future edition of this book will

come out in color, as it really adds to the

presentation of what great diets these

home-cooked concoctions are, but a

final point to make here is the fact in

order to apportion these food items

correctly to your animals, you will need

to get a general idea about how much

raw feed to give your dogs daily, which

is of course based on the

weight of each animal.

How Much Raw to Feed?

If you are going to feed raw exclusively,

via any of the above avenues, the basic

guideline is to feed approximately 1½%

to 2% of each dog’s body weight daily.

This breaks down to the following

matrix:

20 lb dog: 4.8 to 6.4 oz.

25 lb dog: 6.0 to 8.0 oz.

30 lb dog: 7.2 to 9.6 oz.

35 lb dog: 8.4 to 11.2 oz.

40 lb dog: 9.6 to 12.8 oz.

45 lb dog: 10.8 to 14.4 oz.

50 lb dog: 12.0 to 16.0 oz.

55 lb dog: 13.2 to 17.6 oz.

60 lb dog: 14.4 to 19.2 oz.

In order to feed your dogs the correct

amount of raw feed, you will need two

scales: one scale on which to weigh

your dogs and the other scale to weight

their feed. The scale to use for your dogs

is a hanging scale that you can purchase

from Chatillon Scales online. I

recommend their Model # IN-60, which

is a hanging fish scale

(http://www.chatillon-scales.com),

comprised of brass, and as such will

never rust. The scale you want to use for

weighing your dogs’ feed can be any

simple postal scale that you can buy at

any Staples or Office Depot. Once you

weigh your dogs you will know how

much to feed each one. From that point,

you will need to weigh their feed daily

at feeding time to apportion correctly on

a daily basis.

PS: My own food-weight assessment

does not count the greens; even though I

did on the above examples; privately I

do not factor this weight into my bottom

line feed weight as the greens contain

almost no calories. With the veggies, you

are attempting to simulate those few

times that a canine will “chew on some

grass,” or whatever vegetable matter he

may ingest via the stomach contents of

his prey. This is doubtless where the

trace minerals come into play as an

addendum to a wild dog’s diet.

Remember, these are but a few ideas.

There are an infinity of potential raw

feeding combi- nations you can make, all

using various meat scraps, bones, organ

meats, and veggie mixes. You don’t need

to keep feeding the same meal forever;

instead mix it up a bit with a rotational

sched- ule. If you have any doubts about

the nutrition profile of any particular

feed item you are consider- ing, you can

visit www.NutritionData.com, which is

filled with up-to-date information on all

kinds of nutrition matters, both canine

and human.

I find using a juicer great for me

personally, when I drink the fresh juices

myself, and the dis- carded fruit and

veggie matter is a “cost nothing” way for

me to apportion trace vegetable matter

into my dogs’ feed as well. Just use your

imagination and be aware that

meats/bones + fats/oils are the primary

ingredients of any superior canine ration,

and that any additional trace minerals

can be found in veggies in whichever

way is best for you to prepare them.

A final element that I didn’t cover in-

depth yet, but that warrants a look before

we wrap-up this chapter, is the subject

of added supplemental oils to the diet.

Adding specific oils to your dog’s diet

will drive your costs up a little, but if

you can afford to do this I recommend it

highly. Oils are used primarily as a

source of clean fuel for your dogs to

burn, and unlike humans, dogs burn fats

and oils much more efficiently than we

do. Dogs also do not seem to be

bothered by any kind of cholesterol

either. The difference in efficiency

between a dog burning oils for energy,

as opposed to a dog burning carbs for

energy, can be likened to the difference

between burning a tallow candle for

light versus burning paper for light: one

(the tallow candle) burns much longer

and much cleaner, leaving no waste

behind, while the other (the paper) burns

much brighter at first, but burns-up

quickly, and it leaves a lot waste behind.

Using oils in your dogs’ diet is like

burning a tallow candle, while using

carbs in a dog’s diet is like burning

paper, and this is especially important to

remember when conditioning a dog with

hard work. Using carbs as a source of

energy causes a dog to burn bright and

then fizzle out, producing the “waste” of

lactic acid build-up in his muscles,

while using oils for energy not only lasts

longer but it leaves no such waste. Now,

while most oils simply offer clean-

burning energy for your dogs, a few offer

key nutrients as well. So let’s take a look

and

compare some of the more common

nutritional oils:

Oil Comparison

(Serving size = 1 tBsp)

Coconut Oil:

Calories: 119

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 12g (58%)

Cholesterol: 0 mg (0%)
Vitamin A: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin D: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin E: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin K 0.1 mcg (0%)

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 0 mg Total Omega-6 fatty

acids: 243 mg

Salmon Oil:

Calories: 122

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 3g (13%)

Cholesterol: 65mg (22%)

Vitamin A: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin D: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin E: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin K: 0 mcg (0%)

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 4767 mg Total Omega-6

fatty acids: 208 mg

Cod Liver Oil:

Calories: 122

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 3g (15%)

Cholesterol: 77mg (26%)

Vitamin A: 13502 IU (270%)

Vitamin D: 1350 IU (338%)

Vitamin E: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin K: 0 mcg (0%)

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 2664 mg Total Omega-6

fatty acids: 126 mg

Sardine Oil:

Calories: 122

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 4g (20%)

Cholesterol: 96mg (32%)

Vitamin A: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin D: 44.8 IU (11%)

Vitamin E: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin K: 0 mcg (0%)

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 3253 mg Total Omega-6

fatty acids: 272 mg

Flax Seed Oil:

Calories: 119

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)

Cholesterol: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin A: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin D: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin E: 2.4 mg (12%)

Vitamin K: 0 mcg (0%)

Total Ome ga-3 fatty acids: 7196 mg Total Omega-6

fatty acids: 1715 mg

Wheat Germ Oil:

Calories: 119

Total Fat: 14g (21%)

Saturated Fat: 3g (13%)

Cholesterol: 0 mg (0%)

Vitamin A: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin D: 0 IU (0%)

Vitamin E: 20.2 mg (101%)

Vitamin K: 3.3 mcg (4%)

Total Omega-3 fatty acids: 932 mg Total Omega-6

fatty acids: 7398 mg

As you can see from the above data,

these common oils all provide roughly

the same calories and grams of fat per

tBsp, with the fish oils supplying a bit

more. The biggest difference in the oils

centers around which oils provide the

most Omega 3 fatty acids (Flax) and

which oil provides the most Omega 6

fatty acids (Wheat Germ). The fish oils

all provide some cholesterol, which is

fine for a dog and nothing to worry

about, unlike with humans, while the

plant-sourced oils do not supply any

cholesterol. However, another important

distinction is the fact some oils (Cod

Liver/Wheat Germ) offer significant

amounts of the fat-soluble Vitamins A,

D, and E. Fat-soluble vitamins add-up

every day, which can cause toxic

overdoses if continued indefinitely, and

in the case of cod liver oil only 1 tBsp

of this gives triple the amount of

Vitamins A and D that a human being

needs, let alone a dog. A dog should get

2 tBsp (= 30 ml = 1 ounce) of any oil

with his feed, which in the case of cod

liver oil would translate to six-times the

Vitamin A and D that would be needed.

So really, the only reason to give a dog

cod liver oil would be if it had rickets

or needed massive amounts of Vitamin D

for some reason. Otherwise, steer clear

of using cod liver oil on your dogs

In the case of wheat germ oil, though, we

have a literal Godsend, in that wheat

germ oil offers just about exactly the

right daily amount of Vitamin E—a

crucial vitamin to both reproductive

function as well as for rebuilding health.

And, finally, flax seed oil is king of the

Omega 3 fatty acids.

As a daily supplement to the feed, I think

salmon oil is great. You aren’t really

giving any key nutrients, per se, but you

are providing a great fat source for the

dog’s coat and energy, as well as the

tastiest form of oil there is (dogs love

salmon oil!). However, if you are

specifically trying to build sperm in a

male however, I recommend the wheat

germ. Both of these oils can be

expensive, with salmon oil often going

for $1.24/ounce and wheat germ oil

often going for $1.00/ounce (which

again is 2 tBsp). Well, of course I have a

way around this too:

Jedwards

www.bulknaturaloils.com

This company (as its web address

implies) sells oil in bulk. The minimum

you can order from them is 5-gallon

pails of oil, and they carry just about any

kind of edible oil known to man. For

instance, their flax oil is $108.00 for 5

gallons; their salmon oil is $140.00 for 5

gallons; and their wheat germ oil is

$130.00 for 5 gallons. Add about $25.00

for shipping to each, and your total cost

is $132, $165, and $155 respectively.

Ahh, but look at the savings!

The best you can do buying (say) salmon

oil retail, would be to pay $57.00 (plus

shipping) for 88 oz of Kronch salmon oil

from Naturmix.com. That is a

breakdown of $0.65/oz and that does not

include shipping. Since 1 ounce = 2

tBsp, and since 2 tBsp is exactly what

you should feed your dogs, this means

that it costs you sixty-five cents per dog

to feed salmon oil when bought retail.

And that’s a BEST case scenario buying

retail—which is more than our entire

budget meal put together! When you buy

the 8.8oz “pump bottle” of salmon oil

this product usually costs $10.95 +

shipping, which is $1.24/oz (not

including shipping), OUCH!

Well, that same salmon oil when bought

in 5-gallon pails at Jedwards is $165

*total* (including shipping), and since

there are 128 ounces to a gallon,

multiplied times 5 gallons, this is a total

640 ounces. This means you are only

paying $0.26/oz buying salmon oil

wholesale, which is like spending a

quarter. That is a lot easier to handle J

At the top of p. 130 the ideal raw meal

from WalMart cost us around $1.03/lb,

and that includes the added 2 tBsp of

salmon oil to it (at $0.26), this means

our 15.4 oz meal jumped to 17.4 oz, and

the price jumped up to $1.12 in total

(which would be $1.03/lb). Yet although

this exceeds our goal of around $.80/lb,

if you can afford to add oil to your dog’s

diet you will love the results. Their

coats will achieve a level of shine fed

raw + oils that you just won’t see on a

kibble-fed dog, and the cost is still less

than half of what the Nature’s Variety

raw-frozen diet is.

There are other ways to cut your costs

too, such as going to meat-processing

plants or slaughterhouses instead, as was

mentioned back in the beginning. If you

forget about WalMart and go directly to

these places, I have seen people get

dead chickens for $0.35/lb, and I have

seen people get 800 lb of beef waste for

$60.00! You can even negotiate to get the

beef tripe, livers, lungs, bones, and heart

for free from your local butchers. Who

knows?

Remember, each slaughterhouse, meat

rending plant, and each chicken farm

will be different. The point is to realize

how much flexibility you have and to

budget your costs within what is

manageable for you and your ingredients

to what is healthy for your dogs. And

don’t forget the taxidermist come deer

season. There is also the prospect of

raising your own meat sources, hunting,

etc. Your possibilities of getting free

meat sources are limitless, Anyway, that

wraps up this chapter on canine nutrition

and what to feed your dogs. I hope it has

opened your eyes to the realities of

feeding and the long-term disadvantage

of feeding kibble.

In closing, on the next page, I will leave

you with a conversion table for liquid

measure that you will find helpful.

Liquid Measurement

Conversion Table

Milliliters (ml = cc) Teaspoons

Tablespoons Cups, etc. Ounces

1 ml 1/5th Teaspoon 1/240th Cup 1/30th Ounce

5 ml 1 Teaspoon 1/48th Cup 1/6th Ounce

15 ml 1 Tablespoon 1/16th Cup 1/2 Ounce

30 ml 2 Tablespoons 1/8th Cup 1 Ounce

100 ml 6 Tbsp + 2 Tsp 5/12th Cup 3.4 Ounces

240 ml 16 Tbsp 1 Cup 8 Ounces

480 ml 32 Tbsp 1 Pint 16 Ounces

950 ml 63 Tbsp + 1 Tsp 1 Quart 31.67 Ounces

1000 ml 66 Tbsp + 2 Tsp 1 Liter 33.34 Ounces

3.84 Liters 256 Tbsp 1 Gallon 128 Ounces

Cups, etc Teaspoons Tablespoons

Ounces Milliliters

1/16th Cup 3 Tsp = 1 Tbsp 1/2 Ounce 15 ml

1/8th Cup 2 Tbsp 1 Ounce 30 ml

1/6th Cup 2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp 1.33 Ounce 40 ml

1/4 Cup 4 Tbsp 2 Ounces 60 ml

1/3rd Cup 5 Tbsp + 1 Tsp 2.5 Ounces 80 ml

3/8th Cup 6 Tbsp 3 Ounces 90 ml

1/2 Cup 8 Tbsp 4 Ounces 120 ml

2/3 Cup 10 Tbsp + 2 Tsp 5.5 Ounces 160 ml

3/4 Cup 12 Tbsp 6 Ounces 180 ml

1 Cup 16 Tbsp 8 Ounces 240 ml

2 Cups 1 Pint 16 Ounces 480 ml

2 Pints 1 Quart 32 Ounces 960 ml

4 Quarts 1 Gallon 128 Ounces 3840 ml

1 Milligram

Dry Measure

1/1,000,000th .000035 OunceKilogram

1 Gram 1/1000th Kilogram .035 Ounce 1000 milligrams

100 Grams 1/10 Kilogram 3.5 Ounces 100,000

milligrams

500 Grams 1/2 Kilogram 1.10 pounds 500,000

milligrams 1000 Grams 1 Kilogram 2.205 pounds 35

Ounces

Chapter 4

Mandatory Kennel

Disinfectants

Now that we have completed the

sections on obtaining good broodstock,

on setting up a proper kennel, and on

feeding your dogs correctly for their

long-term health, the next subject that

follows is naturally going to be

maintenance. Disinfectants for premises

and kennels—as well as antiseptics for

wounds—are an important part of

performance dog ownership. There is no

“one” brand of disinfectant that covers

every possible application, but based

upon 20 years of using nearly every

brand that is made, Nolvasan comes the

closest to being “all purpose.” Still,

there are other products that have

specific uses, that exceed Nolvasan’s

ability in certain areas, and therefore are

important to canine health management

as well. Thus I will do a little bio on

each brand that ultimately will benefit

you, and you can pretty much forget

about the other brands because they fall

short of the ones listed here in this

section. Before I proceed, I need to

clarify a few important definitions for

you to master:

ü DISINFECTANT ü ANTISEPTIC

ü SANITIZE

ü STERILIZE

These definitions are important to

understand what we are doing and what

our goals are

when we are doing it. If we are going to

“disinfect and sanitize” an area, we are

going to bring an

area to acceptable condition for the

general welfare of our animals. There

will still be some bacteria, etc.

remaining, but they will not be a health

risk. If we are going to “disinfect and

sterilize” an

area, then our goal is to remove every

single trace of bacteria, virus, and fungi,

for instance to create hospital-like

conditions for a debilitated animal. With

these definitions in mind, Nolvasan is

the

only product that is both a disinfectant

and an antiseptic

: used on inanimate objects. : used on

living tissue.

: to reduce microbes to a safe level. :

to destroy all microbes.

Nolvasan

There are many forms of chlorhexidine

on the market, but Nolvasan (

chlorhexidine diace- tate) is the only

EPA-registered chlorhexidine

disinfectant. It works against at least 60

different bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and

viruses. But what makes Nolvasan

different from other premises

disinfectants is that Nolvasan is non-

corrosive. Where any other commercial-

grade disinfectant can’t come into

contact with human (or animal) skin,

Nolvasan produces minimal to no skin

irritation at all. What’s more is

Nolvasan retains antimicrobial activity

in the presence of organic matter.

Nolvasan’s unique binding-to-skin

proteins also provide residual activity

for as long as 2 days. This is important!

Even traditional wound cleansers for

skin, like alcohol and Betadine, are

ineffective after only a few hours.

Nolvasan can be effective for one or two

DAYS. Further, alcohol is out of the

question for treating sensitive mucous

membranes, and even hydrogen peroxide

and Betadine can cause irritation as

well. Nolvasan causes no such thing—

and—it lasts longer to do its job to boot.

The Nolvasan family of disinfectants kills bacteria,

virus, and fungi on everything from kennels, to

crates, to wounds, eyes, and ears. Its active

ingredient (chlorhexidine diacetate) is even used to

sanitize and brush teeth!

Therefore, no serious dogman should be

in a position without Nolvasan being

immediately available to him at all

times. Just as surely as you can load

Nolvasan up in a Hudson Sprayer and

disinfect a kennel, so too can you put it

in a small, handy spray bottle and

disinfect wounds, treat ringworm, flush

out ears plagued with yeasts and

bacteria—there is even a Nolvasan eye

oint-

ment and toothpaste available.

Nolvasan is not used in pure form, it is

always mixed with water. The general

ratio of Nolvasan-to-water to disinfect

premises is 3 ounces (6 tBsp) per

gallon of clean water. Here is the

spectrum of efficacy for Nolvasan as a

disinfectant when mixed at this ratio:

canine distemper virus, equine

influenza virus, transmissible

gastroenteritis virus, hog cholera virus,

parain- fluenza-3 virus, bovine

rhinotracheitis virus, bovine virus

diarrhea virus, infec- tious bronchitis

virus, Newcastle virus, Venezuelan

equine encephalitis virus, equine

rhinopneumonitis virus, feline

rhinotracheitis virus, pseudorabies vi-

rus, equine arteritis virus and canine

coronavirus. Nolvasan also eradicates a

whole host of bacteria as well.

Nolvasan solution has likewise been

shown to be virucidal in vitro against

rabies virus (CVS strain) in laboratory

tests when used as directed.

Since Nolvasan is typically sold by the

gallon—at a cost of about $50.00/gal,

plus shipping—one must remember that

there are 128 ounces per gallon—so at

normal conversions 1 gallon of

Nolvasan re-constitutes to produce

nearly 43 gallons of disinfectant.

For dipping the teats lactating bitches in

an effort to con

Making a handy antiseptic

sprayer with Nolvasan and

water is a cinch.

trol the bacteria that causes mastitis, one

must use a higher ratio of Nolvasan-to-

water. This would involve putting 32

ounces (one quart) of Nolvasan in a

clean gallon container, adding 6 ounces

of glycerin and then adding the

remaining clean water to produce a total

volume of one gallon. Simply dip a rag

in this solution and apply to a

bitch’s teats as necessary, both as a

preventative as well as a treatment.

Nolvasan can also be put into a 32-oz

spray bottle in the same ratio as above to

create a handy wound spray. Simply put

4 oz of Nolvasan to 28 oz of water, to

create a 32 oz mix than can easily be

sprayed into ears, mouth wounds,

external cuts, etc. The handiness of

Nolvasan to be effective in many

situations cannot be understated.

However, as great a product as

Nolvasan is, it does not cover

everything. Nolvasan is NOT effective

against Pseudomonas aeruginosa(or

most gram-positive cocci) on inanimate

surfaces. Nolvasan also is not effective

against parvovirus. For this reason,

other premises disinfectants need to be

considered for your own personal needs

at the moment. The good news is, where

Nolvasan doesn’t apply there are still

plenty of excellent alternatives to choose

from.

Probably the best

commercially-available

Trifectantpremises

disinfectant is Trifectant. It

cannot
be used on skin or in wounds like

Nolvasan, but as a total kennel

disinfectant and sterilization tool, it is

top notch.

Trifectant disinfectant kills 99.99% of

the possible viruses, bacteria, and fungi

that can plague your kennel. The

ingredients in this effective product

work together synergistically to kill

major viral, bacterial, and fungal

pathogens literally in minutes.

Trifectant’s multi-action formula attacks

key structures within micro-organisms to

kill almost any pathogen—including

parvovi- rus, rabies, and much more—in

one step. Trifectant is also

biodegradable and safe for use in the

environment. Trifectant is also fairly

economical, as a 10 lb pail of powder

makes up to 123 gallons of prepared

solution. As a regular disinfectant, it is

my opinion that this product is your best

bet, as it does the job and yet poses no

danger either to animals or to the

ecology of your area, unlike so many

other products.

Indications

• Trifectant is highly effective, broad

spectrum disinfectant for use in

veterinary hospitals, shelters and

boarding facilities.

• The world’s most widely-used

veterinary biocide.

• Trifectant is a mixture of chemicals

that work together synergistically. It

is a disinfectant with mul- tiple modes

of action designed to work on

different and specific parts of the

micro-organism.

• Powerful, Fast Acting—1% solution

kills bacteria, fungi, kennel cough,

distemper, corona virus, and

parvovirus.

• Effective on porous surfaces, against

organic challenge, in hard water and

at a low temperature. 10 minutes is

sufficient time to soak instruments.

Rinse after soaking.

• Delivers a 99.99% kill of major viral,

bacterial, and fungal pathogens

(including hard to kill nonenvelope

viruses) within minutes of application.

• High levels of surfactancy with

acidic and oxidizing power provide

superior destruction of biofilms.

• Non-tainting, no environmental

residue problems, of exceptionally low

toxicity.

• Makes up to 123 gallons of product.

• A unique yellow powder for easy

storage and transportation and

accurate dilution. Readily solu- ble in

warm water within seconds for a

ready-to-use solution with a pleasant

citrus scent.

• In solution, Trifectant remains stable

up to 7 days and is not inactivated by

organic material.

• Versatile, can be applied to surfaces

and equipment to clean and disinfect

in a one step opera- tion.

• Cleans and disinfects surfaces,

including examination tables.

• No rotation necessary—Trifectant

kills first time, every time.

• Safe—solution is user friendly to

humans and animals. Biodegradable.

Does not require special disposal of

prepared solution.

• Uses: One-step cleaning and

disinfectant—all surfaces, equipment,

instruments, cages,

kennels,quarantine areas, infectious

disease wards, and animal transport

vehicles (e.g. horse trailers). Foggers

and sprayers—use in hand-sprayers or

automatic systems. Tack and blankets

—shampoo or spray lightly.

Trifectant powder mixes with clean

water to make 123 gallons of the most

effective kennel steril - ization

solution you can buy, and it is also

biodegradable (unlike most of its

competitors), safe for humans and

animals, while also being infinitely

more effective at killing pathogens.

As you can see, with most of the other

forms of kennel disinfectants, not only

are they not as broad-spectrum as

Trifectant, but they require “special

handling” for disposal as well, are a

danger to the environment, and many can

also be a danger to your dogs’ health.

Naturally, with this superior efficacy and

ease of handling, Trifectant comes with a

heavy price tag —about $70.00

for a 10 lb container—but again it makes

about 123 gallons of solution, which is

about $0.57/gal.

Chlorine Bleach

Probably the most common disinfectant

among dogmen is good ol’ fashioned

chlorine Bleach. The plusses to the use

of chlorine bleach are many: it kills just

about everything any disinfectant can

hope to kill, it is BY FAR the most

economical disinfectant one could buy

(at about $3 a gallon—which makes

about 20-30 gal of solution—it is

therefore $0.10 - $0.15/gal to use), and

it is available in any regular store or

supermarket in your neighborhood.

Bleach is best used in a 1:20 to 1:30

ratio (1 part bleach to either 20 parts or

30 parts water). At this ratio, bleach

will kill just about every kind of

pathogen known to man. At higher

concentrations, some viruses develop a

defense mechanism (envelope) making

them unreachable by the bleach; at lower

concentrations, the bleach isn’t strong

enough to kill everything. Therefore,

always dilligently mix any bleach

solution between a 1:20 to 1:30 ratio.

Although nowhere near as skin-friendly

as Nolvasan, diluted bleach in the above

concentrations “can” be applied

topically to undamaged skin. You should

NEVER use bleach to treat an open

wound, as it will destroy the delicate

tissue, but for cases of ringworm or

hotspots on closed and unbroken skin,

applying a 1:30 solution of bleach is

ideal. Rather than spend a small fortune

on expensive sprays and medicines to

treat ringworm outbreaks in the yard,

just fill a 5-gal- lon bucket with ½-cup

of bleach and 15 cups of water (a 1:20

ratio),

Every dogman worth his salt toss in a sponge, and procede down the yard scrubbing

infected

has a bottle of Clorox bleach

on hand. Nothing is cheaper or

more effective at disinfecting a

kennel area.

dogs to elicit a cure. You can also scrub

the non-infected dogs to prevent

infestation (and it is better to start with

the non-infected dogs.) A $3 bottle of

bleach will make twenty 1.5-gallon

bukets of solution like this, which

amounts to only $0.10/gallon (ten cents a

gallon). That’s pretty cheap! The

drawback to bleach is that it is

extremely caustic

and destroys tissue, clothing, wood,

and metal with its highly corrosive

properties . Care must be given to look

for a reaction any time it is applied to

flesh in the above manner. Bleach is also

very corrosive in spray bottles, Hudson

Sprayers, as well as on your dogs’ feet

when the kennel is sprayed out.

Basically, bleach will corrode and

destroy everything it comes into contact

with, eventually. As such, while bleach

certainly is economical and easy to

come by, and while it certainly does

eradicate micro-organisms, there are

some considerations to ponder regarding

its use. A final con- sideration if the fact

bleach is also terrible on the

environment. While it is safe to use

Trifectant and dump the rest outside, the

accumulation of bleach in the soil is not

good for the local plant and animal

populations.

Betadine

Betadine microbicides are the leading

antiseptics in U.S. hospitals today.

Betadine is NOT a “disinfectant” (it is

not for premises sanitation), it is an

“antiseptic” (for the sterilization of

human and animal skin and wounds).

Only povidone-iodine (as in Betadine)

is capable of killing all classes of

pathogens responsible for nosocomial

infections: gram-positive and gram-

negative bacteria, including antibiotic-

resistant strains and spores (both

bacterial and fungal), as well as

viruses, mycobacteria, and protozoa.

Today, gram-negative strains comprise

over one-third of bacteria isolated from

hospitalacquired infections, and some

commonly used antiseptics are

ineffective against these organisms (for

instance, Nolvasan). Thus Betadine will

always remain an important item to keep

on hand for

your immediate use.

Betadine microbicides contain a

complex of the polymer

polyvinylpyrrolidone with iodine (PVP-

I) which, after application, continues to

deliver iodine over a period of time

(usually a few hours). Elemental iodine

has long been known as a highly

effective microbicidal agent that rapidly

kills bacteria, viruses, fungi and

protozoa. Unfortunately, pure iodine is

also very hard on the skin. The early

antiseptic “tincture of iodine” has been

commonly associated with stinging and

irritation when applied to wounds and

raw flesh. Moreover, wounds treated

with tincture of iodine cannot be

covered with a bandage or a cast

without developing a nasty skin

irritation. The irritative properties of

iodine were eventually minimized by

complexing it with the water-soluble

polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone,

producing the original povidone-iodine

brand, Betadine. This form of iodine

for topical use retains the unique broad-

spectrum activity of iodine yet without

iodine’s major disadvantages. For

example, Betadine microbicides do not

produce the characteristic stinging and

irritating sensations associated with

tincture of iodine.

Skin or wounds treated with Betadine

microbicides can be covered with a

bandage or cast without skin irritation.

Today, Betadine preparations retain

these fine properties and continue to be

the leading antimicrobial agent used by

physicians in the hospital and office.

Betadine microbi- cides kill most

microorganisms in less than a minute in

vitro, with many destroyed in 15-30

seconds and less. Betadine solution does

not dry or blister skin or wounds.

Betadine is film-forming and leaves a

protective antiseptic film over wounds

and skin which decreases microbial

counts and subse- quently provides

excellent antimicrobial substantivity for

several hours.

* Resistance to Betadine Microbicides

has NEVER been encountered. *

The use of full-strength Betadine

solution on wounds has been proven to

be safe and effective. Although in-

vitro(test tube) studies show effective

microbicidal activity of Betadine

solution even when it is diluted, this may

not be applicable to the in-vivo(live

body) situation. Moreover, diluting

Betadine results in a loss of the ability

of the polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine

(PVP-I) complex to act as a reservoir

from which the continual release of free

iodine can occur. Thus, dilute solutions

have a smaller iodine reservoir and

therefore less capacity to kill

microorganisms. It is therefore

recommended ONLY the use of full-

strength Betadine on wounds and skin

injuries should be practiced. Do not

dilute.

Now, this may surprise a lot of people,

but mixtures of hydrogen peroxide with

Betadine are not recommended by the

manufacturer, because they may become

chemically unstable and lose their

effective proterties. The manufacturer

recommends that Betadine only be used

alone, in full strength. This is a product

that needs to be in every dogman’s

medicine cabinet, no exceptions.

Finally, when purchasing this product it

is important to recognize the difference

between Betadine Solution and Betadine

Surgical Scrub—the Scrub should be

washed off (it’s a shampoo)—but the

straight Betadine Solution should be left

on. This is an invaluable product to

treating wounds.

Betadine is broader-spectrum than Nolvasan, but

Nolvasan is gentler on deep tissues than Beta-

dine, so which to use for what circumstance re-

quires thoughtful consideration.

Hydrogen Peroxide

The principal use of hydrogen peroxide

as an antiseptic (particularly in the

mouth, and particularly where particles

have entered the wound) is for its the

“bubbling” action where the chemical

instability of the peroxide helps lift &

remove debris.

Unfortunately, hydrogen peroxide is

much more caustic than either Betadine

or Nolvasan, and as such it should be

diluted with water. A 75% Betadine,

25% hydrogen peroxide solution is great

to flush-out dirt and debris in

contaminated wounds. Such a ratio is

also great for rinsing out deep mouth

wounds. Although the manufacturer of

Betadine discourages this practice, I

have used to successfully on too many

occasions not to recommend this.

Perhaps this practice was discouraged

because the company cannot control the

variables involved, and wants to play it

safe, but I know for a fact that such a

mixture really just brings out all the dirt

with the bubbling action of

the peroxide, as well as sterilizes the

wounds.

As far as spectrum of efficacy, hydrogen peroxide

is not as pow- erful as either Nolvasan

Key Tip: Hydrogen peroxide is also

known to encourage vomiting in a

dog. If your dog eats something it

shouldn’t have (like a collar), immedi-

ately give it hydrogen peroxide. You

want to make sure that you use the 3%

solution, and you administer at a dose

of 1 teaspoon (5cc) per 10 lbs of body-

weight. Once given, walk your dog

around or play rough with them so as

to shake the stomach area (to mix the

peroxide with the stomach contents).

The dog should start vomiting within

15 to 20 minutes. (If no vomiting

occurs, you can safely repeat the dose

once). This technique to induce

vomiting can be a lifesaver!

In closing, I recommend that hydrogen

peroxide also be in your medicine

cabinet at all times. Yes, there are many

other disinfectants and antiseptics on the

market, besides the ones I have listed,

but at the end of the day what I have put

here are the ones that are absolutely

indispensable to the management of any

kennel of dogs. Each and every one of

these products you will find to be

indispensable.

The question will ultimately become

which product should you use for what

circumstance, and the answer becomes a

matter of individual need and desire to

be gained. For economy, nothing beats

bleach for cleaning and disinfecting a

kennel, but for long-term environmental

(as well as equip

or Betadine, but again ment) damage, Trifectant should be used instead. its bubbling action For
general wound care, Betadine is the de

facto standard, and it is does have its uses, in-

cluding oxygentaing

the area, but hydro-

gen peroxide is much

less stabile a chemical

and rapidly loses its ef-

ficacy.

broader-spectrum, but in very sensitive

deep wounds Nolvasan is less caustic

and therefore preferred in these

circumstances. Another point to

consider, if you cannot re-dress the

wounds regularly because of your work

schedule, don’t forget Nolvasan’s

antibacterial properties last longer

Therefore it is important to consider all

of your options, and the strengths and

weaknesses of each product, before you

select one of them for the job. I hope this

chapter has stimulated thought in you and

given you a clearer picture on both

disinfectants and antiseptics, and which

ones to use for what purpose. Because

there are many instances where your

intelligent choice will make a big

difference in the outcome.

Chapter 5

Common Ailments &

Saving Money

In addition to what we’ve covered

already, the next thing any serious dog

owner needs to prepare himself for is

the cost of parasite and disease control.

Any of you who has run a yard of dogs

for awhile quickly realizes these animals

can be very expensive to maintain. And

if you don’t realize that yet, you are

either new to dogs or you simply have

no clue as to how much money you are

wasting on standard dog products. Well,

after raising and breeding dogs for two

decades, I would like to think I have

learned a few tricks along the way on

how to save literally hundreds (if not

thousands) of dollars in raising them,

and this kind of information is what I

intend to share with you in this chapter.

If you have not yet been exposed to this

material in the past, it will literally blow

you away. Check out the kind of savings

I am talking about on some very common

dog medications:

Product Albon

( Sulfadimethoxine

Nemex II

( Pyrantel pamoate

Mitaban

( Amitraz
Frontline Plus

( Fipronil

HeartGard

( Ivermectin

Droncit

( Praziquantel

Retail Wholesale My Way Savings

Cost Cost J(Per month)

$1.72 per dog $0.09 per dog $0.06 per dog Save Up to

30 dogs = $51.60 30 dogs = $2.70 30 dogs = $1.80

$49.80 /month! !

$5.79 per dog $2.63 per dog $0.08 per dog Save Up to

30 dogs = $173.70 30 dogs = $78.90 30 dogs = $2.40

$171.30 /month! !

$45.00 per dog $14.95 per dog $0.08 per dog Save Up

to 2 dogs = $90.00 2 dogs = $29.90 2 dogs = $0.16

$89.84 /month! !

$16.40 per dog $12.43 per dog $0.20 per dog Save Up

to 30 dogs = $492.00 30 dogs = $372.90 30 dogs =

$6.00 $484.17 /month! !

$2.50 per dog $0.29 per dog $0.05 per dog Save Up to

30 dogs = $75.00 30 dogs = $8.70 30 dogs = $1.50

$73.50 /month! !

$16.50 per dog $7.48 per dog $3.77 per dog Save Up
to 30 dogs = $495.00 30 dogs = $224.40 30 dogs =

$113.10 $381.90 /month! !

Total Monthly Savings >>>>

of up to$1,248.58

These products are used regularly by any

dogman who breeds dogs. Albon

controls the parasite coccidia, Nemex

controls common roundworm &

hookworm, Mitaban is what is used to

treat mange, Frontline controls fleas &

ticks, HeartGard is used to prevent

heartworm, and Droncit controls

tapeworm. There is no breeder

anywhere who can ever escape the

fact he will have to use these

products. However, what the savvy

breeder can escape is having to get

turned upside-down and robbed in the

prices he is forced to pay for these

products.

If you follow the information I am about

to give you, you will save yourself

literally hundreds (if not thousands) of

dollars in running a yard of dogs over

the years. The information in this chapter

alone is worth the price of the book—ten

times over—maybe a hundred times

over—because if you apply what you

learn here, there is no telling how much

money you will eventually save for the

rest of your career in owning and raising

dogs.

Saving over $1,250/month running a

yard of 30 dogs is saving well over

$15,000/year. And even if you only have

one little doggie as a pet, you would still

have saved $83.61 using my secrets

which is over $1,000/year. Just on

monthly heartworming and

roundworming alone, a 1-dog owner

will save over $99.00/year by using my

secrets, which again is more than the

price of this book . So

just imagine what a man with 20-50 dogs

will save himself J

So, without further ado, let us now take a

look at the major principles you will

need to master in order to learn how you

can start saving literally hundreds, if not

thousands, of dollars every year by

strategically-purchasing your dog

products. Before we get into these steps,

you will need to get yourself on the

mailing list of several good vet-supply

companies to obtain your products. Here

are a few that I will use as examples:

ü KV Vet Supply (800) 423-8211

ü Jeffers Vet Supply (800) 533-3377

ü Lambriar Vet (800) 344-6337

ü Vet Vax (800) 369-8297

These are the catalogues and companies

I use most frequently myself, but

remember there

are many good vet supply companies out

there. You will find that each company

has something to offer that the other

doesn’t, and one will have lower prices

where the other one doesn’t, so it never

hurts to be on the mailing lists of

several such companies to compare and

contrast both their prices as well as

their products
Therefore, stop reading for a moment,

and call each of these companies right

now, and order their MASTER

CATALOGUES—not their “pet”

catalogues—but their Master

Catalogues. These catalogues are usually

free, and the Master Catalogue will

contain all of the company’s products,

not just the ones labeled for “pets,” but

also the ones labeled for large animals.

This (as you will see) is the key to

everything. As a side note, if a

particular company doesn’t have a

“master” catalog, then order their pet

catalogue, but also make sure you order

their livestock catalogue. Again, you

will see the reason for this in just a

moment.

For the sake of this chapter, I am

primarily going to use the Master

Catalogue of KV Vet Supply, as they

offer about the widest variety of

prescription drugs (but only to

veterinarians), in addition to which they

also offer probably the widest array of

standard kennel products, and more

importantly, they offer tons of medical

products labeled for farm animals—that

can be used for dogs KV also gives

details on the ingredients of their

available prescription drugs, as well as

the details of the ingredients of their

farm animal products, and the key of all

of this is that the farm animal products

are obtainable over the counter. You

will find that many times the same

active ingredients which are “by

prescription only” when labeled for

dogsare available over the counter

when the same product is labeled for

large animals

The crux to all of this is that the drugs

are identical. Yet while these drugs are

“restricted” for sale to dog owners, they

are not, however, restricted to livestock

owners. The logic for this is simple: you

can’t bring a cow or a pig into a vet’s

office, so the “powers that be” allow

you to purchase these prescription items

over the counter for your sick cows,

horses, and pigs—but if you own a

doggie who gets sick they restrict these

drugs and make them by “prescription

only,” for the sole reason to make the

vets rich. I’m not kidding.

In other words, the FDA deems it

appropriate to offer the layman the over-

the-counter sale of many prescription

medications to treat pigs, horses, and

cows, and yet that same FDA makes

these same medications “by prescription

only” when used for doggies. This fact is

simply the result of veterinarian

lobbying, to justify their existence and to

fatten their wallets. Now, this is not to

say that you shouldn’t ever go to your

vet; you should go to your vet any time

you are concerned about your dog’s

health where you don’t know what the

problem is. But once you identify what

the problem is, there certainly is no need

to buy the same drugs from your vet that

you could get through a catalogue for a

fraction of the cost (unless there is an

emergency situation). Nor is there a need

to get these medicines at a pet store,

either (if they’re even available there),

as the retail costs for most of these items

are far too great. This is where your

catalogue comes in, and this is where the

principles of this chapter come in, and

so the following are the key steps you

can take to take to save yourself literally

a ton of money buying dog RX products:

The 4 Steps to Saving

Money

Step 1 : Simply look in your catalogue

to see if the “by prescription only”

product you need is offered there in the

catalogue;

Step 2: If you can identify the

prescription product in your catalogue,

find out what its active ingredient is,

and also make sure you jot down all

relevant information as to what the

dosage is of this active ingredient.

Step 3: Look at other similar products in

the general livestock section of your

catalogue, labeled for large animals

(horses, cows, pigs, fish, birds, etc.), to

see if these products have the same

active ingredient as the “prescription

only” dog products. If the catalogue has

a product labeled for large animals, with

the same active ingredient as the

“prescription only” dog product, then not

only will the livestock product be

available over the counter, but the price

will invariably be a fraction of the cost

that the same product when labeled for

dogs.

Step 4: Check to make sure that the

percentage of the active ingredient in

the large/other animal product is the

same as the dog product. For instance,

a liquid substance that contains 15% of

the active ingredient when labeled for

dogs by prescription, might only contain

12.5% of the same active ingredient

when labeled for cattle over the counter.

If this occurs, then you just use simple

mathematics to compensate for this slight

disparity.

Below I will list some examples of how

these kinds of savings can be achieved.

However, in order to appreciate this

information, you really need to get

yourself one of these vet supply

catalogues, so you can actually see what

I am talking about as you read along.

Therefore, call the suppliers at the

numbers listed above and order your

free catalogues as soon as possible. At

this point, I am going to list several

common “dog problems” that every

owner faces—and then I am going to list

the “standard” remedies (and their cost)

—after which I am going to show “my

way” of handling the problem and the

tremendous savings you will enjoy. You

are literally going to be blown away at

how much money you are wasting by

handling dog problems via conventional

means. So let’s start this lesson with

handling basic worms in dogs:

Treating Worms

The most common ongoing disease-

management problem any dog owner is

going to face is forever trying to keep his

stock free of worms. What many people

don’t realize is that there are several

different kinds of worms that can afflict

dogs. The most common worms any

dogman is go- ing to be facing are

roundworms, hookworms, heartworm,

whipworms, and tapeworms. The

trouble is, no “one” drug treats every

species of worm—or perhaps I should

say no one drug or brand treats every

species of worm either economically or

effectively. There are brand name

products like Drontal-Plus (which

contain several drugs in one product to

cover everything), but at a “discounted”

wholesale price of $427/bottle for 50

treatments, you’re talking about spending

nearly $9/dog to handle simple worms.

This may not seem like much money, but

if you are a breeder with 30 dogs that is

nearly $270 in worming expense. Well,

the point of this chapter is, there are

better ways!

First of all, there is no reason to treat

“for every kind of worm there is” as a

matter of routine. Some people like to do

this, but it is unnecessarily and very

costly. The most important worming

treatment there is would be monthly

heartworm prevention, followed by

regular control of roundworm.

Tapeworm, hookworm, and especially

whipworm are nowhere near as common

to face. What this means is one should

establish a regular worming protocol

that addresses heartworm and

roundworm preventatively, and that they

should only worry about tapeworm,

hookworm, and whipworm individually.

This is especially true because

tapeworm medicine is the most

expensive worming medicine of all

(sometimes as high as $16.50/dog), so it

simply makes no sense to use it (and

waste your money like that) if your dog

doesn’t in fact have a case of tapeworm.

By contrast, treating roundworm

effectively can be as cheap as

$0.02/dog, so there is no loss to a

dogman treating 50 dogs for roundworm

preventatively for only $1.00 - $3.00, as

opposed to between $427.00 - $825.00.

What I am going to do now, is show you

which medicines handle what worms,

and then show you how to get those

medicines for as cheaply as possible, by

following the 4-step process that I have

outlined on the opposite page. So let use

take a look at some of these examples as

to how to treat your dogs optimally and

yet how to save money in the process:

Example 1 :

How do you save money on treating

roundworm? Easy, you just follow the

four steps above. Step 1: You first

identify the most common product to

handle roundworm in your catalogue.

The most common pet product used to

cure roundworms is Nemex 2 wormer.

Step 2: is look at the active ingredient.

In the case of Nemex 2, the active

ingredient is pyrantel pamoate.

Remembering this active ingredient is

the key! Next you look at the *dosage* of

this product. In the case of Nemex 2, the

package says give 1 ml orally for every

2 lbs. of bodyweight—in other words

you would need 25 ml to treat a 50 lb

dog, for instance. The reason for this

dosage, if you looked a little deeper, is

because the concentration of pyrantel

pamoate in Nemex 2 is 5 mg of pyrantel

pamoate per 1 ml. The KV Vet catalogue

price for a pint of Nemex 2 is $49.99.

[This same pint of Nemex sold retail at

your local pet store would cost $109.95,

so already you’ve saved $59.96 just

using a wholesale catalogue. (Now, if

you paid a vet’s price you’d spend about

$25 just to worm one dog—and since a

pint of Nemex treats 40 dogs, this means

it would cost you $1000 to have your vet

treat 40 dogs—so again you can see why

most people are happy just with the

savings they get shopping out of a

catalogue, as most people would rather

spend $49.99 {$1.25 per dog} to treat

40 dogs than $25 per dog).]

However, if you know what you are

doing, you can save even more money,

and I mean several hundred dollars more

money! If you look carefully at the

product Nemex 2, it is dosed at 1 ml per

2 lbs. of bodyweight, as I said, because

each 1ml of the Nemex product,

according to the instructions, contains 5

mg of pyrantel pamoate, the active drug.

If you look even more carefully, you will

see that your vet *does not* use Nemex 2

when he worms your dogs, but instead

your vet uses a product called Strongid-

T—which contains the same active drug

as Nemex ( pyrantel pamoate)—but

Strongid-T is dosed at ten times the

potency as Nemex 2. In other words, 1

ml of Strongid-T contains 50 mg. of

pyrantel pamoate whereas 1 ml of

Nemex-2 only has 5 mg of the active

drug. Unfortunately, Strongid T is only

available through a veterinarian’s

prescription, and even your vet has to

pay $74.95 per quart. Since 1 quart = 2

pints, and since Strongid-T is ten times

more potent than Nemex, this means it

only costs your vet $0.19 to treat your

dog—but yet he charges you $25 per

dog! This is a 1300% mark-up!

But, ah-haha! , this is where Step 3

comes in J If you carefully peruse the

“Worming” section of the KV Vet Supply

catalogue you will notice that they offer

a generic, pure pyrantel pamoate liquid

that is labeled Pamix (which is supposed

to be for humans), but which is

otherwise the identical drug used in

Nemex and Strongid-T. This Pamix

product is identical—except for three

very important distinctions: 1] Pamix

(like Strongid-T) is ten times as potent

as Nemex 2, again with 1 ml having 50

mg. of pyrantel pamoate rather than only

5 mg (In other words, instead of giving

25 ml of Nemex to a 50 lb dog, you only

need to give 2.5 ml of Pamix!); 2] Pamix

costs only $31.95 for a quart—as

compared to $74.95 per quart for

Strongid-T—as compared to $99.98 for

two pints of Nemex 2 (at one tenth the

potency); and, finally, 3] Not only is

Pamix $40 less than Strongid-T, while

retaining the same ten-times-greater

potency, but Pamix is available over the

counter as well—just like Nemex 2 J

But we’re not done. We’ve established

that both Nemex and Pamix contain the

same active ingredient, pyrantel

pamoate, and we have established that

they are both available over the counter

to you the consumer. Now then, let’s do

the math on this so you really understand

just how much you’re saving by

following my methods:

If you consider the fact that Pamix is ten

times as potent as Nemex 2, this means

that if you were a retail consumer you

would have to get TEN quarts of Nemex

2 to equal ONE quart of Pamix! Stated

another way, since a quart {two pints @

$49.99 each} of Nemex 2 totals $99.98,

this means you’d really have to spend

TEN TIMES $99.98 (or $998.00) to get

the same amount of pyrantel pa-

moate in Nemex 2 as a mere $32 would

get you in simply buying 1 quart of

Pamix instead. Think about that J

Worse, that is when buying wholesale

out of a catalogue at a significant

discount from re- tail. If you were going

to a retail pet store to buy a pint of

Nemex 2 for $110.00, you would have to

spend $220 to get two of them to equal a

quart, and then you would have to

multiply that by ten ($2,200 total) to get

the same amount of pyrantel

pamoate from a retail store as what $32

would buy you using my methods. What

a rip off!
Yet dog owners buy Nemex 2 by the pint

at the retail price every day. Therefore,

if you simply make a “label switch” and

purchase a quart of Pamix, instead of a

quart Nemex, not only will you only pay

.08 (eight cents!) to treat one 50 lb dog,

but you would have enough left in the

bottle for 399 more treatments! With a

quart of Nemex 2, on the other hand, you

pay about $2.63 per 50 lb. dog, and you

only have 39 more treatments. It is

therefore 33x more costly to buy Nemex

—and that’s the catalogue price. The

retail price for Nemex is $5.78 per dog

to treat, with only 39 more treatments

left, which means it is over 72x more

costly buying Nemex at the pet store,

rather than Pamix from the catalogue. So,

from now on, are you going to use

Nemex or Pamix?

(BTW, other catalogues have other off-

label worming products just like Pamix.

Therefore, if you have several

catalogues besides KV Vet’s, just follow

the 4 steps again and you will see in the

general worming section (or the

livestock worming section) there will be

other brands of wormer that contain

pyrantel pamoate at a 50 mg/ml ratio.

For instance, Anthelban and Pyran-50,

are two different label names for what is

the same thing as Pamix, and likewise

these drugs will have a much cheaper

price than either Nemex or Strongid-T.

And this is where Step 4 comes in,

making sure you do the math and get the

right dosage. We kinda already covered

this, but we will revisit again here,

because this is the fourth and last step

you need to take. Remember, Pamix is

ten times as potent as the Nemex, which

means that you only need to use 1/10th as

much of it. Since you needed to use 25

ml of the Nemex for a 50 lb dog, again

this means you only need to use 2.5 ml of

the Pamix product for the same dog.

note: The new dosage of pyrantel

pamoate has now doubled. The accepted

dose is 5 mg/lb (or 11 mg/kg). This

means that all of these labels are wrong.

Nemex 2 should be dosed at 1 ml/lb and

Pamix should be dosed at 1 ml per 10

lb to treat roundworm & pinworms,

and it can be dosed at 1 ml per 10 lb, 3

days in a row, to treat hookworm. I

personally double these doses, as I have

seen worm resistance occur to this drug.

Thus I recommend using Pamix off-label

and dose it at 1 ml/5 lb of bodyweight.

Don’t worry about an overdose. The fact

is, studies have shown you can go 300

mg/lb and not OD on pyrantel pamoate,

as it has an extremely high margin of

safety for dogs.

Example 2 :

Farnam D-Worm (and Erliworm) are

other common brands of wormer you can

use, alternatively with Pamix, to treat

roundworm and pinworms in your

puppies and dogs, using a different

active ingredient called piperazine. In

the Husbandry chapter, I will discuss a

little more in-depth why such a

rotational worming schedule is needed,

but just take it on faith for now that

rotating between wormers is solid

practice. These wormers described here

are likewise able to be purchased retail

at any pet store for about $5.95 for 8 oz

(240 ml), and $5.49 for 4 oz (120 ml),

respectively. D-Worm is the better buy at

a strength of 42.5 mg/ml of the active

ingredient, and they give you 240 ml,

while Erliworm is dosed at 50 mg/ml,

but they only give you half as much.

Since the proper dosage of pi-

perazine in dogs is 29 mg/lb, a 50 lb dog

would need 34 ml of the D-Worm (at a

cost of $0.84), or he would need 29 ml

of the Erliworm (at a cost of $1.32).

Well, that doesn’t sound like a lot, but

again if you are treating a yard of 30

dogs for the month, that is a monthly

output of either $25.20 or $39.60. That

is still not a whole lot, but how can we

save even more money here?

Well, if we follow Step 1, and identify

the product in our catalogue, we notice

that these products are located in our

catalogues over-the-counter, but we still

follow the process. So we move on to

Step 2 and identify the active ingredient

which again in this case is piperazine.

Moving on to Step 3, we notice that in

the worming section of our vet catalogue

there is a product called Piperazine-17,

with the same active ingredient as these

other products, but this time we get 170

mg/ ml of piperazine, and not 42-50

mg/ml, making this product more than 3x

as powerful. Moreover, we notice that

our Lambriar Vet catalogue has a gallon

(3840 ml) of Piperazine-17 for $14.95

whereas KV Vet has it for a dollar more

at $15.95. Wow! But now we get blown

away yet again—because even though

we could treat our same 50-lb dog with

only 8.5 ml for a cost of only $0.03 (yes,

three cents) using this wonderful product

Piperazine-17—we suddenly notice an

even better deal in our Lambriar Vet

catalogue: Wazine-34. This product is

twice as strong as Piperazine-17, and

we can get a gallon of it (3840 ml) for

only $21.75!

So, finally, in following Step 4 to get

our dosage right, we see that Wazine-34

has 34 g per 100 ml, which means it has

340 mg of piperazine per ml. Since the

dosage of piperazine is 29 mg/lb, a 50 lb

dog would need 1450 mg of piperazine,

which divided by 340 means he only

needs 4.25 ml of Wazine-34, at a cost of

only $0.02 (yes, two cents).

note: In other words, the dosage for

Wazine-34 is 1 ml per 12 lb. Therefore,

if you treat a yard of 30 dogs with this

product for roundworm prevention, it

only costs you $0.60 (sixty cents), which

is a savings of between $24.60 to

$39.00/month J

Example 3 :

What about Panacur? Panacur is an even

broader-spectrum wormer than the first

two wormers mentioned, not only getting

roundworm, pinworm, and hookworm—

but also getting whipworms as well as

three kinds of tapeworms. If we choose

to use this drug in our rotational

schedule, again we simply follow Step

1, and identify the product in our

catalogue. Panacur is only available by

prescription, and it costs $109.99 for

1000 ml. Not only do we have to pay

this large price, but we have to go to our

vet for a prescription just to be able to

order Panacur from the catalogue.

Worse, if you just asked your vet to

worm your dog with Panacur, he again

would charge around $25 for just one

treatment. So how do we as consumers

go around this long and costly process?

Well, we move on to Step 2. We simply

identify the active ingredient in Panacur,

which in this case is fenbendazole.

Moving on to Step 3, we notice that in

the cattle section of our vet catalogue

there is a product called Safe-Guard,

with the same active ingredient as

Panacur— fenbendazole. And, finally, in

following Step 4 to get our dosage right,

we see that the cattle Safe-Guard is

concentrated at the exact same 10%

suspension as is Panacur. This means we

administer the Safe-Guard exactly as we

would the Panacur. The only bummer to

this example is that the “over-the-

counter” Safe-Guard is priced virtually

the same as Panacur ($109.95 for 1000

ml), so we can’t enjoy any savings here

—but at least we can save some money

by not having to go to a vet to get a

prescription. So we just pick up the

phone, place our order, and the Safe

Guard gets dropped off on our door step

a couple of days later

note: Both Panacur and Safeguard are

dosed at 1 ml per 4.4 lbs of

bodyweight, given orally, three

consecutive days in a row, twice daily.

This means a 50 lb dog would get 11.5

ml, twice daily, for 3 days in a row, for

a total of 69 ml of Safe Guard (at a cost

of $7.59/dog). Therefore, it is best NOT

to use this drug on a monthly basis, for

two reasons: (1) it’s expensive and

requires lots of it to do the job; and (2)

because, although fenbendazole is broad-

spectrum it is simply a very weak drug,

which is why so much is required, for so

long, to be effective. Therefore, only use

this drug once every year (or at the most

every six months). Choose another kind

of wormer as your monthly wormer,

because it is easy for worms to build

resistance to fenbendazole because of

how weak it is. You will also be kinder

to your wallet.

Example 4 :

What about tapeworms? Tapeworm is

very expensive to treat compared to the

other parasitic worms, and they are

controlled by a product called Droncit.

Again this product is by prescription

only, and Droncit happens to be one of

the most expensive drugs on the market.

Your vet would charge you about

$229.00 for 50 tablets of Droncit, and

one tablet only treats 10 lb of dog. If you

could get your vet to give you a

prescription, you could order the

Droncit yourself out of the catalogue for

the wholesale price of $164.95, which

would save you $64.05 right out of the

gate, just using the catalogue, but there

are even more savings to be had J

If we follow Step 1, we try to find out

how we can get around the fact that

Droncit is avail- able by prescription

only? Again, we move on to Step 2. We

simply identify the active ingredient in

Droncit, which in this case is

praziquantel. Moving on to Step 3, we

notice that in the pet section of our vet

catalogue there are many products with

the same active ingredient as Droncit,

praziquan- tel, but when you crunch all

of the numbers the most cost-effective of

them all is a product called Fish Tapes

Forté (by Thomas Labs)—but in order to

find this product at its cheapest, we

again need to put down our KV Vet

catalogue, and pick up our LambriarVet

catalogue. This here again shows the

value of having several catalogues J

Moving on to Step 4, getting the dosage

right, we see that the prescription

Droncit tablets are 34 mg apiece, which

are dosed at one tablet for every 10 lb of

dog, not to exceed 5 tablets total.

Suddenly we notice that Thomas Labs in

fact makes two different kinds of “Fish

Tapes,” one of which comes in the 34 mg

capsules (like Droncit), but we likewise

notice there is a larger size called Fish

Tapes Forté—which comes in 170 mg

capsules (which happens to be 5 x 34

mg). The package contains 30 capsules

of the 170 mg size of Fish Tapes Forté

for $112.95, which would be like getting

150 tablets of the 34 mg size (which

means you’re getting 3x as much Droncit

my way for $50 less).

If you have dogs smaller than 50 lb you

can pour out the capsules and allocate

the contents. How about the savings?

Well, your vet would charge you

$229.00 for 50 Droncit tablets (at 34

mg) at his office, and even if he wrote

you a ‘script you would save money

($64.05) on this same order just by

ordering the Droncit out of the catalogue

for $164.95. Since you would have to

use 5 tablets of 34 mg Droncit per 50-lb

dog, this means you could ultimately

treat 10 dogs with those 50 tablets—or

ten dogs for $164.95 (which pans-out to

be $16.50 per dog).

However, when you use my methods and

order the 170 mg Fish Tapes, at $112.95

for 30 tablets, and remember that these

mega-tabs are already five-times larger

than Droncit, and as such you only need

ONE of them to treat a 50 lb dog. Since

there are 30 tabs in a bottle, this means

you could treat those same 10 dogs for a

balance of $37.65 (which pans-out to be

a negligible $3.77 per dog), and you’d

still have 20 tabs left over.

In other words, if you had a kennel of

thirty 50-lb dogs, going to your vet

directly would cost you $687.00 to treat

your whole kennel for tapeworm (three

$229.00 bottles of Droncit at retail).

And even if you got this product from the

catalogue, with a prescription, it would

still cost you $494.85 (buying three

$164.95 bottles of Droncit at even the

wholesale discount). But when you

utilize my methods, your same kennel of

thirty 50-lb dogs would only cost you

$112.95 to tapeworm them all. That is a

total savings of $574 over getting

Droncit directly from a vet; it is a saving

of $382.00 over ordering the Droncit

wholesale yourself with a prescription;

all this made possible by simply using

my 4-Step Method and ordering an

alternative product (Fish Tapes Forté)

instead. Remember, it is the same active

ingredient, just a different label, and

also a vastly different price J

Example 5 :

How about heartworms? Most of the

people who have to worry about

heartworms are back east, or down

south, but some areas out west have them

too. Heartworms are a serious problem

and can cost us $3.00 per dog, once

every month, for every month of a dog’s

life (if we use the prescription drug).

For 30 dogs this would be a $90/month

expense. So how do we get around this?

Again, let’s follow Step 1, identifying

the product. Well, the most common drug

used to prevent this infestation is a

product called Heartgard. This product

must be given once a month or the dog’s

life is at risk from this parasite.

Heartgard is by prescription only. You

can buy it in packs of 12 tablets from the

vet at a cost of about $29.95 (which

translates to about $2.50 per month—per

55 lb. dog). But a clever person would

follow Step 2. In doing so, he would

notice that the active ingredient in

Heartgard is ivermectin. Step 3 is next,

and here again you go to the “worming”

pages in the large animal (not pet)

section of your catalogue, and you’ll

notice 1% ivermectin happens to be

available over the counter labeled for

cattle and swine. The product is called

Ivomec, and it is an injectable

cattle/swine wormer which costs $35.95

for 50 ml.

note: ))) Do NOT use Ivomec-“Plus”

(((

** Ivomec-Plus contains another

ingredient ( clorsulon) that will kill

your dogs!

Use ONLY plain Ivomec 1% solution.

Do NOT use the pour-on versions

either, and do NOT

use the .27% solution either. Only use

the standard 1% Ivomec injectable

solution.

The other mixtures are too strong **

Anyway, using 1% “Ivomec” injectable

is just fine, but you can save even more

money by ordering generic ivermecitin in

a product called Promectin for $28.95. It

contains the same 50 ml of the active

ingredient 1% ivermectinStep 4: The

label indicates the dosage of 1%

ivermectin is 1 ml per 110 lb bodyweight

for livestock, which is roughly 0.1 ml

per 10 lb, and it is essentially the same

for dogs to control heartworm. Another

way to look at it is ½-ml would treat a

55-lb dog. Looked at in another way, you

use 1/10th ml for every 10 lb of dog. In

other words, because there are 50 ml in

one bottle of Promectin (and because ½-

ml would treat a 55-lb. dog), this means

you have enough ivermectin for 100

treatments of 55-lb dogs (at about the

same cost that your vet charges you for

12 treatments). This means you could

treat your one 55-lb dog for over 8 years

for the same price as your vet charges

you to do so for one year. Does it sound

like you’re being robbed by the system

again? You bet you are.

Well, let’s look at this saving in a

different light. Instead of paying your vet

about $2.50 a tablet to give one dog one

tablet of Heartgard, you would only be

spending about $0.29 (yes, twenty-nine

cents) to give your one dog the same

amount of ivermectin found in Heartgard

by using Promectin instead. That is a

$2.21 difference, per month, PER DOG.

Well, again, if you have 30 dogs, you

will be saving yourself $66.30 per

month doing this. That translates to a

yearly savings of $795.60 for an

average-sized kennel of animals to be

protected from heartworm, just by using

my method and switching labels J

This book here has already paid for

itself, several times over, hasn’t it?

Anyway, since Promectin comes in a

bottle of liquid, and not tablets, you give

it to your dog simply by squirting it his

mouth. To do this you would need a

syringe and needle to extract the liquid

drug from the Promectin bottle. Just

plunge the needle into the bottle,

withdraw 0.1 ml (1/10th of 1 ml) of the

fluid per 10 lb dog. In other words, a

30-lb dog would get 0.3 ml a 40-lb dog

would get 0.4 ml, etc. Once you get the

dosage right, and suck out the correct

amount of liquid, you then leave the

needle in the bottle, detach the syringe,

and then you squirt the withdrawn liquid

into the dog’s mouth with the plunger of

the syringe. Just get in the habit of doing

this once a month, instead of using

Heartgard.

note: IF YOU OWN COLLIES (or

similar herding breeds) BE VERY

CAREFUL WHEN USING

IVERMECTIN, AS THIS DRUG

(FOR SOME REASON) CAN BE

UNUSUALLY TOXIC—and even

fatal—TO COLLIES. CONSULT

YOUR VET IF YOU HAVE ANY

DOUBTS OR QUESTIONS.

Treating Protozoa

Protozoa are another class of parasite

that routinely plague dogs and they often

prove particularly difficult to eradicate.

They are microscopic organisms, and

many of them cannot be killed at all, to

where (even with medical treatment)

they remain in the host, “alive” but

dormant, yet still able to be spread to

other dogs. The three most common

protozoa to afflict dogs are coccidia

giardia, and babesia. I will discuss how

to treat the first two afflictions as

casually as I have discussed the

previous economical ways to handle

worms—but I will discuss the handling

of babesia much more in-depth as it is a

very serious disease that many

veterinarians are unprepared to handle

—and none of the veterinary manuals

have the remedy available either, despite

how widespread it is.

Example 6 :

What about coccidiosis? Again, it’s the

same procedure: Step 1: the drug of

choice to treat coccidia is Albon. Step 2,

the active ingredient in Albon is

sulfadimethoxineStep 3, since in the KV

Vet catalogue Albon is still called

“Albon,” whether it is labeled for dogs

or cattle, we can then move on to Step 4.

The product Albon (when labeled for

puppies) is a 5% oral suspension—with

a palatable caramel syrup added—

whereas the Albon product (when

labeled for cattle) is a 12.5% solution

with a yucky taste that dogs hate.

Therefore, not only do we need to pull

out our trusty calculator again to get our

dosage correct, but look at the difference

in price. The catalogue price for

prescription Albon (when labeled for

dogs) is $54.95 per pint, and since the

drug is “by prescription only.” This

means you will wind up spending

another $30+ for a vet visit to get that

prescription. Well, 1 pint = 480 ml,

which I want you to keep in mind for

later.

Now, the catalogue price for Albon

(when labeled for cattle) is $59.95 for a

gallon! Well 1 gallon = 3840 ml, and

what’s more, the Albon labeled for

cattle is 2½-times more potent than it is

when labeled for dogs! Further still,

Albon for cattle is available over-the-

counter when used for farm animals. But

it gets even better J

If we cross-shop our catalogues, we

again find that the LambriarVet catalogue

has an advantage over the KV catalogue,

as Lambriar carries a generic

sulfadimethoxine product, also by the

gallon, and also at a 12.5% potency—

for only $38.95—so right off the bat

we’ve just saved another $21.00 on top

of the other savings by looking at another

catalogue. Now, let’s do the math and

see what kind of total savings we come

up with here, using generic

sulfadimethoxine and my method vs.

getting a prescription and using the

conventional method.

The 5% Albon solution labeled for dogs

is dosed at 5 ml per 10 lbs on Day 1,

followed by 2.5 ml per 10 lbs for 4

more days. Therefore, since the

prescription Albon is $54.95 per pint

(480 ml), and since it would take 15 ml

of Albon to treat one 10 lb puppy to the

end (5 ml initially + 2.5 ml four more

days in a row), my calculator tells me it

cost me $1.72 to treat one puppy myself

with 15 ml of the prescription drug.

Well, that doesn’t seem too bad, does it?

But what would it cost me to use my

method and instead use the generic

Albon labeled for cattle? The answer is

it costs $0.06 (yes, six cents) to treat that

same pup doing it my way J

How is this possible? Well, let’s take a

look at it. If the prescription Albon is

$54.95 per PINT— and if a pint is 480

ml—then this boils down to the fact

prescription Albon costs just over

eleven cents per 1 ml—and since it took

15 ml to cure the pup—this means it

adds up to $1.72 per pup. Okay?

Now then, since the over-the-counter

Albon is $38.95 for a gallon (not a pint)

—and since 1 gallon = 3840 ml—this

means that the over-the-counter Albon

costs just over 1 cent per 1 ml—and

since the cattle Albon is also 2.5 times

MORE POTENT than the prescription

version—this means that it only takes 6

ml of the cattle Albon to do what it takes

15 ml of the prescription equivalent to

do—which balances out to about six

cents per pup using my method.

Look at it another way: Since it costs

$54.95 to buy the prescription version,

and you only get 1 pint of it, you would

actually have to buy 8 pints of the

prescription version to get the full gallon

of the cattle version, which would cost

you $439.60. But it gets still worse

folks! Even after you foolishly spent

$439.60 on 8 bottles of the prescription

version to get a full gallon of it, you

would then be smacked in the head again

with the fact that the prescription version

is 2.5-times weaker than the cattle

version. This means you would actually

have to but 20 bottle of the prescription

version, spending $1,099.00, to get what

$38.95 would have gotten you, by

shopping smart and using my methods.

Think you’re getting reamed by the

“brand label” companies?

Heck we’re saving so much money here,

we could even spend some extra and

concoct a BETTER DRUG than

prescription Albon, going 100% first

class, and still come out a winner. How

so? Well, let’s take a look:

The only advantage to buying Albon by

prescription for puppies, over the cattle

Albon, is the fact the prescription form

comes in a tasty, smooth, minty-caramel,

stomach-coating suspension that is easy

on a sick pup’s tummy. By contrast,

straight cattle Albon is full-strength,

nasty, and horrible-tasting. While

puppies will lap up the smooth

prescription Albon, and immediately

feel better—they will gag if given the

nasty, harsh cattle Albon, and they will

drool in misery for an hour or more

afterward. But, hey, we’re saving so

much money using my secrets, we can

afford to splurge a little and create a

better drug altogether—and still save

ourselves money! So let’s do it J

Once again, in our LambriarVet

catalogue, you will see that they offer a

product called Omega-3 Plus, that is a

nutrient-dense liquid diet with essential

vitamins, minerals, and has a high

caloric value. Since this product is

specifically-designed for sick animals

anyway, it is actually perfect to blend

with the cattle Albon, whereby not only

will the Omega-3 Plus mask the

unpleasant taste of the cattle Albon, but

it will also add nutritional value for a

sick pup that even the prescription

Albon can’t duplicate—*and*—the

whole mixture will still cost us far less

than the prescription Albon. Let’s pull

out the calculator and see how so:

Well, Omega-3 Plus is priced at $39.00

a gallon. Again, since 1 gallon = 3840

ml, this means Omega-3 Plus costs about

one cent per ml ($0.0101 per ml to be

exact). Well, keeping this in mind, you

could create an exact 5% mixture where

your dosage is the SAME as

prescription Albon. Just take 10 oz (300

ml) of Omega-3 Plus and mix it with 8

oz (240 ml) of 12.5% cattle Albon—and

you balance out to 18 ounces of a

palatable 5% Albon solution [just like

the 1 pint (16 oz) prescription version]

that you can give to sick pups at the same

prescription-dosage of 5 ml per 10 lb on

Day 1, followed by 2.5 ml per 10 lbs

for four days. This concoction is

actually better than the prescription

version—and yet it is still only 1/10th as

expensive, costing you only $5.40 for 18

ounces, rather than $54.95 for a 16

ounces J

note: Special Note Regarding

Coccidia: I have been seeing a pattern

where coccidia is no longer being

handled by just using either Albon (or

Corid). This apparent resistance to

conventional treatment has caused the

death of some pups of mine, even when

treated with the recommended products.

This hurt me as a breeder and caused the

loss of some key dogs. Well, I

discovered a way to handle this

problem, which I also discuss in the

“Antibiotics” section of this book, in the

combination therapy section.

Giardia is a very similar disease to

coccidia—in both symptoms as well as

in transmission—as both protozoa

primarily cause pups to lose weight,

vomit, and have either pale, bloody,

and/or mucousy diarrhea—and both

diseases are passed to other dogs

through the oral-fecal route. Yet while

coccidia is typically treated with

sulfadimethoxine(Albon),

metronidazole is the preferred treatment

for giardia

Since these two protozoal diseases can

be so similar, I began using

trimethoprim-sulfadiazine and

metronidazole together any time I saw

these symptoms in my pups.

Trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (TMZ) is a

drug very much like Albon (

sulfadimethoxine), except it is

potentiated with Trimethoprim, and

therefore it is a bit better, and as such

this drug is more capable of handling

coccidia than even conventional Albon.

Realizing the basic similarities of these

diseases, I have been combining both

TMZ and Flagyl together and using this

super-treatment to handle coccidia, and

because it will also handle giardia I

have found I don’t need to take my pups

to the vet for a fecal exam to determine

which protozoa it is, I just kill them both

with this combination therapy.

What’s more is that, in some rare cases,

pups that exhibit a general malaise,

vomiting, and diarrhea will have a

bacterial infection instead of a protozoa

infection—yet regardless of what

intestinal affliction they are suffering

from, this combination treatment I put

together will handle it, even if they are

bacterial. The best news is, you can

render this combination cheaply by

purchasing these “prescription only”

drugs over the counter, by following my

methods—and here’s how:

Keeping in mind that the general dose

of TMZ ( trimethoprim-sulfadiazine)

is 20mg/lb given on Day 1, followed by

10 mg/lb given for 4 more days,and the

general dose of Flagyl ( metronida-

zole) is 12 mg/lb, given twice daily, and

continued for 5 to 7 days. You can get

TMZ in 800 mg tablet form, over the

counter, in a product called Fish Sulfa

Forté (from Thomas Labs), and you can

also get Flagyl in 500 mg tablets, over

the counter, in a product called Fish Zole

Forté (again from Thomas Labs). See

“Antibiotics.”.

You might be wondering how you would

use such big pills on tiny puppies, and

that is a valid question. Okay, so let’s

say you have eight 5-lb puppies with

coccidia and you want to use this

combination therapy to treat them, what

do you do? What you’d do is take a 10

ml syringe and load with 8 ml of water

to correspond to 1 ml for each of the 8

pups. And since each pup weighs 5 lbs

(and since the dosage for TMZ is 20

mg/lb) you’d multiply the 5-lb pups x 20

mg which = 100mg total needed per pup.

Well, since you have eight 5-lb pups,

this means you would need a total of 800

mg of TMZ to treat your litter of pups.

Since the Fish Sulfa Forté (TMZ)

already comes in 800 mg tabs, you’re set

there, so you’d just plop one of these

tablets into your 8 ml of water you put in

your syringe.

Now, the Fish Zole Forté (

metronidazole) comes in only 500 mg

tabs, but remember the dosage for this

drug is 12 mg/lb, and so each pup only

needs 60 mg of the drug individually.

Since you have eight 5-lb pups (and

since 8 x 60 = 480), you realize that your

500 mg Fish Zole Forte tablet is

likewise exactly what you need to cover

your eight puppies. So you plop this

other tablet into your syringe also, and

then you just shake it all up, very well,

making sure everything is dissolved and

distributed evenly. Once the water and

drugs are completely mixed together,

then simply administrate 1ml of this

mixture to each pup and you will have

covered them for virtually every kind of

protozoan/bacterial infection that they

could have contracted. Only the viral

infections of parvovirus and corona

virus would escape this treatment (and I

discuss the ways to beat these afflictions

in the Animal Husbandry chapter).

note: When using this combination

TMZ/ metronidazole therapy, I found it

best to shake the syringe each time

before giving to each new pup, as the

particles settle rapidly. Repeat this

procedure every day for the next 5-7

days. It has been my experience that

these two drugs, combined, offer by far

the quickest and most dramatic results

when treating coccidia—and they also

cover your bases just in case you are

dealing with giardia instead, or even

bacterial infections, or any combination

thereof.

Example 7 :

What about babesia? Babesia is a

disease you may not have heard of.

There are many vets even today that

have no idea how to treat it, and yet

babesia has now evolved into one of the

most common afflictions a dog can face,

and so I am going to go into great detail

here to explain this serious affliction to

you. Babesia is often called “doggy

AIDS”, but this is a completely

inaccurate statement. AIDS is a virus

that destroys the body’s immune system

and ability to fight off infection.

Babesia is a protozoan blood parasite

that destroys red blood cells. It can

occur in chronic form (a long, mildly

debilitating disease, where your dog

always seems a little bit off), or it can

take an acute form (where it hits your

dog over the head like a ton of bricks,

bringing him from normal to death’s

door in a matter of days or even hours).

Many dogs suffer from chronic

babesia without our knowing about it.

What most people don’t realize is that

for every dog that gets the obvious acute

form, there are probably 20 dogs on that

same yard who have a mild, chronic

case that goes unnoticed. To give you an

idea as to how widespread this disease

is, babesia is more common in some

areas of the south than every species of

worm, except the roundworm.

Roundworms are found in over 90% of

dogs in the south, while babesia is found

in at least the 60-75% range. Compare

this to the only 40% ratio for tapeworm

and hookworm, and the mere 15% range

with whipworm found in the same

region, and you can see just how

commonplace babesia infestation really

is. This section will address every

aspect on how to save your dog, when

his life is suddenly hanging by a string.

Signs to Look For: Again, babesia is a

protozoan blood parasite. It is generally

transported through the bites of ticks,

biting flies, etc., but it can also be

transmitted via fighting contact, as well

as transplacentally from a mother to her

unborn pups. In fact, many pups that are

born sickly or weak are in fact merely

born suffering from babesia that was

given to the pup from its

chronicallyinfected, but asymptomatic

mother.

When an adult gets exposed to babesia,

about 10 days to 3 weeks will pass

before any symptoms appear, because

the disease takes about that long to

multiply and spread throughout the

bloodstream. The beginning of trouble

starts when the disease gets to a point

where the parasites are eating more red

blood cells than your dog’s body can

manufacture. When this happens, the dog

will develop a fever, sometimes over

105 degrees, which is why babesia is

often called “Tick Fever.” If your dog’s

temperature gets over 105 degrees, he

needs to be put in a cool (not cold) bath

and to be given aspirin. Cell death

occurs in mammals at temperatures over

105 degrees, including brain cell death,

so when any dog’s temperature rises to

around 105 degrees, then you need to

cool him off gradually. Don’t just put

him in ice water; put him in a bathtub

with mildly cool water. Usually the

fever isn’t that severe, but you should

always monitor a babesia dog’s

temperature just to be sure.

Another symptom, even with a milder

fever in a dog suffering from babesia, is

loss of appetite. A dog might not stop

eating altogether, but you will notice him

nibbling his food rather than devouring

it. The dog may go back to “normal” on

his own, if it is only the chronic form, or

he may ultimately stop eating altogether

(and sometimes even drinking) if the

disease clobbers him. Either way, lack

of appetite is probably the very first

warning sign you will notice in a

babesia dog, and if you see any dog

come off his food you should

thoroughly examine it for all the other

signs. Upon further examination, you

will also notice that a babesia dog’s

tongue and gums will be pale which is a

reflection of the anemia (red blood cell

loss) the dog is suffering from. The

whole dog will look “flat” and pale, and

when you lift up his lips to check his

gums, you will really notice how

ghastlywhite those gums and tongue are.

If you pull back the foreskin of a male

with babesia, his exposed penis will

also be pale. Any dog that demonstrates

inappetence and a pale gum color should

be treated for babesia. Having an

orange tint to the urine and feces are

also seen.

Symptoms of chronic form are the same

also: pale gums, anorexia, and muscle

wasting, just not at the emergency level.

Symptoms of the acute form are just

more intense. The dog that has an acute,

emergency-level infection won’t eat at

all; his gums will be bone-white (or

even yellow); he will hardly be able to

walk, etc., and he will quickly die

without emergency treatment. A dog with

a milder case will have these same

symptoms, only less drastic: nibbles at

his feed; slightly pale gums, seems

weaker than usual, etc. If your dog has

the acute symptoms, and you value his

life, you will act immediately. In fact, if

you are an intelligent dogman you will

go buy the required drugs to treat this

disease ahead of time, in preparation for

the inevitable fact you will get a dog

with this disease one day. If you fail to

heed this advice, you will wait until

your dog gets the disease, and then you

will scramble-about for the medication

after the fact. In either case, the drugs

listed below will correct the problem.

However, if you have no drugs and if

this disease clobbers one of your dogs,

then you need to get him to your vet until

you can order them. Just be aware that

when you go to your vet, he may well

MIS-diagnose the problem and call it “

autoimmune hemolytic anemia.” When

a vet says your dog has “ autoimmune

hemolytic anemia,” what he is really

saying is “I have no idea of why your

dog is losing his red blood cells,” and

he simply can’t recognize babesia for

what it is. MAKE A COPY OF THIS

SECTION AND BRING IT TO YOUR

VET TO SHOW HIM.

It takes a competent vet to recognize

babesia for what it is, so you should

therefore specifi- cally ask for a

babesia titer to be done if your dog

seems to be losing red blood cells for no

explicable reason. Keep in mind that

there are two strains of babesia that

affect dogs here: 1) Babesia canis and 2)

Babesia gibsoni. You need your vet to

tell you which of the two strains he has,

because it matters in how you treat your

dog. The canis version can be halted

with injections of Imizol, which can also

prevent infection. Gibsoni is the more

resistant strain and requires the use of

more specialized drugs (see below). Do

NOT have your vet send the babesia test

to his own pet lab, make sure your vet

sends the blood to Dr. Adam

Birkenheuer at the University of North

Carolina, who will run a more accurate

DNA analysis of your dog. There is a

misconception by most vets that babesia

“isn’t in the U.S.,” so (again) MAKE A

COPY OF THIS SECTION AND

BRING IT TO YOUR VET TO SHOW

HIM.

In addition to getting a DNA check for

babesia sent to the above lab, you should

get an inhouse PCV (Packed Cell

Volume) blood count done on your dog at

your vet, right then and there. Do NOT

allow this test to be sent out. The PCV

test can (and should) be done right there

at your vet’s office. If your vet doesn’t

have the facilities to handle a simple

PCV test in his office, then go to a vet

who cares enough about his profession

to buy modern equipment. Do not go

home until you get the results back.

Make sure your vet actually tells you the

blood (red cell) count of your dog. If

your dog’s red blood cell count falls

below 12 (normal is 35-46), then he

needs a blood transfusion to save his

life, and YOU NEED TO DO IT RIGHT

THEN AND THERE. If you can afford

to have your vet use Bio-Pure (synthetic

blood), this is preferred over natural

blood, because the babesia can’t attack

Bio-Pure. Regular blood will work for

awhile, but it will still be attacked by

the babesia, and so it too will eventually

be destroyed by very quickly by the

protozoa, whereas the Bio-Pure is

synthetic and can’t be attacked, and so

will last much longer. This gives you

much more time to get the needed drugs,

if you don’t have them. Either way, a

blood transfusion will be required for a

dog with a blood count less than 12 to

save his life, so you need to determine

what that count is as soon as possible.

note: Remember, though, after your first

PCV test (and even after a transfusion)

you must still monitor your dog’s blood

count every third day, until you get the

drugs in him. The reason is your dog’s

red blood cells are continually being

eaten away by the babesia, and this

destruction of red blood cells will not

stop until you get the drugs in him! So

don’t just think your dog is “OK now,”

simply because he had a transfusion.

Understand that this is only a temporary

“fix” until you get him the appropriate

drugs (see below).

What Else To Do? : In the meantime,

while you are waiting for the results of

the babesia titer to come back, or even

while you are treating him with the

drugs, the following recipe will help

your dog to hold on until you get the

appropriate medications (and it will

help him recover when he has been

given them):

♦ Since an anemic dog cannot maintain

its temperature, bring him inside next

to the heat, but don’t over-do the

heat. Not hot, just warm and

comfortable. Aspirin will reduce his

fever, but give him Pepcid AC to

buffer the aspirin.

♦ Since he won’t eat or drink, the

condition is life-threatening, so you

must feed him something he can’t

resist that has a lot of moisture.

♦ Try canned dog food w/ Pedialyte or

water so it’s a soup, or

♦ Try ½-lb of lightly-cooked beef (or

liver, to treat the anemia), and mix

this w/ 1 cup of cooked white rice, plus

½-Cup Pedialyte; or

♦ Try Vanilla wafer cookies will make

them thirsty to drink Pedialyte or

water. [If he doesn’t eat these he’s in

bad shape]; or

♦ Try cooked hotdogs, as I have seen

near-dead dogs scarf these up when

they refused everything else; or

♦ If the (40 lb) dog won’t eat or drink

anything, inject 1/3 bag ringers (300

ml) under the skin between the

shoulder blades 2-3x a day.

♦ Also provide your dog with an iron

supplement (Geritol, Red Cell,

Racer’s Choice, etc.) to help him build

back his red blood cells. Use as the

label directs.

note: If you are sure your dog has

babesia, (and if he has the above signs

you can pretty much take it to the

bank that he does), you really should

begin treating the animal with the

appropriate medication, regardless of

testing.

The following are the drugs shown to be

effective. Keep in mind that it is okay to

use these drugs even for just “the

symptoms” of babesia, you don’t have to

wait for the results. In fact, you should

just ask your vet to administer Imizol

(see below) right then and there,

regardless of any test results. If your vet

protests administering Imizol to your

dog, prior to getting the actual lab

results, point out to your vet that the

speculative administration of Imizol is in

accordance with the manufacturer’s own

label, which reads: “For the treatment of

dogs with the clinical signs of

babesiosis and/or demonstrated

babesia organisms in the blood.”

So point this out to your vet if he is

reluctant to administer Imizol prior to

actually seeing the test results. If your

vet has the Imizol onhand, tell him to

read the label. If your does not have the

drug onhand, tell him to order this drug

from the nearest veterinary university, to

have it overnighted to his office, and to

read the label himself, which again says,

“For the treatment of dogs with the

clinical signs of babesiosis and/or

demonstrated babesia organisms in the

blood.” So it is not malpractice to use

this drug before a titer comes back, it is

actually indicated in the label

instructions of the drug itself. Anyway,

here are the drugs to use:

(Warning: these drugs can be very

hard to find, which is why you should

pre-order and have

them onhand yourself.):

Drugs To Use:

The Cure

For many years, babesia was considered

to be “incurable,” and the best we could

do as dogmen was to knock it into

remission. The primary 3 drugs to do

this were Berenil, Doxycycline, and

Imizol, although a few others were said

to work, though not as effectively.

However, recently much research has

been conducted and at last there is now a

cure:

Zithromax ( Azithromycin dihydrate):

This drug, when combined with Mepron,

will cure babe- sia in dogs. The dosage

is 4.6 mg/lb, given once daily,

continued for 10 days. You can order

generic Zithromax on the internet at:

http://www.1drugstore-online.com.

Click “Product List” and then click

“Generic” and then look under the letter

“A” for the generic version of

Azithromycin. Zithromax MUST be used

in conjunction with the following to

effect a cure:

Mepron ( Atovaquone) is manufactured

by Glaxo Wellcome and is used for the

treatment of A.I.D.S. patients who have

pneumonia, but it also inhibits

metabolism in protozoal cells and

therefore it is reputed to actually cure

babesia, but only when used in

conjunction with Zithromax. Side effects

of Mepron are rash, gastro intestinal

effects, fever, and headaches, but while

these side effects are bothersome they

are not life threatening or fatal. These

side effects have be reported to occur up

to 63% of the time, and an eye disorder

— vortex keratopathy—has also been

reported in dogs, so watch for them.

Still, the dosage is 6.1 mg/lb, every 8

hours, continued for 10 days.

These are the latest drugs that reportedly

effect a cure of babesia, whereas

heretofore babesia was thought only able

to be knocked into remission. The “cure”

of this combination is not 100% in every

case, however, but only in about 70% of

cases. Again, these drugs must be used

in combination to do any good, so don’t

just use one. Finally, Mepron is also

prohibitively expensive (about $800 for

three dogs), but this is the latest info I

have at the time. Unfortunately, I have no

idea where to get Mepron online (as of

now). However, an idea was passed on

to me to have your vet contact any local

human pharmacy, or medical clinic, or

A.I.D.S. halfway house, and inquire if

they have any of this medication that is

passed the expiration date and therefore

cannot be dispensed to humans. Many

times they will give outdated Mepron to

you free.

Treatment

(Specialized)

The fact is though, many people don’t

want to spend several hundred dollars to

“cure” a dog for babesia, when that dog

can very well contract the disease again,

either from the next tick that bites him or

from future contact with another infected

animal. The futility of spending this

money is all the more revealed when one

considers the fact one can just knock it

into remission at a cost of only

$0.16/dog (sixteen cents per dog) by

using the conventional Berenil or

Minazene. Which brings us to the

conventional medicines for this disease:

Berenil ( Diminazene aceturate)

formerly made by Hoeschst in Germany

—this drug is now made by Intervet (I

believe in Brazil), and it is the most

widely-recommended drug of choice for

the treatment of babesia in dogs. Dosed

at 1.6-2.3 mg/lb of bodyweight, in a

single IM injection. However, although

only one injection is recommended, in

hard cases, I have given this drug on the

1st, 4th, and 11th days. Remember though,

NEVER dose this drug more than is

listed here, at any

one administration, as animals can (and

have) died from seizures and nerve

disorders afterward, following higher

concentrations. This is why Berenil is

illegal in the USA and not FDA-

approved. Still, Berenil will knock

either strain into remission when used

correctly. You can order this drug,

cheap, over the counter, at this web

address:

http://www.vetproductsonline.com

Berenil can also be used as a

preventative, to prevent an animal from

contracting babesia. This means if you

believe your dog might possibly be

exposed to another animal (or even an

environment) that has the disease, inject

your animal with the above dose two

weeks prior to contact, or a visit, and

this drug will allegedly also prevent an

animal from contracting babesia

Imizol ( Imidocarb dipropionate) made

by Schering-Plough in Germany, this

drug is approved for use in the United

States, so you should be able to get it

from any vet. If your particular vet

doesn’t have it when you see him, he

should be able to have it Fed Ex’d to

him the next day from the closest

Veterinary University. Imizol is dosed at

3 mg/lb given SQ or IM, once a week,

until improvement. Imizol effectively

stops canis from progressing but often

does little to stop the progress of

gibsoni. You can likewise order Imizol

cheap, over the counter (under the label

Imidox), from the same website as

above. But remember, if Imizol doesn’t

work, use Berenil or Minazene.

Minazene ( Diazoamino dibenzamidine

diaceturate) made by Experto Vet in

South Africa. This is actually an

evolutionary upgrade of Berenil. As

such it is also dosed at 1.6-2.3 mg/lb of

bodyweight, and again you are only

supposed to give ONE injection.

However, as with Berenil, in hard cases

you can try it on the 1st, 4th, and 11th

days. Likewise, it is recommended

NEVER to dose this drug more than is

called for in this dosage here, at any one

administration, as animals can (and

have) died from seizures and nerve

disorders afterward. Minazene will

knock either strain of babesia into

remission. You can order this drug from

the same website as above, and like

Berenil, Minazene can also be used as a

preventative.

Phenamidine ( Phenamidine

isethionate), I do not know who makes

this drug, since I have never ordered it.

However, it is from the same class of

drug that Minazene and Berenil are from,

so I would expect similar dosages and

characteristics. Still, read the label

before you administer. You can order

this drug from the same link as above,

and like the other two, Berenil and

Minazine, Phenamidine can also be used

as a preventative.

As an overview of these drugs, Imizol is

the easiest to get here in the States (from

any vet), but Berenil (and its relatives)

are more effective. Unfortunately, as I

mentioned, Berenil and its relatives are

not available in the U.S. As such, if you

are worth your salt as a dogman, you

should order some Berenil (or Minazene

or at least one of these drugs) from the

link provided above and have it on hand

at all times! There is no excuse not to

have these drugs onhand. Other drugs

that also work to repress the malady

include Acriflavine hydrochloride(an

Acridine derivative), Trypan blue (an

Azo-Naphthalene dye), Pentamidine

diisethionate(a Qiamidine derivative, as is Phenamidine, Berenil, and Minazene),

and Amicarbalide diisethionate(a

Carbanilide, in the same class as

Imizol). Again, all of these drugs can be

obtained at the following website:

http://www.vetproductsonline.com

note: When you order these drugs from

Vet Products Online, and when you plug-

in your credit card number, do not put a

“space” between your numbers; put your

entire credit card number in, all together,

with no spaces in between the numbers,

otherwise your order will not go

through.

This disease is EVERYWHERE people.

You might not believe this but it has been

proven that 70% of the southern dog

population has babesia. In South Africa,

babesia is now the #1 disease in dogs,

period. Because this disease is so

widespread, in my opinion a dogman

who is on top of his game will have 2 or

3 different brands of the above

medications onhand, at all times, in case

one kind doesn’t seem to work for some

reason. Babesia, like anything else, can

build resistance to medications over

time, so it is a good idea to prepare for

this in advance also and have alternative

medications to choose from. However, if

you were caught with your pants down,

and you come up with a dog with severe

anemia, but do not have any of these

drugs onhand—shame on you!—but you

can try any of the mainstream antibiotics

listed below, until you order one of the

above drugs from Vet Products Online.

These mainstream conventional

antibiotics are:

Treatment
(Conventional)

Antirobe ( Clindamycin) 6mg/lb. every

12 hours for 2 weeks. You can order

generic clindamycin, very inexpensively,

over the counter at:

http://www.1drugstore-online.com.

Click “Product List” and then click

“Generic” and look under the letter “C”

for the generic version of Clindamycin

Doxycycline ( Vibramycin). 100mg 12

hrs apart 1st day, then 50mg every 12

hours for next 13 days. Doxycycline is

without a doubt the most important drug

listed here. The reason is doxycycline

affects every single form of tick disease

known to man, from babesia, to

ehrlichia, to Rocky Mounted spotted

fever, as well as other tick-transmitted

rickettsia. You can order Doxycycline

via the product “Bird Biotic” as outlined

later on in this book. This is the over-

the-counter version of Doxycycline. It is

my opinion that Doxycycline is such an

important drug that, sick or not, you

should treat each dog you own with this

drug, one time a year, for two weeks,

straight, due to all the protozoal and

insidious buggers Doxy covers.

(Doxycycline for babesia should be

double-dosed as above, and not mildly

dosed as typically recommended.)

Flagyl ( Metronidozole). 23mg/lb of

bodyweight every 12 hours for 2

weeks. You can order metronidozole,

labeled for birds via the product “Fish

Zole” again as relayed later on in this

chapter.

Biaxin ( Clarithromycin) 250-500mg

every 12 hours for 2 weeks. You can

order generic Biaxin at One_Drugstore

Online: http://www.1drugstore-

online.com.

Try to combine at least two of the above

medications, for 2 weeks in duration, but

even using one is better than none. These

medications are easy to come by, but if

you can only get 1 of them, then get

Doxycycline. When your dog recovers,

give him/her a minimum of 3 months

total rest. Get him plump and healthy,

with plenty of good food, vitamins, clean

water, and no stress. Stress can cause a

relapse, as can the heat cycle of a bitch.

Another thing that can trigger babesia is

selling/giving a dog to a new owner,

whereupon the stress of a new

environment can cause a dog to become

symptomatic as well.

If a dog can survive the first month, he

will recover—but he will now be a

carrier. Now this may alarm a lot of

people, but the fact is there are so many

potential carriers now at this point (from

every dog in your area to every tick in

your area) that “culling” dogs in an

attempt to remove the risk of babesia is

ludicrous. It is everywhere in the

environment now. As such, treatment is

the reasonable option, and using these

drugs as preventatives is the key to

limiting the problem also. Another factor

in prevention is making sure all of your

dogs are kept tick-free at all times. If

you want to breed your babesia dog,

give the other dog a shot of

Imizol/Berenil first, which (again) will

act as a temporary vaccine and will

prevent infection. Even better,

implement artificial insemination

practices when you breed your dogs

instead.

note: THE SPECIALIZED DRUGS I

HAVE LISTED ABOVE SHOULD BE

IN YOUR MEDICINE BOX AT ALL

TIMES. If you are caught with your

pants down and have a dog with

babesia, a blood transfusion will cost

you a minimum of $500 at your vet or

you will lose a valuable dog. By

contrast, if you are a prepared dogman

and have liquid Berenil RTU onhand,

you get 100 ml for $13.19 which treats a

hundred dogs at thirteen cents a pop. If

you have a box of 10 powdered sachets

of Berenil, these re-constitute to 25

doses per sachet, times 10, which means

you can treat 250 dogs for $23.39, or ten

cents a pop. The reasonable protocol is

to have the liquid Berenil RTU onhand

for $13 and renew yearly. If you are a

dog breeder, and you know what you are

doing and seeing in a sick dog, you will

run into this disease at least once or

twice a year if you run a large yard. You

could give your entire yard an injection

of Berenil for less than the cost of a

single vet visit, let alone a transfusion,

so please be smart and prepare yourself

in advance.

Remember, many, many dogs on your

yard (and all around you) have babesia,

but you just don’t know it yet. It is a

proven fact that for every 1 dog that

exhibits symptoms of babesia there are

20 nearby that have been exposed but

who just don’t have any visible

symptoms. This section is intended to

increase your awareness of this truly

epidemic disease and keep your eyes

open for its signs. Remember that any

thin, anemic dog with pale gums should

be a suspect (if he is wormedout but

remains thin and anemic anyway). If you

have any additional questions, you can

also call Dr. Adam Birkenheuer at the

University of North Carolina Veterinary

School for the most up-to-date

information. Because the bites of ticks,

fleas, and other insects are the most

common transmission route for

babesia(and thus other tick-borne

diseases), now is the time to discuss the

most economical ways to handle them.

Treating Fleas, Mites, and

Ticks

Fleas, ticks, and mites are in many ways

the worst parasites that any dog owner

has to face (especially breeders),

because what makes them all the more

insidious is that they are oftentimes the

vectors (carriers) of still more parasites

and diseases. Thus flea and tick control

become para- mount to the healthy

kennel situation. Yet, as with anything

else, such vigilant control of parasites

costs money, and so here again we will

go over the ways in which a savvy

breeder can provide optimal care of his

animals with the very best drugs, while

circumventing being overcharged for

them.

Example 8 :

What about Demodectic Mange? Again,

when we follow Step 1, we see that the

drug of choice for this condition is

called Mitaban, and it is another drug

that is available by prescription only. So

once again, we follow Step 2 and take a

look at the active ingredient. The active

ingredient in Mitaban is a drug called

amitraz which is at a 15% potency in the

bottle. Guess what? Step 3: look at the

“anti-mite” section in your vet catalogue

and you will notice that amitraz is

available to the consumer, over the

counter, labeled for cattle and swine, in

a product called Taktic. However, you

need to realize that the amitraz in Taktic

is only at a 12.5% potency whereas the

brand label of Mitaban contains a 15%

potency. This is easy to compensate for

using Step 4: Realizing that the

“prescription only” Mitaban (15%

amitraz) is dosed at one 10.6 ml bottle

being added to 2 gallons of water for a

dip, which solution is to be applied to

all furred areas of your dog until they are

wet, simply pull out your trusty

calculator to do the math on what this

equates to in the 12.5% Taktic product.

Well, since Mitaban is a 15%

amitraz solution, and Taktic is only a

12.5% amitraz solution, this means

Taktic is 1/6th less potent than Mitaban

(although the active ingredient is

identical). To apply the same ratio of

amitraz in Taktic-to-water as you would

in Mitaban-to-water, simply keep in

mind that Taktic is 1/6th less potent than

Mitaban. Since Mitaban calls for a 10.6

ml bottle to be diluted into 2 gallons of

water, what do you do? You simply take

away 1/6th of the 2 gallons of water

recommended in the Mitaban ratio.

Well, 1/6th of 2 gallons is roughly 3

pints. This means you would take 2

gallons of water, remove 3 pints of

water from it, and then just add-in your

10.6 ml of Taktic

Now, keep in mind you don’t need a

gallon and a half of this stuff to treat a

dog by “dipping” him either. You can

save even more money by being frugal.

Simply reduce the amount of total

mixture while keeping the same ratio of

Taktic-to-water. That is, if the original

ratio was 10.6 ml of Taktic to 1 gallon, 1

quart, and 1 pint—then you can divide

everything in half and just add 5.3 ml of

Taktic to 3 quarts, 1 cup of water, can’t

you? In fact, you can keep reducing the

amount of mixture down to adding only

1.3 ml of Taktic to just 3.25 cups of

warm water, which tiny amount can be

put in a small stainless steel water bowl

(NOT used for feeding or drinking).

Then, rather than “dipping” your dog,

merely dip a sponge into your mixture

and scrub your dog with it. You must use

great caution to yourself, however, when

using Taktic. Wear industrialstrength

rubber gloves, a bib, and a face mask

when you apply this drug to your

animals. Protect your dogs as well by

avoiding their eyes, ear canal (outer ear

is OK), nose, genitals, anus, etc. Just dip

the sponge into the mixture and scrub all

furred areas of your dog, but DO NOT

DRY. Just leave it on the dog and let him

run around in a pen, wet.

Again, I repeat, the active ingredient

amitraz is a very toxic substance, so

don’t just dump the remainder out.

Dispose of it as you would a

contaminating substance—and don’t get

it on you. It works like a charm though,

and by using my method you don’t need

to waste nearly as much of it per dog,

nor do you have as much to tote around

and dispose of after you are done with

each application.

What are the savings, though, by using

my secrets and switching to from

Mitaban to Taktic? First of all, a vet

charges his clients between $30 to $45

just to treat just one dog for mange in his

office. Well, if you asked him for a

‘script instead, and ordered your own

Mitaban from the catalogue, you would

find that Mitaban is sold in a 10.6 ml

bottle for $14.95, which is enough to

treat 8 dogs (if broken down into 1.3 ml

increments as described above), which

breaks down to a cost $1.87 per dog.

That right there is still a helluva savings

over the robbery that your vet would

charge you, but again Mitaban can only

be obtained through a veterinarian’s

prescription, which costs you another

$30 for an office visit.

By contrast, Taktic costs $48.95 for 760

ml, not 10.6 ml, which is enough to treat

585 dogs instead of just 8! Put another

way, it would cost you $1,092.50 to treat

those same 585 dogs (using Mitaban)

that only cost you $49 using my secrets

and switching to Taktic. Worse, if you

took those same 585 dogs to a vet to

have him dip them for you, this would

cost you between $17,550.00 and

$26,325.00!!! Yeah—HOLY COW! is

right

This means, by utilizing my 4-Step

Process, you would only be spending

about $0.08 (yes, eight cents) per dog

simply by using 1.3 ml of Taktic to treat

a dog for mange, as opposed to spending

$1.87 per dog by ordering the same

amount of Mitaban from your catalogue

—as opposed to spending $30.00 to

$45.00 to have your vet dip one dog for

you. Therefore Mitaban is 23x more

costly than Taktic, and going to your vet

is between 375x to 563x more costly

than buying Taktic. Put another way, it

would therefore cost you about the same

amount of money to have a vet dip one of

your dogs at his office as it would for

you to be able to treat over 500 dogs

(for the next several years) using Taktic

Are you getting robbed again? You bet

you are!

note: I repeat, EXTREME CAUTION

MUST BE USED IN THE HANDLING

OF TAKTIC OR MITABAN, AS THE

ACTIVE INGREDIENT ( AMITRAZ) IS

A POTENT SUBSTANCE, AND ALL

PRECAUTIONS ON THE LABEL

MUST BE FOLLOWED.

So, once again, here we find a drug that

is available over the counter, incredibly

cheaply, when labeled for other animals

—whereas it is otherwise “by

prescription only” (and incredibly

expensive) when labeled for dogs. This

may not seem like that big of a deal for

the person with one dog, but for the

professional with a kennel-ful of dogs

these savings are incredible.

Example 9 :

What about Flea, Fly, Tick Spray? Well,

here we go again with Step 1: The

product of choice to spray your dogs

with is Adam’s Flea & Tick Spray,

which costs $15.49 in our catalogue for

a 32 oz spray bottle (or $0.48/oz). Step

2: The active ingredient in Adams is

0.15% pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are

actually an out-dated form of the drug,

that (believe it or not) is derived from

the chrysanthe- mum plant (we’ll see the

importance of this later, in our “Herbal

Medicinal” chapter. However, there is a

newer (and now synthetic) version of

this drug called permethrin, which is a

much more potent form of the same basic

compound. Using this information, we

now take the next step.

Using , we look in the KV Vet catalogue

for permethrin, and we see a product

called Permectrin II, which is a 10%

permethrin product (or 66.7x more

powerful) for about the same price of

$16.95. Which brings us to Step 4,

where we approximate the dosage. Now,

in this case, we actually want our flea

and fly spray to be much more powerful

(and therefore much more effective) than

the antiquated Adam’s Flea spray.

Adam’s product not only is inferior in its

level of the outdated version of this

drug, but because it is also water-based

too, which means whatever you put on

your dog washes and rubs-off so quickly

it’s gone before you get back in your

house after applying it. So let’s make an

even stronger concoction J

The first thing we want to do is switch

from a water base to an oil base, so that

our homemade product will last longer

on our dogs. For this reason we will be

ordering some mineral oil also to help

create our very own “Ultimate Fly

Spray.” Well, you can order a gallon of

mineral oil from KV for $10.95. We can

also order a clear 36 oz empty spray

bottle for $2.95. That puts us out-of-

pocket a total of $30.85. And now here’s

where the fun begins J

We take our spray bottle and we pour-in

4 oz. of Permectrin II, and to that we add

20 oz of mineral oil, for 24 oz of product

total, that is 2.5% permethrin, rather than

a measly 0.15% pyrethrin, like Adams.

So we now have a product that is 16.67x

stronger than the Adams product. But it

gets even better J

Keep in mind that we bought 32 oz of

Permectrin II and yet we only used 4 oz

of it to make our home made product,

which means we still have 7 more 24-oz

bottles that we can make [8 bottles (or

192 oz) total], for a mere $30.85

expense. This means the cost for our

product is only $0.16/ oz compared to

$0.48/oz in Adams. This means our

product is over 16x stronger when we’re

done, it lasts longer too because it is oil-

based, and yet it is only 1/3rd as

expensive per ounce! The truth is, if we

made our product as weak as Adam’s,

our product would ultimately only cost

us $0.01/oz (one cent an ounce)! But we

don’t want it weak, we want it much

stronger so that it works, and thus we

make it as outlined above. In other

words, when all is said and done, we

are essentially making 4 bottles of 16x

stronger flea and fly spray for the price

of 1, again by following the four step

method of saving money on dog

supplies.

note: I want you to keep this flea and

tick spray in mind, because it is going to

play a part in a foolproof flea remedy I

am going to be discussing later. I am

also going to share an herbal medicinal

version of it later, in that chapter, as

well.

Example 10 :

What about Frontline? For those who

live in tick country, using extra methods

other than mere spray can become

necessary. As relayed in Example 7,

babesia is a very serious malady that is

spread through the bite of ticks, but there

are *other* tick-born diseases that can

be just as bad, like ehrlichia, lyme

disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever,

etc. Spring is when these little buggers

begin to come out of hibernation, and it

is a big mistake to “wait” until you

actually see ticks on your dogs before

you treat them, because your dogs can

and eventually will get sick with any (or

a number) of these terrible diseases this

way. For that reason, I highly

recommend that you beat the ticks to the

punch, and nip them off at the bud, by

buying yourself some Frontline Plus or

Advantix—and then use these product

religiously until winter hits again.

note: Between the two products,

Frontline Plus ( Fipronil& S-

Methoprene) and Advantix (

Imidacloprid& Permethrin), Frontline

Plus is the better weapon against ticks.

The active ingredient in Advantix,

imidacloprid, not only is weaker but it

washes off easier. By contrast, fipronil is

stronger and is much less likely to wash

off or wear out. It is also cumulative in

the sebaceous glands when applied,

which means it adds-up over the months,

and it simply does a better job at killing

the fleas and ticks. The other active

ingredient to Frontline Plus, s-

methoprene, is an insect growth

regulator (IGR). Of the two drugs

contained in Frontline Plus, fipronil is

the most important component because it

actually kills fleas and ticks, while the

other just doesn’t allow the buggers to

mature and reproduce.

Unfortunately, however, these medicines

can be prohibitively expensive,

especially if you run a large yard. For

example, Frontline Plus comes in four

sizes. (1) Up to 22 lb, (2) 23-44 lb, (3)

45-88 lb, and (4) 89-132 lb. At best, you

can buy six applications per package

(one given per month), all dosed

according to their pre-designed sizings.

These respective sizes are (1) .67 ml,

(2) 1.34 ml, (3) 2.68 ml, and (4) 4.02 ml

for each application—again according to

the size of your dog. Size 1 covers dogs

up to 22 lb, (2) Size 2 covers dogs up to

23-44 lb, (3) Size 3 covers dogs up to

45-88 lb, and (4) Size 4 covers dogs up

to 89-132 lb. Just to give you an idea of

the cost of this product, size 3 (which

covers a 50-lb dog) is about $100 for 6

treatments ($98.42 at my local vet,

although the price will differ in different

regions). Regardless, $98.42 divided by

6 means I would be paying $16.40 per

dog and it would cost me $492.10 to

treat a yard of 30 dogs. That is a flippin’

car note to treat a yard of 30 dogs each

month! Who needs to spend that much?

Well, I am going to show you a way

around this:

Step 1 , we already know that the

prescription drug of choice is Frontline

Plus, so once again, we follow Step 2

and take a look at the active ingredient,

which we know is fipronil, which is at a

10% potency in the little applicator

tubes. Step 3 is a little more

complicated as it involves leaving the

animal catalogues completely. Well

(believe it or not) we are going to have

to go to a pesticide company to find our

savings, for there is a termite-killing

product on the market called Termidor

SC, which is a 20 oz bottle of poison

designed to kill termites. By wonderful

coincidence, that “poison” happens to be

none other than fipronil, so now we use

Step 4: Realizing that the product

Frontline is a 10% solution, we see that

Termidor SC is a 9.1% solution, which

is very close, but check out the savings!

If you do the math, Frontline is precisely

dosed to be administered at .1675 ml per

5.5 lb of dog weight. That means for

every 5.5 lb your dog weighs, you need

to put .1675 ml of the FrontlinePlus

product on his back for tick prevention.

But let’s suppose you buy according to

Frontline’s prefabbed dosings, and you

purchase the 2.68 ml size Frontline tells

you to use for a 46 lb dog. Well, if you

do that, you have just wasted over 1.2 ml

of product that you could have applied to

a 40 lb dog—because a 46 lb dog

actually only needs about 1.4 ml of

product—and you just dumped 2.68 ml

on him! The “2.68” size of pre-packaged

Frontline for 45 to 88-lb dogs, so at the

end of the day that amount is capable of

handling the maximum size of an 88 lb

dog, and yours was only 46 lb! So it is

clear that there is a wide margin of

safety in fipronil. Now is where the

savings come in:

If each of the #3 size of Frontline’s

applicator tubes is 2.68 ml, and if I get 6

of them for $98.42, this means I get a

total of only 16.1 ml of fipronil for

almost a hundred dollars—that is

nearly $200/ ounce and twiceas

expensive as cocaine! Well, the

Termidor SC product only costs $58.75

for

20 ounces of 9.1% fipronil, and since

there are 30 ml per ounce, this means we

are only paying sixty bucks for 600 ml of

fipronil—or a mere $2.94/ounce—

which means Frontline is nearly a

hundred times as expensive as Termidor

SC! Because Termidor SC is at only

9.1%, but because there is a wide

margin of safety for fipronil, we can

dose a little bit over the .1675 ml per

5.5 lb of Frontline, and go at 0.2 ml per

5 lb of weight. This exact breakdown I

follow is:

• 0.2 ml = 05.0 lb dog • 0.4 ml = 10.0 lb

dog • 0.6 ml = 15.0 lb dog • 0.8 ml =

20.0 lb dog • 1.0 ml = 25.0 lb dog • 1.2

ml = 30.0 lb dog • 1.4 ml = 35.0 lb dog •

1.6 ml = 40.0 lb dog • 1.8 ml = 45.0 lb

dog • 2.0 ml = 50.0 lb dog, etc.

For bigger dogs, all you do is add 0.2 ml

of product for every 5.0 lb of body

weight. If you are going to err, then err in

favor of adding a little too

muchproduct to your dog, rather than

too little. It is better to make sure you

actually KILL the ticks with too much,

than it is to waste the product by giving

your dog “almost” the right amount, but

ultimately not enough to get the job done

and eradicate any tick that finds its way

to your dogs. Anyway, I hope this idea

helps some people, be- cause you need

to use this product if you live anywhere

ticks may be, and with this little tip I

gave you, you can now treat a yard of 30

dogs (60 ml) for 10 months in a row

(600 ml) for less than $60. To do that the

old way would have cost you $3,729.00,

out of a catalogue or $4,920 buying from

your vet!

note: Frontline should be applied to

your dogs every single month for ticks,

during the tick season—which is

generally between the months of March

through September. I suggest you begin

the process in February though,

before the ticks actually come out, so that

you have a good build-up of this

chemical in your dog to nip these

buggers at the bud. Make sure you put

the liquid through the fur and apply it

directly to the skin of your dog.

Regarding where to get it, just click

“Termidor SC” in Yahoo or Google, and

you will find many options. Here is the

link to where I buy mine:

http://www.pestproductsonline.com/products/_20_oz-

14-0.html

To use, simply pour a small amount into

a shot glass, measure the proper amount

by sucking it into a syringe (no needle)

and then drop it on your dogs back,

starting between the shoulder blades,

and work your way down his back. Be

sure to apply in areas that your dog

cannot lick.

Example 11 :

Another flea & tick remedy. In my

opinion, beating fleas and ticks is such

an integral part to dog raising that it

requires even further exploration and

discussion of preventative maintenance

measures. Again, please realize that

fleas and ticks affect not only the

comfort and RBC blood level of your

dogs, in-and-of themselves, but they also

transmit still more parasites, that can not

only cause discomfort but that can

actually kill your dogs. Fleas pass

tapeworms to dogs, and ticks pass

everything from babesia(as relayed

above), to ehrlichia, to mycoplasma, to

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, to any

number of different rickettsia blood-

borne diseases and parasites, all of

which can be devastating to an animal—

and even to a whole kennel, if left

untreated.

This is not something to fool with or to

ignore, thus you need to take these

parasites very seriously, because they

are communal, and will go from dog-to-

dog on your yard, transmitting everything

any dog of yours might have been

exposed to, to all of your other dogs (as

well as to you, in some cases). I hope I

have your attention.

Now, although the information I have

just given on applying a Frontline

alternative is outstanding, the problem is

there has been a pattern lately of

fipronil failing to prevent to kill these

parasites, most especially fleas. I have

given this remedy for years,

successfully, but the last two times I

have given this product it has failed on

the fleas (fortunately, it is still

devastating on ticks). I tried

another secret remedy on another

solution that carried the same active

ingredients as Advantix, and this product

didn’t work well either. It seemed to

work for about 2 weeks, but then the

fleas came back, which is way too soon.

So I had to go back to “old school” and

once again

implement 4 age-old remedies to get rid

of the fleas.

note: These kinds of extreme measures

may not be necessary where you are and

prob

ably are not. However, if you have run a

large kennel of dogs over the years, and

if you have given

fipronil or imidicloprid year-after-year,

the fleas and ticks in your area may

simply BUILD RESISTANCE

to these drugs. So far, only the fleas

seem to build such resistance while the

ticks haven’t yet, but If

this happens the way around it is as

follows:

Remedy #1 - Spraying The Animals:

Mix the 4 oz of permethrin with the 20

oz of mineral oil, as

described in Example 9, and apply this

to your dogs. (You can instead opt to use

the herbal medicinal equivalent of 4 oz

of neem oil + 20 oz mineral oil covered

the next chapter.) Again, spray your

dogs once a week with this mixture;

Remedy #2 - Treating Topically: Apply

the fipronil as directed in

the previous example once monthly. You

can even give a double-dose of this

product (0.4 ml per

5 lb) and that should really knock out

most any arthropod parasite without risk

to your dogs. You

can also use this product as a garden

spray, in the area surrounding your dogs,

as the label directs;

Remedy #3 - Treating The Ground:

The ground you say? Yes, that is where

flea larvae complete their

cycle, so you need to treat the ground so

these larvae can’t live. Therefore, in

conjunction with

spraying your dogs with my home-made

concoction, and in addition to the topical

treatment, you

will be sterilizing the ground. Just go to

any Home Depot (or Lowe’s, etc.) and

buy two 50-lb sacks of

fine-grain rock salt for every chain

space you have, and then pour and

spread this salt all over the

entire chain areas of every single dog

that you have. That’s right, you are going

to treat the dirt of

every dog chain space you have with

good old-fashioned rock salt. Not only

will this disrupt the flea

and tick life-cycles but the rock salt will

also kill any worms in the soil in those

areas too; Remedy #4

- Treating The Dogs’ Bedding: After

you have completed the other three

remedies, cap it all off by

treating the bedding of your dogs where

they sleep. You do this with the

following mixture of cedar

shavings + sevin dust: buy yourself a 2

cubic ft. bag of cedar shavings and a 5-

lb bag of 5% sevin

dust at any WalMart or feed store, for

every 3 dog houses you have. I will

explain below
To treat for fleas, you are going to buy

the follow- ing supplies for every 3 dog

houses you have: Buy one 2 cubic ft. bag

of Cedar Shavings and one 5-lb bag of

5% Sevin Dust. Make sure you buy only

the 5% Sevin Dust and not the 10%—the

10% is too strong.

A 2-cubic ft bag of Cedar expands to 4

cubic ft when you open it up. You will

then mix these two items together, which

will ultimately form the flea-killing bed-

ding for 3 dog houses.

This means if you have 18 dogs then you

buy 6

bags of Cedar and 6 bags of Sevin Dust

(3 x 6 = 18); If you have 30 dogs then

you buy 10 bags of cedar and 10

bags of Sevin Dust (3 x 10 = 30); etc.

The following pages shall demonstrate

how all of this works:

Take the bag of cedar and dump it into

a large wheel barrow...

After you get your bag of Cedar Shavings into the

wheel barrow, then you add your bag of Sevin Dust

to it and then mix the two together with a shovel ...

An explanation at this point is on order:

cedar shavings kill and repels fleas and

ticks by itself, and Sevin Dust kills and

repels fleas and ticks by itself; however

combined the two work even more

synergistically together.

Once you’ve mixed your Cedar Shavings and Sevin

Dust together with the shovel, then just take that

same shovel and load-up each of your houses with

this mixture. You will be able to get 21 shovels-ful

out of this mixture in your wheel barrow, which

breaks down to 7 shovels-ful per house. 7 loads per

house fills a total of 3 houses loaded, per 1 bag of

Cedar Shavings mixed with 1 bag of Sevin Dust.

In conclusion, it doesn’t matter how bad

your flea or tick situation is, if you attack

it with this 4-step process you will beat

it. As a recap, 1) you’ve applied the

mineral oil/flea killer mixture to your

dogs’ coats (either permethrin or neem

oil), which will kill the fleas on the dogs

as well as repel any new fleas from

jumping on them; 2) you’ve applied the

fipronil as recommended (even doubling

it, if necessary); 3) you’ve spread the

rock salt around every one of your dogs’

chain spaces which breaks the fleas’ life

cycles by making it impossible for their

larvae to live in the soil; and 4) you’ve

likewise made your dogs’ bedding such

that no fleas can jump off him and live in

his housing also, and thus no flea eggs or

larvae can jump off him and live in the

bedding either.

Essentially, you have attacked the flea

problem on every level in this fashion.

Now what you need to do with this

protocol is make it your habit to do this

once every 3 months. Start this protocol

in mid-February or at the very least the

beginning of March when spring comes;

do this 4-step pro- cess once again in the

beginning of June in preparation for the

summer; and then commence a final

implementation of this procedure in the

beginning of September, at the end of

summer, and you will never see a flea or

tick on your dogs again.

note: the once-every-3-month protocol

is regarding the bedding and the rock

salt only; the special flea spray mix you

will have to use more often, maybe once

every 2 weeks, while the fipronil should

be used once every month.

Summary

By now you are beginning to see a

pattern—or at least you should be. The

biggest savings you can get in dog

ownership is by shopping shrewdly for

your prescription drugs and seeing if the

active ingredients in these drugs are

available over the counter labeled for

large farm animals. Very often-times they

are. And, when they are, the savings you

will enjoy are literally astronomical.

As you can clearly see by reading this

far, you can literally save hundreds of

dollars, and realistically even

thousands of dollars over time

(especially if you run a large kennel) in

the yearly maintenance of your dogs, by

following these guidelines I have laid

out. And I have proven this

fact, beyond any and all doubt, with the

above information. You must realize that

some of the prices I listed for the

products above will change over the

following months and years after this

book goes out, but they were valid as of

December, 2008—yet the principles of

this section will remain true forever.

Sure, you will have to get used to

treating your dogs yourself, but it’s not

too hard to do. If you’re thinking “it’s

too much of a hassle,” think again.

What’s really a hassle? In my opinion,

driving to a vet’s office (or a pet store),

waiting in line, waiting further in a little

room, and then getting robbed by the vet

(or the pet store) by their astronomical

prices is much more of a hassle than

having the products delivered to your

door by the catalogue companies and

internet websites, at a fraction of the

cost, and all you have to do is use these

products in your own home at your own

convenience. It’s all a matter of

perspective.

Not only that, but the price you pay when

you order these items from your vet

supply company is for an amount of

products with which you can treat your

dogs on numerous occasions, whereas

you pay a vet tons more money and it’s

only for one treatment. Concerning pet

stores, the few prescription items you

can get there are still way over-priced,

and getting these products involves you

going to the store, on top of that, just to

pay these ridiculously high prices.

Ordered from the catalogue, these

supplies come to you, and again they are

but a fraction of the cost. So, if you think

deeply, what’s really the hassle?

Anyway, here are a few more tips on

how to spend your money wisely by

understanding “the system”:

Example A: Never pay a vet for simple

inoculations. [6-way and 8-way parvo

shots, lyme disease shots, etc. (Some

states even allow you to give your pets

rabies shots.)]

How do you save here? Well, vets

usually charge about $25 (or more) to

give your dogs their shots, yet you can

do these things yourself so easily—and

use the same shots your vet uses

(completely legally)—by ordering them

out of your catalogue. The price? About

$2.40 to $5.20 per shot (prices vary

depending on the brand, kind of shot, etc.

—yet they are all cheaper than what your

vet charges). Of course, you have to

order the needles too, but again you can

order a box of 100 needles and syringes

for only $13 (which makes each needle

cost only thirteen cents), and which also

gives you a considerable supply of

needles for the future.

The bottom line is this: you really only

need a vet for two reasons 1) to

diagnose a problem in your dog which

you don’t understand yourself, and 2) to

receive emergency medical treatment,

surgery, and/or drugs/items which you

can’t perform/obtain yourself.

It is when you know what a problem is

yourself, and/or if you can solve this

problem yourself, via obtaining the

solution out of your catalogue (or over

the internet), then why on earth would

you shower a vet with your money?

Unless there is no other way to obtain a

certain item than from your vet, or unless

true surgery is needed, or some other

emergency or questionable situation

mandates expertise which you do not

have. You are simply “burning your bills

at both ends” by paying your vet to do

things you could very well do yourself—

such as giving your dog shots. Believe

me, it’s a lot easier on your pocketbook

when you become self-reliant—and it’s

also a lot nicer to know that you’re

giving your dog top quality products,

because *you* get to read the labels and

choose them yourself.

Example B: Never go to pet stores. As

you can tell by the thrust of this book,

retail pet stores will rob you blind. If

you “have” to go to a pet store at all

(which you shouldn’t if you’re planning

ahead), then at least go to a pet store that

does NOT sell live animals. Why?

Because it costs the store extra money to

feed and keep these animals, and they

finance these extra costs in the added

price you pay for their products.

Let’s take this further. If you can go to a

feed store, instead of a pet store

(whether the pet store sells animals or

not), you will also generally save a little

extra. Why? Because the feed store

generally deals in higher volume than a

pet store, because they service farmers

(who tend to buy in bulk), and finally

feed stores are generally found in more

rural areas than pet stores (so they pay

less in their monthly rental payments).

These factors all combine to form an

indisputable fact that feed stores’ prices

are usually considerably cheaper that pet

stores’ prices. [Still, they are generally

nowhere near as cheap as the catalogue

prices for the same thing.] The point is,

use your catalogue in every instance that

you possibly can—but if you need

something “right now” and have to go to

a pet store—then try to go to one that

does not have pets (just pet supplies) if

possible—and go to a feed store over

even this, if you possibly can. You will

plainly and simply SAVE MONEY by

doing so.

Example C: What about buying other

prescription antibiotics? In other words,

what about when you need a particular

drug for your dog not listed here, where

you can’t find its active ingre- dient in

your catalogue labeled for large

animals? Sure, anyone can get basic

penicillin at their local feed store (it’s

cheaper from the catalogue, though), but

what about when you need stronger

forms of antibiotic—all of which are by

prescription only? Well the same

principles you’ve just been shown still

apply, only you need to stop looking at

the large animal drugs and start looking

at the small animal drugs in your vet

catalogue, namely the drugs for fish or

birds.

Before we proceed, you should always

find out what kind of antibiotic you need

from your vet first—before

administering any drug—by having him

perform a Culture & Sensitivity Test of

the infection. This test tells you what

type of bacteria you’re dealing with and

also indicates what’s the best antibiotic

to use for it. From there, you can see if

you can get that same drug labeled for

birds or fish. And you will see that most

of these antibiotics are manufactured by

Thomas Laboratories and are the exact

same drugs your vet uses, just with a

different label on them, namely for fish

or for birds. You can order from these

right off the internet from Thomas Labs

directly. Here is their web address:

http://www.thomasveterinarydrug.com

(800) 359-8387

The Thomas Labs products are also

carried in KV Vet catalogues and

Lambriar Vet Catalogues, so compare

the prices between the three. Here are

some of the common antibiotics you can

get over the counter from Thomas Labs,

or the vet suppliers, labeled for birds

and fish. And although I list the

recommended dosages, you must give at

your own risk:

Fish-Cillin (Ampicillin): $18.41

100 caps, 250 mg each 5-11 mg per

pound, 2x a day to 4x a day.

Fish-Mox (Amoxicillin): $10.15

100 caps, 250 mg each 5 mg per pound,

2x a day.

Fish-Flex Forté (Cephalexin): $37.69

100 caps, 500 mg each 5 to 14 mg per

lb, 3x a day – 4x a day.

Fish-Cycline (Tetracycline): $10.15

100 caps, 250 mg each, 9 mg per pound,

3x a day.

Bird-Biotic (Doxycycline): $19.33

100 caps, 100 mg each 5 mg per pound,

once a day.

Fish-Sulfa Forté (TMZ): $24.95

100 tabs, 500 mg each, 15 to 20 mg per

lb, 1-2x/day.

Fish-Zole Forté (Metronidazole):

$22.39

100 tabs, 500 mg each 20 mg per pound,

on Day 1, followed by 10 mg per pound

4x a day afterward for an aerobic

infections OR … 11.5 mg per pound 2x a

day, for 5 to 7 days, for the treatment of

Giardia.

Like I said, KV Vet, Lambriar Vet, and

Thomas Laboratories directly all have

these and many other products as well.

You will notice that Lambriar Vet

typically offers these drugs the cheapest

of all. You will notice that there are two

similar products for many of these

antibiotics, for instance there is Fish

Sulfa and Fish Sulfa Forté, Fish Flex

and Fish Flex Forté, and Fish Zole and

Fish Zole Forté. Well what’s the

difference?

The difference is in the size of the pills.

Fish Sulfa is 400 mg of TMZ whereas

Fish Sulfa Forté is 800 mg of TMZ. By

the same token, Fish Flex is 250 mg of

cephalexin while Fish Flex Forté is 500

mg of the same drug. Same thing with

Fish Zole versus Fish Zole Forté: the

former is 250 mg of metronida-

zole while the latter is 500 mg of this

same drug.

Generally-speaking, the Forté versions

of these drugs are the better buy as they

are cheaper per milligram. However,

sometimes the smaller doses are easier

to divide and administer amongst pups,

particularly when dealing with just one

or two.

What about when you need heavy-duty

antibiotics, or other drugs, that

absolutely, positively are not in any vet

catalogue? Not to worry! You can still

get these drugs and save yourself some

money in the process. Did you know that

it is legal to order antibiotics from

foreign markets? Yep, it sure is. As long

as you are not re-selling them, and only

order a 3-month supply, you can buy any

non-narcotic drug you want, without a

prescription, from a foreign pharmacy.

Here is a great resource for this: One

Drugstore Online:

http://www.1drugstore-online.com

You can literally get almost any drug you

need for your dogs, cheaper than any

pharmacy, delivered to your door,

without a prescription needed! You

really need to check this website out and

keep it bookmarked at all times J

Cancer in Older Bitches

Before I wrap up this section, I want to

talk about the subject of treatable cancer.

Probably the most common tragic

demise of your best brood bitches will

be their succumbing to cancer, the

beginning of which almost invariably

originates in their mammary tissues. My

personal bloodline of dogs in particular

has cancer as a common reality one must

face among the bitches. Lady In Red

died at 7 from cancer, my own Miss

Trinx (from Hollingsworth) died at 5

from cancer, and Sassy’s mama Wild

Red Rose died at 5 from cancer. The

simple fact of the matter is cancer is the

# 1 cause of death in dogs, of all breed

types, especially bitches, and in my own

strain in particular this has been a

gruesome reality.

When I was young and inexperienced,

every time I have paid money to a vet so

he could “operate” on them and have the

tumors removed, my bitch was

invariably dead within 2 months. It

seems like every single time I had a

tumor whacked-off my bitches, the

cancer spread like wildfire, and my

bitches were dead within a few short

weeks.
Well, 5 years ago, when my favorite

bitch of all died of cancer in such a

manner, I heard an old-timer who

“banded” the cancerous teats in his

bitches. The logic behind “banding” was

that it prevented the spread of the

existing cancer, while at the same time

the banding constriction itself killed-off

the cancer. By ‘banding” I mean using

the same super-tight rubber bands that

are farmers use to castrate bulls. When a

cattle man wants to castrate a bull, he

just puts this tiny, super-strong rubber

band around the bull’s nuts, which

totally cuts-off the circulation to them,

and the bull’s nuts quickly die and

eventually drop off completely. No

blood; no expensive surgery.

Well, apparently this old-time dogman

uses this same strategy to treat mammary

cancer in bitches, allegedly with

success. I personally ran this idea past

my favorite vet, and he said, “Well,

obviously I can’t recommend that you go

ahead and do this—but (off the record),

conceptually, it makes sense.” My vet

went on to explain how all cancers are

dangerous precisely because they grow

so fast and spread. And in order to grow

so fast the cancer literally creates its

own blood supply. New arteries and

veins develop rapidly around any

cancer, which help feed it, which

thereby enables the cancer to grow and

spread at a geometric rate. This is why

so many bitches who are afflicted with

cancer die so fast, because of the

exaggerated growth level of cancer,

which is en- tirely caused by its literally

creating its own blood supply. In doing

so, this causes the cancer to grow at an

alarming rate and likewise the

bloodstream is the vehicle that enables

the cancer to “breaks off” and spread so

fast also.

Well, the theory behind banding the

cancer (where possible, as in a teat) is

that the very act of banding cuts-off all

of the necessary blood supply to that

cancerous teat. Therefore, not only is no

new blood able to come in to feed the

cancer any longer, but likewise no blood

can go back out to help spread the

cancer either.

Well, this all made sense to me,

conceptually, and so a few years ago I

had a couple of bitches of mine sprout

cancers on their mammary tissues, and

so I went ahead and treated these tumors

with banding as opposed to conventional

surgery. And now, after more than 3

years have passed since that time (as of

this writing), I can truthfully say that the

results of the bandings were in both

cases universally-successful—whereas

every other bitch I have ever treated by

“conventional surgery” before this had

been dead within 1 to 3 months. So with

the following pictorial, I will share

with you what I did:

All the tools you need ... the tiny, super-

strong rubber bands and the special

applicator pliers.
To perform this treatment what I got was

a basic banding tool and the

corresponding extra-strong rubber

bands: about $30 total. The banding tool

can be found at any Tractor Supply and

is squeezed like a pair of pliers, which

opens up the band for application.

First you put on the band ... then you

expand it open for application. Easy as

pie.

The tiny rubber band is super-strong, so

strong you cannot open it up with your

fingers. This is why you need the special

pliers tool. You simply roll the band

onto the closed 3-point end of the pliers,

then you squeeze the handle, and the tool

expands the rubber wide so you can

place it over the teat.

As simple as that—you merely place the band over

the afflicted mammary gland, as high-up as you

can go, and then release. Immediately, no more

blood can feed anything below the band’s cut-off

point, and in no time everything below it will fall-off

and die.

This is my Sassy bitch and this photo

was taken about three years ago. All I

did was just slip the band over the

afflicted mammary gland with the tool,

and withdraw. The teat (cancer and all)

immediately had all the blood cut-off

from it, and it quickly died from lack of

blood supply, and eventually it fell off.

This procedure kinda seems grizzly, but

really it was no more “grizzly” than

knocking the bitch out with drugs and

then cutting her teat off with a knife, and

then sewing her gaping wound left back

up.

The banding process was ultimately a

whole lot less grizzly, a whole lot less

time-consuming, and it was a whole lot

less costly. But the most important thing

was, it was even more effective.

Because, when all was said and done,

Sassy is still alive as I type this, and has

whelped 4 more litter for me in the last

three years, whereas every other bitch

that I had with cancer, who got surgery,

ultimately died from metastasis, and I

can truthfully promise you nothing is

more grizzly than a bitch dying of cancer

that has spread throughout her organs

and body.

At the early stages, Sassy did not seem

to be uncomfortable at all; she acted like

she didn’t even notice the band was on

her, actually. However, I gave Sassy

Clavamox concurrently with this banding

procedure, just to prevent any residual

infection, and if you ever need to use this

procedure on your own bitches, then you

might want to have either Clavamox or

cephalexin onhand, in case you need to

give antibiotic therapy concurrently,

either to prevent or treat a possible

infection (see the “Antibiotics” sections

for these drugs and their dosages).

The reason why you might need to give

concurrent prophylactic antibiotic

treatment is that part of your bitch’s body

is going to be dying and literally rotting-

off. This dead/dying tissue is going to be

in contact with your bitch’s living tissue

for awhile, and you certainly don’t want

the decaying, bacteria-filled flesh

spreading over into “the good” flesh,”

creating an infection in the process.

As you can see, the entire teat eventually becomes

gangrenous, drying-up and rotting-off eventually.

This is why it is so important to have available

prophylactic (preventative) antibiotics as a back-up

to this banding method—to make sure your bitch

doesn’t get an infection in the process. I have since

had several cases where no antibiotics were needed

at all, but it still is a good idea to have them onhand

in case they are needed.

Certainly, the minimal $30 that I spent on

this banding equipment (which can treat

200+ cancerous teats) was far less

expensive than the $350-$900 I have

spent in the past on getting mastectomies

—and my thought was that if Sassy lived

past 2 months from this effort, then she

would have out-lived every other bitch

whom I have ever treated for breast

cancer by way of “conventional

surgery.” And the simple fact is Sassy

did live, and she is still alive now over

3 years later.

Obviously, I couldn’t use this treatment

for cancer on the leg, or the penis, or for

any other cancer on an extremity for

which banding wouldn’t apply. You

can’t cut off a leg, or a foot, or any other

vital body part trying to use this

procedure. But on a bitch’s teat (which

is where I have seen almost all of the

cancer cases in my line of dogs), this

“banding” idea certainly seemed to be

an interesting method of treatment—

conceptually—and I now have the

opportunity to say honestly and

sincerely, “It worked for me.” This

method also works for skin cancers,

where you just pull-up the hide and

slap a band around the cancer, well

below the base

As you can see by the pictures, I am not

just inventing a story for interest-sake, I

legitimately used this procedure and it

legitimately worked for me. I have since

used it on skin cancers, where I had

enough hide to pull-up and band, that

have worked equally-well.

After the “ugly” stage passed, the nipple fell off

and eventually the wound healed completely.

Right before this stage, when the teat

looked the way it did on the previous

page, the dying nipple apparently itched

real bad, and Sassy repeatedly tried to

lick-it and lick-it, so I put an Elizabethan

collar on her to prevent her from doing

so. Therefore, in addition to the actual

banding equipment, you might also need

to have 1) an above-ground pen to keep

your bitch in, so she doesn’t get dirt in

her mammary tissue; 2) you should have

at least a two-weeks’ supply of premium

flesh-treating antibiotics {Clavamox

and/or cephalexin}; and finally 3) you

will probably need an Elizabethan collar

onhand to slip over the bitch’s head, so

as to prevent her from being able to lick

her teat and potentially bite-off the

banding prematurely, once things start to

get real itchy for her.

In the end, the banding proved to be a

complete success. It only cost me maybe

$30 instead of a several hundred dollar

operation—and I can now honestly say

that more than three years passed since I

did this, but I have since gotten four

more litters off of Sassy. She is over 10

years old now, she has outlived her

mother (who died of cancer), and she is

still in better shape and health than most

3-year-old bitches.

In conclusion, this information I have

shared with you is really just the “tip of

the iceberg.” There are so many ways to

save money that I cannot possibly share

them all—however, the principles to do

so remain the same—so I hope I have

pointed you in the right direction as to

how to start saving yourself literally

hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in

the yearly maintenance of your dogs, and

will serve you well over the years to

come, helping both you and your

valuable dogs forever more.

Chapter 6

Herbal Medicinal Remedies

A lot of people roll their eyes at the

thought of treating serious conditions

with “mere herbs,” but in point of fact

herbal medicinal remedies can often be

more helpful and curative for certain

maladies than any concoction made by

man. When one considers the effects that

herbal products like cocaine, opium, and

marijuana can have on the mind, it

doesn’t take a genius to realize the

incredible effects herbs can have not just

on our minds, but also our bodies. Used

incorrectly, herbal products can actually

kill the body. Just take some cyanide and

you will instantly understand the

devastating effects that some herbal

derivatives can and do have on the body

(or at least your next of kin will

understand).

However, when used correctly, herbal

products can have absolutely wonderful

effects on our minds and bodies, and not

just for us but for our dogs too. Further,

these same herbs can have absolutely

devastating effects on canine parasites

and other microorganisms that plague

our dogs. And so that is the subject of

this Chapter, to examine some of these

wonderful herbal medicinal foods and

remedies that are available to us and our

dogs.

Very often these drugs are actually

cheaper for us to buy and better for us

and our dogs. In fact, much of the “man-

made” products we use on our dogs right

now are nothing but herbal medicinal

remedies.

Just to give you an idea of how true this

is, and how wonderful some of these

products can be, consider the three well-

known dog products Cut-Heal, Granulex,

and Nu-Stock. Almost every sporting

dog owner alive either uses these

products right now—or at least they

have heard of them. Yet have you ever

actually read the labels of these

products? If you have, you would realize

that these products are comprised of

nothing but herbal medicinal

components, without a single trace of

man-made chemicals. Don’t believe me?

Well, here is what these products are

made of:

Cut-Heal:

Fish Oil, Linseed Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and

Balsam of Fir.

Granulex:

Trypsin Crystalline, Balsam, and

Castor Oil

Nu-Stock:
Sulphur, Pine Oil, and Mineral Oil

That’s it. That is all these products are

comprised of, natural medicinals, and

yet they all have been around for

decades—and every single one of them

is a great and wonderful product for us

dog fanciers. (The only exception is

Granulex, where the trypsin is not

exactly “herbal,” it is a pancreatic

digestive enzyme, and the entire product

is ejected by way of aerosol. But still,

that digestive enzyme is a natural product

and the rest of Granulex’s constituents

are all natural too.)

I hope I now have your attention. Herbal

and natural medicinal remedies have

been around since man has been aware

of his surroundings. Don’t think for a

minute that we as a species have

“evolved beyond” using them, because

we haven’t. We may only see the plastic

cans and metal containers in which we

buy these product, but their origin is

purely herbal and natural. Indeed, every

society of mankind still relies heavily on

herbal medicinal remedies for just about

every aspect of our lives. Therefore, let

us examine several such natural and

herbal supplements and medicinal

remedies that apply to our dogs, so that

we might improve our caretaking

practices as dog owners. We will first

begin with what most people don’t even

realize is a complete food unto itself:

bee pollen.

Bee Pollen

~written by dogman G. Mitchell

Ancient texts from virtually every corner

of the world praise the virtues of what is

often called “nature’s perfect food,”

Honey Bee Pollen. Ancient Egyptian,

Asian, American writings, and even

Holy Writ such as The Bible, all lead

one to understand that bees and the

products of the hive have long been

revered as important staples in the

human diet. I submit to the readers that

the health benefits of this substance are

also directly applicable to our beloved

working canines as well. Pollen from

plants is the male seed of flowers.

Pollen is essential for the fertilization of

these plants. Every variety of flowers on

earth put forth a dusting of pollen. In

addition to flowers, many fruit orchards

and other food crops do as well.

Bee Pollen is the food of young bees,

and is comprised of about 40% protein.

It is considered one of nature’s most

complete foods. Roughly one half of the

protein in bee pollen is in the form of

free amino acids that are easily

assimilated by the body. While most of

us who enjoy dogs as a hobby think of

meats as the best method of giving our

dogs quality protein, bee pollen

contains more protein than any other

animal sourceIt contains more amino

acids than eggs, beef, or cheese. The

gathering of this pollen by bees is a

difficult task. Once a honeybee arrives at

a flower, she settles herself in, and

scrapes the dusty pollen with her jaws

and legs, dampening it with a small

amount of honey brought from the hive.

The bee’s legs have thick bristles called

pollen combs, which are used to brush

the gold powder from their coat and legs

when in flight. By moving the auricle she

pushes this gathered substance into her

baskets. Her pollen baskets are simply

concave areas located on the outside of

her tibias. When the baskets are fully-

loaded, the microscopic golden colored

dust has been tamped down into a single

granule. It’s interesting to note that a

single teaspoon takes a honeybee one-

month of 8-hour days’ labor to gather.

Also of interest is that each pollen

granule contains two million pollen

grains, and a single teaspoon full

contains over 2.5 billion grains of

flower pollen.

That statistic almost makes me feel

guilty, as I casually throw out about 3 or

4 teaspoons full on top of a dog’s food

for a maintenance dose. As bees go from

plant to plant collecting this pollen, they

also work to pollinate up to 80% of all

plants. We can see that bees play an

important role in the balance of nature.

What is interesting to note is that any

attempts at creating laboratory-

synthesized bee pollen have failed to

sustain bees, even though most of the

nutrients are present in the man-made

concoctions. There are clearly

important elements present in bee

pollen that cannot yet be identi- fied.

Perhaps it is these unknown substances,

in addition to being packed with other

known healthpromoting nutrients, that

enables bee pollen to work wonders in

keeping us, and our dogs, healthy and

strong.

Bee pollen contains all the essential

components of life. That’s right, you and

I can exist solely on bee pollen and

water. (It would probably be a much

healthier diet than what many of us

consume on a regular basis!) The

nutritional value of bee pollen exceeds

that of brewer’s yeast or wheat germ,

which are also known to have great

nutritional benefits. In fact, because bee

pollen works so well to correct or

balance diets that are nutritionally

deficient, it should be seriously consid-

ered in helping bring-back any sick or

wounded dog from an unhealthy

predicament. The excellent nutritional

value of bee pollen is said by many to

have an effect against cancer, to purify

and build new blood, and to extend

longevity. Indeed, in a small village in

Russia where people were found to have

amazing life spans; many of them up to

125 years of age and still physically

active, it was discovered that they were

bee keepers, who consumed products

from the beehive including pollen and

raw honey.

In addition to all of the nutritional

benefits, researchers have demonstrated

that bee pollen also has an antibiotic

factor effective against salmonella, and

some strains of bacteria. Laboratory

tests also confirm a considerable and

simultaneous increase of both red and

white blood cells respectively. It is also

reported that bee pollen in the diet

works to normalize cholesterol and

triglyceride levels in the blood. While

taking bee pollen, the HDL (good

cholesterol) is found to increase, while

the LDL (bad cholesterol) decreases.

The cholesterol regulation in the body is

likely helped in large part by the high

percentage of lecithin in bee pollen. Bee

pollen has also been found in laboratory

studies to increase levels of blood

lymphocytes, gamma globulins, and

proteins as compared with subjects who

were not given the bee pollen. The

largest difference between the two

groups was in lymphocytes, which are

an integral part of the immune system.

Our government usually works against

most natural remedies through the FDA.

However, some of the strongest

evidence of bee pollen as a health

promoting substance comes from the

USDA, in a report entitled “Delay in the

Appearance of Palpable Mammary

Tumors in C3H Mice Following the

Ingestion of Pollenized Food,” by Dr.

William Robinson of the Bureau of

Entomology, Agriculture Research

Administration. This report was

published in the Journal of the National

Cancer Institute in October 1948. In a

nutshell, a strain of mice was used that

all showed development of tumors at an

average of 33 weeks of age. Cancer was

actually bred into these mice, and they

died on average at week 33. In a very

scant 1 to 10,000 ratio of bee pollen to

mice feed, the onset of tumors was

delayed an average of 9 weeks. Are we

beginning to see how this substance can

help with cancers in our dogs, not to

mention in ourselves? Yes bee pollen

truly is an exciting substance.

On another level, how many of us have

had problems that prevented our dogs

from producing offspring for us? I know

I have. One of the other benefits of bee

pollen is that it stimulates ovarian

function. As with the tests mentioned

above by the USDA, the ration of bee

pollen that was used in testing to

significantly stimulate ovarian function

was extremely small. Even in brood

bitches that may not have fertility

problems per se, by using pollen we can

effectively increase the percentage of

eggs available for reproduction. I would

highly recommend bee pollen to anyone

who cares about getting a large litter

pups, as the bee pollen also increases

the egg’s ability to withstand the

incubation period.

Bee pollen is also very effective in

treating allergies of all kinds. In fact,

one doctor found that allergy patients

who diligently used the pollen over the

span of three years, were cured of all

previous allergies. Personally I like to

use locally-produced bee pollen. Doing

this allows us to build resistance to the

very pollens in our own environment.

This is similar to giving injections to

build immunity allergies, in both humans

and animals, except the pollen is

Nature’s way of keeping us and our dogs

allergy free.

Bee pollen has been touted as a

performance-enhancing supplement for

many years. It really came to the

forefront of the sports world with the

dominating performance of the 1972

Olympic Track team from Finland. In

1968, the Finnish team was ranked about

27th in the world. By 1972, they were

ranked 5th in the world. According to

their coach Antii Lananaki, the only thing

they changed in their training was that

most of his athletes were taking bee

pollen. In other sports related studies,

pollen was found to cause a definite

decrease in pulse rate. Hello canine

sportsmen, particularly greyhounders

and coon houndsmen! Those who

understand the importance of heart rate

in performance dogs will take note of

these findings.

I could go on and on about the benefits

of bee pollen. One more thing I will

mention is that bee pollen contains a

natural occurring amino acid called

Phenylanaline. Over the counter weight

loss aids contain a synthetic version of

this substance called

Phenylpropanolamine. Phenylanaline

helps regulate ones appetite and

maintain correct body weight by acting

on the body’s appetite, the center in the

body that controls hunger and fullness.

http://members.cox.net/beepollen/

My first preference in obtaining bee

pollen as I mentioned previously is local

pollen. Try to find local bee keepers and

buy their products. Whether you get your

product locally, or shipped

from elsewhere, make sure it is not

cheap imported pollen that is heat

processed and dehydrated for long shelf

life. When you find pollen in your health

food store, you will find good fresh

pollen in the refrigerator if the health

food store is worth its salt. The reason

for this is bee pollen is a food,

containing lipids and enzymes, and it

will spoil. While dehydrated pollen may

last longer and be more convenient, it

will not contain all of the nutritional

benefits of fresh pollen. You will notice

that fresh pollen is somewhat moist. For

sheer affordability, I would recommend

Winners Bee Pollen

for horses based on the cost-per-lb., if

local pollen costs make bee pollen too

expensive for you.

Bee Pollen can be purchased for about

$3.50 per lb. if purchased in bulk. Since

you will only be using 1-2 tBsp of

pollen per dog, this means you would

only be adding $0.22 - $0.44 extra to

each meal. Most of the famous racehorse

trainers use bee pollen regularly, and

have witnessed performance gains while

using it. As Mr. Whittingham once said,

“It’s like bringing the pasture to the

barn.” Horses obviously forage for their

feed much more than dogs do, but it’s not

all that unusual to see a dog chewing on

grasses and plants, which I always

believed meant that he was searching for

something that was deficient in his diet.

Use caution when introducing bee pollen

into either a dog’s diet or your own. It’s

a food that is packed with nutrition, and

can sometimes (albeit rarely) cause an

allergic reaction. Always build up

slowly to the desired dose when using

any product from the hive. I hope that all

who try the bee pollen find it as

beneficial as I have over the years, and

as countless laboratory experiments

have also proven it to be.

Garlic

Garlic is one of the oldest known natural

remedies of mankind, just like bee

pollen, and it likewise has been used

since before ancient Egyptian as well as

ancient Greek times. The curative

properties of garlic have earned it the

popular name “nature’s antibiotic,” and

deservedly so, because this incredible

“stinking rose” can provide a broad

spectrum of activity against bacteria,

fungi, yeasts, and viral infections. The

antifungal properties of garlic have long

been used in folk medicine for the

treatment of candida infections,

especially those of the skin. Candida is

one of the main sources of vaginal

infections in females.

The first serious published evidence on

behalf of garlic was produced by

Schmidt and Mar- quardt in 1936 when

they demonstrated the extraordinary

fungistatic and fungicidal action of

freshly pressed garlic juice and dried

garlic with infected skin cultures. Later,

American and Russian authors reported

similar findings almost simultaneously,

and since then, numerous studies have

appeared in which the inhibition of

fungal growth by garlic and/or its

constituents (mainly allicin) is

described.

Almost all evidence shows that the

allicin in garlic is the primary constituent

responsible for its anti-microbial

properties. One study showed pure

allicin was found to have a minimum

inhibitory concentration (MIC) of only 7

g/m to kill the candida. This is

comparable to some of the most

advanced synthetic antibiotics! The

study also showed that several varieties

of onion (though onions also produce

allicin) had much less anticandidal and

antibacterial activity than garlic.

Garlic is the only antibiotic that can

actually kill infecting bacteria and at the

same time protect the body from the

poisons that are causing the infection. It

is now known that the most sensitive

bacterium to garlic is the deadly

Bacillus anthracis which produces the

poison anthrax. Even the forefather of

antibiotic medicine, Louis Pasteur,

acknowledged garlic to be as effective

as penicillin and recent studies showed

similar activity to a more modern

antibiotic, chloramphenicol.

Even more amazing is that the blood of

garlic-eaters can also kill bacteria—and

it is also reported that the vapor from

freshly cut garlic can kill bacteria at a

distance of 20 cm. Another once-

common, and apparently returning

disease, tuberculosis, can be treated

with garlic very successfully, as the

invading organism Mycobacterium

tuberculosis is very sensitive to several

of the sulphur components found in

garlic. The allicin in garlic has been

known for many years to have these

amazing properties.

Well, what the heck does this mean to a

dog owner? Well, for starters, what it

means is that adding garlic to your dog’s

diet can dramatically-influence a cure

for any of a number of fungal infections.

Many dogs fall victim to any number of

systemic fungal infections, including

coccidio- imycosis(“valley fever”),

which is a terrible fungal infection

caused by certain pathological fungi,

including Coccidioides immitis,

Auxarthron zufiiaanum, and

Uncinocarpus resii. Well, guess what?

All of these fungi are sensitive to

garlic extracts. This means that adding

garlic to the diet of any

dog suffering from any number of

different fungal diseases can make a

drastic difference in recovery.

Aqueous garlic extracts have been

shown to have good success in curing

life-threatening cryptococcal

meningitis, a fungal disease of the spine

and brain. In poultry farming, the

addition of 2-5% garlic (chips or

extract) to the feed is used for the

prevention of mycoplasma in the

animals, and this same application

should benefit dogs as well.

Mycoplasma is a disease that can also

affect dogs, particularly the reproductive

potency of males. Adding a horn of

garlic to a cup of water, blending it in a

blender, and then pouring this over a

problem stud dog’s feed can be a

wonderful tonic to purify his blood after

2 weeks and to restoring his fertility.

Again, Garlic is also effective against

Candida albicans, Aspergillus

fumigatus, and finally garlic extract can

be used for the treatment of infected

wounds. Comparative studies on the

effects of garlic juice and the standard

pharmaceutical remedies ( nystatin,

griseofulvin, and am- photericin B)

against fungi such as Candida albicans,

Cryptococcus neoformans, Goetrichum

can- didum, Aspergillus fumigatus, and

Epidmophyton mentagrophytes have

shown conclusively that the anti-fungal

activity of garlic exceeds that of ALL

the drugs investigated! How garlic

exerts this incredible activity is still

much of a mystery. However it is known

that garlic extract causes damage to the

outer surface of the fungal cells and

causes several alterations in the fat

content. The allicin in garlic must be

used properly however.

To prepare garlic, first you need to take the whole

clove and separate it into individual horns. Then

you need a special garlic press to crush the horns,

which releases the amazing medicinal properties of

garlic, after which you may then add it to your

dogs’ feed.

The way in which the allicin becomes

important occurs when the garlic cloves

are cut into or crushed. The cutting or

crushing causes two components of

garlic, allicin and the enzyme al-

liinase, to interact. This reaction is

designed to protect the plant from

parasites and fungi, and the allicin is

also responsible for garlic’s pungent

smell. This property of allicin being

activated must be taken advantage of

quickly, however. For this reason, garlic

“pills” and “powdered” garlic

concoctions are useless and do nothing

for a user in the way of providing

garlic’s legendary healing properties.

Garlic must be used fresh in order to

deliver its potent and healing properties.

This means you need to prepare raw

garlic for your dogs and serve it

immediately, the ways in which to do

this are discussed at the end of this

chapter.

But not only does garlic kill many kinds

of fungi, bacteria, and viruses, but garlic

can also be devastating for protozoa and

amoeba. The allicin in garlic disables

dysentery-causing amoebas by blocking

two groups of enzymes, cysteine

proteinases and alcohol

dehydrogenases. Cysteine

proteinase enzymes are among the main

culprits in infection, providing infectious

organisms with

the means to damage and invade tissues.

Alcohol dehydrogenase enzymes play a

major role in these harmful organisms’

metabolism and survival. This means

that garlic may help fight coccidia and

giardia also as a concurrent therapy

adjunct to the discussion on pp. 168-

171. Because these groups of enzymes

are found in a wide variety of infectious

organisms such as bacteria, fungi and

viruses, this research provides a

scientific basis for the notion that the

allicin in garlic is a broad-spectrum

antimicrobial, capable of warding-off a

multitude of different types of infections,

as is the sulphur it contains.

“It has long been argued that garlic can

fight a wide range of infections and now

we have provided biochemical evidence

for this claim,” one author writes. The

role of allicin in warding off infection

may be particularly valuable in light of

the growing bacterial resistance to

antibiotics. It is unlikely that bacteria

could develop resistance to allicin

because this would require modifying

the very enzymes that make their activity

possible.

As for other vitamin and mineral trace

elements that are found in garlic, it is

high in phosphorous, calcium,

magnesium, sodium, iron, manganese,

potassium, and B-complex vitamins.

Garlic has an extremely high sulfur

content, which is where much of the

fragrance comes from, but which

protects the cells from a build-up of

toxins. Sulphur dissolves acids in the

body, improves circulation, and also

kills fungus. Garlic also contains

selenium, and vitamins A and C, all of

which help protect the immune system. It

is little wonder why garlic has been

utilized medicinally since before

Egyptian times!

Finally, garlic is also an effective

antiparasitic, and many kennels have

long used garlic in their dogs’ feed to do

everything from repelling flies, fleas,

and mosquitoes—to ridding their dogs of

intestinal worms—to controlling fungus

such as ringworm—to simply helping

their dogs maintain a shiny coat. I myself

have applied freshly-crushed garlic

directly to ringworm and treated it more

successfully than with any man-made

drug I’ve ever used previously.

A last key use of garlic for us dogmen

would be in the management of kennel

cough ( bor- datella). Again, I myself

had the pleasure of receiving in my

kennel a dog who was ripe with kennel

cough. Within 3 - 5 days, every single

dog of mine was hacking and coughing

up sputum. In fact, by the first week, my

dogs were so vocal in their coughing that

it sounded as if I had a colony of seals

on my property!

Well, at the time I had 35 dogs, and there

was no way I could afford to give 35

dogs 10 days’ worth of Clavamox each,

so knowing garlic was such a “wonder

herb” and that it also collected in the

lungs, I decided to use garlic instead of

conventional treatment. What I did was

just buy a big sack of garlic cloves, and

several bottles of canola oil, along with

several cans of jack mackerel. The only

animals I gave the actual antibiotics to

were my puppies, just because I didn’t

want to take any chances with them

being so young. But all the adults got my

garlic concoction.

So twice daily I took a garlic crusher,

the garlic cloves, a can of jack mackerel,

and the canola oil out to the yard—and

one-by-one I crushed one full horn of a

garlic clove for each dog, to which I

then added a little jack mackerel and 2

tBsp of canola oil to mix together to

make it palatable, and the dogs would

gobble it up. I went down the row of all

my dogs, every 12 hours, for every dog,

and within one week not a single dog

on my yard was left coughing! The

sulphur and allicin in garlic are simply

amazing.

Another way in which to give garlic to

your whole yard would be to use 1 cup

of water to 1 big horn of garlic clove.

What you do is take a gallon-jug of

water (which is 16 cups), and pour just

enough water into a blender to half-way

fill it. Add to the blender 16 large horns

of garlic cloves, and blend the garlic and

water briskly in your blender. Pour the

mixed contents of the blender back into

the full-gallon jug of water, shake it all

up well, and then take the full-gallon jug

(sixteen 1-cup servings) of this mix with

you when you feed. Simply pour 1 cup’s

worth of the garlic water into each dog’s

feed dish, over their feed, and they will

gobble it up! Again, since 1 gallon = 16

cups, and since you blended 16 garlic

horns, use 1 gallon of this concoction

per 16 dogs on your yard.

Not only can you use this to treat kennel

cough, but you can help repel

mosquitoes and fleas too. This practice

is a great way to keep your dogs healthy

and parasite free. It will also clearup

yeast infections in any of your bitches.

Do this for your whole yard of dogs, for

one whole week in a row, every month

or every other month. That means, one

week on then 3 weeks off, or one week

on and then 6 weeks off. This is habit

that will keep their blood healthy.

note: You do not want to give garlic to a

dog every day of his life. Just for a

week, and then give the dog a break, as

continual use of garlic is hard on a

stomach after awhile. But if you do

begin to incorporate garlic into your

kenneling practices, one week per month

(or one

week every other month), and you will

quickly see that garlic is very much a

“wonder herb” that will help keep your

dogs’ blood strong, parasite-free, fungus

free, and I will bet that you never stop

using it after that.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea Tree Oil ( Melaleuca alternifolia)

is a native Australian plant, that is now

grown in America, and it carries many

remarkable properties that can benefit a

dogman. When crushed and distilled, the

leaves of this plant yield a 100% natural

oil which is an antiseptic, a fungicide, a

mild solvent, and much, much more. Tea

tree oil is in fact one of the most

versatile natural products known to man.

Here are some of the uses to which this

completely natural and aromatic product

can be put:

Antiseptic

Bactericidal, fungicidal, and virucidal.

Tea tree oil is effective against all

three pathogens and is one of

thestrongest natural antiseptics

known to man, that is safe to use. So

much so, that tea tree oil is a required

item in the med supply kit of every

member of the Australian army.

Soothing
Like cocaine, tea tree oil has nerve-

deadening properties which block

pain, stinging, and itching in

dermatitis, wounds, rashes, poison

ivy/oak, and insect bites.

Penetrating

Tea tree oil carries its therapeutic

benefits far below the top layers of

skin, making it an effective remedy for

arthritic conditions, abscesses, sore

muscles, and irritating bite wounds.

Aromatic

Tea tree oil’s soothing, therapeutic

aroma can be used in vaporizers

where not only its antibacterial

properties, but its aromatic freshness

will relieve respiratory distress,

infection, bronchitis, and even

pneumonia.

Noncaustic

Tea tree oil’s mild nature will not

harshly affect most skin types.

However, some individual sensitivi-

ties will occur.

Natural Solvent

Tea tree oil dissolves residue and acts

as a natural cleanser and disinfectant,

and there are whole product brands

that use tea tree oil in hundreds of

environmentally-friendly household

shampoos, detergents, cleaners, and

soaps.

Insect Repellent

Tea tree oil’s permeating, clean

fragrance will repel most insects,

fleas, and mosquitoes.

Because of its versatility, a burgeoning

market has been created utilizing the

remarkable oils of the Melaleuca

alternifolia plant. This oil has been a key

ingredient in the following products:

mouth washes; muscle relaxants/creams;

creams for the treatment of genital/oral

herpes; antiper- spirants; oral

applications for gingivitis and

periodontal disease; creams for the

prevention/treat- ment of sunburns;

creams and gels to heal/relieve actual

burns by fire; household disinfectants/

detergents/personal soaps; bee and

insect repellents as well as for the relief

of actual insect bites/ stings; headache

relief; fungus treatment (jock

itch/athlete’s foot/ring-worm); a whole

host of ther- apeutic skin care creams,

shampoos, etc., as well as many other

uses. And all of these products have U.S.

Patents affixed to them.

It can therefore safely be said that there

are very few natural herbal products as

useful as tea tree oil. As a matter of fact,

tea tree oil is the sole antibiotic

constituent in the time-proven dog

product Cut-Heal. Belonging to the same

family of plants as the eucalyptus tree,

the Melaleu- ca alternifolia plant was

discovered in the 1770s by Captain

James Cook when he witnessed native

Australians brewing tea from its leaves.

Hence the name “tea tree.” Growing 20

feet high, the tree really resembles more

of a shrub, and it is readily grown and

harvested by man. The tree’s leaves are

collected twice a year and passed

through a distillation process in order to

expel the oil. The primary active

ingredients of tea tree oil are

terpinenand cineole. Terpinen is the ingredient responsible for the healing

and medicinal properties.

Cineole contributes to the disinfectant

properties as well, but unfortunately

cineole can be caustic to human tissue. In

order to obtain the best results from

using tea tree oil, the percentage of

terpinenmust be between 35 and 60

percent, and the percentage

of cineolemust be below 10 percent to

ensure skin safety during usage.

In 1920, Dr. A. Penfold officially tested

the oil’s properties for the first time. He

discovered that tea tree oil was 12 times

more potent than the accepted antiseptic

at the time, carbolic acid. Dr. Penfold’s

research prompted further testing in the

following decades, contributing to tea

tree oil’s increasing use by the public.

Australian physicians were astounded by

the oil’s ease in sterilizing wounds and

preventing infections resulting from

surgery. In the late 1940s, however, the

introduction of antibiotics such as

penicillin caused a drop in the use of tea

tree oil. Yet by 1980, the increasing

growth of bacterial resistance to

antibiotics by so many bacteria—

combined with improved tea tree

harvesting procedures—has created a

whole new demand for this amazing oil

that should make all dogmen stand up

and take interest.

Even today, when compared to standard

antibiotics and antiseptics, tea tree oil

displays unique characteristics,

unparalleled by anything manmade. For

instance, in contrast to betadine and

hydrogen peroxide, two commonly-

accepted antiseptics, properly-distilled

tea tree oil does not harm human tissue.

The oil also kills germs upon

application and prevents their growth for

days afterward, not mere hours.

Betadine, peroxide, and even

Nolvasan’s antibacterial properties only

last for a few hours, not days.

Melaleuca’s oily nature is responsible

for this longevity—which also is

responsible for its concurrent healing

abilities as it disinfects. These other

manmade products only disinfect and

they can only do so for a much more

limited time frame; they do not

concurrently heal and disinfect, like tea

tree oil.

It is this synergy—being an antiseptic,

a healing agent, as well as being

deeply penetrat - ing—that sets tea

tree oil apart from almost everything

else. Tea tree oil’s only medicinal

limitation is that it cannot be ingested.

As an alternative to traditional

antibiotics, tea tree oil’s complex

chemical composition also makes it

extremely difficult for susceptible

bacteria to develop resistance to it.

Traditional antibiotics possess simpler

chemical structures to which many

bacteria can (and do) develop immunity.

Not so with this wonder oil, because tea

tree oil’s complex and oily nature are

not easily bridged. This healing nature

also aids in the reduction of noticeable

wound scarring. Because tea tree oil is

active against all three categories of

infectious organisms—bacteria, viruses

and fungi—it can be used for almost any

superficial skin infection, regardless of

what it is.

In fact, concerning fungi,

Malassezia yeasts are commonly found

all over the skin, where sebum excretion

is highest. This can cause itching,

flakiness, and general discomfort. There

is no manmade remedy yet that is as

effective for treating these yeasts as tea

tree oil, because not only does it kill

them, its penetrating qualities gets below

the surface, its nerve-numbing properties

relieves the itching, and its healing

properties promotes regeneration. Tea

tree oil is also effective for many other

skin conditions, besides yeasts. For

instance, it is effective against

ringworm, as well as all kinds of Staph

infections.

In dogs, you can easily see how these

applications, and this broad coverage,

can be of value. Tea tree oil can soothe

bites, bee stings, and be applied

liberally to all kinds of hot spots,

ringworm, as well as to superficial cuts

and abrasions. It can also be used as a

pad healer, both for cracked and worn

pads as well as infected pads. If there

are mouth wounds or sores, tea tree oil

is a superb remedy as well. Add it to

your favorite dog shampoo, and tea tree

oil helps control unpleasant aroma on

the dog, as well as to sanitize the entire

surface of the animal. Not only does

such a shampoo repel against fungus, but

its penetrating properties

will soothe any itchy/flaky skin the

animal my have, while it heals. Tea tree

oil can be applied in sprayers as a

kennel disinfectant as well. You can

even use it to brush a dog’s teeth!

For wound management, the

antimicrobial activity of tea tree oil can

be applied directly to the injury. It has

been demonstrated to be effective

against several common bacterial and

fungal pathogens. It is especially

interesting that even penicillin-resistant

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were

still very much susceptible to tea tree

oil, which means it would be an

effective remedy for pyoderma.

Cut-Heal discovered this years ago.

What’s interesting is the active

ingredient of Cut-Heal used to be

turpentine (to be discussed next), but the

company now uses tea tree oil instead.

Actually, the two compounds are very

similar, but there is almost no sporting

dogman who does not use the product

Cut-Heal on his dogs. The active

ingredients of Cut-Heal are merely Fish

Oil, Linseed Oil, Tea Tree Oil, and

Balsam of Fir.

Still, most dogmen don’t realize they can

buy pure tea tree oil and use it for even

more applications than with mere Cut-

Heal. While tea tree oil is at its most

effective in treating skin diseases, it is

also effective for treating respiratory

illnesses. For instance, if a dog has

severe kennel cough, placing the animal

in a crate inside a room with a

vaporizer, with tea tree oil added, will

speed up the recovery process

remarkably, as inhaling the fumes allows

the deep medicinal penetration of the oil

into the alveoli, which in turn kills the

bacteria/virus that infect the sinuses and

lungs. Similar to eucalyptus oil, tea tree

oil also opens clogged respiratory

passages to allow better oxygenation,

but tea tree oil also kills any bacteria,

virus, or fungi. Tea tree oil is also an

excellent insect repellent and can be

used to repel ticks, fleas, and

mosquitoes, and it can soothe sunburns

by reducing inflamma- tion.

The medicinal properties of Cut-Heal have been

winning awards for 35 years, and the magic

ingredient in their most modern product is Tea Tree

Oil.

Applying the oil to insect bites reduces

swelling, disinfects the area, and its

nerve-deadening properties stops the

itching. You can buy 2 oz of

pharmaceutical grade tea tree oil at any

Walmart for less than $8.00. It has over

35% terpinens and less than 5%

cineoles, qualifying it as

“Pharmaceutical Grade.” Two ounces of

oil doesn’t sound like a lot, but it lasts a

good while. For wounds I dilute with

water, but for injured pads, I apply full

strength. I simply take a Q-Tip and dip it

in the oil, and apply to the area. If I am

going to shampoo a dog, I just add a

capful to the shampoo in my palm and

lather up the animal. This addition of tea

tree oil will cure many skin maladies,

particularly non-specific fungi and hot

spots.

I think the more dogmen realize the many

serious uses to which they can put this

amazing oil, the more they will make

sure they have it in their medicine

chests. I know I have it in mine, and I

have had it there for many years.

I can make the following statement with

confidence: there is no dogman alive

who owns more than 10 dogs who

won’t need the use of tea tree oil at

least once a month. That is how often

issues pop up in owning these dogs for

which the application of tea tree oil can

prove useful. From bathing bitches prior

to delivering pups in an anti-fungal

shampoo (in preparation for a clean

whelp), to direct application to hot spots

and ringworm, to helping reverse collar

rot, to treating respiratory infection, to

assisting in wound management and the

prevention of infection, there are dozens

of ways tea tree oil can benefit you and

your dogs.

So try tea tree oil out on your own dogs

(and even on yourself), and once you see

the enormous benefit this oil can offer

you, in so many different ways, I will bet

that you will continue to use it from that

moment forward.

Rectified Oil of Turpentine

Rectified oil of Turpentine is very

similar to tea tree oil, but stronger, and

in some cases bet- ter. However, unlike

tea tree oil turpentine can be

dangerous. However, when used

wisely, spirits of rectified oil of

turpentine has been every bit as useful,

in some cases even more useful, than tea

tree oil, as turpentine is a multi-faceted

compound that has served man for

decades. Understanding which turpentine

to use can be confusing. All forms are

derivatives of pine resin, and all have

been used as healing agents since

antiquity. Even pine tar water can be

given to animals with chronic coughs.

The tar can be used internally, and

externally, both as a stimulant and as an

antiseptic for skin conditions.

As a rubdown for dogs in keep, pine tar

relieves sore muscles. The distilled

resin of pine tar yields oil of

turpentine which can be applied as an

external stimulant for rheumatic

conditions and sprains. Internally, the oil

of turpentine will kill parasites and

(when used in a vaporizer) it can also be

useful treating for lung infections, to the

extent nearly all of the cold & flu

products used by Vicks® contain

turpentine. Even simple pine oil is put

into all kinds of ointments and liniments

that are used for skin eruptions such as

hot spots, eczema, and psoriasis. In fact,

pine oil and sulfur are the sole active

constituents in the time-proven dog

product Nu-Stock, which has been

treating skin problems for over 45 years.

Yet all Nu-Stock is comprised of is

nothing but Sulphur, Mineral Oil, and

Pine Oil. But you won’t find an

experienced dogman who doesn’t use

this product—or its equivalent from

Nature’s Magic®. Where Nu-Stock uses

the basic pine oil,

Nature’s Magic® uses the more refined

turpentine.

The primary ingredient in the incredibly-effective

product Nu-Stack has been treating dogs and

horses for over 45 years, and its primary

ingredient is Pine Oil, a relative of Turpentine.

Nature’s Magic® Healing Poultice™ is a superior

alternative to Nu-Stock. Using real turpentine (and

not just pine oil), and by putting the sulfur and pine

oil in a food-grade (not industry grade) mineral oil

base, this new product is so thick that even rain

can’t wash it off---which keeps the medicine on

your dogs where it belongs. You can find this

product

at www.NaturesMagic.us

If you happen to have pine trees near

you, you can actually utilize their

“offerings” medicinally, as a simple

homemade way to impart similar

benefits to canine skin problems (hot

spots, ringworm, etc.) is just to gather

fresh pine needles, pine twigs, and

resinous pine cones, cut them in pieces,

and simmer for half an hour in fresh

water. Strain the juices and add it to a

warm shampoo bath, which will

disinfect the entire coat. For direct

application, though, nothing can beat

Rectified Oil of Turpentine.

Like tea tree oil, all forms of turpentine

are outstanding solvents and have been

used for centuries to cut through resins,

waxes, fats, sulfurs, and phosphorus, and

is largely employed in making varnish,

as well as in oil-painting, etc.

Medicinally, turpentines and pine oils

are often employed in both general and

veterinary practice as rubefacients and

vesicants, and are extremely valuable as

antiseptics. Basic pine tar is an impure

turpentine, being viscid and brown-

black in color. It is procured by

destructive distillation from the roots of

various coniferous trees, particularly

from Pinus sylvestris. The tar can be

used medicinally also for its antiseptic,

stimulant, diuretic and diaphoretic

actions, especially in veterinary

practice, as previously-mentioned. Even

tar-water can be given to treat chronic

kennel cough in vaporizers; externally it

can be used as a skin stimu- lant and

antiseptic treatment for eczema. Oil of

tar is used instead of turpentine in the

case of mange, etc. It is beyond the

scope of this text to get into the exact

mechanics of each kind of turpentine

distillation, but the important thing to

know is that the oleoresin is what

becomes the product “Oil of Turpentine”

or the “Spirits of Turpentine.” The

remaining residue is Resin ( colophony).

note: Only when the pine oil is distilled

with six volumes of lime water, does it

produce Rectified Oil of Turpentine

( Oleum terebinthinae rectificatum).

This is the form which should always be

used in human medicine, and as such it is

the ultimate form to use on dogs as well.

The dosage is from one to ten minims,

depending on the size of the

person/animal. Rectified Oil of

Turpentine should be given in an

emulsion for gastric and intestinal

disorders. For respiratory disorders in

dogs, place two to four drops on a

square of bread which can be

swallowed with the saliva.

Overdosing of turpentine can be fatal,

so do not use liberally, use it sparingly.

The rectified oil of turpentine can be an

irritant when applied to the skin or

mucous membranes in any considerable

quantity. It causes burning, a vesicular

eruption, and deep, stubborn ulcerations.

At the proper dose it produces warmth

in the stomach; however when increased

to an overdose it will produce burning

pain, nausea, vomiting, purging,

eructations of the oil, and gastro-

enteritis. In toxic doses it causes renal

hyperemia, severe irritation of the

urinary tract, violent hematuria and

strangury, with suppression of urine and

albuminuria. While violent symptoms

have often been produced by full

medicinal doses of turpentine, fatal

results have seldom occurred. Five

ounces have been taken by adult humans

with recovery. Children, on the other

hand, have died from overdoses in a few

instances. Dogs could be considered as

“children” in their size, and therefore

caution should be exercised in any

dosing. Turpentine is eliminated through

the kidneys and mucous membranes, and

this fact explains its immediate influence

upon these organs and structures.

When used properly, turpentine

stimulates the heart, increases the

arterial tension for a time, increases the

temperature and exalts the mental

faculties. In cases of overdose, the

reverse is true: there is a reduction of

physical strength, muscular insecurity,

tremblings, incoordination, great

nervous irritation, wandering of the

mind, incoherence, insensibility and

coma, and labored breathing from

paralysis of respiration. The face can

become flushed and the pupils dilated.

All bodily exuda- tions will contain its

odor.

That is the bad news. The good news is,

when used correctly, turpentine can

literally work wonders. The specific

indications suggest its conservative use,

not its liberal use, for treating acute and

chronic bronchitis, especially when

there is an excessive discharge of

mucus. Turpentine’s influ- ence on

kennel cough may be observed

immediately. It controls the cough, it

allays the excessive bronchial

secretions, it soothes the irritation

throughout the chest, it relieves the

diffused soreness, and it promotes the

cure almost immediately, so its

application to any kennel cough situation

can be seen immediately.

Turpentine’s influence is direct as a rub,

to both the mucous and membranous

tissues, and it produces Outstanding

results. Again, this is why turpentine is

found in all Vicks® cold & flu products.

Although, it can be given internally,

applied externally, and its vapors

provide exceptional benefit when

inhaled (much like tea tree oil), because

turpentine is toxic, in these cases

exposure should

be only for a short time. Careful watch

must be kept for evidence of any

irritating influence upon the kidneys. In

some extreme cases where it has not

been previously used, a single large

dose of ten or fifteen drops to a large

dog will exercise a prompt influence. A

drop is an actual unit of

measurement, and 15 drops is equal to

approximately 1 ml.
In all cases pain must NOT be caused by

the turpentine applications. Its influence

upon the kidneys must be watched—and

if difficult, painful, or burning urination

(or scanty urination) oc- curs, or the

least blood appears in the urine, its use

must be stopped at once. Again, in too

large a dose, turpentine produces

nephritis, strangury, and priapism.

Inhaled constantly it will produce these

symptoms in otherwise healthy animals.

So if you use it in a vaporizer, again I

caution you only use it briefly and

sparingly—and pay attention for any

adverse effects. Turpentine can be a

terrific and powerful tool that can save a

life—or it can be a volatile, dangerous

poison that can take a life—it depends

upon how wisely (or unwisely) it is

managed.

In closing this section on turpentine, I

realize I have previously-mentioned the

product CutHeal under the tea tree oil

section, but a critical fact about this

medicine has to be pointed out here. Cut-

Heal has been a longstanding first-aid

medicine that we have all seen in pet

stores, feed stores, and in vet supply

catalogues, for years. In fact, Cut-Heal

has been effectively used on animals

since 1968. As previously-mentioned,

the product has won multiple awards,

including “Best Topical Medication

Award” in all of England in 1999. Yet

although Cut-Heal uses tea tree oil in its

ingredients “now,” the simple fact is

Cut-Heal had turpentine as its

primary active ingredient for decades,

and the fact of the matter is Cut-Heal

was using turpentine when it won

nearly all of its awards. Cut-Heal also

contains fish oil, linseed oil, and balsam

of fir, but the main active ingredient used

to be turpentine for years.

Ironically, now that Cut-Heal’s newer

products contain tea tree oil as their

active ingredient, the fact remains that

the active ingredient ( terpinen) in the

tea tree oil is compositionally very much

like turpentine. The amazing medicinal

effects of tea tree oil were covered

previously and are very similar, yet it

simply is not as powerful, ultimately, as

turpentine.

I have used Cut-Heal long enough to

remember the old formula, that used

turpentine, and I well remember the

difference. Although I think the world of

tea tree oil, and I use it religiously for

many matters pertaining to dogs, I

preferred the old Cut-Heal (that used

turpentine) product to the new one (that

uses tea tree oil), as it was simply

stronger and better—as the multiple

awards given to the turpentine version

attest.

Because the turpentine version is no

longer available from Cut-Heal, I

decided to make my own product using

the turpentine formula—and then I made

it even better by adding wheat germ oil

and cod liver oil. Where Cut-Heal only

uses crude fish oil & linseed (flax) oil, I

have upgraded these ingredients to

pharmaceutical-quality cod liver oil (for

Vitamin D), flax oil (for Omega 3s), and

I have added wheat germ oil to my

formula (which brings Vitamin E) to the

mix. The restorative powers of Vitamin

E are added to the superior effects of

turpentine, and the product I offer is

called Essential Wound Care™.

To those readers who wish to use a

product very much like Cut-Heal, but

actually superior, the new product

Essential Wound Care™ I offer is

available from my company Nature’s

Magic®. Where Cut-Heal has

abandoned the stronger turpentine in

favor of the safer tea tree oil, Essential

Wound Care™ still uses this time-

proven remedy, on top of a superior

profile of oils. Get yourself some and

see by visiting my website at

www.NaturesMagic.us
Essential Wound Care ™ from Nature’s Magic®

provides the stronger turpentine to fight infections,

as well as Vitamin E from wheat germ oil.

www.NaturesMagic.us

Still, although there are products

available with turpentine in them, it is

still helpful to obtain pure Rectified Oil

of Turpentine to keep it onhand for other

matters that a mixed product can’t offer

you help on. You can order pure

rectified oil of turpentine for yourself

from Humco directly (they have other

medicinals as well):

www.humco.com

The reason having pure rectified oil of

turpentine onhand is so valuable is,

again, because of its benefit for

respiratory illness as well as for the

treatment of internal parasites. In fact,

still another of the uses to which

turpentine can be put is in the treatment

of dysentery. In very small doses,

turpentine has shown excellent results in

eradicating all forms of bacteria,

protozoa, and even worms. This means

that (if properlydosed) turpentine is an

excellent remedy for coccida and

giardia! Turpentine’s usefulness for

treating various species of internal

worms has proven it to be an incredibly-

efficient anthelmintic for the removal of

taenia tapeworms. It is given in a single

full dose of from four to six drops

(minims) upon rising in the morning. It

may be followed shortly by a

tablespoonful of castor oil in a

teaspoonful of hot milk. The animal

should not be fed to let the oil operate.

All nervous phenomena dependent upon

the irritation caused by the presence of

the worms will abate with the

destruction of the worms. This is not due

to any nerve sedative influ- ence of the

turpentine, however.

A physician by the name of Whitford

actually treated thirty hu man cases of

Trichina spiralis(Trichinosis) at one

time with the persistent use of turpentine.

Five drops every three hours for one day

were sufficient. The diagnosis in the

larger number of the cases was

confirmed by the microscope. Every

individual recovered who was treated,

which confirmed the efficacy of

turpentine. Whitford recalled a time

where two parties ate portions of half-

cooked pork, later found to be teeming

with trichina. Both parties were

affected in the same manner and death

seemed imminent. One party agreed to

be treated with turpentine and

recovered; the other refused treatment

and died.

Your reading about and applying this

ancient, yet still remarkable compound

may save your dog’s life one day—or at

the very least it may help cure one of

some malady that for which nothing else

you tried worked. Try my products that

still use turpentine and you will see a

difference from what you’re using now.

At the very least, I hope you can see how

advisable it is to have pure Rectified Oil

of Turpentine in your medicine chest.

Simply put, you never know when this

product might work—when all other

conventional remedies do not. Just

remember to use it sensibly and

sparingly in its pure form; it is a

powerful herbal medicinal tool, and it

should not be underestimat- ed—either

in its ability to harm (if misused)—or in

its ability to help if used wisely.

The company Humco manufac - tures pure Rectified

Oil of Turpen- tine.

Flowers of Sulfur

Like many of the herbals we have

discussed, sulfur (or sulphur) has

likewise been utilized since antiquity. In

Latin, it is called sulfur, and in Greek,

qeion. In fact, in Grecian mythology

qeion was considered the embodiment

of fire, and was thought to be related to

lightning. The Greek name, indeed, also

translates to “divinity” and was derived

from qeos, which referred to Zeus (who

is often shown with a handful of

lightning bolts). In Christian mythology,

sulfur is purported to be the fuel of Hell.

In our modern world of today, flowers of

sulfur are the sublimed substance from

purification by distillation, so once

again we see a tremendous end product

from utilizing distillation. Flowers of

sulfur are the very finest grains of

elemental sulfur.

The reason it is so important for the

sulfur to be very fine, is in order for it to

work well, the sulfur must be in contact

with what it is supposed to cure. Thus

the very smallest particles stick and

cover an area more completely than will

larger sulfur particles. Simply put, the

finer the sulfur the better the coverage,

and therefore the greater its activity as a

fungicide or microbicide. Again, I

remind you of the fact that pine oil and

sulfur are the sole active constituents in

the over 45-year-proven dog

product Nu-Stock.

As mentioned on pp. 204-2-5, I have

created an even better product than Nu-

Stock, by adding food-grade mineral oil

to sulfur and turpentine, that is so thick

and rich that it not only is a better

medicine, but it will stay on your dogs

twice as long. You will find that

Nature’s Magic Healing Poultice™ not

only works better on your dogs than Nu-

Stock, but that it stays on them longer

and thereby requires fewer applications

to get the job done. You may order this

product at

www.NaturesMagic.us

In its pure form, unlike turpentine and tea

tree oil, sulfur can be ingested to combat

systemic internal fungal infections.

Blastomycosis and

coccidioidomycosis(Valley Fever) are

both systemic fungal infections that can

be some of the worst afflictions any dog

can get. Valley Fever especially is

caused by the most virulent fungal

parasitic biohazard known to man, and

so coccidioidomycosis should not be

thought of as a simple fungus that is

easily eliminated. Even the strongest

drugs used today can not cure Valley

Fever.

Well, a fellow by the name of Bob

Stokesbary claims his father cured

himself of valley fever with nothing but

flowers of sulfur. This man tried

everything to cure himself of valley

fever ( itracon- azole, ketoconazole,

fluconozole, amphotericin B) and

couldn’t. One day Mr. Stokesbary was

pruning his garden and simply thought

about the fact the #1 fungicide for rose

bushes is nothing but sulfur. Mr.

Stokesbary got together with his local

pharmacist and together they gave the

sulfur a try. The alleged remedy is really

very simple: one ounce of Flowers of

Sulfur (USP) divided into four equal

parts and taken at four intervals

approximately 12 hours apart. He

recommends taking the sulfur with

meals, and he added activated charcoal

to help with the flatulence.

Well, the product allegedly worked so

well that Mr. Stokesbary marketed his

cure by the trade name Coxidex, which

enjoyed a decent market period from

about 1944 to 1952. He could never get

any real financial backing for his “cure,”

because once the investors realized the

only ingredient was the easily-obtained

sulfur, they lost interest in the venture.

All I can say to that is look at Nu-Stock

—a product that has been successful for

nearly half a century—that is pretty much

all this product is too.

4 ounces of pharmaceutical-grade “sublimed”

sulfur costs only $7.95 at WalMart.

Anyway, if you ever get a dog that is

suffering from either blasto or valley

fever (or any other systemic fungal

infestation), it might be worth a try to

see what happens. When you have

hounds running through moist woods, or

terrIers digging in ancient soil, believe

me, the chances of their getting the

systemic fungal disease blastomycosis

are great. And if you have dogs in the

arid southwestern deserts the chances of

a dog getting coccidioidomyco- sis are

great. Many times a dog will become

completely lame and debilitated before

you or your vet figures out what’s wrong

with your dog (and many never do figure

it out), but the treatment of these

diseases takes over 6 months, with pills

that can cost you $10/day. So believe me

when I tell you the use of flowers of

sulfur might be a Godsend someday.

I read of a true account where one

fellow in Arizona put his German

shepherd through this remedy and his

dog showed clear fungal titers within 6

months. His recipe was as follows: He

likewise had one ounce of Flowers of

Sulfur (or Sublimed Sulfur), divided into

8 capsules by a pharmacist. He then

gave his dog 1 capsule in the morning

and 1 capsule in the evening 12 hours

later, and he did this for four days in a

row. After each dose the man

administered a tea of ginger and

chamomile to help sooth the dog’s

tummy—as he said without the tea a

single “sulfur burp” often caused his dog

to vomit.

In addition (because of the crippling

effects valley fever can have on the

joints), the man added Vitamin C

powder (about ¼ tsp), Pau d’Arco

alcohol-free liquid extract (5 drops),

acidophilus, Echinacea (400 mg),

glucosamine with chondroitin (1000

mg), calcium with Vitamin D (500

mg plus 50 IU). He claims his German

shepherd was completely cured of the

disease by this method, when none of the

other extremely expensive standard

drugs would work. Since the sulfur only

costs $5, you can basically treat your

dogs for $1.25 apiece!

However, in my research I must also

caution the reader that I learned of cases

where the ingestion of sulfur actually

killed both people and their dogs. So

here again caution is advised.

Apparently, there is a potentially lethal

risk of lactic acidosis due to the

ingestion of flowers of sulfur. Acidosis

is a blood condition where the animal’s

(or human’s) blood literally suffers from

an unnaturally high concentration of

acid. There have also been a variety of

problems reported, including damage to

the cornea of the eyes, gastrointestinal

problems, pulmonary edema (excess

fluid in the lungs), “central nervous

system effects” and other alleged

ailments. So don’t just start forcing your

dog to eat a bowlful of sulfur.

Use it only if necessary, and use it

wisely. However, nothing I read of any

of the negative effects ever mentioned

“dosage”; what they were doctors poo-

pooing herbal medicinals in favor of

conventional medications (and yet don’t

think for a minute that there aren’t

people dying from “conventional drug

use” every day too). Based on my

research, if you stick with the “one total

ounce” of sulfur given, and if you divide

this total amount into either 4 or 8 equal

parts—which you give every 12 hours—

for either 2 or 4 days in a row

(respectively)—you should be all right.

This is not a “guarantee” of course, like

everything mentioned in this book, you

try anything suggested at your own risk.

Just keep it in mind.

I know for an indisputable fact that

sulfur kills fungus externally; I know for

an indisputable fact so too does the

sulfur-laden garlic (both internally and

externally), so this method of using

flow- ers of sulfur to combat internal

fungal maladies makes perfect

conceptual sense. I hope you never have

to use it, but if your dog does get one of

these terrible systemic fungal diseases

that this information helps him get

passed it.

Sulfurated Lime Dip

Lime-Sulphur is one of the great resources to make

sure you have available at all times.

Closely-related to the usefulness of

“flowers” of sulfur, above, is sulfurated

lime dip. Almost everyone has heard of

“lime dip,” but far too few dogmen use

it regularly for their dogs. Fewer still

realize that “lime dip” is actually almost

100% pure concentrated sulfur. While

flowers of sul- phur can be used as a

medicinal remedy on the dog itself (both

internally and externally), the liquid

form (sulfurated lime) is generally used

as a “whole body dip” for dogs.

Actually, I could have almost included

lime dip in the “Mandatory

Disinfectants” chapter, as sulfurated

lime dip can also be sprayed as a kennel

disinfectant.

That being said, undeniably the best use

of sulfurated lime is for the treatment of

fungus (or any non-specific skin

disorder) on a dog’s whole body.

Sulphur will cure just about any of them.

I learned of the tremendous benefit of

sulphurated lime dip from the University

of Florida Veterinary College, when an

elderly dog of mine started losing all of

his hair. He was 13 years old and

basically his immune system was

shutting down. The leading

dermatologist basically said, “Nothing

works better than pure sulphurated lime

dip at curing non-specific hair loss, as it

covers everything from from bacteria, to

mange, to all manner of fungus.” Perhaps

this is why Nu-Stock has been such a

popular product for so many years—it’s

main ingredients are sulphur and pine oil

A gallon of lime dip can cost as much as

$80.00, that is the bad news, but the

good news is 1 gallon = 128 ounces, and

to use this lime dip all you do is mix 4

ounces of it with 1 gallon of water.

Since 128 ounces of this pure

concentrate divides into thirty-two 4-

ounce measures, this means you get two

4-ounce measures, this means you get to

make 32 gallons of diluted lime dip for

about $80, which is only about

$2.50/gallon. To use, you simply give

your dog a bath, rinse him off, and then

pour a gallon of prepared re-constituted

lime solution over him and then work it

into his coat, from his nose to his toes.

You do NOT rinse it off afterward.

Instead, place the dog in a crate (or

above-ground pen) and let him dry-off as

is. Repeat the application every 3 days,

until whatever skin condition begins to

clear and sprout re-growth of hair.

Moreover, this same solution can be put

in a sprayer to disinfect the

housing/sleeping quarters of any dogs

infected with skin fungus also.

In closing, sulfur is one of the most

powerful allies to you as a dogman, both

as a dip/kennel disinfectant—and, as

mentioned previously with Flowers of

Sulfur, it can also be used as a salve as

well as an internal cleanser. Therefore,

if you have a large kennel of dogs, both

forms of sulfur (sublimed powder as

well as liquid lime sulfur) should be

included in your inventory.

Neem Oil

Neem oil is the final herbal medicinal

compound I am going to mention. It has

tremendous overlap function that it

shares with both tea tree oil as well as

with turpentine. Like these compounds,

neem oil has been considered a “cure

all” in its native India for centuries also,

where it is likewise considered a

“sacred gift of nature to man.” Neem Oil

is derived from the seeds of the neem

tree. This tree, whose benefits have been

known for over 4500 years, produces an

oil which possesses powerful

antidermatonic (relieving skin

disorders) and anthelmintic (anti-worm)

properties, and as such it is widely used

in treating chronic malaria, bed bugs,

ulcers, bad teeth, syphilis, leprosy, and

other diseases. Externally, the oil is

applied as an antiseptic dressing in

leprosy, suppurating glands, urticaria,

and for chronic skin diseases like

eczema, scabies, ringworm, and maggot

infested wounds. It is also used for

killing lice, fleas, ticks, and bacterial

growth in the mouth. Neem oil is

especially beneficial for curing skin

ailments. The oil contains fatty acids

which build collagen, promote wound

healing and maintains the skin’s

elasticity. It is a powerful insect

repellent, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal,

anti-viral, anti-septic, anti-inflammatory,

anti-ulcer, and strength- ens the body’s

overall immune responses.

Scientists have identified over 150

active substances in neem oil, and many

of these have proven to be as effective in

laboratory studies at curing common

maladies as the Indian folklore claimed

they would be. People usually only

discover compounds like neem when

they are struggling with a persistent

condition that no “conventional”

prescription drug could clear up. And

then a natural product like neem (or

turpentine, tea tree oil, sulphur, etc.),

resolves their problem—seemingly over

night.

I am not going to get into the overlap

treatment where neem oil can perform

much the same as tea tree oil and

turpentine, but I will say this: all 3 of

these compounds can be used

interchangeably in many respects,

topically for bacteria and fungus. And

both are tea tree oil and neem oil are

pretty much non-toxic, unlike turpentine.

If you have the availability of each, you

can see which compound works the best

for different kennel problems, and come

up with your own study. However, one

thing neem oil can’t do (that turpentine

can) is rid the body of tapeworm. But

what neem oil can do, that none of the

others can, is perhaps neem oil’s

greatest use to us as dogmen: and that is

neem oil is both a natural insect

repellent as well as an insect growth

regulator (IGR). Neem oil carries with

it a property much like the s-

methoprene in Frontline, in that neem oil

actually prevents parasitic insects from

growing and thus from completel- ing

their life cycles. Yet, unlike noxious

pesticides, neem oil is completely

friendly to the environment and to your

dogs. The obvious

You can buy 100% pure Neem applications of

neem oil to us as dogmen should be

readily ap Oil from Nature’s Magic® in the

parent at this point: controlling fleas

and ticks. product Nature’s Block™ . Go to

www.NaturesMagic.usfor details and

start treating your valuable dogs natu-

rally.

If you want to try to keep your flea and

tick control all-natural, a good

combination fleapreventive measure is

to plant chrysanthemums around the

perimeter of your dog yard, as well as

anywhere that your animals reside or

gain access to your home. As mentioned

previously, what many people don’t

realize is the chrysanthemum plants are

where the flea repellent pyrethrin is

derived, and as such these plants will

help keep your flea population down

dramatically also. How- ever, do not

have these plants so close that would

allow the dogs to eat the leaves or

plants, as they are toxic. Along with

the strategic placement of

chrysanthemum plants, neem oil

applications can be used on your dogs,

both as a kennel spray as well as on the

animals directly. Neem’s IGR (insect

growth regulator) properties keep

juvenile fleas from becoming adults, and

they repel all life stages of fleas also.

Neem is not toxic to the dogs (or to

people), nor does it harm friendly bees

or ladybugs.

Neem can be used indoors or out.

The regular use of a neem shampoo, and

the occasional supplementation of dog

food with neem leaf (and/or garlic), can

prevent any flea problems from

sprouting in the first place. Any dog

shampoo can be turned into neem dog

shampoo, by adding pure neem seed oil

into it in a 1:10 (one-to-ten) parts ratio.

A homemade neem oil shampoo will

keep fleas, ticks, mange mites, mos-

quitoes, and any other annoying biting

insects away. Neem also generally

promotes a shiny coat and healthy

problem-free skin (just like using neem

products on your own hair and skin

does).

No matter if it’s a fungus (ringworm),

mites (mange), or biting insects, neem

oil helps keep them off your dogs. How

exactly you use neem on your dog

depends on the severity of the problem.

You may find one of the other

compounds mentioned in this chapter

more effective in some areas, but for

fleas and flies, neem oil is the choice.

Not only can you shampoo your dogs

with a neem shampoo at 1:10 parts

neem:shampoo, but your dogs can be

sprayed with a home-made neem spray

too. Just as we spray ourselves with

insect repellent, and our dogs with

Adam’s flea mist, you can make an all-

natural flea and fly repellent spray with

neem, with which you can use and spray

to treat your dog repeatedly without any

worries of toxicity.

If making your own neem dog shampoo, I

recommend oatmeal shampoo, as it’s the

best to soothe already irritated skin and

relieves itching. Again, add 1 part neem

to 10 parts shampoo, mix, and apply. If

you want to apply the neem flea spray,

use the same 1:5 parts ratio that you used

in Example 9 on pp. 178-179, and use a

mineral oil base for the spray, as water

washes right off. Simply take an empty

spray bottle, add 20 oz of mineral oil (or

baby oil), and then add 4 oz of pure

neem oil, shake well, and apply.

For hot spots like moist eczema,

ringworm, or to treat demodectic mange,

you can increase the concentration of

neem oil to a 1:1 ratio. Some people

simply use 100% pure neem oil in those

cases. Don’t leave the pure oil on the

skin for more than 48 hours, or you dog

may develop an irritation. Make sure

you monitor the skin when you use

higher concentration, and if there is any

reaction, just wash off. If you would like

to order 100% pure neem oil for

yourself get some Nature’s Block™

from www.NaturesMagic.us

In closing, make sure you order 100%

pure neem oil and don’t accept any

watered-down imitations. Many

companies only offer “50%” neem

products, so be careful. Again while

neem can control many internal

parasites, it is not effective against

tapeworm. And while neem is famous

for its many antibacterial properties

topically, and is extremely beneficial for

many skin problems, for some reason

neem is powerless against

Staph infections. Therefore, in many

respects, turpentine, tea tree oil, and

even garlic are superior to neem in

handling most major skin problems—but

as a flea repellent and insect growth

regulator, neem oil stands at the top of

the list as a natural remedy for us

dogmen.

Hot Compresses

While not really an “herbal medicinal”

remedy, an often overlooked factor in

proper canine wound management is the

simple application of hot compresses.

Everybody wants to know “what drug is

the best” for curing an infection, and yet

the best thing possible for any infection

is when the natural principles of the

body are working optimally.

When you think about what is going on in

a wound, what is happening is a bacteria

invasion (and possible debris

contamination) have entered the body

and are being attacked by the body’s

defenses. When you understand what the

resulting inflammation is trying to

accomplish, it is easier

to see the benefits of applying hot

compresses to assist the body in its own

defensive efforts. In any wound where

there is a bacterial invasion, or

unwanted foreign matter, the body fights

off that invasion via the blood stream.

Or at least it tries to. White blood cells

are being carried to the site of infection

via the blood, which white cells then try

to attack and destroy the unwanted

invasion. Unfortunately, the formation of

pus can occur during this process. The

formation of pus is merely a growing

amount of white blood cells that have

died, are accumulating, and will soon

start rotting, creating a haven for the

bacteria to spread and multiply. The

formation of pus means that,

at least at this point, the body is

losing the effort at combatting the

infection.

By contrast, when you have a wound that

heals nicely, with no pus formation at

all, what you have is a wound where the

bodily functions have been carried out

without complication, and the bacteria

have been destroyed without event. But

when wounds become laden with pus,

you have white blood cells that are

being destroyed by the bacteria, and you

have a situation that deserves attention.

Since the pus pockets are basically dead

and decaying bodily fluid, what you

have is an environment for bacteria to

multiply even faster than before, as there

is now no more oxygen or fresh blood

being carried to stop it any more.

Anaerobic bacteria thus fester in this

climate. What is scarier is that most

antibiotics can’t reach into pus

pockets either and so the bacteria are

thus protectedfrom being touched by

the majority of antibiotics! By contrast,

any veterinarian will tell you that when

the wound tissue is bright red, this

means it is still alive, and it is healing

well. But when the tissue becomes

white, or brown, and/or it begins to get

pus-sy or gives off a foul odor, you have

problems brewing.

Therefore, when you understand what is

happening to the body during infection,

you begin to understand what it is going

to take to resolve the infection. The

problem with an infection is (1) the

bacteria are winning, (2) the tissues are

dying, and (3) the dead and rotting

tissues are accumulating which prevents

the fresh blood from coming into contact

with the multiplying bacteria. Thus the

blood can no longer “bring new

reinforcements” in to fight the infection,

which thereby multiplies and spreads

even further.

Which brings us to utility of hot

compress applications. Understand that

when HEAT is applied to a wound,

blood flows to the wound. Understand

that when COLD is applied to a wound,

blood flows away from the surface and

deeper into the body. These key

phenomena is why your veins bulge and

stand out when you are under a hot

shower, with your skin growing flush

and red under the water. The blood is

coming to the surface when you’re hot.

Conversely, when you are letting very

cold water run over your body, your

veins “disappear” and your entire skin

gets pale. This is because the blood is

now flowing away from the surface.

Hot compresses simply draw blood

to the area where they are applied, while

cold compresses simply send blood

away from the area where they are

applied. And this is why,

medicallyspeaking, cold packs are

applied to reduce swelling—the extreme

cold forces the fluids away from the

site. Conversely, the exact opposite is

why hot compresses are used to help

fight off infection— the extreme heat

brings the blood to the site. A rush of

blood coming to the site, thanks to hot

compress application, means more and

more fresh blood cells are available to

invigorate and fight off infection.

Without the compresses, the blood is not

able to get to the site as readily, which

means the infection will essentially

grow-and-grow unchallenged.

So let us take a look at an example of

when to use this applications. Say you

have a wound on your dog that has

shown to be unresponsive to simple

cleaning and oral antibiotics. Pus is now

forming in the wound and now there is

no live blood able to reach the bacterial

infection any longer. The blood flow

basically stops at the periphery of the

pus pocket but cannot go inside the dead

fluid mass of rotting tissue within the pus

pocket. You can try to use a strong

antibiotic, like Antirobe ( clindamycin),

which is specifically designed to

penetrate the pus, but even if you do that

nasty pocket of pus in the dog isn’t doing

him any good. Worse, if you don’t have a

drug like Antirobe, then your other

antibiotics are no longer reaching the

site of infection at all, and so the

infection keeps growing, the pus pocket

spreads, and in doing so the surrounding

living tissue keeps dying. Well, by

applying hot compresses, you literally

stimulate an unusual amount of blood

flow into the area of infection. A volume

of blood flow is now happening that

could not have been achieved

“naturally.” This kind of dramatic blood

flow means the pus will break up,

especially when being kneaded and

massaged by your hands as you apply

pressure. The pus begins to mix with

the in-rushing fresh blood, and soon

more and more fresh blood invades the

pus pocket. This process enables the

live supply of fresh white blood cells

(delivering vital antibodies) to be able

to reach the stubborn bacteria. Even the

antibiotics you’re trying to use can now

once again attack the infected area,

thanks to your applying hot compresses.

Your antibiotics, and the body’s own

immune defenses (that were being

prevented access to the infection) can

now have effect

again.

Without this “help” of the hot

compresses, such a renewed attack from

the body’s own defenses would not have

been possible had the dog’s wound been

left “as is.” Just using hot towels alone

can be very effective in aiding the

healing process, simply by bringing

more blood to the infection site as

relayed above. But guess what? You can

make your hot compress applications

even more effective, on top of this

primary effect, by adding some of the

previously-described herbal medicinals

to the mix.

Maximizing the Compresses

In order to maximize the utility of hot

compress applications, I have found that

if you heat about 4 cups of water in a

sauce pan and then to this add ½-cup of

Epsom Salts, and finally add about 5 ml

of turpentine (or tea tree oil), you will

create a “super poultice” out of the basic

hot compress. Heat this mixture on your

stove until it is so hot you can barely

stand it. With either a clean washcloth,

or a strong clean paper towel, you then

apply the heated compresses to the

wound with the soaked washcloth. If you

are doing it right, the handcloth should

be so hot you will be screaming, yet you

can still physically take it and apply it.

The extreme heat of the compress does

its job as relayed above, and yet the

added Epsom salts are therapeutic and

help heal necrotic tissues in its own

right. Epsom salts will literally turn

nasty, weepy “proud flesh” into dried

tissues that will debride and more easily

slough-off. Next, the turpentine (or tea

tree oil) will disinfect and be forced into

the pus pocket, killing any susceptible

bacteria, and it will also penetrate the

tissue and will thereby carry its effects

deep into the wound. Remember, both

turpentine and tea tree oil carry both

antibiotic medicinal properties, as well

as penetrating and nerve-soothing

properties, deadening any pain, and

deodorizing the area on top of this.

So the next time you have a dog with a

festering wound, remember that hot

compresses are a valuable and

extremely powerful tool to use at your

disposal. These compresses play a vital

role in professional wound management

that will prevent infection and augment

healing. Too many people just give a dog

“a shot of penicillin” and then throw him

on a chain—and then they wonder why

they encounter problems.

If you get in the habit of bathing a dog

both before and after a deal, and if you

follow this with proper wound

cleansing, correct prophylactic

antibiotic selection, and then if you keep

your healing animal in a sanitary area,

you will almost never have a problem.

Yet if you do encounter a problem,

anyway, and if your dog ever does

develop an infection, despite this kind of

vigilance, I promise you that using the

hot compress therapy will put you back

on track immediately.

In conjunction with the hot compress

applications mentioned, I can personally

tell you that the use of the “herbal

remedy in a can” known as Granulex

will further assist with the sloughing-off

of any dead tissue and result in a

completely-healed animal. The hot

compresses will not only bringin new

and fresh blood, but they will help

rupture pus pockets, draining all of that

nastiness out, at which point the

application of Granulex will further

debride and clean-out the dead waste.

Simply spray the Granulex directly into

the clean-out wound after you’re done

with the compresses, and the bubbling

solution will work its wonders. After

that dries, try my Essential Wound Care!

Conclusion

This wraps up our chapter on herbal

medicinal remedies. Don’t think for a

minute that we have covered them all,

but I do believe we have covered the

most important ones you are likely to

need as a dogman. Other herbals for you

to examine on your own time would

include colloidal silver, citronella oil,

as well as an assortment of vitamin and

mineral supplements, but the medicinals

covered here should be with you at all

times.

“Reading about” these medicinals is not

the reason why I wrote this information;

I wrote this information so that you

would use it. If you do incorporate these

elements into your kenneling practices, I

promise you you’ll be several steps

ahead of your competition.

Chapter 7

Understanding Antibiotics

All sporting dog breeders, whether

active in hunting dogs or not, will at one

time or another need to use antibiotics

on their dogs. Unfortunately, there is a

lot of ignorance regarding antibiotic

therapy, and many people use these

drugs incorrectly. Using antibiotics

incorrectly can actually be worse for a

dog than not using them at all. We have

discussed a few antibiotics previously,

and we have also discussed alternatives

to antibiotics, but there will come

situations (perhaps many situations) in

which you are simply going to have to

use these drugs, and you had best know

how to use them correctly. Therefore, in

this chapter I will attempt to explain, to

the best of my knowledge, the proper

uses and dosages of antibiotics. I will

also list the most effective antibiotics

available for dogmen as well as which

circumstances require their use—and

some mistakes that are commonly made.

Having an extensive supply of

antibiotics onhand at all times is one of

the most important factors to success that

a dogman can have—but having a deep

understanding of how to use these

antibiotics is even more important.

These drugs (like anything else that is

good in life) can be misused and abused,

and most people have absolutely no clue

as to how to use antibiotics correctly.

Truthfully, the number one reason most

people don’t have this knowledge is

simply because they are too lazy to crack

open a book and read about how to use

them. Most dog owners automatically

defer this kind of education and

responsibility to “their vet,” but this is a

critical error in judgment and

responsibility-shifting. The truth is, your

dogs are your responsibility, not your

vet’s, and if so if you want to become

any kind of a dogman at all it is

imperative that you become familiar with

antibiotic therapy, and at least learn the

basics on how to use them. Since you

have bought this book, it is clear you are

a cut above the average crowd. It is

clear that you realize that the more you

learn about antibiotics, and how to use

them properly, the more you will realize

how little many vets themselves actually

know about antibiotics and how to use

them. Therefore, I am going to teach you

the basics of antibiotic therapy—and, if

nothing else, you can at least make sure

whether your vet is giving you good

advice or not.

Classifications

Antibiotics fall into two basic

categories, Bacteriostatic antibiotics and

Bactericidal antibiotics. The first kind

of antibiotics slow down the growth rate

of bacteria, which allows for the body’s

own natural defenses to take over and

finish off the infection—while the

second category of an- tibiotics actually

kills the bacteria outright. And it is

important for you to understand which

kinds of antibiotic fall under which

category, so that you can use the right

ones for the right problems.

Another thing you need to understand is

that not every kind of antibiotic is good

for every kind of problem, and not every

kind of antibiotic is administered in the

same fashion, which is why there are

different classifications of antibiotics.

Whether it be the penicillins,

cephalosporins, macro- lides,

sulfonamides, etc., there are a whole

host of different classifications of

antibiotics. Discussing the intricacies of

every kind of antibiotic on the market is

beyond the scope of this book, but you

do need to realize that each type of

antibiotic addresses a specific problem,

or set of problems, and each class of

antibiotics has certain general

applications, certain strengths, certain

weaknesses, and certain potential

problems and side-effects associated

with its use. If you want to really

educate yourself on specific antibiotics,

I provide you with the information to do

so in the subsequent chapter, but in a

nutshell, you need to have a basic

understanding as to which antibiotic

address what kind of problems, and the

point to educate yourself on in this

chapter is that you need to factor in all of

these things in your decision-making.

Basically, what you need to understand

is that the right antibiotics must be given

in the right way, at the right dose, for

the right problem, they must be given in

the right time intervals, and they must

be given for the right duration of time

in order to be beneficial to your dog. If

you fail to ad- minister antibiotics to

your dog correctly, with all of these

factors in line, you can ultimately hurt

your

dog far worse than you will help him.

Mindlessly giving any old “antibiotics”

for a week is not the way to do things—

there is a lot more to it than that. For that

reason, I recommend you getting out of

the habit of saying “antibiotics” at all,

and get in the habit of specifying what

kind of antibiotics you mean,

specifically. So let

us now discuss “the right way” to give

antibiotics:

Route of Administration

There are four basic ways in which to

administer antibiotics: (1) orally or by

mouth, (2) by subcutaneous injection, (3)

by intramuscular injection, or (4) by

intravenous injection. If you start reading

any technical books on the subject of

antibiotics, you will notice certain

abbreviations, and these abbreviations

stand for these various routes of

administration. The most important of

those abbreviations are:

PO = Orally or by mouth. SC =

Subcutaneous injection. IM =

Intramuscular injection. IV =

Intravenous injection.

It is important when giving antibiotics

that you give them via the preferred

route of adminis- tration, because that

is how the antibiotics are best

assimilated (used) by the body.

Therefore, you need to pay attention to

all labels, and when you see the above

abbreviations mentioned in the dosages,

take note of them and give these drugs

accordingly.

Dosage and Intervals

Probably the most vital thing you need to

understand about any kind of antibiotic

therapy, is that there is a certain level of

resistance that all bacteria have (or may

potentially have) to any sort of antibiotic

you select to use. Since all forms of life

are constantly evolving, in order to

survive, this means that all forms of

bacteria are also constantly evolving, in

order to survive, and the bacteria in your

dog are constantly mutating in order to

survive your chosen antibiotic therapy!

As such, any time you use an antibiotic,

there is some degree of chance that the

bacteria you are trying to kill with your

antibiotics will be resistant to the

antibiotics you have chosen—or that the

bacteria may develop resistance to the

antibiotics you have chosen.

Some bacteria are immediately resistant

to certain antibiotics, and as such it is

improper to use these kinds of

antibiotics to treat these kinds of

bacteria. Certain antibiotics just won’t

work on certain kinds of bacteria, and

because of this you need to make it your

business to select the right kind of

antibiotic for the problem you are

dealing with. A resistant bacteria to one

antibiotic may be “susceptible” to

another kind of antibiotic, and as such

the bacteria will die-off to the usage of

the correct antibiotics—which is why it

is so very important that you select the

right antibiotic for the job to begin with.

Yet there still remains the potential that

any bacteria may develop resistance to

any antibiotic you choose, and if this

happens it will invariably be because of

your improper selection, dosage, or

administration. Therefore, you must take

not only take the “kind” of antibiotic you

choose very seriously, and the “route” of

administration of your chosen antibiotic

very seriously, but you must take the

dosage and interval frequency you give

them very seriously as well. It is

absolutely critical that you learn to use

the right kinds of antibiotics, for the right

kinds of problem, and that you give the

drugs via the correct route of

administration—and, finally, it is

critically-important that you ad- minister

the correct antibiotics at the right

dosage, the right time intervals, and for

the right duration of time.

There are two ways in which you will

see “dosage” reflected on your labels:

1) in mg/kg or 2) in mg/lb. So here is

something you need to commit to

memory so that you get your dosages

right:

mg/kg = milligrams of drug to

kilogramsof dog. mg/lb = milligrams of

drug to poundsof dog.

Because 1 kg is more than twice as

heavy as 1 lb, it is absolutely critical

that you open your eyes and make sure

you read whether you are talking about

mg/kg or mg/lb, because this will

dramatically-affect your dosage! In

keeping with this, it is also mandatory

that you realize and

memorize the following conversion

factor:

1 kg = 2.2 lb

I will explain how to work this

conversion later, on the next page, but let

me first give a ex- amples of how to

calculate the correct dosages in lb (for

those of you who may not know how).

Say I have a 50-pound dog, and I have a

drug that is properly dosed at 6.25

mg/lb. Further, I must give this drug

every 6 hours. To procure the right sized

tablet (or capsule) for my dog, I simply

multiply 6.25 mg times the 50 lbs that my

dog weighs to get my answer. This

means that, ideally-speaking, I should

give 312.5 mg of this drug for my 50 lb

dog, and I have to give this amount to

him every 6 hours. Now suppose the

drug only comes in 250 and 500 mg

tablets. How do I adjust? Well, what I

would do is make a determination as to

how serious the problem was, as well as

how many side-effects the drug

potentially has. If the drug is very strong

and carries bad side effects, and/or if the

infection was mild, I might just give one

250 mg tablet to my dog, as this is

“close enough” to the exact 312.5 mg

calculation I need to use.

However, if the drug was very mild,

and/or of if the infection was a pretty

bad one (and I did not want to risk an

under-dose), then I might break a second

tablet in half and give 1½ total tablets to

my dog, every 6 hours. Doing this would

mean 250 + 125 = 375 mg, which

dosage is slightly higher than the exact

dose I calculated, but is also “close

enough” to be safe. In either case,

whether I decide to slightly under-dose,

or slightly over-dose, again I must give

the dosage at the correct time intervals,

which in this case would be every 6

hours.

note: Because of potential resistance,

I believe that it is almost always better

to slightly overdose than it is to

slightly under-dose

Now, suppose I had a 66 lb dog and the

dosage-math (6.25 x 66) for this

particular drug came out that my dog

needed 412.5 mg of the drug to be given

every 6 hours? In this case, I would

simply use the 500 mg tablets, as again

this is slightly higher than what I need,

but again it is “close enough.” You don’t

have to be 100% exact in your dosage,

but you should be “close.” Again,

whether to go slightly under, or slightly

over, the recommended dose will have

to do with the severity of the infection,

the potential harm from side effects from

the drug, the potency of the drug and its

efficacy on the bacteria, as well as the

hardiness of the dog. Just keep in mind

that to get as close as possible to the

correct dosage, you can split-up tablets

for division—you can dump-out the

contents of capsules for division—as

well as possibly find smaller-sized pills

for division—all of which can help get

your dosages as exact as possible.

But from that point forward you need to

give each successive administration of

the drug at the right time interval, every

time. The reason for this is that the

antibiotics lose their effectiveness in

the bloodstream over time, and so an

antibiotic that is supposed to be given

“every 6 hours” is one that starts losing

its effectiveness after about that time.

The key to antibiotics working

effectively, therefore, is to have the

right concentration in the blood

maintained at all times. The right

concentration in the blood is determined

by the dosage, and how to keep this

concentration up at all times is

determined by the frequency of

administration. This has to do with

what is called a “half-life.”

Some antibiotics need only to be given

once/day to keep their concentrations

high in the bloodstream, because their

half-life is long, while other antibiotics

will need to be given up to 4x/day to

keep their concentrations high, because

their half-life is short. So therefore,

while you are taking notes as to “how

much” of the drug to use, make sure you

also jot down “how often” to use them

too. As with the abbreviations for

dosages, you will notice that there are

certain abbreviations for “frequency of

administration” too. The most important

of those abbreviations are:

SID = 1x/day (or every 24 hours). BID

= 2x/day (or every 12 hours). TID =

3x/day (or every 8 hours). QID =

4x/day (or every 6 hours).

Therefore, if you have a 30-lb dog that

needs a drug which is dosed at 10mg/lb,

PO, BID— in order to translate that into

understandable English you need to

multiply the 10 mg needed per pound by

the 30 lb your dog weighs. This means

your dog needs 300 mg of this drug (10

mg x 30 lb)—and you also need to pay

attention to the fact he needs to take the

drug by mouth (PO)—and

that he needs to take it twice daily, every

12 hours (BID).

You are now using the right dosage, you

are using the correct route of

administration, and you are continuing to

administer at the correct time intervals

—all of which will help you achieve the

maximum therapeutic benefit of the

particular antibiotic. These are not

matters to take lightly; each component

is something that is critical to your

overall chances of success.

Conversions

As mentioned at the top of p. 201,

another thing that is critical to pay

attention to in your dosing is whether the

drug is listed in mg/lb, or in mg/ kg. If you happen to run into a drug that has its

label dosed at mg/kg instead of mg/lb,

then simply realize that 1 kg = 2.2 lb, as

previously-stated. Stated in longhand, 1

kilogram = 2.2 pounds. Therefore, if you

see a drug that is dosed at “10mg/kg“

this means that you must give 10 mg of

this drug for every 2.2 lb of dog, not 1

lb. Therefore, if your dog is 50 lb, to

calculate the right dosage, you would

simply divide his 50 lb of weight by the

conversion factor of 2.2 to come up with

the fact that your 50 lb dog weighs

roughly 22.75 kilograms. Since you are

supposed to give 10 mg of this drug, per

kg of dog, you must now multiply his

22.75 kg of weight by the 10mg/kg he is

supposed to get, which comes out to be

the fact that 227.5 mg of this drug are

needed for your 22.75-kg (or 50-lb) dog.

If the time interval of the drug is BID,

then you give your dog 227.5 mg of this

drug twice daily, or every 12 hours.

Or, you can figure it out in the reverse ...

If you need to administer the same

10mg/kg for your dog, but you want to

figure how much drug you need to use by

the pound, instead of trying to figure out

that your 50-lb dog is really weighs

roughly 22.75 kg, you can also just

divide the 10 mg of drug needed by the

same 2.2 conversion factor—and you

will come to the conclusion that this

drug is dosed at 4.55mg/lb. You will

soon see that if you do the math this way,

and multiply 4.55 mg of drug by 50 lb of

dog (rather than multiply 10 mg of drug

by 22.73 kg of dog), the net result is the

same—you need to give 227.5 mg of this

drug for your dog, every 12 hours.

Just remember that the conversion

factor is 1 kg = 2.2 lb . This conversion

factor is critical, and it is critical that

you pay attention to whether the dosage

of your drug is listed in mg/kg or in

mg/lb. If you see “X mg/KG” you can

either divide the X mg by 2.2 to convert

the dose to mg/LB (and then multiply that

# by the total number of pounds your dog

weighs)—or you can divide the # of

pounds your dog weighs by 2.2 to

convert his weight to kilograms (and

then multiply that # of kilograms by how

many mg of the drug are indicated per

kg). But, either way you do it, converting

the milligrams or converting the pounds,

you will come up with the proper dosage

for your dog,

Injectables

If you are working with injectable

antibiotics, and you need to figure out

the dosage, the procedure is basically

the same. Again just read the label to

gather the information. The dosage for

injectables will be given either in mg/ml

or in mg/cc (milligrams/milliliter or

milligrams/cubic centimeter). All you

need to know is that “ml” and “cc” are

exactly the same! Therefore, regardless

if the bottle says the drug is dosed at

“50mg/ml” or if it says “50 mg/cc” it is

saying the same thing: for every 1 cc

(ml) of this liquid product that you pull

into a syringe, you will have 50 mg of

the indicated drug withdrawn.

1 ml = 1 cc

Therefore if you are trying to get 312.5

mg of an injectable drug into a syringe,

and the label indicates the bottle of this

drug is manufactured at a 50mg/ml

potency, then all you would have to do is

draw up 6.25 ml of this liquid product

into a syringe. (Remember, 312.5 mg

total are needed, so 50 mg x 6.25 =

312.5.) Thus 6.25 ml of a 50 mg/ml

solution are needed to get a 312.5 mg

total dos- age. When in doubt, use a

calculator. Don’t be ashamed to ask

someone to make sure your dose

is right. It is better to be humble and

correct than it is to be proud and wrong.

Therefore, to give a final exam on this

subject, if you have a 40-lb dog that

needs to be given an injectable drug, at a

rate of 15mg/kg, SC, BID—and the

bottle of this drug you have is

indicated at 70 mg/ml—what do you do?

You first translate all of this into

understandable English. You need to

divide 15 mg needed per kg by the

conversion factor of 2.2 to get the mg

needed per lb. This turns out to mean

that this drug is to be given at a

6.82mg/lb dosage. Since your dog is 40

lb, he needs 273 mg of this drug (6.82

mg x 40 lb = 273 mg), and he needs to

take the drug by subcutaneous injection

(SC, or under the skin), and finally he

needs to take this drug twice daily or

every 12 hours (BID).

Now, since your bottle of liquid is dosed

at 70mg/ml this means that for every 1

ml (cc) of fluid you draw into your

syringe, that you have 70 mg of the

active drug. Since you need to give a

total of 273 mg of the drug to your dog

each time, this means you have to draw 4

ml of the liquid (70 mg x 4 ml = 280 mg)

into your syringe in order to give your

dog the proper dosage of the active drug.

And since you need to give this drug by

subcutaneous injection twice daily (SC,

BID), this means you give 4 ml of this

drug to your dog, under the skin, every

12 hours. I hope using conversions for

injectables is now clear! . Assuming it

is, let’s move on.

Duration of Therapy

Last but not least, there remains the

question, “For how long” should I give

this antibiotic therapy? In order to

address this question properly, it is vital

that you also master the following 3

Rules of Thumb when it comes “how

long” to administer any form of

antibiotics:

First Rule of Thumb:

Generally-speaking, you give any kind of

antibiotic for 7 days minimum. Stated in

the reverse, you never give antibiotics

for less than 1 week. The reason is

because (if you stop the therapy too

soon), the bacteria will not be

destroyed, and then the remaining living

bacteria will react by developing

resistance to the antibiotic you just used

against it. If this happens, your dog may

not be able to recover from his bacterial

infection any more. Therefore, to prevent

this possibility of developing resistance,

you must make sure that the antibiotic

you choose is given for at least 7 days in

a row, again at the right dosage, and

spaced-out in the right time intervals.

Example I:

Say your 40 lb ‘coon dog has an

infected bite wound. You give him 200

mg of amoxicillin, by mouth, every 12

hours, and he really starts looking

better by the third day. You do notstop

giving him the amoxicillin. You still

continue to give the drug for 7 days

total, every 12 hours, just to make sure

that the bacteria are entirely killed.

Remember, you give antibiotics for 7

days minimum!

Second Rule of Thumb:

If you need to give antibiotics longer

than 7 days, the second rule of thumb is,

you give antibiotics for as long as it

takes to clear an infection, plus 3

more days.

Example II:

Say you your same dog gets another

bite wound, and you decide to use the

same 200 mg of amoxicillin, every 12

hours, to treat it again—but this time

the infection takes a little longer to

clear-up. Say that by 5 days your dog

looks better—well, this time you do

notstop at 7 days—this time you must

now follow Rule #2 and continue to

give the drug for 3 more days afterhe

looks clear, just to make sure.

Remember, it’s 7 days minimum OR

until the infection clears, plus 3 more

days. In this second example, the

infection is clear by Day 5, but because

you need to keep giving the drugs for 3

more days after the infection clears, the

total duration of this therapy winds up

to be 8 days in all.

Example III:

Say your 50 lb dog has an ear

infection, and your vet says to give him

5 mg/kg of Orbax (113 mg), PO, SID, to

treat it. Since the drug comes in a

maximum tablet-size of 68 mg, you

need to give your dog two tablets by

mouth, every 24 hours. Sup-pose he

starts looking cleared-up by

the 10th day of therapy, you still

continue to give him the antibiotics for

3 more days passed this point (or 13

days total) to make sure that the

bacteria is vanquished. Remember, you

give antibiot- ics until the infection

clears, plus3 more days. In this case,

the problem seemed clear by Day 10,

but to make sure the bacteria are

totally destroyed, you continue the

therapy for 3 days passed the date you

can see no more problems, for 13 total

days of therapy.

Example IV:

Say your 37 lb bitch gets a mammary

gland infection (mastitis), and you

decide to give her 500 mg of

Trimethoprim-Sulfa, PO, BID, for 14

consecutive days “like the last time

your vet told you to do.” So you

administer 500 mg of this drug, by

mouth, every 12 hours—but only by the

14th day is she actually just about

cleared-up this time, so what do you

do? You continue to give this drug for 3

more days passed the point it clears,

for 17 days total, just to make sure.

Again, Rule #2 is you give antibiotics

until the infection clears, plus 3 more

days.

Third Rule of Thumb:

Finally, when giving any course of

antibiotic therapy, if the dog’s infection

starts getting worse, or if no

improvement is seen after 5 consecutive

days of dutiful application, you need to

upgrade to a better antibiotic—or you

need to get a Culture & Sensitivity Test

performed. When you have correctly-

identified the problem, and when you

have prescribed the cor- rect antibiotic

to treat the problem, and when you are

giving the drug at the correct dosage in

the correct time intervals, then you

absolutely should notice some

improvement within just a couple of

days. If you do not notice any

improvement, or if the condition is

actually getting worse, despite the

therapy, then you have either mis-

diagnosed the problem, or you have used

an inappropriate antibiotic, or you have

used an incorrect dosage—or any

combination of these things.

“Best Practice” at this point would be to

get a Culture & Sensitivity Test run by a

competent veterinarian. A Culture &

Sensitivity Test is where a vet takes a

specimen of pus (or other fluid) from an

infected dog and sends the specimen to a

lab for a microscopic analysis as to

exactly what kind of bacterial infection

you are dealing with. This kind of

analysis can be critical to your dog’s

health— and even to his life.

While sometimes it is okay to just take a

guess as to which kind of antibiotic to

use, and to trouble-shoot with a “broad

spectrum” antibiotic that will

“probably” handle the infection—at

other times you do not want to play

around and guess. You need to know

what you are dealing with. A Culture &

Sensitivity Test is crucial in very serious

infections, such as those of the bone, the

jaw, the uterus, etc.—or where a minor

infection isn’t responding to what you

have and is fast-becoming a major

infection—where any further delay in

responding appropriately to antibiotics

could be harmful or lethal to the animal.

Generally-speaking, most bacterial

infections can be dealt with effectively

by using a “broad spectrum” antibiotic.

No tests are actually run to identify the

source of the infection, but instead a

“broad spectrum” antibiotic is used in

lieu of a Culture & Sensitivity Test. This

practice of “guessing” should only be

done when the consequences of error

will not be grave, which are invariably

minor infections of the skin and flesh.

However, when the consequences for

being wrong can in fact be grave, then a

Culture & Sensitivity Test is absolutely

mandatory.

Example V:

S ay you have a dog with a bite wound.

The condition is not life-threatening, so

you don’t bother going to a vet and

instead you simply administer the

“broad-spectrum” antibiotic of 500 mg

of cephalexin to your dog, PO, TID (by

mouth, 3x/day, which is every 8 hrs).

However, after a couple of days you

notice that his condition has failed to

respond—and by 5 days the infection of

the wound is actually getting worse. It

is at this point where you need to make

a decision: (1) you either need to

upgrade to a different antibiotic, or (2)

you need to go to a vet and have him

run a Culture & Sensitivity Test on the

infection to identify the problem,

exactly.

Your decision as to which to do should

be based on both your experience, your

available alternative antibiotic choices,

as well as how serious the infection is

getting. If the wound is still relatively

benign, and you have a good medical

supply onhand, you might choose to

upgrade to Cipro or Clavamox and see

how they work. However, if the wound

is really festering, and/or if it is in

danger of infecting the bone too, and/or

if cephalexin is all you have—then you

will definitely want to identify exactly

what it is you are dealing with, and to do

this you will have to run a Culture

& Sensitivity Test.

When your vet runs a C&S test and

sends the specimen to the lab, the results

you receive back not only will give you

a report as to what kind of bacteria you

are dealing with, but the report will also

indicate the best choice of drugs you

need to handle this particular and unique

problem. The following example shall

illustrate:

Example VI:

Say you decided to run the C&S Test on

your dog for the above problem—just

to be sure— and the test comes back

positive for both Pseudomonas

flourescens as well as for Enterococcus

faecium . The lab report tells you that

the drug you were using (cephalexin)

affects neither bacte- ria. Stated in the

reverse, both forms of bacteria were

totally resistant to your choice of

antibiotics. Basically, you were

accomplishing nothing by using

cephalexin on your dog to treat his

infection. By reading the lab report,

you learned that the Cipro you wanted

to use as an alternative would have

handled the Pseudomonas flourescens

—and that the Clavamox alternative

you were also considering would have

handled the Enterococcus faecium —but

you quickly realize that none of your

available antibiotics could have

handled bothof those bacteria put

together. Now, thanks to the lab report,

you realize you need to give both Cipro

and Clavamox to your dog

concurrently.

Can you now see the value of a culture

& sensitivity test? In this case, had you

continued to use the cephalexin only, the

dog would not have recovered. Had you

tried to upgrade to the Cipro only, the

dog would not have recovered. And had

you tried to upgrade to the Clavamox

only, the dog would not have recovered.

Therefore, only by getting the C&S Test

were you able to come to the best

solution, and that was to use both Cipro

and Clavamox combined together to get

rid of this particular multi-bacterial

infection.

Simply put, it is therefore always “Best

Practice” to run a Culture & Sensitivity

Test before using any kind of an

antibiotic, and that is all there is to it.

However, in real life, sometimes it is

just not practical to take the time and to

spend the money to go get such a test

done, and for this reason you need to

have many “broad spectrum” antibiotics

to choose from. Even most vets will not

run a Culture & Sensitivity Test on minor

cases of skin infection, and in most cases

simply using “broad spectrum”

antibiotics, intelligently, will work just

fine.

The fact is cephalexin works just fine for

“most” skin infections—and Cipro does

also—and Clavamox likewise. As such,

any of these 3 antibiotics would be a

reasonable “first choice” as a line of

defense for a simple flesh infection. The

point of this example is to show that you

need to be acutely aware of the fact that

“most” doesn’t always happen. In some

rare cases, any one of these drugs might

be the wrong choice—and in other rarer

cases still there will be no “one”

antibiotic of any kind that will work for

certain problems of a multi-bacterial

nature. And therefore, when these times

do arise, you will need to be ready,

willing, and able to take your dog into

your vet to run a Culture & Sensitivity

Test if your first choice of antibiotics

fails to work. You will need to do this

immediately if there is a potential for a

severe consequence, if your “first

choice” broad spectrum antibiotics fail.

The other time to run a Culture &

Sensitivity Test immediately, right out of

the gate, is for bacterial infections that

are of a very serious nature in-and-of

themselves. Here is an example of this:

Example VII:

Say your best brood bitch comes out of

her heat cycle, and a week or so later

you notice that she is very groggy. You

take her off the chain and bring her in

side for an examination. Right away

you notice a slight discharge from her

vagina that is foul-smelling. You

immediately think, “ Pyometra !”, and at

that point you should automatically

reject the thought of using

“experimental” antibiotics altogether,

and you should realize that pyometra is

deadly serious, and you should reach

an definite conclusion that your bitch

needs to be treated correctly the first

time. There is no room for messing

around with something as serious as

pyometra. So you take her in for a

Culture & Sensitivity Test.

When a problem is obviously critical

and very serious (i.e., a bone infection,

pyometra, etc.), you do not “just try”

some random antibiotic choice for an

infection of this magnitude; instead you

immediately take your bitch in to your

vet, have the vet take a swab culture of

your bitch’s vaginal discharge, and have

the specimen sent out to a lab for a full

Culture & Sensitivity Test. Again, the

reason is you do not want to play around

with guessing-games on something as

serious as a full uterine infection like

pyometra. You want to identify the

offending bacteria, exactly and

immediately, and then you want to blast

those bacteria out with exactly the right

antibiotic choice(es).

In summation, when using antibiotics, if

you stick to Rules #1, #2, and #3, you

will be doing your dogs a great service.

That being said, let me now introduce

you to some important antibiotics you

should have on hand, and I will give

explanation for what purpose each

should be used. All of the above three

rules are important, but Rule #3 is the

most important, and that is when in

doubt about an infection, take the dog

in for a Culture & Sensitivity Test.

Important Antibiotics To

Have

The Basics

The penicillins are a bactericidal class

of drugs, and that means they kill off the

offending bacteria. There are many,

many different forms of penicillin, but

covering every single form of this drug

is not important for this book. What is

important is to cover the most common

forms you will come across at the feed

store or in the vet catalogues, because

they are the most likely forms you will

find and add to your medicine chest:

Penicillin G: Basic penicillin is good to

use on dogs only in the injectable form,

which is known as Penicillin G.

Furthermore, simple penicillin is

valuable today only as a preventative

agent, and even this value is becoming

suspect in recent years. By “preventative

agent,” I mean that penicillin should only

be used to prevent an infection from

forming in a recent wound, as opposed

to treating a wound that has become

infected. Still, you can find a bottle of

this drug in virtually any feed store, and

as such it is probably the most common

antibiotic agent most of you will have

onhand.

However, the fact of the matter is

penicillin G will not generally work

very well to treat wounds that are

already infected. What’s more, due to the

ever-growing resistance of bacteria to

antibacterial agents in general, if

penicillin does work once on your dog

to cure an existing infection, the chances

are high that it will not work on the same

problem twice.

The best use for penicillin is to give it

right after an injury occurs along with a

good anti-bacterial bath or scrub. The

injectable dose on Penicillin G is listed

in “units”—and the product you have

may come in a strength of 10,000 units

per ML (or some other strength, higher

or lower, so check the bottle). There are

also different types of penicillin on the

market. The differences aren’t so much

in drug activity so much as how long

each stays active in the body. Compare

your bottle to the list below for how

often you must give the drug.

All forms of penicillin should be given

IM (intramuscularly) but some can also

be given SC (under the skin) if the dog

reacts to the pain of the injection.

the diFFeRent PeniCillin g injeCtAbles (aNd

doSageS):

• Penicillin G potassium—12,000 IU

per lb, PO, QID (given every 6 hours)

• Penicillin G sodium—10,000 IU per

lb, IV or IM, QID (given every 6

hours)
• Penicillin G procaine—15,000 IU per

lb, IM or SC, SID-BID (given every

12-24 hrs)

• Penicillin G benzathine—20,000 IU

per lb, IM or SC, given every 2-3 days

The trade names differ on each product

so read the labels. Some common

products are Crystiben and Benz-pen.

Also, do not mix Penicillin with other

antibiotics! Finally, if you are going to

use drugs from the penicillin group, the

following drugs are typically better than

straight penicillin, and should be used

immediately after a hunt, before an

infection starts:

Amoxicillin: A derivative of penicillin,

amoxicillin is good “all purpose”

antibiotic for the flesh. It is also

compatible and synergistic with many

other antibiotics, unlike straight penicil-

lin. Amoxicillin is best used as a

preventative antibiotic, given before an

infection is present, but it can also be

used to treat actual infections that

develop. Still, there are better choices to

treat existing infections. Typically,

amoxicillin comes in capsule form, but

injectables are also available. Both

work well. The oral dosage for

amoxicillin is 5 mg per pound given

every 12 hours. The injectable dosage

is 4 mg per pound given IM SID-BID

(every 12-24 hours). You can easily

obtain the oral version of this drug,

labeled for fish, in a product called

“Fish-Mox” from Thomas Laboratories

(see

“Saving Money” section).

Ampicillin: Like amoxicillin, ampicillin

is another synthetic derivative of

penicillin and another good “all

purpose” antibiotic. It is a little stronger

than amoxicillin, but it is not compatible

with other antibiotics. Ampicillin is also

good for wounds of the flesh, and is also

best used as a preventative agent, given

before an infection is present. However,

like amoxicillin, ampicillin can likewise

be used to treat existing minor

infections, but again there are better

choices. Ampicillin comes injectable

form as well but you can also give it

orally. The injectable dosage is 5mg/lb

given IV, IM, or SC, BID-TID (every

8-12 hours). The oral dosage is

10mg/lb BID-TID-QID (2x, 3x,

4x/day). You can easily obtain the oral

version of this drug, labeled for fish, in a

product called “Fish-Cillin” from

Thomas Laboratories (again, see

“Saving Money” section).

~ Neither ampicillin nor amoxicillin

should be used for bone infections ~

Stronger Fighters

The following drugs can be used to treat

an infection that has actually developed

in a dog, where one of the above

preventative medications has failed to

work:

Cephalexin: Cephalexin is sold under

the brand name Keflex. It is an excellent

choice for most skin and flesh infections,

as well as for mastitis, urinary tract

infections, and it even works well on

many infections of the bone. In fact,

cephalexin is one of the best “all-

purpose” antibiotics you can find.

What’s more, cephalexin is also easy to

come by, and very inexpensive.

Cephalexin only comes in oral form,

and the dose is 11mg/lb of body weight

PO, TID-QID, which means by mouth

every 6 to 8 hours, depending on the

severity. If you are using a maintenance

dose, give every 8 hours (3x/day). If the

infection is severe, use every 6 hrs

(4x/day). This drug is a “must have” in

every dogman’s medicine cabinet. You

can easily obtain this drug, labeled for

fish, in a product called “Fish-Flex

Forté” from Thomas Laboratories

(again, see “Saving Money” section).

Clavamox: This is upgrade of

amoxicillin, and therefore a bit stronger.

Clavamox is a brand name for a

“potentiated” version of amoxicillin, the

properties of which have been

intensified by adding the salt potassium

clavulanate to the amoxicillin. This salt

combines synergistically with the

amoxicillin, and chemically-prevents

many bacteria from resisting the

amoxicillin, and thus the “potentiated”

Clav-amox product is significantly better

at fighting infection than plain

amoxicillin. The addition of this

component basically makes it harder for

susceptible bacteria to build resistance

to the amoxicillin. Aside from wounds,

Clavamox can also be used for mastitis,

respiratory and ear infections, as well as

pyometra—and it is safe for pregnant

bitches to boot. Clavamox is only given

orally. This drug is great but can cause

vomiting occasionally. It is dosed in a

1:4 ratio, that is one part potassium

clavulanate to four parts amoxicillin.

For convenience, the manufacturers lump

them all together when they dose it out.

The oral dose is 6.25mg/lb, PO, BID. It

comes pre-packaged in foil strips in 3

sizes as well as drops for small pups.

There are 62.5 mg for 10-pound

puppies, 250 mg for 40-pound dogs, and

375 mg for 60-pound dogs.

note: There is a human drug that is the

same as Clavamox, but it is called

Augmentin. Although these drugs are

expensive, both Clavamox and

Augmentin are worth their weight in

gold to a dogman. However, Clavamox

is very hard to get without a

prescription, but you can get the human

equivalent, Augmentin, over the internet

from the following foreign pharmacy,

One Drugstore Online:

http://www.1drugstore-online.com

The Big Boys

The following antibiotics are extremely

powerful and as such should never be

used as a first choice, but only as a last

resort for a severely-infected dog that

couldn’t be treated successfully with the

above drugs we just covered:

Antirobe: (Clindamycin): All of the

above antibiotics so far have been

bactericidal, meaning they actually kill

bacteria when at the proper dose.

Antirobe, however, is bacterio- static.

That is, Antirobe is a drug that only halts

bacteria growth enough so that the body

can

fight and kill the infection itself. Still,

Antirobe is a great drug for deep

infections of the bone, deep abscesses,

dental infections, and other ailments

requiring deep penetration, such as lung

infections also. As can be guessed by its

name, Antirobe is a specialty drug for

anaerobic bacteria, meaning bacteria

that do not require oxygen to survive.

Hence it is one of the primary drugs of

choice for deep infections of injured

joints, broken bones, tooth abscesses,

etc. Antirobe is dosed at 4mg/lb, PO,

BID. There are potential side-effects to

this drug, however, so caution should be

used and the dog watched closely.

Again, this drug should not be used as a

first choice, but only for very deep

infections that the preliminary drugs

failed to cure. But this is truly a great

and important drug. You can order

Antirobe from One Drugstore Online.

Baytril: (Enrofloxacin): This is a very

well known drug. People think it is good

for everything, and for the most part they

are right. Again, this drug should not be

used as a preventative antibiotic or first

choice, unless you are starting off with a

severe problem right from the beginning.

Baytril is best used with bad infections

or when other antibiotics have not

worked. It is excellent for skin, ear,

flesh, urinary, mammary, and bone

infections, as well as being an effective

remedy for myco- plasma, and

sometimes brucellosis. However, if

Baytril keeps being used as a first-

choice antibiotic, sooner or later it will

go the way of penicillin and be useless.

This is especially true if it is used

incorrectly. In fact, already there is a

movement to make Baytril illegal

because of imbeciles misusing it and

already creating a growing resistance

problem.

The dose for the injectable form is

0.25ml/5lb, SID , but you must then

follow this with the tablets, as the

injectable is hard on the kidneys. The

dose for the tablets is either 5.7mg/lb,

PO, BID (every 12 hours)—or

11.4mg/lb, PO, SID (once every 24

hrs). In other words, you can use half-

doses twice a day, or the full dose once

a day, due to the extremely long half-life

of Baytril.

The tablets come in 4 sizes: 5.7mg, 22.7

mg, 68 mg, and 136 mg. Example: If you

have a 40

pound dog you would give either two of

the 22.7 mg tablets every 12 hours, or

four of the 22.7 mg tablets once a day.

The easy way to dose this is: 22.7mg

tablet twice a day for a 20 pound dog,

68

mg tablet twice a day for a 60 pound

dog. Again, double the dose and you can

give it only once a day. Unfortunately,

Baytril is usually only available by

prescription and there are no “over-

thecounter” versions of it.

note i: There is, however, a human

equivalent to Baytril called Cipro

(ciprofloxacin), and this drug is

available over-the-counter from One

Drugstore Online. The dosage for

Cipro is 5mg/lb, PO, BID (by mouth,

given twice daily). Unlike Baytril, you

cannot double the dose of Cipro and

give just once daily; Cipro must be

given every 12 hours. However, Cipro

is much less expensive than Baytril and

every bit as effective in fighting

infections. In fact, Cipro is superior to

Baytril in fighting pseudomonas ear

infections.

note ii: Baytril and Cipro are called

Fluoroquinolones and again should not

be used as a first choice. These drugs

also should not be used in puppies

under 8 months old. They can cause

damage to the leg cartilage in pups,

rendering them permanently lame. These

drugs also should be fed on an empty

stomach, one hour before feeding, or

three hours after. Also, do not use these

drugs with Pepcid AC as it interferes

with the potency.

note ii: Finally, there are other

Fluoroquinolones that can be effective

also, from orbifloxa- cin(Orbax), to

marbofloxacin(Zeniquin), to

moxifloxacin(Avelox). These are

extremely-powerful antibiotics that are

not to be taken lightly, but that you

should read about and make yourself

knowledgeable on their properties and

indications.

Other Helpful Antibiotics

There are a few other antibiotics I

would like to mention, some of which

have application to wounds, while

others have some good practical

applications to our dogs that are NOT

woundrelated, but still very important.

They are:

Doxycycline: This drug is a derivative

of Tetracycline, but (as a rule) it is far

superior. From minimizing the side-

effects, to having a broader spectrum of

efficacy, to having deeper penetra- tion

into cells, Doxycycline is a very

important drug to have in your medicine

cabinet. Doxycycline is an adequate

choice to fight infection, and could be

placed alongside cephalexin and Clava-

mox in this article. Doxycycline

likewise has a strong effect in fighting

mastitis, kennel cough, urinary tract

infections, etc.—but perhaps

Doxycycline’s greatest use is in fighting

the tick-born diseases. From ehrlichia,

to babesia, to Rocky Mountain spotted

fever, to various other rickettsia,

Doxycycline is the single best choice of

antibiotics for the treatment of all of the

tick-born ailments that can plague our

dogs. The oral dosage for Doxycycline

is 5mg/lb, SID-BID (every 12-24

hours). You can easily obtain this drug,

labeled for birds, in a product called

“Bird-Biotic” from Thomas

Laboratories. You can also order

Doxycycline from One Drugstore

Online.

Metronidazole: Generally-speaking,

this drug is not used in wound-

management, but rather it is used to fight

off amoeba-like intestinal infections (

giardia trichomoniasis, amebiasis).

However, metronidazole(aka: Flagyl) is

a fairly effective anaerobic, bactericidal

drug that has certain wound applications

(see below). But as dogmen our greatest

use for Flagyl is for treating the nasty

cousin of coccidia called giardia. The

dosage for Flagyl is 12 mg/lb PO, BID

for 5-7 days. You can get metronidazole,

labeled for fish, in a product called

“Fish-Zole Forté” from Thomas

Laboratories as discussed in the “Saving

Money” section. You can also order this

drug from One Drugstore Online. I also

recommend that you review the

combining of Flagyl and TMZ that is

discussed earlier in that chapter for the

treatment of coccidia/giardia together.

Gentamicin: This is a strong antibiotic

that is bactericidal very quickly.

Unfortunately, bacteria can also build

resistance to gentamicin quickly, and it

also has some negative side-effects to

the kidneys, especially in pregnant

animals. Gentamicin is best used in

combination with forms of penicillin,

especially Clavamox, because it is a

gram-negative drug and the other gram-

positive. Used together, they can work to

great synergistic effect. In fact, a relative

to gentamicin ( strepto- mycin) used to

be available in combination with

penicillin-procaine, in a drug called

“Combiotic.” However, because of side-

effects, and because of such a wide

resistance built-up to both drugs over the

years, “Combiotic” was eventually

discontinued. Still, gentamicin can be

combined with (Clav)Amoxicillin to

great effect, yet there are less risky drug

choices to make. The dosage for

gentamicin is 1.5 – 3mg/lb IM or SQ,

SID-BID (every 12 – 24 hrs). You can

get Gentamicin from any vet supply

catalogue labeled for cattle and swine,

or you can also order it from One

Drugstore Online.

Tetracycline: This is a broad spectrum

antibiotic, but it has a few side effects,

so you should use it in wound care only

if you have no other antibiotics to

choose from. There are some rare

bacteria that are only affected by the

tetracyclines, however, so it is a good

drug to have in your medicine cabinet.

The tetracyclines are for the most part

bacteriostatic as well, so it is important

that your dog have a good immune

system when you use this drug. It is a

good choice for treating

bronchopneumonia(kennel cough), and

another great use for tetracycline is for

the treatment of Lyme Disease. The oral

dose is 9mg/lb given TID/QID (every

6–8 hrs), depending on the severity.

note: There are some potential side

effects to tetracycline however: If you

give tetracycline to a pregnant bitch, or a

puppy before the adult teeth have come

in, the teeth of the pup will be

permanently stained yellow or light

brown. Also tetracycline can sometimes

kill off the natural flora or “good”

bacteria in the intestines. This can cause

a change in stool or diarrhea. Also, these

drugs inhibit calcium formation and

should not be used on an animal with any

bone fracture that requires healing.

note: Never use expired tetracycline

on your dogs; just throw it away if it

goes passed the expiration date.

Tetracycline becomes highly-toxic once

it becomes outdated. You can easily

obtain this drug, labeled for fish, in a

product called “Fish-Cycline” from

Thomas Laboratories. You can also

order Tetracycline from One Drugstore

Online.

Trimethoprim-Sulfa: This is a solid

choice for wound care, that can also

stand alongside cephalexin, Clavamox

and doxycycline, but its real value is in

treating mastitis, as TMZ penetrates

deeply into mammary tissue, where it

attains its heaviest concentration,

including in the milk, and as such this

drug should be in every breeder’s

medicine box. Like Clavamox (which is

potentiated amoxicillin), trimethoprim-

sulfa is potentiated trimethoprim, and it

is a very good choice for many

infections, including coccidiaThis drug

is dosed at 25mg/lb, PO, SID-BID

(every 12-24 hrs). This drug is also

effective for kennel cough. You can

easily obtain this drug, labeled for birds,

in a product called “Bird-Sulfa” from

Thomas Laboratories (see “Saving

Money” section). You can also order

Trimethoprim-Sulfa from One Drugstore

Online.

Tylosin: Tylosin is sold in feed stores

across the country under the brand name

Tylan. It is a macrolide antibiotic with

some significant useful benefit to dogs,

even though it is not really labeled for

dogs. The reason this drug is

contraindicated for dogs is it tends to

cause soreness and possible infection at

the injection site, but there are ways

around this problem. Tylan comes in the

following sizes: Tylan-50, Tylan-100,

and Tylan-200, which simply indicate

increased potencies of 50mg/ml, 100

mg/ml, and 200 mg/ml. Since this drug

is dosed at 4.45mg/lb, IM, SID-BIDthis

drug is dosed at 4.45mg/lb, IM, SID-

BID 24 hrs), and since there can be

problems associated with pain or

reactions to the injection, it only makes

sense to buy the Tylan-200 to minimize

the amount of fluid that enters the dog.

For instance, a 40-lb dog would need

3.6 ml of the Tylan-50, which would

burn like hell, but yet he would only

need

0.9 ml of the Tylan 200 which would

help minimize any pain or lump from

forming. note: The important thing to

remember about this drug is it

concentrates the heaviest in

the lung tissues, which means it can be a

great drug to treat kennel cough,

pneumonia, etc. It also

has a great effect on aiding in the

treatment of coccidia and any form of

enteritis caused by bacteria in the

intestines. However, tylosin should not

be used longer than 5 days, and never

overdose

this drug either, as it can have adverse

effects on a dog’s liver and heart if taken

too long or given

in too high a dose.

Combination Therapy
As mentioned previously, sometimes, a

dog will get 2 or more different bacteria

infecting a wound at once, for which no

“one” antibiotic will work. Other times,

a particular antibiotic “should” work on

the bacteria present, but the drug was

misused and so the bacteria develop

resistance to this drug. And still other

times, the infection is so deep that the

antibiotic can’t penetrate effectively to

get to where it can kill-off the offending

pathogen. In any of the above scenarios,

the infection can worsen if not treated

properly, and so combination

therapy might be warranted.

First of all, any time you have an

infection present that does not respond to

a solid drug choice, like Clavamox or

cephalexin —or especially Baytril or

Cipro—you ought to take your dog to the

vet and ask him to run a C&S test on the

wound. Simply put, if these solid

antibiotics are not working, you could be

dealing with a problem that requires a

specialized antibiotic, or several

bacteria that require combination

antibiotic therapy, and a C & S test will

tell you exactly what bacteria are

present and exactly which antibiotic(s)

your dog needs. This can be absolutely

critical, so if you ever have a dog not

respond to one of the stronger

antibiotics, go to your vet to have this

test run immediately.

However, if you are unwilling and/or

unable to go to your vet, there are some

general antibiotic combinations that

work very well together, and there are

some that don’t. I will touch on some of

the combinations that work, so that if you

are out in the field and can’t get to a vet

you can put some good mixes in together.

Antirobe / Baytril: This is a

combination that would be a good

choice for a deep bone infection, or a

deep dental infection, that doesn’t seem

to respond to any “one” drug. A deep

abscess that is unresponsive might be a

reason to combine these two drugs.

Baytril / Cephalexin: This is a

combination that would be a good

choice for a deep tissue infection or

even a deep bone infection that doesn’t

seem to respond to any “one” drug. Or

use this as an attempt to “cover

everything” if you have a persistent

infection but have not identified the

problem, such as a urinary tract

infection.

Baytril / Clavamox: This is a

combination that would be a good

choice for a deep tissue infection or

even a deep bone infection that doesn’t

seem to respond to any “one” drug. Or

use this as an attempt to “cover

everything” if you have a serious

infection but have not identified the

problem, such as pyometra. *Best

Choice*

Clavamox / Gentamicin: This is a

combination that would be a good

choice for a deep tissue infection, or you

can use this as an attempt to “cover

everything” if you have a persistent flesh

infection but have not identified the

problem. Do not use this to try to cover a

bone infection.

Clavamox / Metronidazole: This is a

combination that would be a good

choice for a deep abscess or a deep

flesh infection that doesn’t seem to

respond to any “one” drug.

Metronidazole is a very penetrating

drug, and allows the Clavamox “access”

to cell entry in an abscess that it might

otherwise not have penetrated on its

own. Metronidazole also gets some

specific anaerobic bacte- ria of its own,

while Clavamox is broader-spectrum,

but the two work synergistically

together. Again, try this for abscesses,

but do not use for bone infections.

TMZ / Metronidazole: This is a

combination that is an outstanding choice

for a fighting coccidia+ giardia together.

Coccidia and giardia are protozoa, not

bacteria, yet these drugs affect both

organisms. I have also noticed

personally that coccidia does not seem to

respond to either Albon or Corid

anymore. Coccidia, like anything else,

can build resistance to medications, and

TMZ is nothing but potentiated Albon.

So what I have done that really seems to

work well is concoct a combination-

therapy treatment where I mix

trimethoprim-sulfa with metronidazole

and administrate for anything looking

like coccidia or giardia, and have had

huge success. (Again,

please refer to the “How to treat

Coccidia” portion of the “Saving

Money” section.)

Remember that although troubleshooting

with combination therapy can work

wonders, if you know what you are

doing and have luck on your side,

sometimes it can also be the recipe for

tragedy if you don’t know what you’re

doing or happen to run into a unique or

persistent infection. At the end of the

day, playing guessing games with meds

is a poor substitute for getting a

legitimate Culture & Sensitivity Test and

using exactly the recommended drug(s)

for the problem. Further, it is unwise to

make combination therapy like this

“standard practice”; use such therapy

only in extreme circumstances, when

nothing else seems to be working. In

other words, don’t even consider

combination therapy unless you have a

serious problem, and then only if you

have no way to get a C & S test done.

Just stick to standard choices if you

simply have a fresh wound, and these

should suffice quite nicely.

Some Final Words

Finally, some injectable antibiotics will

be in dry powder form in their vials and

you must mix them into a liquid. Do not

use anything other than what the label

says to use. If it says use “sterile water

for injection” do not use “0.9% saline

solution”—or vice versa. The local

pharmacy will carry these dilutents and

they are cheap. Also, all antibiotics

should be given with plenty of water

for the dog to drink. A dog being well-

hydrated is critical for the antibiotics to

be transported effectively in the

bloodstream. If you are giving

antibiotics to a dehydrated dog, they

won’t work. This is why giving

antibiotics in conjunction with IV Fluid

Therapy is considered Best Practice.

I will mention this one last time,

hopefully to drill it in: use the right drug

for the right purpose. In other words

don’t use penicillin for a deep ear

infection, use Clavamox. Don’t use

Baytril for a fresh bite wound, use

amoxicillin or cephalexin. Make sense?

Always start by giving the lighter

antibiotics immediately after a wound as

a prophylactic (preventative) measure,

and you should never need to upgrade to

one of the stronger antibiotics. If you do

get a dog which starts to get infected

anyway, then move to a mid-grade

antibiotic. Only if an infection persists in

spite of a solid antibiotic like Clavamox

or cephalexin should you pull out the

heavier artillery and move to a Baytril,

etc. And if this happens, again, best

practice calls for a Culture & Sensitivity

Test at this point. However, just winging

it, if I personally had to chose only 2

antibiotics to have in the field, I would

chose Clavamox and Baytril (or, in

human form, Augmentin and Cipro).

These 2 drugs are extremely effective by

themselves—they’re easy to come by—

and they combine well together to cover

just about anything. So between the two

of them they can handle most any

infection you will ever come across,

either by themselves and especially

when grouped together.

If you can only get “one” antibiotic—and

you don’t have the money to afford a

complete medicine chest—then try to get

cephalexin. It is a good drug, it’s

available everywhere, and it is cheap.

As dogmen, we will most commonly use

antibiotics for flesh infections, urinary

tract infec- tions, or other minor

infections, and cephalexin can get the

job done on its own 99% of the time.

Chapter 8 Furthering Your

Technical Education

The medical information you have

learned in this book has already put you

head and shoulders over the majority of

dog owners and breeders. However, I

think it can safely be said that “you can

never have too much knowledge” when

it comes to caring for your dogs. Thus,

while I think this book you are reading

will serve you well all by itself, for

those of you who are really looking to get

serious with your medical knowledge

will need to get your hands on some

specialized books. The trouble is, most

“how to” books you will find at your

local library or book store are of the

“bubble gum” variety, and by that I mean

they offer little or no lasting value to a

person seeking a deep knowledge of

dogs and dog problems. Most dog books

are catch-all skimmings of the basics,

and they give only brief overviews of

various maladies, offering no real depth

of study. Well, this chapter is designed to

give you ideas on how to go beyond

mere “pet owner” books to enable

yourself to build a serious veterinary

library that will put most practicing vets

to shame:

The Merck Veterinary Manual (authors

various) is prob

ably the single best “one” book on dog

(and all animal) problems

that is commercially available to the

average fancier. It really is a

treasure trove of information for the

serious lay-man, having over

12,000 topics listed in some 2,700 pages

of text. The trouble with the

Manual is that it is not devoted solely to

dogs, and much of the text

is useless to a dogman, as it involves

other animals too. That’s the

bad news. The good news is, what the

Manual does cover on the

general subject of dogs is still more

substantial than any other text

you will find commercially-available

and is simply indispensible to

any dogman. The 9th Edition is the latest

version, and just came out

in 2008.

If you are serious, and do not have this

book, then you

need to invest in it as soon as you can.

Besides addressing simple

diseases, The Merck Veterinary Manual

also has significant and im-

portant sections on drugs, from

antibiotics to anti-fungals, to worm

ers, etc., that is critically important to

read, and re-read, until you

master as much as you can of it.

$53.95

Moreover, the Manual contains extensive

sections on reproduction, husbandry,

potential poisons, nutrition profiles and

requirements, as well as extensive

backgrounds on most drugs (their names,

uses, and dosages), and as such it really

is an extensive resource that will benefit

you time and again as a master reference

text. The book itself weighs close to 4

pounds, and I can safely say that if you

were only going to buy only one book on

general animal care and husbandry,

aside from the book you’re holding in

your hands right now, then The Merck

Veterinary Manual would be the one you

should get.

The Compendium of Veterinary

Products by Adrian J Bayley is

the next major investment you should

make towards your veterinary

reference library. In fact, their new 11th

edition just came out in 2008,

and between these two texts, the

Manual on the previous page and

the Compendium right here, you will

have made major headway

into making yourself a truly informed

fancier by making sure they are

both in your library. Essentially, the

Compendium is a comprehensive

listing of virtually every single animal

health product, and a rundown

on what it does, which includes an

alphabetical index of manufac

turers and their products, an alphabetical

cross-reference of ingredi

ents and brand names, product category

indicies, anthelmintic and

parasiticide charts, product monographs,

and alphabetical indicies

of products. This is not a bubble-gum

book; it is a huge tome boast-

ing 2,427 pages total, and gives you a

treasure trove of invaluable

information to have onhand at your

disposal. PRICE: $89.95

$89.95

Unfortunately, those are about the only

veterinary books, commercially-

available to the general consumer, that

have any real value to a serious dogman.

Truly, though, if you want to get just a

good, solid base in understanding the

animals under your custody, and get a

good grasp of the medical management

of problems you will face, these two

books alone will give you that base. But

what about if you want to go beyond this

solid foundation, and really come to

terms with some specialized veterinary

medicine on a par with any vet? The

answer is simple: study what they have

studied. Here is an idea on how to do

this that I’ll bet you haven’t thought of:

Suppose you live near a veterinary

university. Or even if you don’t, simply

go the nearest veterinary college (even if

out of state), and get yourself a class

syllabus of a first-year veterinary

student. Then, find out all of the classes

that a vet student needs to take for each

semester of the first year, and then find

out each of the books that said student is

required to read for each class—and buy

these books at the student bookstore. Do

this for the first semester, second

semester, third semester, etc., until you

have

a full years’ veterinary education under

your belt.

Do this for the first year, the second

year, the third year, etc. As the years

pass, you will have the exact

same educated as an actual vet student,

with the only missing ingredient being

class participation (as well as the

exorbitant tuition fees). You can get

along just fine without the fees, I’ll bet,

but to bridge the class participation part,

you might be able to make friends with a

student and pay him/her to make a tape

recording of each class—and/or offer to

be a homework partner, etc.

Furthermore, if any of the actual

veterinary classes is huge enough (as

some college classes are), you could just

go in class posing as a student and watch

and record the class for yourself. You

will never get “the degree,” but what

you will get is the education!

If none of these is a viable option for

you, just having the possession of the

textbooks alone should suffice as far as

your being able to internalize every

single educational step of an actual

veterinarian, via every single textbook

from which an aspiring veterinarian will

be studying. If you really applied

yourself, and stayed with it, you could

self-teach and build yourself up to be a

pretty knowledgeable individual, though

of course you would not get the diploma

or license, but again neither would you

have to pay tuition.

The prospect of doing this might be

exciting for someone who cannot afford

a college education, but who wants such

vast knowledge. However, to others, I

am sure the thought of going through all

of this is just not possible. Well, what if

you want a lot more veterinary

knowledge, but lack the time (or the

will) to get that deep into it by sneaking

into a college or buying every single

veterinary textbook? What are some of

the books you can get, just shopping

online, that will give you further study,

without taking too much of your time?

OK, here they are:

$89.95

$89.95

The Veterinary Drug Handbook by

Donald Plumb is widely regarded as

“the” reference guide professional

veterinarians use to understand drug

applications and interactions. According

to Booknews, “This handbook contains

about 400 alphabetized drug

monographs. Each entry discusses

prescription concerns, drug chemistry,

storage and stability, pharmacology, uses

and indications, pharmacokinetics,

contraindications and precautions,

adverse effects, acute toxicity, drug

interactions, laboratory considerations,

monitoring parameters, client

information, FDA concerns, and human-

approved products. Appendices list

drugs by type and function, discuss

protocols, list conversions, and feature

other practical information.” Basically,

this book is universally considered to be

the “must have” book concerning

veterinary drugs, and if you are serious

it should be in your library. The Sixth

Edition of this bestselling handbook

includes over 70 new drug monographs,

as well as updated dosages and

information for older monographs. A

separate section on topical of the drugs

most commonly associated with animal

overdoses, and a new appendix on

overdose decontamination medications

has been added, and sections on

ophthalmic drugs and small animal

therapeutic diets have been updated.

PRICE: $89.95.

Emergency Procedures by Signe

Plunkett is another book that should be in

any serious medical reference library.

The second edition was made in 2001,

but it gives you all the information you

need to form a diagnosis quickly and

accurately, establish a prognosis and

decide what to do with any dog suffering

an illness, injury, or toxic event.

Extensive practical appendices provide

easy reference to essential data

including commonly used drugs and

supplements, drugs in special

circumstances (e.g. safe drugs in

pregnancy, drugs to avoid in renal

failure etc), clinical chemistry and

laboratory data, conversion tables and

much more. With step-by-step coverage

of cardiopulmonary emergencies, trauma

gastrointestinal emergencies,

toxicological events, a greatly expanded

chapter on exotic pets, and much more,

Emergency Procedures for the Small

Animal Veterinarian provides all the

facts you need to help you save a life

faster. Its utility can best be described in

a combined review: “Just get it! Tiny

letters, no drawings, 574 pages,

information on virtually every

emergency you can think of. Good

information, right to the point, no words

wasted. It reviews 99 emergency

syndromes in dogs or cats, 40

intoxications, and other emergencies.

Every item includes diagnosis,

prognosis, and treatment, with all of the

details you can think of. Good

information, right to the point, no words

wasted. It reviews 99 emergency

syndromes in dogs or cats, 40

intoxications, and other emergencies.

Every item includes diagnosis,

prognosis, and treatment, with all of the

details and alternatives that you may

need in an emergency situation. The

book represents a milestone for small

animal emergencies. When you have a

dog dying in front of you, there is no

time for complicated explanations, you

need an answer right away!” PRICE

$83.95

Veterinary Parasitology by William

Foreyt is another key book to add to your

portfolio. Because parasites are

probably the single greatest ongoing

problem in animal ownership, this

extensive reference becomes a “must

have.” Foreyt underscores the strong

relationship between parasites and the

overall health of animals and stresses

that indiscriminate use of drugs is a poor

substitute for good management and

nutrition in controlling parasites. The

book provides information on parasite

life cycles, importance, location in the

host, zoonotic (human transfer) potential,

current literature, diagnosis, and

treatment. It also includes step-by-step

instructions for common diagnostic

procedures used in routine veterinary

practice. Sections are organized by

animal host species. B&W microscopic

images of parasites are included on

every page. The sections devoted to

animals include clear drawings and

excellent black and white photographs of

the diagnostic elements for the common

parasites (eggs, larva, spcimens, etc.),

drawings of the life cycles, lists of the

common antiparasitic drugs with doses

and indications, list of the zoonosis

(human transfer) associated with the

respective animal, and a very brief

summary of the morphology, importance,

diagnosis, treatment, and sometimes

prevention of each parasite. For the

abundance and quality of the

photographs (over 500 photos and

figures), one tends to consider this books

as a diagnosis manual, but it is much

more. It becomes closer to an

encyclopedia of important practical

issues of veterinary parasitology,

condensed into 235 pages, at a

ridiculous low price. PRICE: $44.99

$83.95

$44.99

Small Animal Surgery by Theresa

Welch Fossum is a 1,632-page

masterpiece for the serious devotee. It is

“the most widely used surgical text

available.” The new 3rd edition

concisely explains and demonstrates the

most common surgical procedures that

are necessary. It offers an overview of

the general principles of surgery,

including asepsis, the surgical

environment, preparation of the animal

and of any needed assistants, also

covering instrumentation, suturing, as

well as postoperative pain management.

Separate sections are devoted to

surgical principles and procedures for

soft tissue, orthopedics, and neurology.

With an authoritative author team,

logical organization, unique elements

and full-colour presentation, this new

edition is an unparalleled resource for

both students and practitioners. New to

this Edition: Section on Endoscopy,

with 5 chapters covering general

principles and techniques and common

application of this important minimally

invasive tool; New chapter on surgery of

the brain; New chapter on surgery of the

peripheral nerves; including antibiotic,

anaesthetic, and pain management

protocols;

$177.00 Hundreds of new photographs,

radiographs, and illustrations enhance

text discussions. In total, there are over

1,500 full color illustrations provide

exceptionally clear representations of

anatomy and currently accepted surgical

techniques, including approaches and

closure.

Over 600 full color photographs and

radiographs offering clear images of

specific disorders,

diseases, and procedures. Information on

the most efficient and cost-saving

sterilization techniques including

scrubless and waterless preparation

solutions. General considerations and

clinically relevant pathophysiology

sections provide practical information

for case management. Step-by-step

instructions for surgical techniques are

presented in italicized blue type for

quick and easy refer- ence. There is just

too much information to mention it all

here. Keep in mind that much of this

book will be way over your head, but it

is still a “must have” in a serious

veterinary library. PRICE: $177.00

$106.00

Handbook of Small Animal

Orthopedics and Fracture Repair by

Donald L. Permattei, et al is a 832-page

reference that has been around for 23

years. The fourth edition (which came

out fairly recently in 2006) takes

advantage of considerable worldwide

experience. The first section deals with

the basic principles of diagnosing and

treating fractures, lameness, and joint

diseases—including fracture

classification and all types of implants

and systems of fixation. The second part

describes the treatment of fractures and

orthopaedic conditions of the forelimbs,

while the third part considers the hind

limbs. The fourth part describes the

approach to other fractures and to

reconstruction of bone deformity, while

the fifth part deals with miscellaneous

conditions of the muscu- loskeletal

system. This edition is considerably

enriched by the excellent artwork of F.

Dennis Giddings, the artist who first be-

come famous with the milestone book

for all orthopaedic surgeons, also

written by Permattei.

While many of the techniques discussed

in the Hand- book of Small Animal

Orthopedics and Fracture Repair will

be well beyond the ability of you and I

to perform them, the book is still a

treasure trove of information on the

basics of setting bones (splinting and

casting) that will be of enormous benefit

to the sporting dogman. PRICE: $106.00

Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia

by Diane McKelvey BSc DVM and K.

Wayne Hollingshead MSc DVM is a

464-page book which is an excellent

resource providing guidelines for

veterinary technicians who administer

anesthesia to a variety of animals in a

variety of situations. The book discusses

inductory procedures, preanesthetic

preparation, postoperative care, and the

physiology of respiration, heart rate, and

blood pressure. (The previous edition

was titled Small Animal Anesthesia and

Analgesia.)

The book has alot of helpful information

and is particularly beneficial in outlining

procedures necessary to monitoring

during surgery and how to handle

surgical emergencies (hypoxemia,

hypovolemia, etc.). The sections on

inhalation anaesthesia and the required

apparatus are particularly beneficial.

Given the laws against our dogs, as a

serious dogman, becoming versed in

simple anestheitc procedures will give

you some added dimensions as to what

you can do with a bad-off dog who

needs medical attention, but can’t be

taken to the vet. PRICE: $38.95

$38.95
So there you have it. The beginnings of

piecing together your own serious

veterinary library. All of these books

can be ordered by title at Amazon.com

or BarnesAndNoble.com. The nice

addendum to ordering online is related

books are automatically suggested by the

search engine, allowing you to build

from there. Yes, the prices on most of

these texts are rather steep compared to

your typical vet book, but that is the way

it is with specialized knowledge.

Remember, such knowledge should not

be looked at as “an expense,” but rather

as an investment—because the cost of

medical ignorance is ultimately the

greater price to pay.

Chapter 9

How to Find A Good Vet

This is going to be a very short chapter,

but a very important one, because

securing for yourself a truly good vet to

fall back on when you need one is one of

the most important considerations to

your long-term success as a breeder that

you can make.

Now, after I have covered so many ways

in which to avoid going to vets, you may

be wondering why on earth we are now

devoting a chapter on to how to find a

good vet—and the reason is, as much as

it pays to be a self-reliant dogman, there

will occasionally be times when you

will need a good vet. For instance, there

will be times when you’ll need a vet to

perform x-rays for which you do not

have the proper equipment; there will be

times when you’ll need a vet to perform

specialized labwork or bloodwork for

which you don’t have the equipment; and

there will be times when you’ll need a

vet to perform major surgical

procedures for which you neither have

the training, the assistants, nor the

equipment. As Clint Eastwood once

said, through his Dirty Harry character:

“A man’s got to know his limitations.”

So while this book is intended to expand

your own capabilities, you need to

recognize when a particular situation is

beyond you, and then you need to have a

trusted place to go in a quality

veterinarian. Whatever the particular

medical matter is—for which you lack

either the equipment or the training—

there will simply be times where you

will need a good vet, an ace in the hole.

However, a common misconception

people have is, “If a person is a vet then

he or she ‘must’ be a competent

professional.” Wrong! I am here to tell

you that most vets are actually

incompetent. Worse, the majority of vets

charge you (and overcharge you) for

everything they can possibly get away

with.

The intent of this chapter is to give you

the savvy and perspective to weed

through the pretenders and “salesman”

vets, and give you some tangible criteria

as to how to select from the crowd a

truly good vet, one who is both

concerned about your animal and

competent in his field— and if you can

get him to be fair to your wallet to boot,

you really are in business J Let me first

give you a list of “bad signs” to look out

for when choosing a vet:

Bad Signs in a Veterinarian

♦ Very Expensive Office (Guess who

pays for that nice building? You do! ♦

Office Located in Big City (Expensive

lease = higher prices to you also.) ♦ A

“List-Maker” (Itemizes everything he

does, and charges top dollar for each.) ♦

Always Trying for the Upsell (Gets you

to buy more than what you came for.) ♦

Won’t Give Home # (This means he

refuses to come help in an emergency.) ♦

Refuses to Dispense Drugs (Wants you

to come-in so he can charge you.) ♦

Refuses to Dispense Fluids (Forces you

to come in if you have sick pups.) ♦

Won’t Let You Watch (If your bitch has

a c-section, won’t let you participate.) ♦

Prescribes w/o Diagnosis (Gives meds

without even identifying the problem.) ♦

Demands Payment “Now” (Won’t let

you “pay later,” even when expensive.)

Let’s start with the first two, for if you

come up to a vet who runs his practice

out of an im- maculate, brand new

building located in the heart of a big city,

you can pretty much guarantee his prices

are going to be through the roof. He paid

a lot of money for rent, lease, or

ownership—and those costs get passed

on to you, the consumer.

Regarding a vet being a “list maker,”

one of the ways you can qualify a vet is

just to call in with an fake emergency

(call and say you want to bring in a

female for a c-section), and ask how

much for this service. If the vet (or his

assistant) starts riddling-off a big “list of

things” that need to be given—prep,

sedative, IV, operation, antibiotics, per-

pup charge, etc.—then you can pretty

much guarantee that such a vet is trying

to squeeze the very last dollar out of you

he can for his services. In fact, in most

modern universities, they actually give

courses to their aspiring vet students on

how to charge clients! So be very aware

of this, because the surest sign of this

kind of vet is that he is a

list-maker.

The next surest sign of a money-grubbing

vet with “an education” in how to take

every penny you have when you come in

is the “upseller.” This is the vet who’s

always trying to charge you for “extras”

you never came for. Say you come in to

get a health certificate, such a vet will

ask if you want your dog’s nails clipped

too (for an extra $15). He might

recommend a fecal exam be done also

(for another $15), even though you

explained you just wormed him. The

“upsell” vet and

the “list maker” vet are both

businessmen first, veterinarians second.

The vet who won’t give you his home

number basically tells you that he can’t

be bothered with your concerns if he’s

“off duty.” If you’re just a one-dog pet

owner this might be understandable, but

if you are a serious breeder with a lot of

dogs you need your vet to be on call. If

you need a c-section on a Sunday

afternoon, a true vet (who is both

concerned and competent) will get up to

help you when you need it.

The vet who refuses to dispense

drugs/IV fluids is useless to a serious

dogman. If you have 3 litters of pups

come down with parvovirus, or

coccidia, you can’t bring every damned

one of them to the vet for “an

examination and treatment.” You need to

be able to pick up the phone, tell your

vet you will be by to pick up several

bags of IV fluids, and to please

prescribe you x,y,z medications to take

care of your animals. A vet who refuses

to do this (after he gets to know you) is

of no use to you. Take your business

elsewhere.
Regarding c-sections, make sure any vet

allows you to come to the back to watch

over the c-section operations, so that you

can assist in the reviving of your own

pups. Any vet who refuses to do this is

hiding something, as many of those who

“hide behind closed doors” have a

HSUS agenda and will purposely kill

your pups and then claim they “didn’t

make it.” Always make sure you are

allowed in the operating room for

observing and for assisting in the revival

of the delivered pups.

Any vet who just starts guessing with

drugs, particularly with serious

infections, isn’t going to do you any

good. Some vets will even purposely

prescribe the wrong drugs, and tell you

to go home, knowing that your dog’s

condition will worsen forcing you to

“come back for a re-check.” They

essentially try to get repeat business

out of you on purpose

And finally, the truly money-grubbing

vet, who cares nothing for you or your

dog, won’t let you “make payments” or

“pay later,” regardless of the severity of

the problem and regardless of how

expensive it is to correct it. If your prize

dog needs a $1600 open reduction

surgery on a shattered bone, and you

don’t have the money “right now,” the

money-grubbing vet will show you the

way out and not offer to help and let you

pay later.

In stark contrast to the signs in the kind

of veterinarians you want to avoid, the

following are the signs you will see in a

truly top quality veterinarian:

Good Signs in a

Veterinarian

♦ Modest Office (A prudent vet doesn’t

try to be fancy, just effective.) ♦ Office

Located in Remote Area (Keeps his

own costs down and yours too.) ♦ Gives

“Fair Quotes” (Has basic and

reasonable charges for his services.) ♦

Always Tries To Help (Only focuses on

providing exactly what you came for.) ♦

Offers His Home # (A good vet makes

himself available if you need him.) ♦

Willing to Dispense Drugs

(Understands a breeder’s need to cut

costs.) ♦ Willing to Dispense Fluids

(Understands a breeder’s need for home

care.) ♦ Will Let You Watch (A good

vet is willing to let you participate in the

delivery.) ♦ Pinpoints Diagnosis (A

good vet first identifies the problem,

then prescribes.) ♦ Lets You Make

Payments (An understanding vet will

take care of your dog.)

A good vet isn’t trying to be flashy or

extravagant, either in his office or in

trying to get some uptown area to

practice in; a good vet who wants to

keep his own costs down will likely

want to keep yours down too. And

because of his own frugality he can.

Furthermore, good ol’ country vets are

also more likely to work with livestock

(and thus make house calls), and so are

also more likely to be sympathetic with

(and therefore helpful to) sporting

dogmen. By contrast, city vets are more

likely to deal with old ladies and their

poodles, and will less sympathetic to

(and less knowledgeable about what to

do for) a chopped-up hunting dog.

When you call in to a good vet for a

quote on a procedure, you get one. He

condenses and fits the tools and drugs he

needs into his basic quoted price, rather

than trying to “expand

How to Find a Good Vet227

a list” of what he needs to do, as high as

possible, so he can charge you a “final

bill” that’s as high as possible.

When you come in to a quality vet for a

specific problem, a vet who’s truly on

your side and who has you and your

dog’s best interests in mind, isn’t trying

to “upsell” you a bunch of superfluous

items and services you don’t want or

need; he tries to identify and correct

your dog’s problem, as quickly and

effectively as he can, without

unnecessarily wasting either your time

or your money.

A vet who understands the all-day, all-

night responsibilities of a major breeder

will likewise understand that sometimes

“dog problems” don’t happen within the

convenient “standard business hours”

that most people adhere to. A good vet

understands that you may have a serious

problem at any time, day or night, so he

makes himself available to help you

anytime, day or night. (Do not abuse this

privilege though! Make sure you respect

your vet’s right and need to “be off

duty,” and that you only call him

privately on a legitimate medical

emergency situation for which you have

no other recourse.)

If you need certain meds, an

understanding vet will prescribe them

for you, either calling them in to the

local pharmacy or letting you come in to

pick them up at his office. For instance,

say you have had coccidia in the past on

your yard, and you see a group of new

pups that have obviously come down

with a case themselves—but you are out

of Albon. An understanding vet isn’t

going to make you come in and “test”

each pup for coccidia, he will just tell

you to go ahead and come pick up some

Albon in his office. Similarly, if you

need the corresponding fluids in a

severe case of coccidia, a vet who has

your best interests in mind isn’t going to

insist on you bringing in every single

pup so “he” can examine them all (and

charge you for each exam and treatment);

he will just send you home with a couple

bags of fluids, plus a bottle of Albon, so

you can take care of your pups yourself.

By the same token, if your bitch needs a

c-section, a vet who’s in your corner

will allow you back there during the

operation procedure and will welcome

your participation in the revival process

of waking-up the pups. He knows your

livelihood depends on those pups, and

he knows you have your hopes and

dreams tied-up in their growing up to

represent your vision of canine

performance excellence.

However, when it comes to diseases and

sicknesses for which you and he are not

sure of the origin, a truly good vet will

not “guess” by giving you random drugs

“to see how they work.” When the true

cause of a problem is unknown, a good

vet will first pinpoint the problem, with

knowledge- able labwork and/or

microscopic analysis, and once the

problem has been correctly identified

only the n he will prescribe the right

drug for the problem.

And finally, if you have a severe

emergency that catches you off guard, a

good vet realizes you might not have all

the money handy at that very moment.

Too many vets will tell you to take your

dying dog somewhere else if you cannot

foot the whole bill right then and there,

but a good vet will let you make

payments and immediately take care of

your animal. Again, do not abuse this! If

you ever find a vet who is willing to

help you like this, never take advantage

of him or her. Pay the debt, in full, as

quickly as you possibly can. Do not

drag-out the payments either. Show your

vet you are as committed to him as he is

to you, and you will build a level of trust

that will allow you complete peace of

mind and him a repeat customer and

source of steady dependable business.

These criteria I have listed for finding a

good vet are very basic, but they are

foundational to your program. Do not

accept less in any vet. If you need to,

continue to take your business

elsewhere, to vet-after-vet, until you

have found a vet who passes all of these

tests I have listed. Once you find a vet

who matches-up with all of the

favorable criteria set forth in this

chapter, treasure him or her! Treat this

professional like gold, and with the

utmost respect, because he will deserve

your respect and stellar treatment.

Regular old vets are a dime-a-dozen,

ultimately being nothing more than

money-grubbers and shot-givers, but a

truly competent professional

veterinarian, willing to work favorably

with a serious breeder on all levels,

cannot be appreciated enough.

In closing, all of the steps listed in this

book thus far are important to your

ultimate success, and it is hard to qualify

one important step over the other.

However, I can assure you that securing

for yourself the services of a

legitimately top-quality veterinarian,

who makes himself available to you for

a decent charge, ranks as high in order of

importance as any step you can take in

your efforts. I can also assure you that

finding such a vet is no easy task either.

In 20 years of feeding and

breeding dogs, I can honestly count the

number of truly quality vets I have

enjoyed on the fingers of one hand, and

that amounts to vets sampled in 4

different states. This brings us to the

subject of “fair charges,” and what

constitutes fair charges from a vet. Here

is a list of some common

services you will be needing and what

(in my experience) they ought to cost

you:

Office Visit Fecal Exam Rabies Shot

Other Shots

PCV Blood Test CBC Blood Test

Special Blood Test Health Certificate

Semen Analysis

Semen Freeze Semen Storage C-Section

X-Rays

Blockage Surgery Day’s Boarding Dip

for Mange Set Broken Bone

Complicated Sugery

Re-Exam

$25 - $35

$10 - $15

$7.50 - $12 Do at home $20 - $25

$65 - $85

$100 - $120 $25 - $35

$25 - $65

$200 - $250 $50-$75/yr $450 - $650

$65 - $85

$450 - $650 $25

Do at home $125 - $250 Highly Variable

Free

These are the basic charges you should

expect to see on any vet invoice for

among the most common reasons you

will need to see a vet. If your vet

charges you less than what I have listed

above, you are getting a great deal. If he

charges fall within these parameters,

then your vet is being fair in his charges

for his industry and profession. If your

vet’s charges exceed these figures, then

he is robbing you a bit, and just how

much will be in proportion to how far he

is exceeding the figures listed above.

So spend some time going through the

Yellow Pages, calling different vets, and

comparing prices, availability, and

willingness to help a breeder—and you

will have established for yourself one of

the key foundational elements to the

success of a serious breeder.

Chapter 10

Animal Husbandry &

Raising Pups

We have moved beyond the foundations

of care, and we have just established the

foundations of our basic vision and

purpose as dog fanciers. While I could

not give you the exact specifics as to

what to look for in your own personal

taste in dogs, you yourself should realize

and put into practice The 5 Keys to

Success for your own goals. The beauty

of the correct breeding practices is that

the principles apply to any breed of dog

doing any job, just as much as they do to

our breed. That is the mark of correct

principles: they transcend breed types

and they will be as true a thousand years

from now as they are when you read

them.
With our caregiving and vision firmly in

place we will soon be in a position

where the time will come to make our

own breedings and to attempt to carry

our precious quality animals on to the

next generation. That is the only

legitimate reason to breed dogs: to

preserve, or to improve, specific

canine performance excellence. This

chapter will deal with the physical

mechanics of breeding dogs and raising

dogs, and toward the end of the book we

will take that the next step further by

discussing the vision and purpose of

breeding dogs well. As with any

endeavor in life, the more you care about

what you’re doing, and the more you try

your best, the better your results are

going to be. This is just the way it is in

life. While some are always trying to cut

corners, and may even “get lucky” here

or there, over time only the truly sincere

and committed will prevail.

Good animal husbandry and care-giving

can begin only with a good heart, it can

only go somewhere with a good plan,

and it can only sustain through the years

with good habits. For example, if you

have a sincere desire to do will, but a

bad plan and bad habits, ultimately you

will be achieve bad results. You may

mean well, but if you are breeding for

the wrong reasons, your results will be

poor. If you mean well, and are breeding

for the right reasons, but are out running

around with your friends every night,

and if this causes you to run out of

money—which in turn means you don’t

have enough $$ to buy the necessary

wormers to give your pups—then when

you your litter, what did you really do?

All three criteria are required to succeed

in these dogs over the long haul— a

good heart, a good plan, and good

habits. This book will teach you all of

the good plans you could ask for, but

only you can provide the good heart and

the good habits to back these plans up. In

the end it’s all up to you. This book is

laid out in a step-by-step incremental

sequence for a reason: it is built upon

layer-after-layer of good planning, but it

needs to be followed in the proper order

and sequence.

Preparation of the Bitch

This chapter will deal with some of the

more specific problems that come from

breeding and raising pups, and so we

will discuss their care from the time they

are conceived in a breeding to when they

can go out on a chain. The simple truth is

pups are most successfully yielded and

raised when one follows (you guessed

it) a game plan. That game plan should

include the optimal health of the bitch

prior to breeding her, as well as the

optimal health of the stud, before the two

even come together to create the pups.

The optimal health of the pups begins in

the optimal health of the parents, and

from there it moves to gestation, and it

intensifies after whelping.

Your bitch should be in decent shape

long before you even breed her. It does a

bitch no good at all to be fat and un-

exercised dog anyway, but this is

especially true prior to the trauma of

pregnancy, delivery, and especially

whelping and raising 6-10 hungry

puppies for 6 weeks straight. Your bitch

needs to be in lean, athletic condition, to

be parasite-free, and she needs to beam

with good health prior to you expecting

her to bear the task of having and raising

pups for you. Only the woefully ignorant

keep their bitches fat.

Once you have met your obligations in

keeping your bitch in this kind of healthy

condition, the first thing you must do is

log down on a calendar the first day she

swells and the first day she bleeds. If

you have a computer, Microsoft Excel is

your best friend because you can create

spread sheets where you log the heat

cycles of each bitch you have, which

recorded information over

time will tell you a lot of important facts

about each bitch you have, from how

often they come in, to what days they

typically ovulate, etc. Even if you only

have a good old-fashioned paper

calendar, keep these records handy over

the years, because they will assist you

not just in pinpointing when she’s ready

on “this” heat—but if you make a habit

of logging in this kind of data routinely,

you will quickly be able to see the

pattern of her heat cycles in general, and

in this way

you can project the expected times she

will come into season for her future

breedings as well. Now then, on the first

day when she bleeds you need to give

your bitch a standard vac- cination to

prepare her immune system to protect

her puppies, and then you should worm

her completely. Using the Saving Money

tips of Chapter 5, hit her with Fish Tapes

Forté, Safe-Guard, and Pamix on Day 1

of her heat cycle (of course, you have to

give the Safe-Guard for 3 consecutive

days, twice a day, as directed in Chapter

5). You will then want to bathe your

bitch thoroughly, using about 10 ml of

tea tree oil mixed with a liberal amount

of shampoo, and when she dries place

her in an Above-Ground Pen as depicted

in Chapter 2.

Repeat this exact worming procedure on

Day 15 of her heat cycle, while she’s up

in that pen (except that you do not need

to use the Fish Tapes). Instead of Pamix

however, use Wazine 34, which is a

double-dose of the wormer piperazine,

also shown in Chapter 5. Use this to

destroy any worms that are left from the

1st worming, that may have been

resistant to pyrantel. The dosage of 34

mg/ml “Wazine 34” is 1 ml per 12 lb.

This worming protocol will completely

rid your bitch of worms in preparation

for her task of carrying pups, and

because she will be in an Above-Ground

Pen she will not re-infect herself like

she would have if left in the dirty soil.

note: If your bitch has had past problems

with mastitis, then you need to prepare

for this as well. Mastitis is a bacterial

infection which not only can kill your

bitch (or at least make her ill), but which

creates what is known as “poison milk”

that can also kill her pups when they

nurse. Therefore, the following is a 3-

step plan of attack to nip the mastitis

before it happens:

1. Beginning on the Day 1 of her heat

cycle, administer the antibiotic

cephalexin, at the recommended dosage

in the “Antibiotic” section of this book,

and continue treatment 3x/day (every 8

hours) for the next 10 days. This drug

will not only remove any bacteria from

her teats, but it will also help clean-out

her vagina and urinary tract out,

preparing her for a clean insemination

by the male (and you’d be surprised at

how many breedings “don’t take”

because a bitch had a vaginal/yeast

infection at the time of the mating. Also,

concurrently with the antibiotics, give

her 1 horn of garlic, blended in 1 cup of

water, poured over her feed for the same

reason.

2. After you breed your bitch, and after

she goes through her entire pregnancy,

treat her again with antibiotics, but this

time use Trimethoprim-Sulfa (TMZ).

Start this new regimen 7 days before the

expected delivery date—and continue

this treatment for another 3 days after the

birth of the pups. The reason to switch to

TMZ now, is because not only does this

drug also fight-off bacte- rial infection in

the teats, but it also kills coccidia. What

a lot of people don’t realize is that

coccidia can get passed from the

mother’s milk to the pups also, and so if

you have coccidia in your kennel also,

using the TMZ as a preventative measure

like this will nip that bugger at the bud

too. By the time your pups are born, the

TMZ has controlled any possible

coccidia, as well as any remaining

bacteria, and so your pups have fresh,

clean milk available to them right on

delivery—on up to the first 3 days of

nursing—which is when the colostrum is

strongest and is the most vital to the

pups. (You have no idea how many pups

are lost in the first few days after

delivery, precisely because their first

few drinks of milk came from infected

teats.) The residual affects of the TMZ

should carry for several weeks also.

Again, use the recommended dose in the

“Antibiotics” section.

3. Finally, when the bitch has weaned all

of her pups, and after they are

completely off of her, give her 10 days’

worth of Clavamox/Augmentin so as to

prevent any final infection of the bitch’s

mammaries post-whelp. You see, after

you pull the pups off the bitch,

sometimes the buildup of un-suckled

milk post-whelp is when many bitches

really get challenged by mastitis—

because they keep producing milk

without any pressure relief (because the

puppies are no longer nursing), and this

is when many bitches get full-blown

mastitis to the extent they can and do die.

So prepare for this in advance by

gradual weaning, and by using this final

antibiotic step (if necessary). If you

wean properly (discussed in a bit), you

shouldn’t need this third step. Just keep

it in mind in case you do. The reason I

suggest you stagger different antibiotics

each time is to prevent any bacteria from

building resistance to any “one”

antibiotic, on top of which the TMZ is

used just prior to delivery to knock-out

coccidia, right before the pups will be

drinking the milk too. Remember, this

protocol is not for “every” bitch that

comes into heat, but only for those who

are prone to get mastitis or to

pass-on coccidia

OK, now let’s back up a bit. So you’ve

kept your bitch in perfect health, you’ve

wormed her and (if she needed it)

you’ve prevented the mastitis. The next

step to a successful conception and

pregnancy is targeting the date to

breed. Simply put, the best way to do

this is to take your bitch to your vet, this

time on Day 5, and have a Progesterone

Test performed on your bitch to test her

cycle. If you are competent at drawing

blood, you can instead order this

progesterone test yourself from Camelot

Farms (www.camelotfarms.com), in a

kit called “Date To Mate.” Regardless,

whether you perform this progesterone

test yourself, or whether you pay your

vet to do it, make sure you begin testing

your bitch’s blood on Day 5 of her heat

cycle. What you are trying to do is target

the exact time within her cycle that she

has actually dropped her eggs. You can

use the microscopic slide method

(cytology) or the progesterone method,

but whichever one you use make sure

you begin this testing on Day 5. From

there, you test your bitch every other

day until, for sure, you have pegged her

date of ovulation. If you have

successfully targeted the date your bitch

is actually ovulating within her heat

cycle, you really only need to breed her

once, which should be two days

afterher first day of actual ovulation.

You don’t breed “that day,” you breed

two days after, and that is because it

takes the produced eggs about 2 days to

mature after ovulation. But you also

need a fertile stud:

Preparation of the Stud

If your male has viable sperm, and if you

breed him to your bitch at the right time,

again you will have a 96% chance to get

pups from just that one breeding. What

“viable sperm” means in a stud dog is

when the dog ejaculates, he produces a

gross sperm count of 300 million

spermatozoa in the collection (or

more), with 70% forward motility (or

greater), with only 15% defects (or

less). Again, this is at minimum. What

you really want is for a stud to produce

something like a 600 million gross

sperm count, with 95% forward motility,

and with less than 10% defects. Then

you’re really working with a viable

male. However, the emboldened figures

above are what is considered to be the

minimum of what can properly be called

“a fertile stud dog.” As with targeting

the heat cycle of your bitch in order to

pinpoint ovulation, you can likewise

take your stud dog to the vet to make

sure he is fertile when he breeds. Sperm

checks aren’t too expensive, but if

you’re really serious about dogs, you

can also buy your own microscope (and

special slides) and learn to evaluate the

semen yourself.

Remember this, if you are using a male

who isn’t fertile, you are wasting your

time, and you are wasting a heat on your

bitch, every bit as much as if you try to

breed a bitch when her eggs haven’t

dropped yet (or after it’s too late and

they get sloughed-off). Factors that can

affect a male’s semen quality are (1) his

age, (2) his health/nutrition, (3) if he’s

genetically-unfit, (4) if he has a

disease/fever, (5) if it’s too hot outside,

etc. Extremely hot weather and

disease/fever are among the most

common causes of temporary male

infertility.

Remember that the entire reason a male

has his testicles distended in a sack to

begin with is to keep his semen cooler

than his core body temperature. The

testicles are of course what contain the

sperm and their “hanging” like that is to

keep the sperm cool. Unfortunately,

when a stud is exposed to extremely hot

weather (as can happen in certain states

during the summer), and/or if the male

suffers from an elevated temperature due

to a fever (as can happen if he has

babesia or ehrlichia), his sperm will

die. This means you can breed your male

one week and get pups, and two weeks

later he can get a fever—so when you

breed him again you won’t get pups.

Depending on the circumstance, the

male’s sperm can be built back up again,

but it is far preferable to make sure this

kind of thing doesn’t happen.

One of the ways you can prepare your

stud in advance of any breeding, to

ensure that his semen is always good, is

to keep him in a cool spot at all times.

Never have your key studs in an area

where they are going to be very hot.

Also, two months before any key bitch is

scheduled to come in heat, give your

stud dog the following supplements with

his feed:

1. Add 2 TBsp of Wheat Germ Oil;

2. Add 675 mg Tribulus Terrestris;

3. Add 600 mg of Saw Palmetto;

4. Add 425 mg of Sarsaparilla;

5. Add 400 mg of Damiana;

6. Add 500 mg of Ester-C.

The above supplements offer a tonic and

enhancement to your stud’s reproductive

system. The wheat germ oil provides

needed Vitamin E which is regenerative

to all body cells, but to sperm cells

especially. The Tribulus Terrestris helps

stimulate male hormone production,

while the Saw Palmetto aids in

maintaining a healthy prostate. The

Sarsaparilla and Damiana increase

libido, while the Ester-C dramatically

improves sperm motility. To ensure

optimal semen quality prior to breeding

your stud, begin adding these

supplements to his feed 2 months

before your bitch is scheduled to come in

heat. You can’t give these supplements a

week before you breed and expect them

to have taken effect on your male so

quickly. Instead, spend two months prior

to any key breeding, making sure you

really build-up your stud and his semen

beforehand, and this will ensure that he

has had ample time to amass up a large

reserve of healthy semen in his testicles.

In fact, after the first time you give your

stud these supplements for a two-month

period, it is a good idea to then schedule

giving these supplements to him on

alternate months forever after, one month

where

he’s “on them” and then one month

where he’s “off them.”

In conjunction with this, another good

habit to get into is to periodically treat

your stud with some key

antibiotics/antiprotozoals. Because any

stud dog that is kept outdoors can be

exposed to any number of tick-borne

diseases (as well as insidious

mycoplasmas)—all of which can

compromise his fertility—every so often

make sure you give your stud the

following antibiotics/antiprotozoals:

1. Doxycycline (100 mg, BID, every

day for 2 weeks)

2. Imozol (3 mg/lb, IM, SID, on Day 1

and then again on Day 14)

The doxycyline by itself really is

sufficient, but I like to back it up with 2

injections of Imizol (spaced two weeks

apart) in case of exposure to the

particularly stubborn tick disease

babesia, and also because Imizol

likewise offers cross-coverage for

ehrlichia. Meanwhile, in case of any

other hidden

bacterial/protozoal/rickettsial diseases,

the doxycycline will clear up virtually

any of a number potential disorders a

male may get. If you administer this kind

of therapy also, likewise 2 months prior

to breeding a key bitch, you will

dramatically increase the stud’s

likelihood to be producing healthy

semen when you need him to. Don’t

over-do this therapy protocol however.

Only give these drugs to your stud dog

once a year, at most twice a year.

Moving along, if you make it your

business to exactly target your bitch’s

ovulation, and if you likewise make it

your business to prepare and confirm

that you are using a fertile male, you

should only need to make ONE breeding

at the right time to get pups. That being

said, doing a second breeding “two days

after” the first perfectly-timed breeding

won’t hurt. The progesterone tests will

run you about $28 on each visit at your

vet, but again you can order the entire

test kit yourself for about $140 from

Camelot Farms. You can test about four

different bitches with that one kit, so this

is definitely the way to go, again

provided you know how to draw blood

(as the plasma from drawn blood is what

is used to run this test). If you are

interested to learn how to draw blood,

go to my website at

www.ThePitBullBible.com/DVDs and

order a copy of my Artificial

Insemination DVD, which covers this in

detail (the video is about an hour and

twenty minutes).

Anyway, suppose you have a young,

healthy bitch, and the breeding isn’t

critical, but where you still want to get

pups out of her? Then simply do these

three things to calculate her date of

ovulation with a reasonable degree of

accuracy: 1) Log her first dates of

swelling/bleeding and wait until the 8th

day of bleeding to really look at her

closely, then 2) stimulate her backside,

either with your hand or a stud dog’s

sniffing/licking, and see if she’ll “flag”

her tail. This means she will “present”

her hindquarters out and will whip her

tail up, and to one side, in an

“acceptance” position for the male to

mount her. If she is a fight-crazy bitch,

you can use light touches with your

fingers back there and she will do the

behavior as if your fingers were a

male’s sniffing nose, assum- ing she’s

ready. (3) You will notice that the flesh

surrounding the vulva of a bitch in heat

(initially very hard when she first comes

in) will gradually become softer and

more supple the closer she gets to

ovulation—and also the color of the

blood (initially deep red when she first

came in) will also gradu- ally become

almost a clear and light-pink. If bitch

exhibits these signs, and she’s seems

ready, then breed her.

I like to breed the bitch every other day,

beginning the day after the first day she

seems ready. I do this for three total

breedings or until she stops “looking”

ready. If you like to count the days and

breed on certain days, this will typically

be the 11th, the 13th, and the 15th days

after the very beginning of the bitch’s

heat cycle. Just keep in mind that these

“average” days can vary greatly. Your

bitch may in fact ovulate on Day 7, or

she may in fact ovulate on Day 18, so if

you merely “count days” just be advised

in advance that you will blow it

occasionally. Again, Best Practice is

having the ovulation date professionally

targeted with a progesterone test, and

making sure the male’s sperm is ready,

and then only doing one “power”

breeding two days after the ovulation

date is noted. If you’re just going to wing

it, you will still probably be accurate

about 75-80% of the time, but if you do

things by the book you will almost never

miss. Once the breedings are done, now

is the time when you prepare yourself

for the impending litter, but you do not

start feeding your bitch “twice as much”

food as normal. There are ignorant

dogmen everywhere who always “fatten-

up” their pregnant bitches, but extra fat

doesn’t equal more pups. All it means is

wasted food and a fat bitch. Instead,

continue to feed your bitch normally for

the first month after you breed her, and

then bump up her feed by a mere 25%

only after the beginning of the second

month. Bump-up her feed another 25%

the week before delivery. In other

words, if she receives 2 cups a day

normally, to keep her fit and athletic all

through the first month; leave her on

those same two cups a day for the first

month after you’ve bred her. (If you’re

feeding raw, then keep feeding the same

amount). However, beginning the

second month of her pregnancy, bump her

feeding ration up to 2½ cups a day—and

then up to 3 cups a day (150% of her

original, normal 2-cup ration) on the

last week of her pregnancy. You can

also begin to add one-to-two teaspoons

of bone meal to her feed, as well as 2

tBsp of salmon oil, on the last week of

her pregnancy as well. The bone meal

increases the calcium for the milk (as

well as delivery), and the salmon oil just

gives her more fuel for her increased

caloric needs. You can continue this

ration all the way through delivery and

birth, on up to the beginning of her third

week of nursing. Adjust the actual

amounts you use to the size of your

particular bitch, as some bitches will

need more, while others won’t need this

much.
A week before the expectancy date, give

your bitch another bath, this one with

Betadine, and bring her inside from her

pen to be kept in a clean 500# kennel. If

she’s won’t eat a blanket, then use a

folded blanket on the bottom of the crate

for her comfort. If she’ll eat blankets,

then use shredded newspaper or carpet

instead. But get her used to her “nest”

at least a week before her delivery

date; that way you don’t bring in a

laboring mother at the last second and

toss her in a crate when she’s all

stressed-out in mid-delivery. The key is

to make things smooth and tranquil for

your expectant mother, not rushed and

stressful, long before she’s actually

delivering. Another thing to do either for

a first-time mother, or for a bitch that has

had problems de- livering in the past, is

notify your vet a week in advance of an

impending delivery. Again, if you have

secured for yourself a truly good vet,

you will have his cell phone #, and his

home #, as well. (Remember: If a vet

won’t give you these numbers to have, in

case of emergency, then he or she should

no longer have your business.) The

reason for the notification is so you can

maintain daily reports to your vet of your

bitch’s impending labor, and you should

begin this one week before she is ready

to drop. Advise your vet of your

situation, informing him that you have a

either new mother or a previously-

problematic mother, so that you

prepare your vet well in advance in

case there’s a problem. That way you

don’t get caught in panic-city, running

around with your head cut off, should a

C-section or other veterinary emergency

procedure prove necessary. If a problem

arises, no sweat, because your vet has

known for a week in advance of the

impending expected delivery, as he has

been given daily updates by you.

Likewise, you will also notify him when

labor begins. If you follow this protocol,

then if a problem does arise during

delivery, you won’t have any chaos to

contend with. You’re not scrambling

around for emergency clinic phone

numbers etc., because you had the sense

to advise your already-prepared vet that

you will need his or her assistance now.

And, please remember, if there IS NO

problem with your bitch’s delivery, then

you should also have the courtesy to let

your vet know that the delivery has

concluded, without incident, and be sure

thank him for being ready on your behalf.

Not only does this give you the mark of a

professional to your vet, but it is just

plain good manners. If your vet is a good

vet, he or she will in all probability

actually be worried for your bitch, and

so he will be glad to hear the good news

that everything is okay.

In either event, you will know delivery

is imminent because your bitch will

probably not take food the day she drops

(although, don’t be fooled, because some

bitches will still eat the day they

deliver). If at all possible, you should

always be there monitoring your bitch

when she delivers.

Preparation Before Delivery

If your bitch does not eat at or about the

time of delivery, or if you notice that she

is digging and scratching (exhibiting

“nesting” behavior), then immediately

give her either 2 cups of plain yogurt or

2 cups of cottage cheese (as added

calcium strengthens contractions, which

assists in delivery). You will also want

to have onhand a drug called Oxytocin.

Oxytocin is a hormone that assists with

the contractions also, but you do not give

this right away. You only want it onhand,

should you need it. You need a

prescription to get it, but if you have a

good relationship with your vet, he

should sell you a bottle for around $5 to

$10.

As the time to deliver comes nearer,

your bitch will dig, scratch, lay down—

dig, scratch, lay down—and dig, scratch,

and lay down some more. Eventually,

however, she will start licking and

licking, which is usually when the water

breaks and delivery is about to happen.

At this point you want to bring out

your stopwatch. Carefully observe your

bitch, and when she really begins

“pushing” (having contractions), then

you know she’s now in full-blown labor.

Sometimes this can be only minutes after

she starts “nesting,” but other times she

won’t actually start “pushing” (going

into labor) until several hours after she

first goes to digging.

The reason you start your stopwatch

when you actually see her “push” (begin

contractions) is you never want to let

your bitch struggle for more than 2

hours in actual labor. She can pant, dig,

and scratch all she wants—but when she

actually begins *pushing* (trying to have

a pup), and if this struggling goes on for

more than 2 hours, then she needs a C-

section. When a bitch struggles

unproductively in labor, this means

either the pup is too big for her opening

—or it means she has some sort of

uterine inertia—but in either case she is

a candidate for a c-section.

If your bitch is a very small bitch, I

would lean toward just taking her in to

the vet for an ultrasound or xray to see if

she needs a c-section. Simply call your

already-prepared vet, and let him know

you’re on your way. If your bitch is a

normal-sized bitch, but just doesn’t seem

to have enough “oomph” to get the pups

out, then here’s where your oxytocin

comes in. Many people give too much of

this drug, DON’T! All you need to give

is 0.1 to 0.2 ml ( 1/10th to 2/10th of a ml), and that’s it. If you give too much of this

drug (half to 1 full ml), you will

overload her receptors and she can

either rupture here uterus, or she can go

into a total uterine inertia. So give just a

tiny amount, maybe 1/10th to 2/10ths of a

ml, and within 15 to 20 minutes, your

bitch will start squeezing out pups.

Assisted Delivery

If the bitch looks to be struggling in

getting a pup out, at any point in the

delivery, you may have to step in and

perform an assisted delivery. An

assisted delivery is essentially a last-

ditch effort to avoid having to get a c-

section, but it is only possible when

there is enough room for the bitch to at

least produce the “head” of the pup, so

you can grab it (or the “feet” of the pup,

if it is coming out breached).

On any bitch I think might be a candidate

for an assisted delivery, I like to bring

her inside and keep her right next to me

in a kennel crate, so she can be doing her

all of her nesting behavior right either to

my bed (if at night) or next to my office

desk (if daytime), so I can be there and

monitor her at all times. I keep a roll of

paper towels next to the crate, a spool of

thread, and a vial of KY Jelly. The KY

is to lube your fin- ger up before you go

in her, the paper towels are to hold the

produced pup, and wipe it off with,

while the thread is used to tie-off any

bleeding umbilical chords.

At some point you are going to see the

area under the bitch’s tail swell-up as

she “pushes” in labor. Don’t go in right

away though, you must first allow the

pup to get at least onethird to half-way

down the canal, at which point you seize

the pup from the outside with one hand,

to hold it in place, while you go up into

the bitch with the other

hand to get ahold of either the pup’s

head, or its feet, if it is coming out

breached.
Hold the pup in place with one hand, while you go

up in the bitch with the other.

The hand securing the pup from the

outside of the bitch is critical, because it

holds the pup in place so that it does not

“get sucked back up” into the bitch while

you’re trying to fish for it with your

other hand. When you attempt to secure

the pup, if you happen to “miss” on the

outside, or if you cannot yet grab onto

the pup from the inside, then back off

and wait for awhile. Do not continuously

jump the gun and try too soon, as this

will be disasterous for the mother.

Remember, being in labor is

tremendously stressful for a bitch, so do

not rush to invade the bitch with your

fingers to “go see” if you can grab onto

the pup, until it is time. As the arrow on

the previous page depicts on the photo,

the “bulge” of the pup coming down

should be at least one-third to one-half

way down the birth canal before you

step in.

When you do step in and secure the pup,

if you can get ahold of the head (or, in

my example, the feet of the pup), then

you s-l-o-w-l-y begin to extract it from

the mother. The best way to accomplish

this is push-downwith your hold

securing the pup with the outside

hand, while you pull-outwith your grip on the pup with the hand that’s inside

the mama—and you further time this

effort with the bitch’s own

contractions.

The easier the pup is to pull-out, the

easier it is on the mama. However, be

aware that in some cases the pup will be

so big, and the mama’s opening will be

so small, that the pup becomes quite

literally “stuck” on his way out. In a

case like this, you either need to (1) pull

the pup out anyway, being so firm and so

strong in your efforts that you will in all

probability kill the pup in doing so; or

(2) rush your bitch in to the vet for a c-

sec- tion—which, if you do, that pup is

probably dead either way. The decision

to go to a vet for a c-section should be

unanimous if you cannot get ANY pup

our within 2 hours’ time. This is why you

should time how long it takes EVERY

pup to come out, right after the first

contraction. After one pup comes out,

start your stopwatch again and count

another 2 hours’ time. If a bitch is still

struggling unproductively after 2 hours’

effort, then take her in for a c-section. If

you want to see this process in more

detal, order my new DVD:

20 Years of Breeding Secrets DVD

www.ThePitBullBible.com/DVDs

With the outside hand pushing the pup down, the

hand that went inside the mama to grab the pup

pulls-out. Be firm, be, be methodical, but be gentle

too.
Other than that, if everything is going

smoothly, just be ready to assist in the

removal of placentas, when necessary,

and to give life support to any pups born

that won’t breathe, if needed. Many pups

come out of the mother “drowned” after

aspirating the fluids in the sack. You will

have to learn how to expel the fluids

from their lungs, and you really should

have a vet show you how to “sling” a

pup, as it is perhaps the best way to get

any inhaled fluid out of your pup’s lungs,

and I promise you will save many pups

from death by learning how to “sling”

pups and revive them when the come out

“drowned.”

After the delivery is complete, continue

to make sure all pups are motile and

suckling. In addition, you want to make

sure they are warm, because puppies

cannot maintain their body temperature

for the first ten days of life. Once you

are sure she’s delivered all of the pups

(let 24 hours go by), whether she needed

a shot of oxytocin or not, now is the time

to give her a large dose (0.5 ml) one full

day aftershe is all done having pups.

The reason you give her an injection of

oxytocin well after the delivery is two-

fold: (1) because it will clear-out any

retained placentas, and (2) because

oxytocin also stimulates the let-down of

her milk. Cleaning-out any retained

placentas is absolutely critical, because

if a bitch retains a placenta (or, heaven

forbid, a pup) she can and will become

deathly-ill with a condition called acute

metritus. Your giving her a large dose

of oxytocin, therefore, with help her start

contracting again post-partum, clearing

herself of any retained matter she should

have discharged.

Also, the let down of the milk just makes

sure there is plenty for all, because

remember, all of the immunities the pups

gain from the mother come via the

colostrum in her milk, and the colostrum

is only in the mother’s milk for the first

two days after delivery. As such, you

should oversee that every pup gets its

full share of the breast milk for the

first few days of life. If your bitch is in

good health, and she is a good mother,

once she has successfully and

completely delivered, you can put her

and her pups out in the above-ground

pen (if the weather is nice), or you can

just keep them inside, if the weather is

not nice. If all of the pups are nursing

and healthy they will look “firm, round,

and fully-packed” and they will either be

sleeping or nursing. However, if one or

more pups is too small, or starts crying a

lot, then you may have a problem.

Orphaned Pups

Even if you do everything you can,

eventually you will run into a situation

where a mother cannot take care of her

own infant pup(s). Perhaps her milk

went bad, perhaps she has too many

pups to keep track of, perhaps one of the

pups is simply weak or sick—or maybe

the mama is just not much of a mama and

winds up being a danger to her own

pups. Whatever the reason, if you breed

dogs for awhile, eventually you will find

yourself with a newborn pup or two (or

maybe even a whole litter) that needs

you to care for them, if they are going to

survive. Well, so what do you do when

this happens?

Figure 1
The first thing you need to do for an orphaned pup

(or pups) is get him a little box. A shoe box or a

Tupperware box will suffice to keep him in, with a

heating pad underneath him. Adjust the size of the

box, the pad, and the towel to the number of pups

you are dealing with.

You must always remember that a young

puppy cannot maintain his own body

temperature, and as such he must be kept

warm by artificial means at all times. To

do this, all you have to do is go to your

local pharmacy and buy yourself a

heating pad, preferably one with a

temperature control device. Then you

will need to get a small box of some

kind, perhaps a shoe box or a

Tupperware box, and you will place the

heating pad on the bottom of this box.

Plug-in the heating pad and adjust the

temperature to comfortably warm, not

too hot and not too cold. Once you have

the temperature adjusted to comfortably-

warm, you can then place a little cloth

towel over the pad,

and then just place the pup on top of the

cloth between him and the heating pad

(see Figure 1). note: If the air is chill

outside, you should place a hand towel

or two, not just under the

pup, but cover him with another little

towel too. This will act as a blanket to

insulate him (not shown

in the above photo). Again, when it’s

chill outside (even in your home) the

little extra towel over

your pup will keep all of the warmth

surrounding him. In fact, the only reason

the pup in the above

photo didn’t have a “blanket” over him

was so that I could take the picture.

Right after the photo

was taken, his little blanket went right

back over him.

If a pup is allowed to chill, all of his

bodily functions will stop. He cannot

digest his food, and

he will shut down and die if you do not

keep him warm. However, once you

have him warm and

comfortable, now comes his feeding

schedule, which can vary with

circumstance. If he is a very

young orphaned pup, then I recommend

tube-feeding him over bottle-feeding

him. To do this, you

will only need a few tools:

Figure 2

The only tools you will need to tube-feed your pup

will be a 12ml syringe and a feeding catheter Size

8-10 French.

You will need a 12 ml syringe and a

feeding tube for a very young pup. You

can get the syringe from your catalogue,

or at any feed store in a pinch, and you

can get the feeding tube from your local

vet. The feeding tube is a soft-rubber

instrument, with an adapter at one end

(so you an attach it to a syringe) and at

the other end, on the sides, are small

holes to allow the liquid nourishment to

go into the stomach.

(See Figure 2.)

When you get the feeding tube, the first

thing you need to do is measure-off and

mark the tube so that you are sure it will

reach the puppy’s stomach. You do this

by laying the puppy on his side and then

laying the catheter on top of him, from

the outside, and then you take a

measurement as follows:

Figure 3

Take the catheter and lay it on the puppy’s side,

with the feeding-end of the tube even with the pup’s

last rib. Then, mark-off the spot on the upper-

portion of the catheter at the point it is even with

the pup’s nose. The puppy’s stomach is located

right about where the last rib is, so when you mark-
off your catheter on the upper portion like this, you

know that (when you push the feeding tube down

his throat to your marked-off spot at the nose) the

feeding-end of the tube is where it should be, which

is in the stomach.

The key to tube-feeding your pup is to

make sure the tube is placed all the way

down into the stomach. You need to

make sure that the tube is neither placed

too shallow into the pup (which will

cause his lungs to fill with formula), and

also need to make sure that the tube is

not placed too far into his stomach either

(which can injure him). The way you

make sure of these things is to measure-

off the length of your catheter on the

puppy’s side, whereupon you mark-off

the catheter at the appropriate point.

(See Figure 3.)

note: Once you have made this notation

on the catheter, it is now safe to give him

his formula. The amount of formula you

actually give your pup will vary based

on his size. Typically, the amount you

should feed your pup is around 30 ml A

DAY of formula for every 4 oz of

puppy. This means if your puppy weighs

9 ounces, then you have to do some

math. If you are supposed to give 30 ml

per 4 oz, and your pup weighs 9 ounces,

then just divide the 9 total ounces by 4,

which equals 2.25. You then multiply the

2.25 by the 30 ml (per 4 oz) and you

come up with a total of 67.5 ml of

formula that your 9-ounce pup needs per

day.

Now obviously you can’t just squeeze

the entire 67.5 ml of fluid into your 9-

ounce pup all at once, so this means you

will have to divide it up. When pups are

really young, they should be fed 6x

a day (or every 4 hours). This means that

you divide the 67.5 ml total into six

equal parts (or 11.2 ml of formula, per

feeding, that you give six times a day,

again once every 4 hours).

For another example, if your pup weighs

10 oz you divide this weight by 4 to get

the multiplier of 2.5, which you then

multiply by the 30 ml needed per 4 oz to

feed him—which comes out to 75 ml of

total formula that a 10-oz pup needs per

day. When you divide this total 75 ml he

needs to eat in one full day, into 6

portions per-feeding, this means your

10-oz pup should get roughly 12 ml of

formula fed every 4 hours. Etc., etc., etc.

Now, when your pup becomes bigger

than this, two things happen: one is you

will need a bigger syringe to feed him,

and two is you don’t have to feed larger

pups 6x a day, you can start feeding them

4x a day, and eventually only 3x a day.

Naturally, you will be giving more

formula per feeding, and naturally you

will therefore need a bigger syringe —

or, really, you can simply try bottle-

feeding at this point, as the pup no longer

needs to be tube-fed by a syringe when

he is that big and strong. (Larger pups

also gag more when tube-fed.)

Figure 4
When the tube is properly inserted, and properly

marked, it will glide down the pup’s gullet to the

spot you have marked at his lips—which means the

other end of the tube will be in the pup’s stomach

when inserted evenly at the level of his last rib.

How much you will actually feed your

pups is entirely based on the pup’s

weight, and in order to get the exact

weight of your pup you will need to buy

a small postal scale (which you can get

at Staples or Office Depot for about

$20-$25). The weight of your pup will

tell how much formula to feed, and so it

is vital to monitor your pup’s weight

daily. Not only will you know how much

to feed, but you will also be able to see

if your pup is growing, which he should

be every day. (Healthy pups will just

about double their weight every week.)

Anyway, back to the critical tube feeding

of very small pups. First, get a weight on

your pup, and then do the appropriate

math so you can arrive at the proper

amount to feed. From there, load your

syringe with the proper amount of

formula (which you have warmed-up to

body temperature). Remember, if your

formula is in the refrigerator, you can’t

just give it to your pup like that. An easy

way to warm the formula is to put the

proper amount in the syringe and then put

it

in the microwave for about 5 to 10

seconds. Make sure you test the

formula to make sure it is not too hot

either! Every microwave is unique, so

figure out the proper timing on your

particular microwave to get it nice and

warm, body temperature, and then you

are set.
Next, you attach the tip of the syringe to

the receptacle of the catheter. From

there, point the syringe upward and then

make sure you squeeze all of the air out

of *both* the syringe *and* the catheter

tubing. If you do not squeeze-out all the

air bubbles, your pup can fill with air,

bloat, and die!

Once all the air is squeezed out, you then

lubricate the catheter tubing with some

of the warmed formula, and then once

lubricated you gently slide the catheter

down the pup’s throat as depicted on the

facing page. Just feel your way down,

applying gentle pressure, trying to

gradually slide the catheter tubing down

the passage—until the marked-off spot

on the tubing is even with the pup’s lips.

This will mean that the feeding-end of

the tubing is now in the pup’s tummy.

From here, you then gradually depress

the plunger on the syringe, slowly-but

surely, until the syringe is empty and the

measured amount of formula has been

administered to your pup. From there,

you quickly pull the catheter back out of

the pup’s passage so as not to gag him.

After you administer the pup’s feed, you

then want to “burp” your pup to make

sure there is no air in him. Place the

pup’s tummy against your own and gently

pat him on the back until you here a little

puppy burp.

note i: Return again to your pup in thirty

minutes to burp him one more time just

to make double-sure he is not bloated.

Many times a pup won’t burp right away,

and then after you leave he will start to

bloat. You can tell if he’s bloated

because his belly will be very swollen,

tight, and uncomfortable. It won’t feel

like it is full of fluid (squishy), it will

feel “air-tight” and that is because it

is full of air. If you notice that your

puppy’s tummy is filling-up with air and

gas, he is bloating, and you need to act

quickly to save his life. Again, I am not

talking about being filled with “fluid,” I

mean bloated with gas, You will be able

to tell also because he will be in

obvious pain and will likely be crying

and crying, whereas a healthy pup that is

just full with a good meal simply sleeps

—a pup bloated with gas cries.

note ii: If your puppy truly is bloated,

the most effective way to relieve the gas

pressure is simply to re-insert the

(empty) catheter back into the pup’s

stomach. The hollow, empty catheter

will create an escape valve—a free and

clear avenue to release all of that

trapped gas! When you push the empty

tube into a bloated pup’s tummy you will

actually hear all of the pressurized gas

come right out of the top end—

whhisshhh—and this technique can be a

real life saver. Afterward, you can also

give the pup a few drops of Gas-X to

relieve any remaining gas. In keeping

with this, make sure you do not over-

feed your pup either.

To remain in this line of thought, another

thing to remember is that the feeding

guidelines I have given are just

guidelines; they are not set in stone. If

your particular pup still looks full when

it’s time for his next feeding, then wait

awhile. There is no law that says you

have to feed him again if he clearly

doesn’t need it. These time intervals I

have listed are but guidelines, they’re

not rules, and the fact is some pups will

digest their formula faster (or slower)

than others. If you over-fill a pup with

too much formula, by feeding him again

before he’s processed the last batch,

again you can kill him. This is especially

true with tube feeding where you’re

forcing it all in there, whether the pup

needs it or not.

For this reason, try to get your pup on a

bottle ASAP, so that his own hunger will

dictate whether he wants all of his

formula or not. Once you are done

feeding using either method, immediately

wash-out your bottle (or syringe and

catheter tubing) under warm tap water,

several times. From there boil these

items for 5 minutes before the next

feeding. The reason you boil your

feeding tools after every feeding is to

make sure that all the residue formula

comes off the inside, which in turn will

ensure that there isn’t any bacteria

growth developing between feedings

which might make the pup sick.

What Formula to Use?

As for what kind of formula to use, the

most popular brand is Esbilac, but I

happen to prefer Just Born. I have found

that the Esbilac formula is thinner in

constitution, which always seems to

make my pups gag, cough, and choke

when I feed them. This is especially true

when bottle-feeding or syringe-feeding

(without the tube). With Just Born,

however, a gagging reaction almost

never happens aimply because this

formula is much thicker, and it is also

much more bland. Therefore, the Just

Born formula not only goes down a lot

easier, and without incident, but the pups

seem to thrive on it better too. It sticks to

their ribs and puts on the weight more.

And finally, Just Born is also sold at

WalMart—which is open 24 hours a day,

7 days a week—which means if you are

in a pinch, and realize you need to get

your hands on some formula at midnight,

then you can still run down to WalMart

to get what you need to save your pups.

Weaning Your Pups

After your pups have nursed on the

mama for a few weeks, you will soon

need to wean them. Weaning pups is an

art form. It takes a lot of experience, and

a little bit of common sense, to wean

pups correctly. Let’s just say weaning

pups correctly is a whole lot more

complicated than merely pulling the pups

off the mama’s tits and putting them in a

different cage. Weaning your pups

correctly is the perfect balance

between making sure your pups have

gotten a good start on life and yet

don’t stay on the mama for so long

that they drain too much out of her.

With this frame of reference in mind, you

should begin the weaning process at

around 3½ weeks of age, and you should

conclude the weaning process at around

5 weeks of age. Getting pups off the

mama earlier than this puts them on their

own too prematurely, and leaving the

pups on the mama for longer than 5

weeks puts too much stress and

unnecessary burden on the mama’s entire

system.

Raising pups is hard work on the bitch.

She, quite literally, has 6-10 “hungry

parasites” in there with her, feasting on

her fluids, for as long as you leave those

pups in there with her. That is all pup-

pies really are to a bitch, is hungry

parasites that drain her of vital fluids

and resources. Your bitch’s body has to

work double-time lactating (producing

milk) in order to be able to satisfy these

hungry parasites, and in continually

providing nourishment for her hungry

little parasites (pups) she deprives her

own self of needed calories, vitamins,

and minerals.

What makes things worse is when a

bitch becomes pregnant, gestates, gives

birth, and lactates her hormonal changes

“trigger” something in her system which

causes all of the legitimate parasites

(primarily the cystic worms inside her)

to “come to life,” and these awakened

parasitic worms will be active again in

mama, with an ultimate aim to migrate

into new bodies (the young pups). Stated

another way, no matter how much you

worm any dog, many worms remain

untouched by the medication, safely

protected in “cystic” form deep within

her muscles. Well, when a bitch gets

pregnant, gestates, and lactates, all of

these “cystic” worms in her come to life,

because they get to pass from the mama

to the fetuses via the placenta, and they

also get passed from the mama to the

puppies via the milk supply. But the vast

majority of the worms stay with the

mama,

parasitizing her in full force.

The end result of this is, not only is your

bitch being parasitized by her hungry

puppies constantly from the outside, but

she is also being constantly being

parasitized by heavy worm infestation

from the inside. This is why so many

bitches look like complete hell after they

are done whelping a litter: they have

been ravaged by parasites, but from the

outside as well as from within. This is

also why I recommend such a heavy

worming protocol in the beginning of

this chapter, to

help nip that at the bud, and this is also

why you want to pull the pups off of

mama fairly quickly.

We will revisit the worming protocols in

the next section, but “weaning the pups”

is really more about the bitch’s health

than it is the pups’ health. You are

basically trying to get these hungry little

parasites off of your bitch, as quickly as

possible, in as soon a time as you can do

this (that is still good for the pups’ health

also). To do this, as soon as the pups get

to about 3½ weeks of age, you should

get in the habit of moving the bitch to

another pen first thing in the morning,

and leaving her there for the entire day.

Put her back in with the pups again only

at night. (This assumes the weather is not

freezing cold outside.) Always have an

extra, empty above-ground pen available

to place your bitch in to give her a break

from her pups. So (again, unless it is

winter-time) remove the bitch from the

pen at about 10 am and let her be by

herself for the remainder of the day until

about 6 pm to 8 pm, again depending on

the weather.

Now, while the pups are by themselves

in the pen they will be pooping in their

house all day long, so when you put them

back with the mama, do not put the mama

“back with them,” but rather put them in

the fresh cage with the clean mama.

After you do put the pups back with

mama, you will then have to take apart

the housing in the above-ground pen

where the pups were, hose and bleach

everything out, and prepare it again fresh

and clean for tomorrow, when you will

be taking the bitch out of “the other” pen

and placing her in the original once

again for her daily break. When the next

day’s break is over for her, you will then

take the pups out of “the other” pen and

bring them to the mama again in the

original cage. And, you guessed it, you

will have to take apart the housing

structure in the now-empty “other pen,”

hose and bleach everything out, so that

the following day you can repeat this

procedure once more.

This repeated “cage-swapping” I have

found to be critical in keeping the

puppies and mama parasite-free and also

to being able to keep a constant eye on

the progress of each pup. Because not

only are you giving the mama a break,

but the mama would be eating the poop

coming out of those pups all-day-long if

she were in there with them. And guess

what? One roundworm lays over

100,000 eggs a day. You read that right,

one roundworm lays a hundred-

thousand eggs a day. And when your

mama bitch is licking a litterful of

wormy assholes all day long, she is

eating literally millions of roundworm

eggs, all-day, every day. Giving her a

break from this during the day not only

prevents the pups from draining her of

countless calories all day, but it prevents

your bitch from ingesting the eggs of an

absolutely insane amount of roundworm

eggs all day too. And, finally, before you

bring those nasty, dirty little pups back

over to mama again, give them each a

quick warm bath first (again, if weather

permits), and then put them in a clean

crate to dry off first. While they’re

drying off offer them some food.

Obviously, cleaning the pups removes

still more worm eggs, plus an amazing

amount of filth, and then trying to feed

the pups after they have spent the whole

day “without mama’s milk” does two

things: (1) it increases the likelihood that

they will eat solid food now, because

they haven’t had access to mama all day,

and (2) when they do start eating solid

food, this means by the time you pass

them (now full) back over to mama

again, they won’t be draining her so

much when they get there either. This

will dramatically speedup the weaning

process. And when you cap that off with

you cleaning the now-empty pen you

pulled the pups out of with bleach every

day, you will be killing those blasted

worms with bleach, rather than mama,

and in so doing will remove a

tremendous parasite burden from her

(really, from both ends).

note: The best feed to wean pups with is

the Nature’s Variety Raw/Frozen diet

mentioned in Chapter 4. It saves you

time, it is completely balanced, and I

have never seen the pup that didn’t

devour it instantly. The only thing I

would recommend adding would be a

tablespoon of plain yogurt per two pups

(1 tBsp per 2 pups). This not only is for

added calcium, but the pups’ digestive

systems aren’t fully-functional yet, and

the yogurt has natural enzymes and

cultures to aid in the digestion.

note ii: If it is extremely cold outside,

and if you therefore have your bitch and

her pups indoors in a crate, you can still

follow this exact same protocol, only

with crates. Remove the mama for

“break periods” after the third week, to

prevent her from getting completely

drained-out, and re-introduce the pups to

her in the evenings again, in the new

crate, cleaning out the used nasty crate in

preparation for the rotation on the next

day. For this I recommend the huge #500

crates.

Yes, this protocol involves a lot of work

to do—but who said breeding dogs was

a cakewalk? Don’t worry though, that

“whole lotta work” will only last from

between Week 3 to Week 5 of the

puppies’ lives. In fact, once you get

passed Week 4 of the pups’ lives, and if

they’re eating real good by that time and

the weather is nice, you can sometimes

just leave mama out for a full day, and

begin putting her with them every

other day now. Again, what this does is

make the pups even more independent, it

prevents the bitch from being drained to

excess, but now what it does is the

bitch’s body will slowly realize that it

doesn’t need to produce milk

anymore, and so her lactation will begin

to shut down, and her teats will dry up

much more quickly and without incident.

Now compare this intelligent protocol to

the typical jackass who has his pups in

there with the mama 24/7, all-day,

every-day, for 8 weeks in a row (until

his bitch is a living skeleton). Not only

is this incredibly cruel and insensitive to

the bitch, who bears 100% of the full 3-

fold burdens of raising her hungry

parasitic pups, of carrying a full worm

parasite load, and then of eating every

piece of puppy poop all day, every day,

for two months—but then that same

jackass owner will just “remove the

bitch” from the pen (or crate) just like

that. One minute she’s supplying milk for

a litterful of 2-month pups, the next

minute there are no more mouths to feed.

Not only are the mama and her pups

teaming with worms by living like that

for two months straight, but the poor

bitch’s tits have been producing milk

like crazy all during this time too—and

they keep doing so when she’s taken

away—yet suddenly in one fell swoop

there are no more puppies around to

drink all this milk and relieve the

pressure in her teats anymore. So what

do you think happens then? That’s right

our poor, skinny, parasite-infested, shit-

covered bitch now develops a raging

case of mastitis in her huge and

enormous teats (that quickly swell to the

bursting point), all because her owner

had no idea how to gradually wean the

pups, as well as gradually slow-down

the bitch’s own milk production in the

process.

And sadly that is the tale of death that

happens to so many brood bitches it

would make your head swim. Even in

the cases where perhaps death doesn’t

result from such foolish practice, it still

causes miserable discomfort and agony

of no telling how many brood bitches,

again all because of ignorant owners

don’t know the first flippin’ thing about

animal husbandry and how to wean their

pups (and their bitch’s teats) properly to

begin with.

Anyway, once the puppies get closer to

being fully-weaned with Nature’s

Variety RawFrozen (beef), from there

you can gradually shift them onto either

the recommended raw diet in this book

(or to kibble) as they approach 8 to 12

weeks of age. Which way you go at that

point is up to you.

Worming Your Pups

Now, I mentioned worming at the

beginning of this chapter, and I also

mentioned the tremendous burden worms

can still be to the mother during the

weaning process. Therefore, not only

should you be engaged in the worming

process of the mother already

mentioned, but you should be worming

your pups (and your brood bitch) all

along the way as well. I have already

given you the preparatory worming

measures to take for your bitch, back in

the beginning of this chapter, but the

following are the measures you should

be taking after she whelps her pups and

while she is raising them..

Worming an Expectant Mama

Day Heat Begins Day Gives Birth (Dec. Regimen below)

(June Regimen below) 2 wks 4 wks

after delivery after delivery

6 wks See Adult Scheduleafter delivery

Worming Pups @ 2 wks @ 4 wks @ 6 wks @ 8

wks @16 wks Worm as adults after that

a dult

Wo r M I N g Schedule

Jan. Feb. March April May June July August Sept.

Oct. Nov. Dec.

* Ivomec * Ivomec * Pyrantel * Piperazine * Ivomec *

Pyrantel * Panacur

* Ivomec * Ivomec * Ivomec * Piperazine * Piperazine *

Pyrantel * Panacur

* Droncit

Continue worming both your bitch, and

her pups, beginning when the pups are 2

weeks of age. Worm both the mama and

her litter every two weeks thereafter.

You can stop the schedule for the mama

at the 6th week (since the pups are now

off her), but continue with the pups until

they are 16 weeks (4 months) of age.

Now as for what wormers to use, the

safest and most economical wormer for

your pups is pyrantel pamoate. This

drug gets all of the roundworms and

hookworms, but it gets neither

whipworms, nor heartworms. However,

since your young pups are so young they

will not likely have these other kinds of

worm yet, so pyrantel is the preferred

choice. I have discussed this drug in

depth in Chapter 6, so you can go there

for more info. But I recommend that you

use pyrantel pamoate on your pups until

they are 16 weeks (4 months) old, and

then switch them to

the adult schedule above.

The adult schedule is a rotational

schedule of many different wormers. A

rotational schedule is indicated simply

because if you use the same wormer

every month on all your dogs, for the rest

of their lives, the worms in your area

will eventually build resistance to that

one medication. By rotating various

wormers, you will prevent this kind of

resistance from happening, which is why

the above schedule is as it is.

The most effective and safest broad-

spectrum wormer for your pups and

brood bitch is Panacur ( fenbendazole),

which gets every kind of intestinal

worm, including whipworm, and one

species of tapeworm (though not every

kind). You may wonder, then, why I

don’t recommend the use of

fenbendazole over pyrantel, and the

reason is because of the drawbacks.

First of all, Panacur is very expensive,

and on top of this you have to use it 3

days in a row, twice a day, so it

ultimately becomes very expensive to

use. Further, it does not get heartworm

either. Now, the easiest-to-use wormer

of them all is Ivomec ( ivermectin), but

you have to wait until a pup is four

months old to use it. Ivomec does get

heartworm, where Panacur does not, but

Ivomec does not get tapeworm or

whipworm, which Panacur does.

There are other kinds of wormer, such as

moxidectin and piperazine, that can be

dangerous to a dog if over-used.

Moxidectin has literally killed dogs,

even at the proper dosage, so I wouldn’t

even use it at all. However, piperazine

(although it can cause temporary

neurological signs if overdosed) is not

technically dangerous, and so I do

recommend using it, as outlined, and in

the form and dosage that I relayed in

Chapter 6, once your pups are over 16

weeks of age. The bottom line to all of

this confusion is: you want to use

pyrantel pamoate on the repeated

wormings of your pups (and their

mother) during weaning. Pyrantel

pamoate is simply the cheapest to use,

the easiest to use, the least toxic to use

on pups—and gets the worms that your

pup is most likely to have (roundworm

& hookworm) just fine.

However, when you get to the last

worming of the pups at 16 weeks of age,

then you should conclude their worming

with a 3-day, twice-daily, rendezvous

with fenbendazole. After this final

worming, you can switch the pups to the

permanent adult worming schedule for

the rest of their lives.

How to Beat Parvovirus

Before we move on to the next chapter, I

feel it is essential to cover everybody’s

puppy nightmare, which has yet to

covered. I am not going to cover every

disease known to man that pups can

possibly get, but I will cover those that

are the most commonly-faced, most of

which has already been covered in

Chapter 6. Still, probably the worst thing

that can happen to any pup, or any litter

of pups, is to get hit over the head with

parvovirus. For this reason, I will be

discussing both the preventative

measures one should take to avoid this

disease first, as well as the corrective

mea- sures to take if you are faced with

an acquired case of this disease on your

yard:

Parvovirus Prevention

The saying “an ounce of prevention is

worth a pound of cure,” exists for a

reason: it is simply timeless and true. In

the case of parvovirus, yes, this means it

is better to keep all of your dogs up-

todate on their shots than it is to treat

your pups for parvovirus. This means

you should buy top-quality brand names,

not feed-store cheapies. When ordering

your shots from your vet catalogue make

sure you use names like Vanguard-Plus

by Pfizer, Progard by Intervet, Galaxy by Schering Plough,

or Duramune Max 5 by Fort Dodge.

These products are the best in their

class, as some of the lesser-known

brands (like Solvay) don’t cover any of

the new parvo strains that always come

out. What you need to understand is that

new strains of parvovirus are developing

all the time, as the disease mutates and

re-mutates, and the top brands of

inoculation stay current in their offerings

while the cheap brands do not. Thus

giving your dog inferior inoculations, by

using cheap brands, is basically like

injecting water into your dogs: they

essentially afford no true protection. In

fact, there is a brand new strain of

parvovirus (CPV 2C) that was

discovered in the United States in 2008,

last year. To inoculate properly, you give

your pups their first shot at 6 weeks,

their second shot at 9 weeks, and their

third shot at 12 weeks. For the 6-week

and 9-week shots, I use Vanguard Plus

5/CV, but whichever brand you use, do

not use the shots on your young pups that

contain leptospirosis prevention. Too

many cases have occurred where

puppies actually contract the disease

from the “modified” live virus. Although

this can happen from the “modified” live

parvo shot too, the signs are

easier to see and treat.

Once your pups reach maturity, you no

longer want to use high-titer “plus” or

“max” type vaccines at all—adults don’t

need that much kick in their shots.

Therefore, after your pup gets his last

shot of the series, you can let him go for

a whole year after that without another

booster. From that point on, the dog can

get a yearly booster shot, but these shots

are going to be a step down in potency

from the high-titer shots. For instance,

the product Vanguard has its product

Vanguard 5/CVL (notice: this is not

Vanguard-“Plus” anymore, it is just

regular Vanguard now). The reason for

this is only puppies need highly-

concentrated inoculations; adults simply

need a casual booster by comparison

You may be asking, “Why don’t I just

rely on my vet to give the shots?” , and

here’s your answer: Many vets use

inferior products (like Solvay) to cut

costs. Besides the desire of many vets to

cut costs by using inferior products, and

then charging 8x more for them than what

you can get them for from your catalogue

—there is also another motivation for

your vet to use inferior products: if your

dog gets sick, guess who is going to

make money when it comes time to treat

it? Don’t get me wrong, most vet are

ethical (to varying degrees), but it’s hard

to tell which ones are sometimes. And,

no matter how ethical your vet may be,

he or she still charges you a whole lot

more than what you really need to pay

for easily-accessible items, such as

shots. Why spend $625 to give 25 pups

their first shot each, when you can spend

between $125 and do the same thing at

home? Further, since you have to give

out three shots to each pup, why spend a

total of $1875.00 to let your vet give 25

pups their 3-series shots, when you only

have to spend between $175 and $375 to

do it yourself.

But regardless of what you do, if you

begin the inoculation of your puppies by

boosting the mother first, before you

even breed her (as relayed in the

beginning), and then if you keep your

pups in above-ground pens, fed good

food and wormed-out properly, and if

you give them their preventative shots at

ages 6-weeks, 9-weeks, and 12-weeks,

with a top-quality brand like

VanguardPlus, your pups simply will not

get parvo(or corona, or distemper, etc.).

Parvovirus Treatment

But suppose your dogs do get parvo.

Suppose you forgot to give your pups

their shots, or suppose you bought a new

pup from some breeder who failed to

give the poor guy his shots—what do

you do? How can you beat the dreaded

parvovirus, should this disease rear its

ugly head on your dog yard?

The first step is, once again, a good

game plan. With parvo what you must

understand to treat this disease

effectively is that many things are

happening to your pup all at once: (1)

His stomach is being attacked

(massacred) by the virus and he may be

bleeding internally; (2) in some cases

the puppy’s heart is being attacked also,

in which case the heart will be too weak

to clear the lungs of all fluids, which

excess fluids can drown a pup; (3) the

pup’s body responds to these attacks by

trying to expel the disease through

repeated vomiting which weakens the

pup even further; and (4) the pup’s body

responds by trying to expel the disease

via another route, by repeated diarrhea,

which again weakens the pup still

further. Actually, more is happening to

your poor pup, but we will simplify it by

listing just these four most-major ill

effects. I think you can now see why a

pup will die very quickly from parvo

without some major help—and fast.

The single most important factor to a

successful outcome in treating parvo is

to catch it early. This means you don’t

take what’s left your pup (if anything) to

the vet after the 3rd day you let it heave

its guts out in deathly-ill agony, it means

you nip the disease at the bud by jumping

on it the moment your pup acts funny.

Signs to Look For:

♦ If your puppy starts looking depressed, or

appears listless, you should

immediately become concerned, as these

are the first signs of parvo(and any

number of other similar diseases). It may

be nothing and it may go away—or it

may be the beginning of the end;

♦ The next stage of parvo is your puppy

refuses to eat. Puppies will still

continue to drink water, even if they

have parvo, so don’t be fooled by this;

♦ Soon after the puppy refuses to eat, he

will begin to vomit—and vomit. After

this the diarrhea comes, which is

oftentimes bloody and has a nasty smell.

In severe cases of parvo, the pup’s lungs

fill with fluid, because the disease is

attacking the heart, and the puppy will

literally drown in his own juice. If you

let your puppy’s symptoms get this far,

the chances of saving it are slim. Most

people wait and wait, until it is too late

to save the pup. You cannot wait for

vomiting and diarrhea to occur before

you decide to act. If you value the life of

your pup, you must act before these

stages occur.

When to Act:

If your puppy refuses to eat at its normal

time, and it seems either slow, lethargic,

or depressed, immediately take it to the

vet for a microscopic analysis for the

following four (4) conditions:

coccidiosis, giardia, coronavirus, and

parvovirus. It is better to spend $50 on a

false alarm than to have to bury your pup

out of laziness and negligence. It is

essential to have your pup checked out

for all four of these potential diseases in

order to treat your pup properly. All of

these conditions have similar symptoms,

but the first two are protozoan

infections, while the last two are viral

infections. If the problem turns out to be

one of the first two, either coccidia or

giardia, these can be easily-treated by

referring to my “Saving Money”

information on Chapter 6. Use the

combination method outlined there, of

Flagyl and TMZ, and your pups will be

fine. The first two infections of either

coccidia or giardia are not usually as

severe as the other two (viral)

infections, but any of these diseases can

kill a pup if left unattended.

However, if the problem proves to be

parvo(or the less-severe coronavirus),

then you will want to immediately get

your pup on the human drug Tamiflu (

Oseltamivir phosphate). It has been

proven time and again that Tamiflu will

CURE PARVO. For decades, no drug

known to man would effectively cure

parvovirus, but now it has been proven

beyond all doubt that Tamiflu will.

However, you will need your vet to

write you a prescription for this drug.

Make sure he prescribes the children’s

liquid suspension form of Tamiflu,

because it is easiest to measure. This

suspension contains 12 mg/ ml of the

active ingredient, which is dosed at

1mg/lb, BID. This means a 5-lb pup

would need 5 mg. If you do the math 5

mg would be contained in just over 0.4

ml (i.e., just over 4/10ths of a ml) of the

suspension. A 6 lb puppy would need 6

mg, so he would get exactly 0.5 ml (i.e.,

½ ml) of the suspension. Again, there are

12 mg. of the drug oseltamivir

phosphate for every 1 ml of the

suspension, so you will just have to do

the math for your particular pup based

on his weight. (This again proves why it

is so important to have a postal scale

onhand at all times. After you give your

pup his first dose, you then give this

same dosage every 12 hours, for 5

days in a row.

I cannot stress this to you strongly

enough that the early use of Tamiflu

can cure your pups of parvovirus(or

coronavirus) literally almost

overnight. However, if you wait too

long and let the disease take root,

Tamiflu becomes less effective.

Therefore, if your fecal exam turns up

positive for one of these two viruses, it

is imperative that you have your vet

write you a prescription for Tamiflu, on

the spot, and that you administer this

drug to your pups ASAP: the sooner you

get this drug in your pups, the greater the

chance they will survive. It’s as simple

as that. If you wait too long to use this

drug, it will do no good. Early

administration is essential.

One more thing to keep in mind is that

some vets WON’T write you a

prescription for this drug at all, as (in

their own ignorance) many vets have

never heard of this treatment. I myself

had this happen to me, where my vet

refused to write me this prescription

when I first asked him to. Fortu-

nately for me, my vet called me back

after about an hour and admitted that he

just researched the subject on his own,

and he found out I was right. So my vet

called in the ‘script to a local pharmacy

and I was able to administer the drug to

my pup and save him in the process.

Therefore, the smartest thing you can do

is prepare yourself in advance, by

ordering Tamiflu ahead of time, online

without a prescription, utilizing the

Thailand-based company One-Drugstore

Online mentioned elsewhere in this

book, but here is the info again:

http://www.1drugstore-online.com

This company only sells Tamiflu in

capsule form, however, but you can still

do the math and administer this drug. If

you have a 35 mg capsule, just dump it

in a large syringe and add 10 ml of

water, shake well, and you now have a

3.5 mg/ml solution. You can call your

vet right now and see if he’ll give you a

‘script, and if he will do this for you,

great. You are now prepared that way, as

he is willing to write you a ‘script when

you need it. But if your vet won’t do this,

then order Tamiflu in ad- vance from

One-Drugstore Online. Don’t wait until

your pups already have parvo before you

take action, because it takes about 2-3

weeks to get your products from One-

Drugstore Online. Order Tamiflu well in

advance.

Well, suppose you don’t have Tamiflu,

either onhand or available from your vet.

Suppose that you ignored all my good

advice here and didn’t prepare yourself

in advance. And now you have a pup that

looks sick and you just know that it’s

parvo. If you have confirmed that your

puppy has one (or more) of these

diseases ( parvo, corona, coccidia, or giardia), you should immediately bring

your pup indoors—and I would

recommend that it be the bathroom or the

kitchen, as most likely the floors will be

tiled or made of linoleum—and, since

your puppy will be vomiting and def-

ecating profusely, you want to be able to

clean it quickly and completely. Yes, it

will be smelly and disgusting, but the

smell will go away—death, however,

will not—so clarify your values. If your

puppy has parvo, and you leave it

outside, especially at night when it cools

down, I assure you it will die.

Anyway, once you’ve found the

appropriate spot in the house in which to

keep the pup, make sure that the

temperature is comfortable: not too cool

nor too warm, comfortable. It is then

imperative that you obtain the following

supplies:

♦ At least 4 1000 ml Bags of Saline

Solution or Lactated Ringers (IV fluids)

plus the catheter set ups and needles.

You will not be running these fluids IV,

but SC (under the skin). a) Ask your vet

to provide you with the ringers. If your

vet will not, he is a money-grubber, and

I would advise you to go to another vet.

In fact, I would clearly establish with

your vet whether or not he or she would

provide you with such supplies before it

ever becomes necessary. Don’t wait

until there is a life-threatening

emergency before you find out that your

vet won’t help you. When you first get

your pup ask your vet straight-up “If my

dog ever caught parvo, and I couldn’t

afford the treatment, would you supply

me with fluids?” If your vet says no,

find a new vet. If he will get you the

ringers, try to keep a supply on hand

before such an emergency. An ounce of

prevention is worth a pound of cure. b)

If you are in an emergency situation, or if

you can’t find a vet who will say “Yes”

to the above question, ask yourself if you

know anyone in the nursing or medical

profession, either as suppliers or as

administrators. Try to get the fluids in

this way. But you need to get the

fluids.

♦ The next step is to get 4 Bottles of

Pedialyte. You can obtain this at any

supermarket or drugstore. Pedialyte is a

fluid/electrolyte replacement drink for

babies who have had chronic diar- rhea

and vomiting, and it is absolutely

essential to the recovery of your pup.

This is another good item always to have

on hand.

♦ Get a bottle of Immodium AD, or any

other anti-diarrhea medication. ♦ Get an

anti-nausea medication.

♦ Get a bottle of injectable Penicillin.

♦ Get a 20 ml syringe. Always have

these on hand.
♦ Get at least 20 16-gauge needles ¾ to

1” long. Always have these on hand. ♦

Buy some cotton balls (or gauze pads).

♦ Buy a bottle of Betadine, or some

other topical disinfectant.

♦ Buy some Nutri-Cal, or some other

calorie-replacement supplement. ♦ Buy

some white rice.

♦ Buy (or make) some chicken broth.

How To Use This Stuff:

Immediately weigh your dog and

determine how much fluids he needs.

You can do this by remembering this

basic rule: all animals need

approximately 30 ml of fluid per 1 lb

of bodyweight, per day. Therefore, a 5-

lb pup needs 150 ml of fluid (5-lb x 30

ml) per day; a 10-lb pup needs 300 ml of

fluid per day, a 20-lb pup needs about

600 ml of fluids per day, etc.

After you determine what amount of

fluids your pup needs for the whole day,

then divide this number by ½. For

example, if a 5-lb pup needs 150 ml a

day, then give him 75 ml of fluid under

the skin. Before you do, make sure the

ringers are body temperature. You do

not want either to chill, or to overheat,

your pup. Remember: body temperature.

Make sure you have installed the tubing

to the bag of fluids properly, and that all

of the air bubbles have been washed out

. Give it a test to see if it works. When

you’re sure it does, use a cotton ball and

some Betadine to cleanse the puppy’s

skin, and then insert the needle you’ve

placed at the end of the catheter tube

under the puppy’s skin.

There are two key injection points to administer

your puppy’s SC fluids from: (1) under the skin to

one side of the neck (can be either side), and (2)

under the skin to one side of his kidneys(can be

either side also). You just pull the skin out, aim the

needle straight down into (and just under) the skin

parallel to the puppy’s neck/side, without actually

touching any meat. Insert the needle and

administrate the fluids. For the next administration,

you simply alternate from Point 1 to Point 2, and alternate sides of the dog used as well.

There are two key injection points to

insert the needle: Key Point 1 is in the

hide of his neck, off to either the left or

the right side. Picture giving a pup a

giant booster shot. You do not stick the

needle directly into the puppy’s neck or

spine, what you do is simply pull-out the

puppy’s skin with the fingers of one

hand, and then gently push the 16-gauge

needle straight down and just under the

surface hide of the skin with the other

hand. You do not want to be in meat at

all, you want to be between the hide and

the meat. This is what is meant by “sub-

cutaneous”: just under the skin. The

reason you do it to one side or the other

of the puppy’s neck is that when you are

done, there will be a huge lump of fluid

that has amassed under his skin, and if

it’s on the side of his neck, said fluid

will drain and spread-out under the pup

after awhile. Key Point 2: The second

prime injection point you want to use is

right alongside his kidney area. Notice I

did not say “in” his kidney, I said

alongside his kidney area. Once again,

you just pull-out the hide, insert the

needle just under the skin, aim straight

down, but do NOT go into any meat at

all. You then just run the fluids in the gap

between skin and body. Again, a big

lump will develop when you’re done,

which fluids will soon drain down under

him, which is what you want.

Whichever location (1 or 2) you start

with, doesn’t matter. Simply

administrate the appropriate amount of

fluids into your pup (a ½-day’s dose) by

releasing the valve on the catheter at full

tilt. When the appropriate amount of

fluids has gone into your pup, withdraw

the needle back out and then pinch the

hole left by the needle for a few seconds

so the fluids don’t run back out of the

pup. The “appropriate amount” to give

your pup is, again, one-half of your full

daily fluid dose calculation for his

bodyweight.

note: If your puppy has been vomiting

and or has had profuse diarrhea prior to

his first

administration of fluids, give him

twice the recommended amount (a full

day’s dose) on his very first dose,

because you will need to do this just to

bring him up to par. And, from there, you

can then go back to the recommended

amount for his next dose twelve hours

later, etc. IF YOU HAVE ANY

PROBLEMS UNDERSTANDING ANY

OF THIS, CONSULT A

VETERINARIAN FOR ADVICE

BEFORE YOU WORK ON YOUR PUP.

After you have given your pup his first

dose of SC fluids, continue to give him

the recom- mended ½-daily dose, every

12 hours until your puppy has

recovered. With each administration of

fluids, you will switch from either Key

Point 1 above (if that’s where you

started), or Key Point 2 above (if that’s

where you started), to the other Key

Point. You will also alternate sides of

the body with each administration.

For example, let’s say I found my pup

had been vomiting and had diarrhea all

day when I came home from work. I

would want to give him a full day’s

dose, then and there, not just a ½-dose,

because he is already severely

dehydrated. Thus on his first

administration, I need to bring him back

up to par with a full-day’s dose. So let’s

say the pup weighed seven pounds. 7 lb

times 30 ml/lb = 210 ml total. Thus 210

ml is what I have to give my pup, in

total, every day. Because he was already

dehydrated when I found him, I am going

to give him the full dose right now, and

then I will give him another twelve

hours later, which will be a ½-dose. I

decide to use Key Point 2 for my first

administra- tion, and so I pull-out the

hide by his right kidney and, with the

needle parallel to his body (and

pointing straight down), I insert the

needle just under his hide and let the

saline solution (or ringers) run full-

throttle until the full 210 ml of fluids

have emptied. When I am done, the pup

will have a *huge* swelling, and when I

pull-out the needle some of the fluids are

going to start leaking out of that hole. So

I pinch the hole in his skin for about 5

min until the little hole in his hide has

sealed off. Okay now, the next morning,

12 hours later, the pup is due for his

fluids again, and so from now on I am

going to administer his ½-dose every 12

hours, not his full dose. The original full

dose I gave to start him off was just to

catch him back up to normal. Now, since

I had used the right side of Key Point 2

last night, I am now going to switch to

the left side of Key Point 1 for this

morning’s administration. In other

words, not only do I rotate from each

Key Point injection site (be it the neck or

kidney area) with each new application,

but I also rotate the side of the body I use

too. And I keep this rotation protocol up,

in sequence, until the pup can eat and

drink on his own.

Another example: Let’s say I wake up in

the morning and a different pup comes

out of his pen. He hasn’t vomited yet,

nor has he had any diarrhea yet, but he

just “looks sick” and won’t eat his food.

Rather than waiting and waiting for him

to actually get sick, and to actually get

dehydrated, what I do is go ahead and

weigh the dog and start him on fluids

before he actually needs them. This pup,

let’s say, weighs six pounds. Again 6 lb

x 30 ml/lb = 180 ml of fluid my pup will

need for the whole day. However, this

time, he isn’t actually dehydrated yet, so

there is no reason for me to run the

whole day’s amount into him right now,

so what I do is give him a preventative

½-dose to prepare him well in

advance. Okay, well half of 180 equals

90 ml, so what I decide to do his give

him his first administration on the left

side of Key Point 1. Now if I had my

meds (Trimethoprim/Flagyl and/ or

Tamiflu), this would be the perfect time

to get these meds into my pup, before he

is full-blown sick. This type of

preparation gives a tremendous

advantage to the pup, and attacks the

problem before the pup himself is fully-

attacked. Yet even if I don’t have a

single med in my cabinet, these fluids

alone can be a life-saver. Now, on my

second dose of fluids, I select the right

side of Key Point 2, so as again to

alternate both the side of the dog used as

well as the basic injection areas. I hope

the proper way to give fluids has been

made clear.

The reason why the SC fluids are so

important to fighting parvo is that they get

absorbed for sure, slowly over time.

There is no way for the dog to vomit

them back out, as many pups can and do

vomit-out what they’re given if they’re

given fluids orally. Other than the meds

described above, SC fluids are the most

critical factor to a pup’s surviving a full-

blown case of parvo. Anyway, after you

administer the first dose of SC fluids,

you can leave a bowl of Pedialyte in

there with the pup. I recommend

Pedialyte over water because it contains

critical electrolytes that water doesn’t

have.

However, if parvo strikes your yard and

you are really a dummy [which means

you don’t have (or can’t get) Tamiflu, on

top of which you don’t have (or can’t

get) 4 bags of fluids for your pup for

your pup either], then the Pedialyte is

going to have to become your primary

line of

fluid defense to save your pup. Again, if

you do have the 4 bags of fluids, then

just leave the Pe - dialyte in a bowl and

let the pup drink what he wants.

However, if Pedialyte is all the fluids

your pup is going to get, then you need

to measure the amount of Pedialyte

you are giving him. The amount of

fluids to give via Pedialyte is going to

be the same as the SC fluids,

approximately 30 ml of fluid per 1 lb of

bodyweight.

The trouble with giving fluids via

Pedialyte is the fact your pup can vomit

the fluids back out, where he can’t do

this when you give him fluids under the

skin. This is why giving SC fluids is

preferred. Moreover, because a pup’s

stomach will be weak you will also

have to break the amounts of fluids down

to much more manageable quantities.

You can’t make a sick little pup drink 90

ml of water twice a day, so you will

have to break it down in much smaller

increments.

For instance, let’s pretend our 6-lb pup

needs his 180 ml of fluids a day, but

because we were unprepared dummies,

with no fluids on hand and no Tamiflu

either, we have to give our pup these

fluids via Pedialyte only. Okay, to do

this we just dump 180 ml of fluids into a

water bowl. 180 ml of Pedialyte is what

our 6-lb pup needs for the day. What we

are going to do is let him drink naturally,

if he will, and supplement him at the

same time. We have to give him the oral

Pedialyte every 2 hours now, which will

be 12 doses overall by the end of a 24-

hour period. 180 ml divided by 12 equal

parts is 15 ml, which means you need to

give your 6-lb pup 15 ml of Pedialyte

every 2 hours. Now if the pup vomits

some back out, then we have to wait

awhile and try again. This is why the

anti-nausea medication is so critical (see

below).

To give the Pedialyte, take your 20 ml

syringe (no needle, just the syringe) and

withdraw Pedialyte into it. Sit the puppy

down between your legs, with his back

to you, and then tilt his head back so he’s

looking up. Put the syringe in his mouth

(again, without a needle) and gradually

disperse the appropriate amount of

Pedialyte, until it’s swallowed. Be

careful of gagging or choking the pup. If

your puppy vomits the Pedialyte back

out, withdraw some more out of the

bottle and put some more right back in

the pup’s mouth, until he keeps the

proper amount down. Yes it can be

messy, but it is absolutely essential to

his life that he retain fluids. Remember,

if he throws it up, he doesn’t have it in

him, so you’ve got to withdraw more

and put it back, until he keeps it down.

Do this every two hours until your pup is

better and can drink on his own.

Give your pup ½ ml of Nutri-Cal (per 10

lb. of body weight), orally, every two

hours after his dose of Pedialyte. This

will give your pup some rich nutrients

that, believe me, he really is going to

need.

An hour after he kept his dose of

Pedialyte down, give your pup 1 ml of

Immodium AD antidiarrhea orally, per

10 lb. of body weight (using a 3 ml

syringe without a needle). Do this every

four hours. Again, if he throws it up, put

it back in. Sometimes, however,

Immodium AD can irritate the dog’s

stomach. If you notice your pup keeps

down the Pedialyte, but vomits right

after you give him the Immodium AD,

then you should probably forget about

using the Immodium. It is much more

critical that your dog get the fluids and

nutrients, so if your dog reacts to the

Immodium (or Pepto Bismol, or

whatever), stop using it.

Give your pup 1 ml anti-nausea

medication, every 4 hours, right after his

Immodium AD, and in exactly the same

way, as with the above. Again, if your

pup seems to be reacting to this too,

forget about using it, and just concentrate

on the fluids—the fluids are the most

important part. [By the way, if your pup

really is having a tough time keeping

anything down, take him to the vet for a

shot of Reglan ( Metoclopramide), 0.05

mg/lb to 0.23 mg/lb, 3x/day. This

injectable drug will chemically settle the

dog’s stomach, stopping his nausea, and

thereby allowing him to drink his fluids.

More- over, vomiting is incredibly

debilitating to a dog, which is reason

enough to seek this drug.]

Give your pup a shot of penicillin. Only

give him this shot once a day as a

preventative. Use a 3 ml syringe, with a

¾”, 22-gauge needle. Administer ¼ ml

of penicillin for every 5 lb of body

weight. Simply withdraw this amount

into the syringe and then point the needle

upwards. Flick your finger against the

syringe so that all of the air bubbles go

to the top. Depress the plunger of the

syringe, with the needle still pointed

upward, until all of the air has been

removed. Then deliver an intramuscular

injection. To do this, disinfect the skin of

the meaty portion of one of the pup’s

rear legs, and insert the needle just to the

rear of the center of the meatiest part.

note: There is a large nerve that runs

down the centerline of the pup’s rear leg,

and you want to avoid damaging this

nerve—ask your vet if you are unsure of

what you are doing. Avoid sticking the

dog in the center, and instead push the

needle in off to one side, about half-way

into the flesh, and then depress the

plunger all the way to deliver the

penicillin. Contrary to popu - lar

ignorance, the penicillin does not harm

the parvovirus(or corona, coccidia, or whatever). What the penicillin does is

prevent secondary infection. Again, only

give the penicillin once day, and switch

back and forth between each of the pup’s

rear legs, with each injection, to allow

healing. Vigorously rub a cotton ball

with Betadine over the injection site

both before and after each injection.

Other than that, mix the cooked white

rice with a little chicken broth and see if

your pup will eat it. If he doesn’t eat it,

throw it all away and make a new batch

six hours later, and try again. Keep

trying every six hours until the pup

begins to nibble at it. Never give up on

your pup until it either dies or eats. Keep

trying and don’t lose hope. Speak kindly

and lovingly to your pup, and stay with

him as often as possible to give him

moral support.

[Remember when you were a child, how

much better it felt to have your parent(s)

close to you when you were sick? Your

puppy’s spirits are raised too when

you’re around to comfort him. Never

underestimate the power of love in

healing the very sick.]

If your puppy begins to eat again, you’ve

made it. Do not feed your pup his regular

meal at this point, as his stomach lining

is much too sensitive to tolerate it, but

you can add some NutriCal to the rice

and chicken broth as well as some solid

pieces of cooked chicken (never feed

raw to a sick dog). Feeding the pup

cooked chicken and rice will do two

things: 1) it will give him some nutrition,

and 2) it will begin to firm-up his stool.

As the pup’s stool begins to firm up, you

can begin to switch him back to his

regular diet after about two days,

gradually increasing the change-over,

until his stool is completely firm again,

and his rice is completely replaced by

his regular food.

If your pup dies, and you did all of the

above, please understand that even under

24 hr. veterinary care, pups still have a

high mortality rate with parvovirus, and

reassure yourself that you did everything

you possibly could. In fact, many vets

will tell you that a pup has a much

greater chance of survival staying at

home, with this kind of treatment,

because of the supportive care, and

familiar surroundings, that only his home

could offer. There are certain things such

as jugular IV fluid therapy, and plasma

transfusions, which of course you are not

set up to perform at home—but

remember, this advice is for those who

cannot afford to take their pup to a vet.

I invite you to show this advice to your

vet and have him clarify, explain, or

amend any of these steps until you feel

comfortable with all of the procedures.

Parvovirus, etc. is serious business, and

the better you understand these

procedures, and the quicker you act on

implementing them when you see the

first signs of parvo, the better chance

your pup has of pulling through this

critical disease. These are important

lessons to learn. I hope you never

experience parvovirus with any of your

dogs; it’s a terrible disease. And if you

take my advice and inoculate as I have

laid out you never will.

But, if you do get parvo on your yard,

remember Tamiflu is #1, and SC Fluids

are #2. If your problem is coccidia or

giardia, then get your TMZ/Flagyl

combination going. If you are not sure

what you’re dealing with, just use both

the Tamiflu and the TMZ/Flagyl together

as early in the game as you can. I hope

this section will assist you in saving the

life of your beloved pup, and if your pup

makes it, congratulations.

Conclusion

This wraps-up the end of Chapter 10 and

with it the end of Book I as well. There

are many diseases and parasites that

might affect your dogs, besides the ones

mentioned in this book, and there is

simply no way that I can adequately

cover every single canine malady known

to man and still do justice to the other

aspects of bulldog ownership that I need

to cover next.

The good news is, I have covered the

major problems that you will be facing

95% of the time. As someone who has

raised a yard of 15-80 dogs for two

decades running, I can honestly say that

worms, mange, coccidia/ giardia,

babesia, fleas/ticks, and the other

problems that have been addressed in

this book are what you yourself will be

facing 95% of the time, and so

essentially the other diseases “don’t

matter.”

Yes, I realize that other diseases (like

pyometra, for instance) can matter very

much, but this is why I leave you with a

final “tip” for this session: go buy

yourself The Merck veTerinary Manual for

these other potential problems. The 50th

Anniversary (9th) Edition of The Merck

VeTerinary Manual is a 2,600-page

montage of just about every disease or

problem your dog can get under the sun.

Get that book!

My book is the best bulldog-specific

book on the market, but The Merck

VeTerinary Manual is the best disease-

specific book you can have in your

library. No it doesn’t teach you how to

save money like my book does, but

between the The Merck VeTerinary Manual

and my book, you should have all you

ever need to have in the way of

knowledge about these dogs.

And so now I present to you Book II ...

Book II

Specialized Performance

Knowledge

Introduction II

Before I get into the “sportive” aspect of

these dogs, I again remind the reader that

it is illegal to actually do most of what

will be discussed in this Book, both in the

United States as well as in many other

countries. I write this book not because I

wish to organize, promote, or endorse

the violation of any federal, state, or

local laws. Far from it. I have

repeatedly advised in this Book (and I

continue to advise) that people not

break any laws of any kind but that they

obey them.

Still, there remain some countries where

this sport is still legal, and there are

those small percentage of bulldog

owners in this country who will continue

to contest their pit bulls against each

other anyway, despite the laws against

the sport. And so the purpose of the

second half of this Book is not to

“endorse” or “promote” their activities,

but to educate those “who are going to

do this anyway” on how to do so with

the least possible trauma or abuse to

their animals, and to remind them to

keep the original purpose of this sport in

mind, which is producing and showing

superior athletes, not in wasting them.

I have covered in the beginning, via the

INtroductIoN and Prelude of Book I, my

stance that the laws against dogfighting

in our country are absurd and ignorant,

and I have stated unimpeach- able

evidence for my position, so I am not

going to re-hash all of that here. Yet

despite how ridiculous, ignorant,

hypocritical, and short-sighted these

laws are—the fact is, these are the laws

and the reader would do well just to

obey them.

My suggestion to anyone serious enough

about pursuing the sport of dogs is

simply to leave the country and pursue

your passions where this sport is still

legal. Countries like Japan, The

Dominican Republic, and Brazil come to

mind. If you are going to use the second

half of this Book to contest your dogs, it

would simply be wise to do so in a

country where it is still legal. I can think

of several dogmen who have actually

done this. For that matter, many of you

who have bought this book are already

in a country where this is still legal,

either by birth or by design, so enjoy the

information in Book II because it will

help you and your dogs succeed in the

best possible fashion.

But those of you in the United States who

are going to use this half of the Book are

doing so against my recommendations,

because my recommendations are not to

do it at all in this country. There are

many other positive ways in which to

enjoy these dogs, as I myself have

enjoyed them without contesting a single

dog in over 12 years. For that matter, all

of the references to my personal

knowledge of these matters of

dogfighting came through experiences I

gained more than ten years ago, or from

phone conversations with active

dogmen, and not from any direct

personal experience in more than a

decade. This is a documented fact as the

last mention of any dog sport activity

where my involvement was documented

in any magazine (or anywhere else) was

in November of 1995, after which time I

quit the sport of dogs. Yet I have always

remained interested and committed to the

breed. Again, in the same fashion as

many good people quit drinking alcohol

when the ridiculous Prohibition Laws

were enacted years ago, and yet they

remained interested in alcohol and the

day they could have another sip of wine.

Therefore, what I am about to write and

relay should neither be construed as my

organizing or promoting any illegal

activity, nor should it be construed as my

admission of having committed any

illegal activity in the past, not for more

than a decade anyway. My purpose for

writing this section is merely to help

the dogs, the dogs who are going to be

contested anyway, with or without the

laws, and with or without your or my

approval.

I know for a fact that there is a right way

to go about this sport, and a wrong way,

and this Book is merely to tell the right

way—for the betterment of the dogs who

are going to be put in that position, and

for the betterment of what’s left of this

breed, if it is to remain alive.

~ John A. Koerner II

Chapter 11

The Five Keys to Success

Before I get into the deeper subjects of

schooling, testing, and conditioning these

dogs, I want you to keep in mind

throughout this book that there is a whole

lot more to long-term success as a

dogman than “winning a show” or in

stumbling upon “a proven producer.”

True success in these dogs has to do

with a person being able to take the

excellent dogs he acquires, to keep them

alive first of all (and you will be

surprised at how many imbeciles can’t

even do that), but after that the

successful dogman is able to perpetuate

the original excellence in his dogs

indefinitely. This means that the

successful dogman will be a builder,

which means he will still have super,

winning dogs 25 years down the road—

all linebred and built-upon the original

stock he started with.

This seems simple enough, but in point

of fact it is not. Like playing tennis on an

elite level, or performing well at

anything on an elite level, perpetuating

canine excellence on an elite level

indefinitely requires a bountiful

complexity of natural aptitudes, learned

skills, and acquired savvy on all aspects

of your dogmanship. Book I covered the

most important aspects of long-term

success, which is simple care-giving and

husbandry, and now Book II will cover

“the less than 1%” of these dogs, which

is the sporting aspect.

And just as most people don’t feed right,

house right, kennel right, or use the right

products, materials, and medications in

their care-giving, so too do most dogmen

fail to do anything right in the sport of

these dogs as well. The truth is, most

dogmen are incompetent in all aspects

of their dogmanship. Most dogmen

can’t think beyond “today”: they don’t

feed well, they don’t school properly,

they test their dogs either too hard, too

much, or too young (or all of the above),

and I would venture to guess that if you

placed a truly great dog in the hands of

99% of any randomlyselected so-called

dogman, that this person would “drop

the torch” he was passed, and that he

would f^@#-up a wet dream. And the

average idiot in these dogs will

continue to fail in some aspect of his

job as a caregiver every time he is

passed a new torch.

What I am trying to say is most people

manage to mess-up their excellent dogs,

or they lose them altogether, which

forever forces them to “start over again”

looking to buy another excellent dog. Yet

sadly, regardless of how superb the new

dog is that they get, or how well-bred,

when most people get their hands on

such a good dog they will invariably

“fumble the ball” at some point—and

they will ultimately lose their good dog

and all of the superb genetics behind

him. And, sadly, the average dogman

will commit this stupidity within the first

1-2 years of acquiring that good animal,

and he will do this repeatedly, time-and-

again, with every new good dog he gets

his hands on.

Most dogmen are simply incompetent

fumblers of all that they get their hands

on. Okay, let’s be real here: we have all

fumbled the ball at some point: mistakes

are part of learning. But only a very few

dogmen seem to be able to regroup to the

point where they “get it,” and from that

moment forward to be able to set

themselves up to “score consistent

touchdowns” with what they get their

hands on after that. The vast majority of

dogmen will forever “drop the ball,”

and they will forever fall flat on their

face, seemingly each and every time they

get a new good dog.

If you think I am exaggerating, then

really take a good look at most dogmen,

and really analyze the fate of every good

dog they acquired. How long were they

able to hang onto that good dog, and

what kind of perpetual breeding

management were they able to do with

that dog, to further that good dog’s

genetics? Did the dog go all the way? If

so (or if not), were these people able to

establish a bloodline with their good

dog? How long were they even able to

keep that good dog alive? These are

tough questions, cutting questions, but

the answers will serve to slash a clear

and dividing line between who has

succeeded and who has failed in their

overall concern, competence, and

management of the good animals they get

their hands on.

In fact, really take a good look at

yourself as a dogman, and answer these

same questions along the way. Analyze

the fate of every good dog you have

acquired, how long you were able to

hang onto it, what really in fact you were

able to do with your good dogs, and see

if anything truly lasting has happened

with them, thanks to you and your

actions. Because, if you pay attention,

you will see that most dogmen simply

cannot maintain the excellence they

acquire. They lose the excellence they

were blessed with, more often than not,

and/or they fail to manage

their good dogs’ gene pool well, more

often than not, and if you are real with

yourself you will ultimately see that

almost every dogman you know

(including that guy in your mirror) is

forever “starting over again” with new

stock because of this consistent fumbling

and inability to hang onto the ball. And

there is a reason for this!

That reason is because most dogmen

simply cannot make effective

decisions with their dogs, on any level,

as said decisions relate to proper

management of their acquired animals

from a long-term perspective.

On the other hand, if you do know

anyone who has kept his excellent dogs

alive for a number of years, and who has

managed to keep that genetic excellence

going for a number of years with an

established bloodline based on his

original good dogs, why then you know

of a successful dogman, don’t you?

You see, many times a lesser dogman

will happens to “stumble” upon a super

individual dog (and/or a super

individual producer), and he will get all

high on himself—but if you pay close

attention you will also notice that the

bozo will lose the good dog just as

suddenly as he came upon it. Remember,

momentarily “stumbling” upon an

excellent dog isn’t where it’s at.

Stumbling about is still the mark of

blindness, even when a person briefly

stumbles upon success, because that

person (since he has no true

competence) will just as quickly stumble

right back out of his fleeting success.

The truth is, any fool can stumble upon

canine excellence—and some people are

even financiallyable to go out purchase

canine excellence—but very few people

are able to create canine excellence—

and fewer still are able to perpetuate

the excellence they get indefinitely.

And the fact is, the ability to perpetuate

canine excellence indefinitely is the

only mark of true competence at being

a dogman.

In order for a person to get himself to a

point where he not only “has” an

excellent dog— “right now”—but to

where he can maintain that level of

excellence indefinitely for future genera-

tions, that person must develop 5 Key

Characteristics within himself as an

individual dogman. Carefully analyze

every truly great dogman, historically,

and match them up against these traits.

Then, analyze yourself (and also your

friends), and honestly assess how many

(if any) of the following critical traits

you (and they) have. Here they are:

1. The Successful Dogman

Genuinely Love His Dogs

The #1 Key to Success in dogs (or in

anything in life) is loving your vocation

with a sincere passion. Unfortunately,

there are a lot of people in this sport

who “like to watch their dogs fight,” but

these people do not actually love their

dogs at all, as individuals. Nor do these

people love or show any commitment to

the bloodline that their dogs come from.

Most people in these dogs are incapable

of love, and they have no loyalty to their

dogs, or to their bloodline, or to anything

really. Most people have no devotion, no

dedication, no passion. Most people in

these dogs are simply mindless idiots

who “want to see two dogs fight.” And

they will never be successful because of

this lack of love and lack of dedication.

In fact, some people in this sport don’t

even like dogs at all. I have seen many

dogmen who won’t even pet their dogs.

Really, they could really give a damn

about their dogs in any way whatsoever,

their only reason for having dogs is

whether or not the dogs can “fight good.”

People like this are invariably dog-

wasters who will never, ever be

successful in dogs, long-term.

In order to be successful with his dogs, a

person needs to have a deep

understanding of his dogs. And in order

to have a deep understanding of his

dogs, a person has to first be able to

identify with his dogs—and in order to

identify with his dogs, a person must

genuinely love his dogs, truly, both as

individuals and as a whole bloodline

and family. A person must be able to

put himself in his dogs’ position. He

must be THOUGHTFUL and able to see

things as his dogs see things. He must

try to understand his dogs as deeply as

possible, from their perspective, in

order to be able to make the correct

decisions with these animals, on all

levels—and a person can NEVER

achieve this kind of understanding and

connection with his animals unless he

genuinely loves them. Period. There are

no exceptions.

How can a person instinctively know if

a dog is “ready” for a hard roll without

first having a deep understanding of that

dog as an individual? And how can a

person have a deep understanding of that

individual dog, unless he has a deep

connection with that animal? And how

can a person have a deep connection

with an animal, unless he has a deep

love and appreciation

for that individual? He can’t.

Unfortunately, most people only look at

their dogs as “acquired objects to test,”

and as “acquired objects to use,” and as

“acquired objects to bet on.” Dogs are

mere objects to most people, nothing

more. Most people do not view their

dogs as living, breathing, individual

creatures of the person’s own design and

breeding—most dogmen view their dogs

simply as objects to buy and to “go

through.” That is all an entire yard of

dogs is to most people: objects they

bought and must “go through”—objects

they intend to “use”—and/or objects

they want to “bet on.” And these kind of

people will never, ever have a clue as

true and complete dogmen.

Never in a million years will such

people come to understand their dogs;

never in a million years will such

people ever be dedicated to their dogs;

and that is because these people never,

ever legitimately loved their dogs nor

did they ever truly invest themselves

into their dogs. Have you ever heard the

saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing

gained?” The truth is, if you do not

venture and invest your love into these

animals, you will never gain legitimate

success out of them, which is lasting

success. That is simply the way it is.

To show the reverse of what I mean, I

met a young wanna-be dogman recently

on the phone, who bought a dog from a

friend of mine, and he called me to tell

me to talk about what happened. I asked

this guy if he liked his new animal, and

he told me, “I’ll like him when he

proves himself to me.” I rolled my eyes

and wanted to vomit, because this was

your typical “hard-ass, tough-guy”

mindset that you run into in these dogs,

and yet I was still simply amazed. The

dog he had was a perfect specimen; he

was beautifully-colored, well-

structured, and superbly-bred. The dog

was also wonderfully-tempered and

even very obedient, and he was just a

baby! Basically the dog was a fine

example of the breed (that any true

connoisseur of fine dogs would love to

have and behold as a young animal), and

yet this ignorant fool who had him saw

nothing positive in this young dog,

simply because he “hadn’t been tested

yet.” This young person could

appreciate nothing about his beautiful,

young animal—and that is the tell-tale

sign of a bad heart.

Folks, these dogs are not stupid, at least

superior dogs are not stupid, and

intelligent dogs know when they are with

a friend—and intelligent dogs know

when they are with an enemy. They know

when they are genuinely loved by their

owners, and they know when they are

unappreciated, abused, and neglected by

their owners. Your “belief” in this

regard doesn’t matter; the fact is an

intelligent dog knows in his bones

when his master is truly his friend or

not, just as you know in your bones

whether a person you are with is truly

your friend or not. Any intelligent

creature has this sort of “sixth sense”

about him, which allows them to “feel”

the intent of those around them. Same as

you “can just tell” when someone likes

you, so too can a good dog “just tell” if

their owner likes them or not.

Therefore this young fool had his entire

view of dogs and his role as their

caregiver exactly bass-ackwards. This

young man expected his young dog to

“prove himself to him,” before the young

man was willing to make a commitment

to love the dog in return, which is in

direct conflict with Natural Laws. Had

this person any clue about the proper

order of things, he would realize that he

needed to give to the dog, on every

nurturing level, before he had a right to

expect from the dog at the highest

performance level. Genuine love for a

dog not only is a necessary part of one’s

own dedication as a dogman, but s uch a

bonding experience is part of the

developmental process a dog needs in

order to achieve true excellence. Let

me say that in a different way:

developing a legitimate bond with an

owner is part of the complete evolution

of a young dog’s developmental process

from a pup into becoming a World Class

Professional Athlete. Therefore, to

withhold giving love to a young dog,

while he is developing, is to withhold

part of the necessary “fertilizer” that is

required for his optimal and complete

maturation as a total performance animal

for you. Believe it! Yes, it takes a lot out

of a person to put that kind of devotion

on the table first, for every dog that he

has, but if you are not willing to put that

kind of investment into your dogs first,

then how can you expect to get the most

out of your dogs? How can you

legitimately expect your dogs to go all

the way for you, when you have not gone

all the way for them? When you have not

provided for all of their needs first,

including their bonding need, how can

you expect to get the best in return? In

short, how can you expect to reap where

you have not sown?

Folks, these dogs have a tougher job than

we do, and they have the harder road to

hoe, so you owe it to them to give them

your all before you can expect them to

give their all for you. If you have not

built your dogs UP with genuine love,

(which includes the best food, nutrition,

care, and affection possible), then how

can you possibly expect your dogs to

reach an elite level when you have not

bothered to raise them with elite

caregiving? I could write 50 pages more

on this subject alone, but the bottom line

is in order to succeed in dogs, long-term,

a dogman must plainly and simply LOVE

HIS DOGS, and love them for real,

which is shown by loving actions and

loving practices, and an unswerving

dedication to their well-being.

Sincere love is expressed in many ways.

It is expressed by a deep compassion for

each individual dog, yes, but it is also

expressed by an intense desire and

curiosity to learn more and more about

dogs in general (canine health, canine

upkeep, canine medicine, etc.). Your

buying this book is an example of your

taking enough interest in your dogs to

learn more about them. By contrast, most

people in this game have several dogs

on their yard— but yet they do not have

one single book on veterinary medicine

or dog care. This is absolutely insane, to

have (say) 15 dogs, but yet not to have

one single book on how to care for them.

To confine thousands of dollars worth of

dogs on improper chain set-ups which

puts every single one of them at risk.

Most people’s yards consist of

haphazard set ups of inferior hardware,

and such people lack the curiosity or

concern about their animals to learn how

to chain and kennel a dog properly.

In a nutshell, too many bottom-dwelling

dogmen buy-up a bunch of dogs—and

then they keep them in crates—or on 3-

foot chains in the mud—all the while

feeding them the least-expensive food

they can get away with feeding—or they

do all of these things together—without

having one single book or scrap of paper

containing even the slightest tidbit of

knowledge on proper care, proper

nutrition, proper husbandry, etc.

How can you love an animal and yet

keep him in filth? How can you love an

animal and yet keep him on a 3-foot

chain? How can you be considerate of

your animal’s needs, without the

slightest will to crack open a book and

gain even drop of knowledge on proper

care, proper nutrition, proper husbandry,

etc.? You can’t.

How can you love a dog that you won’t

even pet or take the time to bond with?

For instance, I have seen many people

enroll on my “Poncho board”—and they

have been there for years—but yet they

never bothered to sign-up on my Health

board. How can this be? It’s easy.

Again, these people only care about

bulldogs as competitors, but they could

care less about their dogs’ welfare in

general. There is no other explanation.

The bottom line is this: If you do not

love your dogs, you will never succeed

in dogs for the long haul. You can’t

“fake” a genuine love for your dogs

either. It is either there or it is not. The

only way to show a legitimate love for

something is to care for them, always,

and on every level possible. That means

kenneling, nutritionally, medically, and

emotionally via a legitimate bonding

experience, basically the truly

successful dogman will have an

instinctive desire to do his best for his

dogs. And that doesn’t come from

reading a book, not even this book, it can

only come from a good heart within.

2. The Successful Dogman

Abides By Nature’s Laws

The successful dogman realizes there are

certain Laws of Nature that must be

abided-by in order to achieve the best

results. The maturation process is one of

these laws. The ability to reap only after

one has sown is another of these laws.

The fact that the best nutrition yields the

best health and performance results is

another one of these laws. And yet the

vast majority of dogmen flounder in

failure precisely because they refuse to

obey, follow, or even pay attention to,

the decree of these Natural Laws.

How can you judge a dog who is not yet

mature? How can you have a carnivore

under your care, and then feed him a diet

he was not designed to eat, and then

scratch your head and wonder why the

dog is not performing at an optimal

level? How can you criticize the animal

for a “health breakdown” when he has

not been provided with the correct fuel

required to keep him in optimal health? I

mean, there really are basic Laws of

Nature that must be seen, recognized,

and abided-by in order for a person to

be successful. The successful dogman

simply notices these laws, and follows

them to his benefit, while the perpetual

failure in dogs either can’t see these

laws, or doesn’t care about them, but

either way the failure in dogs is what he

is because he violates all of these

Natural Laws to his detriment.

As I will be suggesting in my

“Schooling” chapter next, if we speak

about the subject of farming crops, any

fool can clearly see that there is a

Natural Process that must be abided by

in order to yield consistently-good

harvests of crops. Quality seeds must be

planted. Quality nurturing must be given.

Sufficient time to grow, mature, and

ripen must be allowed-for. And only

then, after we have first paid the price,

after we have allowed the natural

processes to develop and unfold— after

we have sown our end of the work—do

we then have a right to expect to reap a

bountiful harvest from our efforts, after

the passage of the required time and

after putting forth the required

effort.

Again, this is called “The Law of The

Farm.” You reap what you sow.

Yet every day we see dullards in these

dogs, who will not sow a single thing

into their dogs,

and who yet wonder why they cannot

reap consistent success with their

animals. These fools violate Nature’s

Laws as a matter of daily routine, and

they do this by trying to take every

conceivable “shortcut” they can think of.

They school too young, they test too

young, they feed the cheapest crap they

can buy, they kennel with poor set-ups,

they do not control parasites—they fail

to prepare their dogs in any way to

perform at an optimal level—and by

attempting to take these “shortcuts,” such

imbeciles will always fail. Because the

truth of the matter is there are no

shortcuts to success. Success is

achieved only by following all of

Nature’s Laws, one step at a time, and in

the proper order and sequence. You must

be willing to go through the process. You

must be willing to follow Nature’s

Laws, step-by-step, and you must seek to

have Nature’s Laws work for you, not

against you.

The fact of the matter is, there really are

Laws of Nature out there, whether you

think so or not, and if you wish to

succeed on a large scale you will obey

these Laws, you will never violate them.

Really, the Laws of Nature must become

a religion for you. You must seek to both

understand and to obey Nature’s Laws,

as a matter of daily habit, because when

you do so, you will suddenly achieve a

Spiritual Awareness that few dogmen

will ever have. You will gain the

proverbial “Aha!” as you gain

penetrating insight into the whole

scheme of things as they relate to your

dogs’ developmental processes. Again,

these Natural Laws will ultimately

become your religion as a dogman, if

you wish to succeed in dogs, long-term.

As William James once said:

“Spirituality is the attempt to align

oneself with an Unseen Order of

things.”

And there is an unseen order of things to

dogmanship, to the processes and phases

that all dogs must go through before they

reach an ultimate maturity. And you must

align yourself and your thinking with this

“unseen order of things,” not against

these processes, if you want to be

consistently-successful. You must simply

accept the fact that there are Natural

Processes that must be allowed to

develop and unfold, in flowing

succession and sequence, in order for

you to reap a successful harvest in your

results. The Maturity Process. The

Schooling Process. The Continual

Process of trying to maintain Optimal

Health. The Process of Preventing and

Managing Disease, etc.

Again, I could go on for 50 pages or

more here, but the bottom line is this: in

order to succeed in these dogs you must

obey Nature’s Laws and not violate

them. Because there is also another

saying: “You can never break The Laws,

you can only break yourself against

The Laws.”

Sadly, in our case, what most foolish

dogmen do is break their dogs against

these laws. It is always the dogs that

suffer because of their owners’

ignorance. Therefore, the truly wise,

mature, and successful dogman is always

trying to make these Natural Laws work

for his dogs and not against his dogs.

3. The Successful Dogman

Understands His Dogs’ Job

Another key trait a dogman must have in

order to succeed long-term is he must

truly understand the job for which his

canine athletes were bred to perform.

For our sport, a person must have a

legitimate understanding of combat

strategy in general, and he must further

have a legitimate understanding of the

rules by which these dogs are designed

to compete.

If we were breeding dogs to win a “drop

match” where two dogs were dumped in

a pit, with no rules or handling, and

where the winner was decided within a

:30 time limit, we would breed for much

different traits from those we are

breeding for now. If we were breeding

for dogs who had to run a race across

the icy Arctic tundra, for several days’ in

a row, we again would be selecting and

breeding for traits that are entirely

different from the traits we are breeding

for now in our dogs.

Well, in our sport, we are breeding for

traits that should maximize a dog’s

chances for winning a match that

technically has “no time limit,” but

where (in point of fact) 75% of all

contests are decided within :45 min, and

where 98% of all contests are decided

in under 2 hours. (Trust me, I have done

the math and the numbers-crunching on

over ten thousand matches, and the fact

of the

matter is 75% of all hunts are over

within :45—and 98% of all contests are

over by the 2-hour mark.)

With those numbers in mind, and with

another fact in mind (that over 90% of

all hunts are won and lost on

scratching) within these time frame

parameters, we must therefore breed

dogs that can survive a “total war” with

another dog for at least 2 hours, and

select those dogs who are always

willing to scratch-back at any point in

time they are called upon to do so,

within that time parameter. Furthermore,

our dogs do not have to do this against

“several” dogs, but only against one dog

(which means that the practice of “two-

dogging” is absolutely pointless and

stupid).

And yet you will see people breeding

their dogs for entirely different purposes

from the parameters of a Cajun Rules

contest. You will see people breed for

things like “mouth,” and you will see

people purposely breeding dogs who

won’t pace themselves at all, and thus

who couldn’t possibly go two hours, just

because these energy-wasting

barnstormers are impressive in short

bursts. You will also see people test

their dogs against “multiple dogs,” when

the dog only has to face one opponent

for his true vocation and job. Basically,

you will see most people in these dogs

breeding for, testing for, and culling for

traits that have nothing to do with their

dogs’ actual job.

And these people will invariably be

failures as breeders and exhibitors,

percentage-wise, precisely because they

do not truly understand the job for which

they are breeding and selecting their

dogs. Smashing dogs quickly is not what

these dogs are bred for—and for that

matter this is usually impossible when

you are on a really good opponent.

Scratching into 2 or 3 different

opponents is not what bulldogs have to

do either. What we are trying to do is

breed and select dogs “who are athletic,

intelligent, and tough enough to either

control, nullify, or survive anything

that happens to them, from ONE other

dog, and who will at the same time

continually dismantle their opponent

and scratch-back any time he is asked

to do so.” That is what these dogs are

bred for folks, because that is what a

Cajun Rules contest is!

Therefore, another critical element to a

person’s long-term success as a dogman

is to understand the (Cajun) Rules under

which these dogs are intended to

compete, and then to design both your

selection of performers, as well as your

selection of brood animals, based on

their conforming ideally within these

parameters.

4. The Successful Dogman Views His

Dogs As Valuable Resources

The 4th critical trait a dogman must have

for long-term success is he must view all

of his dogs

as valuable resources. When a particular

individual animal expresses the epitome

of all that we are striving for, the

successful dogman will make it his

business to preserve and cultivate that

dog’s genetics as the most valuable

resource there is. This is how every

single excellent family of dogs has come

into existence, and that is where some

superior dogman recognized and valued

some individual dog’s excellence, and

then that dogman made it his business to

cultivate those superior genetics as a

valuable resource. And the only way to

do this is by developing a line-breeding

program around that great dog. Hemphill

did it with Geronimo. Carver did it with

Black Widow and IronHead. Boudreaux

did it with Blind Billy and Eli. Tudor

did it with Dibo and Spike. Patrick did it

with Bolio and Tombstone. Crenshaw

did it with Rascal and Honeybunch.

Garrett did it with Jeep. Chavis did it

with Yellow John. Boyles did it with

Dirty Mary. Garner did it with

Chinaman, and Spike. Hollingsworth did

it with Lady In Red. I did it with Poncho

and Coca Cola. Victor did it with

Mayday. CML did it with Little John,

etc., etc.

Wherever you find long-term success in

dogs, you will find a dogman who has

sought to preserve and cultivate the

genes of some dog (or dogs) that he

found to be excellent, defining animals

to him and what he is looking for.

You see, where most dogmen foolishly

waste their excellent dogs, and get them

killed eventually, the truly long-term

success in dogs tries to actively cultivate

and preserve excellence whenever he

sees it. Where most idiots view dogs as

“expendable items” to use-up and go-

through, the truly successful dogman

views his best animals as valuable

resources to preserve, cherish, and make

more of.

As is repeatedly discussed in this book,

most people fail to plan for the future.

Most people are “consumers” and not

“producers.” Most people use-up their

resources; they do not perpetu- ally

create their own resources.

Well, the long-term successful dogman is

always a producer, not a waster. He

sees his best dogs as valuable resources

to preserve and maintain, rather than as

toys to play with, abuse, and waste. The

bottom line is, in order to be successful

for the long-haul, you must do everything

in your power to preserve and make

more of the excellence you are blessed

with, and not to waste it so you have no

more of it left. And every successful

dogman, who has turned-out quality

animals yearafter-year, follows this

credo to the very best of his ability. The

truly superior dogman is a preserver

and a creator of excellence at heart; he

is not a waster and abuser of excellence

at heart.

5. The Successful Dogman Effectively

Manages The Intangibles

Finally, foundational to all of the above,

a truly successful dogman makes it his

business to

manage all of the intangibles in his dogs’

favor and not against his dogs. This ties

in and supports the other 4 Key Elements

to success.

Yes, a dog needs superior genetics to be

able to reach the highest level, but he

also needs the intangibles stacked in his

favor, and not against him, in order to

have his best chances of success. Let me

give you an example below of how

important managing the intangibles are,

by telling yet another tragedy of someone

who mis managed every single one of the

intangibles against his own great (but

unfortunate) dog:

A friend of mine bred a truly wonderful

dog, an animal who could have gone all

the way in the right hands, but one who

lost recently—and which dog in fact

“quit” in this loss. This dog is being

mindlessly-called “a cur” by the

primitive apes who own him, but in

point of fact this was a great animal who

repeatedly had every single “intangible”

stacked against him, time and time again,

until he could no longer overcome them.

Here is the background:

Before this dog was even 17 months old,

he was schooled for over thirty minutes,

on 8 separate occasions, and with no

more than 3 weeks’ rest in between

sessions. This dog was basically

skulldrug repeatedly before the age

where he should have even been

bumped. On top of this stupidity, and

after his last hard session at 17 months

of age, this dog was then matched by his

stupid owner, who likewise made sure

this dog had to push 3 lbs of weight to

boot. And yet this great young dog

miraculously pulled it off and won in an

hour-twenty-seven (1:27)!

This dog should have been treated like

gold, but instead he was treated like dirt.

Two weeks later, not fully recovered

from his rolls and last match, this young

dog was then hunted off the chain

(O.T.C.) into a killer for :40, again

pushing 2 lb of weight, and yet this

great and tough young dog again

managed to win on exceptional

gameness and natural pit savvy. This

young animal was now just over 19

months old, which is when he should

have just started his schooling. Yet this

poor young dog had already been skull-

drug all the way out, on 8 separate

occasions, and now he had also just

finished being put through 2 back-to-

back matches added on top of this, both

of them pushing weight, and for an

amount of time that totaled around an

hour apiece.

But the stupidity doesn’t end there, folks.

Two weeks later, again after the second

match, this young dog—still recovering

from the previous deals—and now with

a fractured leg—was again matched

O.T.C. (pus oozing out of his infected

wounds too)—and this time he had to

spot 4 lb of weight, into a pretty damned

good boar to boot. This poor, young,

beat-up pit dog tried every trick in the

book, despite how sore and worn-out he

was, but finally all he could do was hang

onto the bottom jaw just to try and stay

out of trouble—but at the end of the day

he got beat the f^@# up. Eventually, and

tragically, this poor young dog got his

whole face ripped off by the bigger

dogs, and he finally “quit” in 1:10, to a

no-win situation, hopelessly out-sized,

and with every single card in the deck

stacked against him by his criminally-

stupid, ape-brained owner.

Unbelievably, this fantastic young dog

was called “a cur” by all in attendance,

including his owners, who did not have

enough sense to consider all of the

MISMANAGED INTANGIBLES that

were decisively stacked against this

dog’s chances of winning—and if you

can believe it they shot this dog as

“unworthy” of being on their yard. Wow,

I get mad every time I think of this!

In actuality, when analyzed by anyone

with an ounce of horse sense, this young

dog was in fact a super animal, who was

unfortunately dealt another shitty hand by

being placed in yet another ignorant so-

called “dogman’s” hands. It wasn’t the

dog who was “unworthy” of his owner;

the fact is the owner was the one

unworthy of this dog. Because sadly, as

good as this young dog was genetically,

he simply could not overcome the

enormous pile of intangibles that were

stacked against him. This potentially-

great animal was simply placed in the

hands of a hopelesslystupid person, who

stacked every single intangible against

his dog, rather than in his dog’s favor.

Folks, all the “good genetics” in the

world will not overcome your

ownership stupidity. All of the “good

genetics” in the world won’t overcome

being rushed too soon—they won’t

overcome spotting too much weight—

nor will “good genetics” overcome not

being given enough time to recover

sufficiently from previous matches.

Good genetics simply won’t overcome

layer-upon-layer of ownership stupidity,

nor will good genetics overcome an

entire deck of cards being stacked

against a dog. Because at the end of the

day, good genetics must be married

with good management of the

intangibles in order for a dog to reach

his full potential.

Just as bad management will bring out

the worst in a good dog, good

management will bring out the best in

even an average dog. But, more

importantly, good management will bring

out the glory in a truly great dog. And

the only way in which a person can be

a good manager is to stack all of the

intangibles in his dog’s favor, not

against his dog. There is no other way to

enjoy consistent success in these dogs

than by making sure that all of the

intangibles are working for your dog and

not against your dog. You must make

sure that you manage the intangibles,

layer-uponlayer, to be favorable to your

dog—rather than stacking them, layer-

upon-layer, to be against your dog.

Effectively managing the intangibles is

something that is absolutely critical to

success—and if you think about it,

effectively managing the intangibles is

what separates a “good” dogman from a

“bad dogman.”
Even when you do breedings this

applies. For instance, making sure the

stud’s semen is viable, and then making

sure that the bitch is actually in fertile

estrus within her heat cycle—before you

actually breed—will yield much better

results than will just breeding an

unchecked male over a bitch “on her

12th day.” The former management effort

shows that the breeder has stacked all of

the intangibles in his breeding favor, by

having a semen evaluation done on the

stud first, as well as by having a

progesterone check of the bitch—while

the latter “management effort” has failed

to do any of this and is basically

swinging in the dark. The latter method

is “assuming” the male is fertile and the

bitch is ovulating, while the first method

is making 100% certain of these things.

Repeated over time, the former dogman

will be the much more successful

breeder, while the other bozo will miss

breedings as often as he gets them.

And, if you look at all of your own

failures in these dogs, honestly, you will

see that mis management of the

intangibles was the cause every single

one of them. I know this, because

mismanaging the intangibles has been the

cause of all of my own failures. I have

always loved my dogs (Key #1) and I

have always valued them as resources

(Key #4), and I have always understood

my dogs’ job (Key #3)—but I haven’t

always obeyed Nature’s Laws (Key #2)

and I haven’t always managed the

intangibles well (Key #5).

When you match a dog, all of these

things are important, and they all fall

back to Key #5, which is aligning every

single “intangible factor” for your dogs

and not against your dogs. Making sure

that your entry is fully-mature, is well-

schooled, is in optimal health, is free of

parasites, is in peak condition, is at his

best weight, and has been fed an

outstanding complement of good food

and supplements is stacking every

single layer of intangibles in your

dog’s favor—by contrast, bringing in a

16-month-old pup, full of worms, yanked

right off the chain, spotting 2 lb of

weight, after being fed a steady diet of

Ol’ Roy is stacking every layer of

intangibles against your dog’s chances

of win- ning. And yet there are idiots

who practice this latter kind of stupidity

on every single match of their foolish

and unsuccessful dog careers.

As the story on the previous page

showed, even the best God-given

genetics in the world won’t overcome

enough incredible stupidity as an owner.

There are many dogmen who would

have lost with GR CH Buck or GR CH

Yellow. had they put their dogs through

what this poor dog went through. Good

genetics are important, but your

managing the intangibles in your

dog’s favor is even more important.

There are many, many, many people in

these dogs who will take a good animal,

genetically, and then through an odyssey

of their own incredible stupidity as

owners, they will reduce that animal’s

chances of winning, step-by-step, by

mismanaging the intangibles, step-by-

step, every step of the way.

A “good dogman” is simply one who

manages every intangible effectively to

be in his dog’s favor, and a “stupid

dogman” is one who manages every

intangible in effectively to be against his

dog’s best chances. It really is that

simple. Always remember, it is your

dog’s job to be good and game, yes, but

it is your job to manage that good dog

with competence and wisdom, and not

with incompetence and stupidity.

The dogmen who succeed long-term, and

on a large scale, are those dogmen who

consistently manage the intangibles

effectively, to be in their dogs’ favor—

while all of the habitual failures in these

dogs are perpetually mismanaging the

intangibles and stacking every single

hidden factor against their dogs’ chances

at success. Such imbeciles will always

be spotting weight, spotting age, they

will pull dogs off the chain, the will

skull-drag their dogs either too hard or

too young, they will feed lousy feed, they

will not control parasites, etc., etc.

The bottom line is this: if you want to be

a good and successful dogman, long-

term, you will always and forever make

it your business to manage the

intangibles to be with your dogs and not

against your dogs.

Conclusion

I hope my efforts at writing all of this do

not go unnoticed. I hope that some of you

found yourselves nodding your heads at

the power of these 5 Key Traits that cut a

deep gash and defining line between the

successful and the unsuccessful in these

dogs.

We all have violated one (or all) of

these 5 Key Traits, at one point or

another, and thus we have all failed at

one point or another. That is not the

lesson here. “Failing in the past” is not

the mark of an ultimate failure, but

continuously-failing is. Some of the

most successful people in every walk of

life started out as total failures, but

through renewed effort and renewed

habits, they slowly-butsurely gained

success for themselves, one step at a

time. Failed practices will always yield

failed results. And one definition of

insanity is to continue to do “the same

things” and yet to expect “dif- ferent

results.”

The true success in dogs is not content

with failure and the true success is

always striving to do better. Therefore,

if you want to achieve “better results,”

then you have to habitually-employ

“better practices.” This article here

defines those better practices.

If you are already living-up to every

single one of these principals, then you

are already a successful dogman.

Success can’t help but come from good

practices. If you live up to none of these

practices, however, then you are a total

failure as a dogman. Likewise failure

can’t help but come from violating these

practices.

If you have not been succeeding so far in

these dogs, but if you have a sincere

desire to do well and to be successful

(that is, if you have the #1 Key Trait,

which is a sincere love of your dogs),

then getting the other 4 elements in order

will spell your eventual success in dogs.

Key #1 is the most important trait in a

man, just as gameness is in a dog.

If this chapter helps even one person use

his #1 trait more effectively, to motivate

him to see the other 4 traits more clearly

and to then follow these traits with

clearer vision and perspective, then I

will have done my job as a writer and I

will have “passed the torch” to another

willing and capable runner. And in so

doing I will have benefited another yard

of dogs somewhere—and as such I will

be very content that I have done my job.

Chapter 12

Schooling Your Dog

This chapter centers around turning your

properly-nurtured athlete into the best

performance dog his genetics will allow

him to be. You have raised this animal to

the best of your ability, in accordance

with Book I, and now comes the time for

him to enter the Shao-Lin Temple and

learn to fight and earn his keep.

Unfortunately, this chapter therefore

centers around illegal activities with the

breed, and as such I caution you not to

conduct these activities. Remember, you

can get in trouble for doing these things,

and I can’t urge you strongly enough not

to get caught up with this aspect of pit

bull ownership. Use the other chapters

of this book to care for your dogs

properly and responsibly, but do not do

anything illegal with your dog, which is

what this chapter covers. So why do I

write this chapter?

Well, I also realize that some small

number of you will roll, school, test and

match your dogs anyway, despite the

laws against it, and despite my

cautioning you against these activities.

And I also realize that most of you have

absolutely no clue about what it is that

you are doing with these dogs in this

capacity. And it is my view that, without

this book, you would probably commit

terrible mistakes in most of your

endeavors with your animals, and I

simply hate thinking about these dogs

being abused, mistreated, and

mishandled. Therefore, while I do not

believe that you should break the law, if

you are going to do so anyway I would

like to help you do things in the right

way, to save your dogs from

mismanagement and the many mistakes

that people are prone to make. In

essence, I am trying to help your dogs

suffer the least possible trauma by

offering intelligent information for those

who will contest their dogs anyway.

I thus write this chapter not to endorse,

promote, or to encourage you to conduct

any illegal activities with your dogs—

yet still (if you are going to do these

things anyway) I write this book to show

you how to do these things in the right

way. Because, you’d better believe,

there is a right way, and a wrong way, to

go about these things—actually, there are

many wrong ways—and if you don’t

know what you are doing you will hurt

your dogs tremendously. Thus I write

this chapter, and the next several

chapters, to help your dogs survive your

illegal actions. I am trying to show you

how to do these things humanely and

intelligently, not to encourage you to

conduct such activities in the first place.

OK?

That being said, probably the single

most important aspect in trying to

compete with these dogs (other than

buying good dogs and setting your yard

up right, first) is then knowing how to

school and handle your good dogs

properly. I can’t even begin to count the

number of good dogs that have been

ruined by their ignorant owners due to

being schooled improperly. The major

problem I have noticed is that most dog

men have what I call “right now”

mentality. They want to go from Point-A

to Point-Z “right now,” and so they do

not allow their dogs to mature fully

before they start schooling them and

testing them. Such fools “game test” their

young, unschooled prospects rather than

take the time to develop them first.

These ignorant owners try to prove to

someone how “good” their young dog is

before said dog is ready for that kind of

an ordeal. Or, worse, these ignorant

fools just continually beat their dogs up

for nothing more than their entertainment.

Sure, what these dogs do can be

entertaining, and it is a good feeling to

show a talented dog to others—but it

must be kept in mind that putting dogs

together is also very serious business,

and as such it should be treated very

seriously. You must understand that you

do not test young dogs right away; you

must school the dog first, and you must

further understand that you need to allow

your dog to reach full maturity before

you actually test him.

When you yourself went to public

schools, you did not start out in class

with a final exam, did you? You had to

be educated first, right? And it took

years for you to grow up as well—and

all the while you were learning all you

had to learn, in order to be prepared for

those tests you ultimately had to take. It

simply took you quite some time to be

ready for adult responsibilities, didn’t

it? Well so it is with these dogs—they

need to be educated first and they need

to be allowed to mature first, before they

are actually tested. Therefore, if you

have any kind of intelligence and

common sense, you will begin to look at

each schooling roll you do with your

young dogs as an education, a lesson,

basically as a step towards making your

dog better-educated for a future match

career and/or a final examination. You

are not acting as judge and jury for

your dog at this point, you are acting

as an educator. When looked at in this

way, you will see that each schooling

lesson should have a definite point to it,

and it should be viewed as a necessary

step towards making your prospect a

better-prepared dog for his career or for

his test. Every schooling roll should be

planned well in advance, and you should

put in whatever time is necessary to

shop around for the correct opponent to

fulfill your pre-planned objective for

that lesson. You must think of each dog

you have as a world-class athlete, and

you must think of yourself as that

athlete’s manager. And your first order

of business as your athlete’s manager

is to train him and to educate him, not

ruin

him.

If you are a good manager, then you

know what your job is—your athlete’s

welfare at all times. If you are not a

good manager, then you won’t know

what your job is—and this ignorance on

your part will show in how you handle

your dogs. A good manager realizes that,

when his athlete is young, he needs to

build his confidence first, not to have his

budding confidence destroyed the first

few times he tries to express it. Never

challenge a young dog’s confidence

with too much before he’s ready. Your

number one goal in his first few rolls

is to build his confidence, not destroy

it. At the same time, you are also trying

to teach him his trade in incremental

steps. Because not only is your dog

being schooled as he goes along, but he

is also developing confidence in himself

as he goes along.

Yes, it is a dog’s job to be good and

game, but it is your job to allow that

gameness to develop and blossom first,

while he learns, and you do this by

managing your animal properly. One

manages a young dog’s developing

gameness by letting him reach full

maturity, before any game test, and by

schooling him (not testing him) during

this developmental process. Proper

schooling, and allowing your dog to

mature, to express his natural

aggressions, without being challenged

too much yet, are in fact your dog’s best

chances to turn out to be good and game.

Therefore, you do not just set your young

dog down at the drop of a hat, or

because someone says his dog is better

than yours. Each schooling lesson should

have a reason behind it, and that reason

should always be in the interests of the

dog’s development. Should he face a leg

dog this time? A chest dog? A stifle

dog? Is he ready now for a more

seasoned opponent? Or has he really

even started yet? These are the kinds of

questions you need to be constantly

asking yourself when you select the

schooling opponents for your young dog.

Again, you are not trying to “judge” your

dog at this stage, you are trying to

develop him at this point.

As a rule, you should never even begin

to school your dog until he is 18 months

old. I realize some dogs start earlier than

others, but this rule still applies as a

general framework. You must realize that

some dogs won’t be ready for a test at

all until they’re 3 years old or older.

Other dogs are ready at 18 months.

Regardless of when you “think” he’s

ready, it is still better to sit on a dog that

“acts good,” than it is to ruin a dog that

acts good, but in fact wasn’t quite ready.

It is better to be sure your dog is ready

than it is to rush things because he “acts

hot,” but was only bluffing, and in the

process “pull up the budding flower to

see how deep the roots are.” Time and

Patience are the keys, and only a fool

tries to speed up Nature. If there is

anything at all to learn in the dogs—and

in Life itself—it is the fact patience

takes time.

Let me give you a parallel for this fact,

which is better known as “The Law of

The Farm.” Let’s say that you decided to

be a farmer, and your primary goal was

to yield a bountiful harvest of crops.

How would you go about this endeavor?

Would you fail to study agricultural

principles? And then, with no clue as to

timing, would you just haphazardly plant

your seeds regardless of the season or

time of year? Would you add no

fertilizer, and then make no effort at all

to control the bugs? Does that seem like

a sound foundational strategy to

commence a farming enterprise? And

then after beginning your efforts on that

“solid foundation,” would you then “pull

up your crops” as soon as they first

poked through the ground, to see what

you got? I mean, would it make any

sense (if you wanted to succeed as a

farmer) not to study agriculture—not to

nurture your crops at all—to go ahead

and let the bugs eat them all up—and

then to dig up what’s left of your crops

as soon as they first started to poke

through the ground “to see what you

got?” Truly, any idiot can see that this

would make no sense at all.

Yet you will watch idiot-after-idiot

doing exactly this with their dogs. Pay

attention to how many dog people you

know that will not crack open the first

book on raising dogs. Take a look at how

many will not feed their dogs the best

food they can. Notice how so many will

not control

their parasites. And what’s really sad,

watch how many will not take the time to

develop a loving and trusting

relationship with their dogs—and yet

every one of these “dogmen” will roll

and gametest their young dogs the

moment they first show the slightest

inkling of aggression—and sometimes

even before they show any aggression—

and they will all expect the world out of

their animals, while they themselves

have given nothing.

And, folks, this is every bit as stupid as

what I described above on the farm,

because the same Natural Laws and

Principles apply. Raising dogs like this

is every bit as stupid as a farmer not

studying agriculture, not fertilizing his

crops, not controlling the bugs, and then

pulling up his young crops “to see if the

roots are deep yet” the moment his

shoots poke through the soil. It is every

bit that stupid. You will not speed things

up this way, you will do the opposite:

you will screw things up from the start,

you will destroy the delicate

developmental processes in your dogs

before they even have the chance to

unfold, and you will altogether ruin what

you’re trying to accomplish.

For some reason, though, almost

everyone can easily see that (if they

wanted to be a farmer) they absolutely

must obey Nature’s Laws. Even a total

idiot can understand Natural Principles,

as they pertain to the farm. Yet, for some

reason, most dogmen cannot understand

that these same nurturing and

developmental processes are also

mandatory when it comes to raising

dogs. In fact, because dogs are so much

more complex, their caregiving is that

much more complex. Yet so many fools

always try to short-cut the processes,

and (guess what?) they are always

failures as dogmen. Folks, these same

nurturing and developmental processes

are required with these dogs, in fact

more of them are! Rushing things (or

short-cutting these processes) won’t

help. Doing so will only hurt your

results, not help your results. And,

unfortunately, it is always the dogs who

suffer from their owner’s stupidity, and

it just isn’t fair.

Patience is your most important tool to

succeed in these dogs. Only beginners

(or very stupid people) try to speed up

the natural maturation and

developmental processes, whereas all of

the experienced, intelligent, and

successful dogmen allow that process to

unfold, unhurried. That, in and of itself,

should tell you all you need to hear.

I mean, consider your own maturation

process, when you were a young boy (or

girl), did you go to bed one night as a

completely hairless youth—and then

wake up the next morning as a hairy

sonofabitch? You didn’t, did you? You

sprouted your first “crisper” one day,

and then only over a period of several

months did you reach full sexual

maturity. Yet, even when you were

sexuallymature as a teenager, and could

“sire pups,” it still took you several

years to reach the FULL maturity of your

absolute adult prime, didn’t it? Full

sexual maturity in a man or a woman

only happens by the time we get to our

mid-twenties, even though we can

biologically “reproduce” when we’re in

our teens. Therefore, you need to allow

your young dogs to undergo this full

process too, before you test them! Just

because your dog will hike his leg does

not mean he is a full-grown man yet,

same as just because you had a mustache

at 18 doesn’t mean you were a full-

grown man then either.

Yet despite these facts of life, you will

see no telling how many idiot “dogmen”

out there wait only until their dogs show

the very first budding glimpse of

aggression, and then they will just start

rolling the shit out of their dogs. Their

dogs might look good for five minutes—

but then they start “acting funny,” and by

about 10-12 minutes they’re is looking

for a way out. Or maybe one stands the

line when he gets separated, after getting

a little teenage-aggression out of his

system. And guess what his idiot owner

will do? You guessed it, he’ll kill his

young dog—when in point of fact his

youngster just barely developed his

fledgling desire for combat at that point!

These idiots actually believe, “Once

they start, they can’t stop,” and they are

completely blind to the mandatory

maturation process that all living things

go through, both plant and animal. So not

only do these idiot dogmen fail to

understand “dogs” at all, but they really

have no understanding of Life itself.

And the sad thing is I personally know

many “fastlane dogmen” who have been

in dogs for over 20 years, and who still

commit this kind of stupidity on a regular

basis, and who regularly waste

potentiallygood dogs, for no other

reason than they were too impatient to

allow their dogs to mature.

So don’t be like this. Be patient and

wise rather than reckless and stupid. Let

your dog mature, as Nature itself has

designed him to mature. Moreover,

during all of the formative stages of your

dog’s development and maturation, he

has a biological requirement to be fed

good food, and to be parasite-free, in

order for him to attain the best results his

genetic “potential” will allow him

to—just as a farmer’s crops will come

out best when planted in fertile soil and

when being kept bug-free as well.

Again, the same principles apply.

Your dog has a genetic potential, but you

must remember that his potential can be

minimized as well as it can be

maximized. The idiots are the ones

whose stupidity minimizes the dog’s

potential, while the best dogmen

maximize their potential. Maximized

potential is reached only through optimal

care-giving—whereas a dog’s potential

is minimized through poor practices and

care-giving. In the same fashion, the

growth potential of planted crops are

governed by the same laws and nurturing

processes. Planting the greatest seeds in

the world won’t help if you put them in

infertile, nutrient-barren soil. The

potential of crops to grow will likewise

be minimized if you don’t maintain good

growth conditions. So too, starting with

the best-bred pup in the world won’t

mean much if you feed him crap food,

fail to control his parasites, and then

push him way in over his head before

he’s ready. Some of the greatest dogs

that have ever lived simply weren’t

ready until they were 3 years old or

older.

Yet these facts are so plain, and so

simple, that most people can’t seem to

see them or follow them.

Okay? Now then, just as a farmer has to

select the potentially right “crop” to

maximize his odds of getting a good

harvest, so too must you select the

potentially right dog or bloodline to

maximize your odds of winning. Once

that selection has been made, then both

farmer and dogman must be patient and

nurturing and allow their “crops” to

develop fully and reach their full

potential. If you are patient, nurturing,

and kind to your dog as he grows up, and

if you have given him plenty of exercise

and socialization as he matures, all the

while feeding him excellent food and

keeping him parasite-free, then you will

have done a far superior job than most of

your competition already. Because, let

me tell you something, most people don’t

do any of this!

The typical dog man lets his scatter-bred

dog sit on a chain for his whole life—he

feeds him the cheapest shit he can get

away with—and then he rolls the

bejesus out of his dog just as the poor

thing barely begins to mature—and guess

what—that dog man will always

flounder in failure and his poor dogs

will always suffer, and the sad thing is

such idiots always blame “their dogs”

for their consistent failure, but in reality

nothing but the man’s own idiocy is to

blame.

By reading this book, you now have a

chance to be better than that. You now

have a chance to “turn a light on”

upstairs. You now have a chance to set

your yard and yourself up properly first.

You now have a chance to feed your

dogs well. And here and now you now

have the chance to learn how to groom

your dogs properly and to enjoy much

more positive results by far than 99.99%

of your competition.

I hope I now have your attention.

OK, we have covered the preliminaries.

You have set your yard up right and in

the right spot. You have selected well-

bred specimens from superior

bloodlines, and you have obtained them

from proven-excellent breeders. You are

feeding your dogs the best. You have all

of your kennel and medical supplies

onhand. You have made a friend out of

your dogs and have developed a bond

with them. You have continually

prepared your young dogs properly by

making a pet out of them first. Your dogs

know that they are your dogs and you are

their partner. You have brought them in

the house, you have socialized them

well, and you have made sure that your

dogs are absolutely used to your voice,

to your commands, and to traveling with

you (as well as to being in a crate). Your

investment of effort into all of these

developmental processes has now

made your dogs “wise to the world,”

and it has given them a HUGE

advantage over the average “chain

brain” dog out there—who has no

idea of the world around him, and

who doesn’t even know his owner,

except that he gets food from him

every day at sundown.

By grooming your young dogs with good

care, good food, and a good

relationship, you have let their “roots”

grow very deep and you have allowed

them ample time to blossom into a full

and complete companion animal. It is

now time to select the most advanced

prospect you have and begin the

schooling phase. This dog has a good

grasp of the world around him—and he

has a good feeling about you, his owner.

This dog’s vital natural loyalty is totally

with you and on your side, and he trusts

you under any circumstance. He is your

partner in life, he is with you, and he

will do anything for you. Putting in this

kind of time and nurturing effort into

your dog is the difference between

adding fertilizer and water to your crops

—or not doing anything and just sitting

around “hoping something grows.” Your

dog’s chances for successes are now

immeasurably greater because you have

put this kind of time and effort into him,

long before his first roll. His confidence

in you, and in the world around him, are

now light years ahead of his opponents.

It is a sad fact that the average dog

comes off the chain for the first time in

his life, with no idea of the world

around him.

However, your nurturing process is not

yet finished. The next part of the

nurturing process is the schooling

process, and although ahead of most

dogs foundationally, your dog is right

back at the beginning as far as his “pit

experience” goes. Now comes a whole

new developmental process, where your

dog goes from beginner to pro as a

fighter. But just imagine how “lost” most

dogs are at this point already, where they

have not been socialized at all, and are

basically still freaking-out just at being

off the chain, let alone having to deal

with being attacked by some strange dog

in some strange area.

Anyway, while your dog is fully-

developed as your companion, he is now

entering the world of combat, and he is

entering it as a rank beginner. And this

kind of developmental process also

takes time. Thus you start an

inexperienced dog out s-l-o-w-l-y with

just a bump. If you give your dog his first

bump, and he doesn’t do anything, it’s no

big deal. Just sit on him some more.

Now is not the time to test him or judge

him, you are just trying to start him. You

just want to see if he’ll crank up. Even if

he does start right up, you only let it go

for a minute or two, and then you stop it

and put him back on his chain, or in his

crate, where he can sit there and think

about it. Do not let his first bump go on

and on. In fact, it is often best to start

your dog on his own chain, where he is

generally the most confident.

Regardless of where you start him, all

you want to do is just see if he’ll go, and

then you stop it. Once you’re sure he’ll

light up, then you need to make his next

roll “official,” by doing him in a

regulation-sized pit. Just make sure his

first time is short and fun. If he acts bad

at first, but turns on shortly after, again

stop it the moment he cranks. If he does

nothing, try him again a few weeks late.

Keep trying him briefly, until you know

he will start immediately. And if he acts

like a dynamo, still stop it fairly quick.

Only after you know he’ll start

immediately, do you plan his real

schooling process. Let me say that again:

Only after you know he’ll start

immediately, do you plan his schooling

process. The schooling process should

always be in a regulation-sized pit, not

on his chain (and not in a field), because

part of what he’s learning now is both

how not to be jammed into a corner—as

well has how to jam an opponent into a

corner. In fact, making sure that your

prospect learns to “work the walls”

(both defensively and offensively) is one

of the most important aspects of his

schooling. It is just like a human boxer

learning to “work the ropes” in his

training: the boxer needs to learn how to

cut off the ring, offensively, driving his

opponent into the ropes—and the boxer

also needs to learn how to rope-a-dope,

defensively, and slip & move when his

back is to the ropes. And it is the same

with your dog and the pit walls: he

needs to learn how to work the walls,

both offensively and defensively, which

is why his training should always be in a

true, regulation-sized pit.

Now then, remember that the schooling

process begins with intelligent opponent

selection. Unfortunately, here again, too

many so-called dog men will take a

young dog into its first lesson without

any idea of what they’re going to be

running their young dog into. You should

always start your dog against a

somewhat smaller dog that you know

has a light mouth. You also want to

make sure that his slightly-smaller

opponent is fully-schooled and will

definitely hit your prospect right out of

the gate. You do not select another young

dog to use, because not only do you not

know what another young dog can or

cannot do, but he may go over there and

just sniff your dog’s ass. The moment

schooling begins you always want to use

a very experienced dog as an opponent,

but at the beginning stages that very

experienced dog should be a bit smaller

and a bit weaker than your dog. The

reason for this is simple: You (1) don’t

want your dog ever to think he’s going to

find a friend in the pit, which is why the

chosen opponent should immediately

grab your dog, and (2) when your dog is

forced to fight back, you don’t want to

discourage him with too much on his

first few times out. Instead, because

you’ve selected a somewhat smaller and

somewhat weaker opponent, your young

dog (when he does start) will be

rewarded by being able to dominate this

opponent. This is called positive

reinforcement and this is critical to

your young dog’s early impressions of

his job. Being able to dominate will

simply allow your young dog to build

confidence in himself as he learns.

By contrast, your young dog will be

unable to either dominate his opponent,

or to form a positive first impression, if

his first time out is against a bone-

crusher that is 10 lbs. bigger than he is.

What will happen is your young dog will

get his ass handed to him, and possibly

get seriously injured, and he will form a

terrible and negative first impression. So

if you have any grey matter going on

upstairs, make sure you select an

opponent that will blast your dog right

away, yes, but that your dog should be

able to handle rather easily when he

begins to defend himself.

However, you should not abuse your roll

dog either. While your roll dog should

be somewhat weaker and smaller than

his young opponent, you shouldn’t do

this to a dangerous extreme for the roll

dog either. The roll dog should also be

big enough, strong enough, and

experienced enough not to get totally

brutalized himself—so his size

disadvantage to the young dog should be

slight, not exaggerated. Remember, roll

dogs are a valuable commodity in their

own right, and they are living creatures

too, so they should not just be wantonly

abused. Roll dogs should be regarded

as valuable members of your yard and

team too.

Roll dogs should be treated with the

same respect as any member of your

team, and as such they should not be put

into a ridiculous disadvantage. Your

young dog may in fact turn out to be the

bone-crusher, and so you have to keep an

eye on your roll dog too, and you have to

look out for his safety as well. You want

to be a professional sportsman, not a

cruel fool, and that means you want to be

professional in how you handle both

your young prospect as well as your

selected roll dogs. This sport is what

each of us makes it, so do your part to

be a fair and gentlemanly sportsman

on all levels.

Anyway, in schooling, you always want

to give your young dog positive

reinforcement, not negative

reinforcement. Unfortunately, you will

find many so-called “dog men” putting

their young dog against the first dog they

come across, whether that particular

opponent was in their dog’s best

interests or not. Again, these fools have

to see something “right now,” so instead

of choosing the best opponent to school

their young dog with, they invariably

wind up going into a considerably larger

animal than what would have been best

for their young prospect. To make things

worse, most of these idiots will then

proceed to let the schooling roll continue

on and on, to the point where their young

dog not only gets its butt kicked as its

first impression, but then he is allowed

to get completely exhausted too. The

excuses for this unprofessional stupidity

are always the same: “Well, I couldn’t

find an opponent my dog’s size,” or

“Well, I was waiting for my dog to

come to the top so I could pick it up

then,” or—this is the best one— “If my

dog was a real dog he could have

handled it.”

It is an owner’s job to be a real dog

man every bit as much as it is a dog’s

job to be a real dog. Putting a young dog

against any old dog for the hell of it, or

(worse) letting the schooling lessons be

an ass-whipping—or to let it go to the

point of exhaustion—is not being a real

dog man. It is being a “right now” man,

and (quite frankly) a very stupid man. It

is being the kind of idiot who pulls up

the young crops to see how the roots are

doing. Now is not the time for harvesting

your crops and looking to cash-in; it is

not the time for evaluation. Schooling is

schooling, which is the time for

building up your young dog, not trying to

break him down, okay?

After your young dog has been started on

a few slightly-smaller dogs, and after he

has been exposed to a variety of styles,

you will want to step it up a bit. By now,

you should have a preliminary feel for

your dog’s ability. You should be able to

tell whether your dog is a bum, is only

average, is pretty good, or whether he

looks to be something awesome. You can

tell these things by whether he sucks,

looks decent, shows some nice moves,

or by whether decimates his early

opponents. Now is the time where you

decide how his more advanced

schooling rolls are going to be, so that

you can even more accurately judge his

ability. Remember, your dog is still

learning here, and as such he is not yet

being tested. What you are now doing is

rasing the bar. Rather than putting him

with slightly-smaller dogs to build his

confidence, you will be evaluating his

ability by putting him with other young,

strong prospects, who are also “passed

the beginner stages,” but who also are

still learning as well.

There rolls will not be long either, nor

will they be “game tests.” What they

will be is longer than the previous

starter rolls—but yet they will be

stopped before either dog gets very

tired. They will be upgraded sparring

sessions, really. This is where you select

“a good chest dog,” or “a good stifle

dog,” or “a good ear dog”—all of which

will be of equal weight now—and all of

which animals are also looking

promising. Retired match dogs, who are

still healthy, can likewise be used and in

many ways are preferable to use.

Regardless, you are neither trying to beat

your dog up, nor are you trying to let him

have an easy time of it anymore, what

you are doing now is honing his skills

against his equals, and you are seeing

just how much ability he really does

have. Notice I said, “ability.” We still

are not talking about gameness yet. We

are not scratching the dogs over-

andover-and-over while tired yet. In

point of fact, neither dog should be

getting tired yet. We are simply

schooling, and we are simply doing it

against other competitive dogs, at the

same weight, whereas before we were

doing it with aggressive bums at a

smaller weight. We are merely “raising

the bar” a little at this point.

What you will be doing is calling your

partners, or friendly-rival kennels, and

trying to set things up for some true

schooling. But you have to watch people

here and you have to look out for your

dog. There are a lot of con men in this

sport, who will try to put you at a

disadvantage, and you have to remember

that even the finest gentleman sportsman

still wants his dogs to do better than

yours, as that is just human nature. So be

prepared for shenanigans. The most

common shenanigan is when you pull in

to the schooling spot, and see the other

dog, you immediately realize what you

were “told” was a 45 lb male instead

proves to be a 47 lb male. Do not be

sucked into this bullshit. Man-up and

have the confidence to say, “No!” to a

bad deal for your dog. In fact, always

insist on weighing both animals

before you put them together.

If your opponent refuses to weigh his

dog, the chances are it’s because he

knows it’s bigger than what you both

talked about on the phone. If this ever

happens to you, remember you are not

required to set the animals down “right

now.” Instead, put your dog back into the

crate and go home. The next time your

partner, or rival kennel, will take you

more seriously when you say you want

to school dogs at “x” weight. If this

happens too many times, then find

yourself more reputable schooling

partners. If your schooling partners give

you the, “If your dog was a real dog...”

trip, tell them if their dog was a real dog

they wouldn’t have to pick on smaller

dogs!

Now, there may be times when you will

want to bring the smaller dog, and that

might be to help your friend or rival

kennel with their own beginning dog.

That is different. Sure, sometimes you

want to help people school their very

young dogs by lending them the service

of your own slightlysmaller already-

experienced roll dog, but that is not what

I am talking about here. I am talking

about when you are both bringing started

dogs, for more advanced schooling,

where both dogs are prospects and both

dogs are supposed to do well for their

owners. When this happens, you do not

want to spot any one any weight, and you

do not want to go into a smaller dog

either, you want the weights to be equal,

or as close to equal as is humanly

possible, period. This is the only way

you can accurately-judge your dog’s

ability.

If you have respectable partners and

your animals are the same weight—but

your young dog happens to be getting the

worst of things—pick him up before he

gets tired or dominated too long. Even if

he is winning, you do not want him to get

tired yet either. This is not a pre-planned

game test, and so you are not trying to

find out “right now” if your dog has what

it takes. You are only as- sessing his

ability, and you are only just teaching

him the ropes at this point. In other

words, you are schooling your dog at

this point, not game-testing him, and you

don’t want your dog to experience

anything negative about what he’s doing,

yet. There is a time and a season for

everything, and (once he’s ready) then

you can test him; however he is not

ready yet. Right now he is learning and

building both his skills and his

confidence, and you have to build him up

slowly and completely be- fore you try

to knock him down.

Therefore, if your dog gets pummeled in

his first competitive roll, pick him up

and then select a lower ability dog for

his next schooling session. If he destroys

the other dog, then do the opposite, pick

up early and select a higher-level dog

for his next session. If the roll was pretty

much even, then keep going as you were.

Whatever happens, during these next few

schooling rolls you will be getting a

more keen assessment of your dog’s

abilities, his strengths and weaknesses,

his intelligence and his stamina, all the

while you are building upon whatever

skills he does have via the acquired

experience. Once again, notice I did not

say anything about testing his

“gameness” yet.

In fact, other than the game test (which I

discuss in the next chapter), no schooling

lesson should be longer than 20 minutes,

and most schooling sessions should be

between 10 and 15 minutes. The first

two lessons should be half that amount

of time. After nearly 20 years in this

game, and schooling dogs in many

different ways, and talking to hundreds

of top dogmen, I am positive that

repeated exhaustion is the worst thing

for a dog’s mindset, especially if he is

hurt and on the bottom. It is much better

to school a dog frequently, against

opponents of varying styles, for short

periods of time, while he is still

developing and learning.

Why don’t you want him to get hurt or

exhausted? Because dogs form simple

associations in their thinking. Most of us

have heard of the famous psychologist

Pavlov, whose most famous experiment

was ringing a bell every time he fed his

dog. Soon Pavlov’s dog would drool

every time he heard that bell, whether or

not Pavlov actually put food in front of

the animal. The reason is because the

dog formed a simple association

between a ringing bell and being fed,

and so the dog eventually would drool

every time he heard that bell. “Bell =

Food” is what the dog eventually

learned.

Well, do you really want your dog to

form a similar association between

being in the pit and getting his ass kicked

and becoming dead-ass tired? That is,

do you want your dog to associate

something unpleasant (always getting

hurt and horribly exhausted) with what

he’s supposed to like (fighting contact)?

Take it from me, you don’t! Yet that is

the simple association most dogs quickly

form of the pit, during their formative

first impressions, precisely because

their ignorant owners put too much on

them, too soon, and too often, and then

they let the ass-whippings their young

dogs take continue for too long a time.

These “stupid farmers” basically destroy

their own crops before they are ready to

be harvested.

Think deeply about gameness, and then

think deeply about exhaustion. Gameness

is defined as an enthusiastic will to win.

By contrast, serious exhaustion is no fun

at all, and it can even be life-threatening

(especially if associated with injury).

When you school a dog, I again remind

you that in addition to developing his

performance skills you are also trying

to develop the dog’s confi- dence and

his enthusiasm—and if you bring about

total exhaustion in your dog’s schooling

lessons, especially combined with being

pummeled while on the bottom, then you

are defeating the very purpose of

schooling! You are knocking him down

before he has even learned to stand up.

You can’t develop enthusiasm in a young

dog, while at the same time dishing out

something as unpleasant as getting his

ass whipped while he is extremely

fatigued. This is why you should only

allow this to happen in his game test,

and then only once, but you should never

allow this to happen in his schooling.

There is nothing enjoyable about being

dead-ass tired while getting the shit

knocked out of you. Think about it. So

why would you do this to a young,

developing animal, in whom you are

trying to form continuously-positive

impressions?

To help illustrate this point, even

professional human boxers do not spar

for 15 rounds, or to the point of

unconsciousness, every time they get in

the ring for practice. Rather,

professionals usually go 3 rounds of

light sparring for practice (9 minutes),

and then they do other exercises for their

training. No one would want to be a

boxer if he were required to go through

12 to 15 rounds of brutal hell, out of

shape and to the point of collapse, every

damned time he laced on a pair of

gloves—and neither will your young dog

want to be a pit dog if he winds up

tripping over his tongue, and getting the

living shit knocked out of him, every

time he sees the box. So use your head.

This is also why you don’t put your dog

into a hard mouth dog either in

schooling, until he gets a sense of

defense and confidence first. Many

dogmen fundamentally blow it by

giving their young prospects game

tests while they are schooling them.

Rather than short sessions, such people

allow their dogs to get to the 20 - 40

minute range on each lesson. This is too

long to school a young dog! At the

schooling stage of your dog’s

development, you should not be

discouraging your dog with too much of

an ordeal, especially deep exhaustion.

Just remember that all schooling is—as

what its name implies—an education.

Schooling is only to get your dog

accustomed to fighting con- tact, and

then to expose him to different styles of

how an opponent might possibly come at

him—so that your dog can learn how to

handle himself in a wide variety of

situations. And all the while you want to

try to make the experience pleasurable

to the dog, not miserable for the dog.

The bottom line is schooling rolls should

help your dog, not hurt your dog. Each

lesson should be progressively building

your do up, not progressively tearing

him down. Each successive roll should

another step to his becoming a better

dog. If a particular roll isn’t going to do

anything for your dog, besides put extra

holes in him, then there is no reason for

you to do it. Build your dogs, don’t

break your dogs in their schooling. You

build your dogs by selecting opponents

who will give him as little trauma,

fatigue, or injury as possible—while

still teaching him the ropes—until your

dog is clearly a well-schooled,

confident animal, and is ready for either

a show, or a game test (or to where you

realize he is hopeless and is simply not

going to be a good one).

That’s it. That is all schooling is

designed to do—is to show your dog that

fighting contact is fun and to prepare him

against a wide variety of styles—all the

while not injuring him or challenging his

confidence too much yet. Just like in

college, you must educate each student

before you expect him to pass a final

test. For the same reason, you do not

challenge your dog too much during

schooling, but instead you are only

educating him first. Use a leg dog one

time, a stifle dog another time, a chest

dog after that, etc., etc.—at first a bit

weaker and smaller than your young,

inexperienced dog—and then you raise

his level every so often to see where

he’s at—but you try never to let your

developing dog form any negative

impressions. You are only teaching him

the ropes.

Any amount of unnecessary trauma

and/or exhaustion defeats the purpose of

schooling and is contrary to the

development of your dog’s growth.

Believe it!

Chapter 13

The Game Test

The previous chapter demonstrated the

confusion between what it is to school a

dog as opposed to what it is to game-test

a dog. I wanted to draw a clear

distinction between these two aspects of

grooming your dogs because

understanding the difference is very

important. Without getting into

everything I wrote in the last chapter,

suffice it to say that schooling is an

education for your dog, while the game

test is an education for you. When you

school your dog, you gradually teach him

what’s going to happen when he’s in

there, without challenging his confidence

too much. It should always be

pleasurable for the dog.

When you game test your dog, however,

you are now teaching yourself what your

dog will do when things get really tough

—and this roll should in fact be total

hell for your dog. In schooling, it is your

dog who benefits from the chance to

develop his style and confidence against

a wide va- riety of opponents (without

challenging this confidence). In a game

test, however, this roll doesn’t benefit

your dog at all—in fact, it is very

harmful to your dog. The whole point of

the game test is to challenge your dog’s

confidence now, to assess his mettle

under fire, and you do this by seeing

how he handles it when he is behind, on

the bottom, totally exhausted, and is

basically getting his ass whipped.

Because a true game test is so hard on a

dog, some dog men just prefer just to put

their dog in a cheap match, rather than

take something out of him for nothing.

And there is a lot of sense to this. I

personally agree with this philosophy,

and I myself would never game test a

dog that I intended to match; I would

only game test a dog that didn’t have

enough ability to match, but who I might

want to breed to because of his

pedigree. I mean, if your dog is so good

that he powers through all of his

opponents in school, then why beat the

hell out of him and take away a

successful outing from his win record

through a hard game-test? Instead, just

put any super-talented dog you have in a

cheap match and let that be his game

test. This is something to think about

seriously.

You must remember that you are literally

taking “a win” out of your dog in a game

test—as the intent of this test is to have

your dog get as tired and as beaten as

possible, without permanently-injuring

or losing him in the test. Clearly, getting

the shit knocked out of him is not in the

interests of the animal, it is only

beneficial for the dog’s owner, because

every serious bulldog owner needs to

know whether or not his dog has any

depth to him. By contrast, in schooling,

you are just trying to get your dog

experienced while not challenging him

too much and by putting as little trauma

on him as possible.

Anyway, once your dog is fully started,

and fully-mature, and thoroughly

schooled, then you can game test him (or

match him). Again, if he has looked

fabulous in his schooling rolls, I think it

is smarter to simply hook him and bring

him out. I recommend that you save the

game tests for dogs that are not talented

enough to win a match, but yet that are

still well-bred enough to use for

breeding. Okay? So suppose your dog is

just average in his ability. He’s bred

great, he’s acted great in his schooling,

but he is just not talented enough to

match. It is here, in my opinion, where

the game test comes in. Or, suppose you

have retired a winning match dog that

was never stretched out in any contest

due to his awesome ability. In either

case, you want to know his true quality

and heart before you breed him. Right?

Whatever the case, your dog should be

both fully started and thoroughly

schooled before he is game-tested. A

dog needs a minimum of 5 solid rolls

(against dogs of varying styles) to be

considered thoroughly schooled, and I

define a dog as “fully started” when he

will go over and take hold on his own

the first time you release him. (If your

dog has to wait for the opponent to bite

him first, before he cranks, then your dog

is not fully started and should not be

game-tested yet, he should still be in

school.)

Furthermore, your dog should also be

at least 3 years old before you give him

a serious game test. A rare few dogs

take even longer to be fully-mature.

Biological Fact:

Dogs reach “sexual” maturity between

the ages of 8 months to 18 months—but

dogs do not reach full “social”

maturity (or their physical prime)

until they are 2.5 years to 4 years of

age! If you are a dogman worth your

salt, you will pay attention to this fact,

and you will let Nature work for your

dog, not against your dog, and you will

do this by letting your dog mature-out

fully before you game test him—making

sure that your dog is both fully-started,

and thoroughly-schooled, as well 3

years old (or older), before you subject

him to a final examination. This is only

fair.

If your dog has been properly schooled,

so he knows what to do against a wide

variety of styles—and he is fully started

and ready to take on all comers—and he

is fully-mature and in his physical prime,

then comes the time for you to select an

opponent that is a proven good dog, and

perhaps a pound or two heavier than

your dog, for his final game test. Make

sure that your dog is lean and healthy

(but do not condition him, as you want to

also check his natural air) in this test.

You also want him parasite free before

you put him through the rigors of a

serious game test. Now is the time

where you finally let things go the

distance, and you may now pass judg-

ment on your dog’s true heart and

quality. You have brought him up right,

you have fed him right, you have

socialized him right, you have schooled

him right, and you have let him mature-

out. You have done everything you can to

ensure his success—you have done your

job and pulled your end of it—and now

it’s on him. Now, you get to look at you

dog’s overall ability throughout the long

haul: you get to see his natural air, his

intelligence, and his adaptability to each

situation. You get to see how he acts in

the corner and scratches when behind

and tired; you get to see his desire to

finish if things go his way—or his deep

gameness if they don’t. After the smoke

clears, you can happily breed the dog,

show the dog—or get rid of the dog—

but don’t ever game test the dog again.

The reason I say don’t test your dog ever

again is I have seen many people game

test a dog once, and then they second-

guess the test a month or so later. “I’m

not sure I tested him hard enough,”

they think to themselves. What this

means is the dog’s owner lacks

confidence in his own judgment, and in

reality he is just scared to hunt with the

dog—or to declare him game—so he

tests the animal again. Such people

basically are afraid to be wrong in their

judgement in front of their peers, so they

test their dogs over and over again “just

to be sure.”

Understand that there is no amount of

game testing which will ensure you that

your dog won’t quit the next time up.

Nor will there be any game test that will

ensure you of a victory when you match

the dog. That’s why we call it gambling.

Even such great dogs as GR CH

Sandman and GR CH Texas both lost

and quit when they faced the right dogs.

Does this mean that Texas and Sandman

really were not very good dogs? No,

they were great dogs—they were just

taken to the well one too many times. If

being a Grand Champion, multi-winner

in the hands of excellent dogmen cannot

guarantee a dog of victory the next time

out, or of not quitting on some fateful

day, then being “multi-game-tested”

won’t either. What repeatedly game-

testing your dogs will guarantee you is

that you have taken additional matches

out of your dog, since a real game test is

tougher on a dog than most matches. This

is because, in a match, your dog is

conditioned and so he can physically

handle the long haul better. In a game

test, your dog is not conditioned, so

going the distance will be tougher on his

will and physical system.

Therefore, as I have said time and again,

school your dog first—and let him

mature out— and then (if you like what

you’ve seen so far) it is time for a game

test. Or go for a cheap match if he’s

talented, and let that be his test.

Whatever you do, just don’t continually

game test your dog, over and over again,

out of your own lack of gameness in

being able to make a GD decision as

whether or not you like what you’ve

seen. This is the bottom line I have

noticed in nearly all dogmen who game

test their dogs several times—they’re

too chickenshit just to make a decision

on whether or not a dog is game. And in

testing their dog repeatedly, what they

don’t realize is that each time they beat

their dog up in a game test, they decrease

its chances of winning a match by putting

unnecessary trauma on the animal—and

so they throw a potential win out the

window. Or if it’s just a bum, they are

just abusing their poor dog for nothing.

Every game test, or match, for a bulldog

is about like 20 to 30 fights for a human

boxer, which is why a 3x winner is

considered to be a Champion in dogs,

and a 5x winner is considered to be a

Grand Champion, because of how hard

every “1” match or test is on a dog. To

be able to win just one match is an

accomplishment for a dog, and to be

able to win 3 or 5 times is something

special. So don’t take unnecessary wins

out of your dog by repeatedly game-

testing it. Or don’t brutalize a game bum

by continuously abusing him.

Understand what a game test is for.

It’s just

to get an idea: an idea of what your dog

is made of—not a guarantee. There are

no guarantees in this sport.

What you are trying to do in a game test

is you basically are trying to bring a dog

to a point where there is some threat to

the animal’s life, and you are trying to

see how he handles it by his attitude.

Does he want to keep going? Is he

thinking about quitting? You have to put

a certain amount of trauma on the dog—

in the form of dominance, fatigue, and

punishment—in order to figure this out.

However, you must exercise good

judgment and not let your dog actually

lose his life or sustain permanent injury.

A dead dog cannot be hunted, it cannot

be bred, and most people would be

uninterested in purchasing a dead dog—

so only a fool would take a dog to the

point of no return in a game test. Doing

this will accomplish nothing, except to

prove what an idiot his owner is.

Crippling your dog in his game test isn’t

much better, so don’t be stupid and do

either of these things to your dogs.

Nonetheless, you do want to bring about

conditions in a game test that come just

close enough to make you start to worry

that your dog’s life might be in danger. It

is precisely at this point, where you

begin to worry about your dog’s life,

that you should stop the contest and

see how he acts.

The more experienced you are, and/or

the better your eye for a good dog, the

more you will be able to see whether he

is truly game or not, in the shortest

amount of time, by the subtle signs he

gives off. The less experienced you are,

and/or the lousier your ability to spot

gameness is, the more you will just sit

there and have to let him keep scratching

and scratching—until he can’t or won’t

go. People who do this basically are

imbeciles, complete failures as dogmen.

They have no eye for a dog, so they can

only state the obvious, that any fool can

see, and that’s if a dog comes (or not)

when he’s at death’s door. The result of

taking things this far will be the same in

either case— whether he crawls or

doesn’t go—and that is a dead dog—so

what difference does it make at this

point if he’s game or not, you just lost

the sonofabitch genius! A good dogman

can see whether the dog would stand or

come long before he is “actually at”

death’s door, by how the dog acts when

he’s hurt, losing, and tired. He can see

this when the dog is close to—but long

before—he is actually at death’s door. A

good dogman understands that there “is”

a possibility that his judgment “may” be

wrong by stopping things short of the

Point of No Return—but a good dogman

also understands that “possibly being

wrong” is far preferable to accidentally

killing a truly dead game dog by making

him crawl five times, and actually

making him prove he’s dead game,

thereby losing the dog in the process.

Thus a good dogman wants to see how

his dog handles adversity, but is not an

idiot or a fanatic in overdoing it.

To evaluate your dog’s gameness

intelligently in this way, you need to

select the proper opponent for him, one

which is probably a pound or two

heavier, and a proven good dog. If you

know what you are doing, you do not

have to use two (or more) dogs to game

test your one dog. Using two dogs is far

too risky for your dog’s safety, as (if they

are both good dogs going against him),

your dog’s chances of death or

irreparable injury are great. And if they

are not good dogs, then why use them?

Using two dogs in a game test only

proves that the dog’s owner doesn’t have

a good eye for what he’s looking for, nor

good judgment as a manager in looking

out for his athlete’s best interests. You

are trying to test your dog’s gameness,

reasonably and safely, you are not trying

to break his bones or take his life. If you

take too much out of your dog, by putting

dog-after-dog on him, or by putting him

too far uphill in weight, you will either

kill your dog or get him injured so badly

that he will be rendered useless as a

match dog and will have to live out the

rest of his life as a cripple, thanks to

your stupid decisions and management.

Using more than one dog in a game test

also introduces a variable that your dog

won’t have to face in a match either, and

that is multiple opponents. Some dogs

that may be dead game to one dog, will

get confused and quit to several dogs in

a row. Therefore, since they don’t have

to do this for real in a match, then they

shouldn’t be judged under these

conditions in a test. Grand Champion

Hank is an example of a truly great dog

who would refuse to fight a second dog,

but yet would whip any “first” dog you

set in front of him. The simple fact is, if

your dog is so good that it takes more

than one dog to look at him—or that you

have to search for a giant dog for him to

face in order to test him—then forget

about testing him and just hook him

instead. Anyway, here are some things

you want to look for in his test:

What to Look For:

Some of the signs to look for in a game

dog are:

1. Top or bottom, winning or losing,

does your dog stay in holds? To me, one

of the surest signs of gameness (or lack

thereof) is whether or not the dog is a

holding dog (or not). If your dog is

always in there with a hold somewhere,

no matter how tough it is for him, the

chances are he’s a game one because he

is still trying to win. But if your dog

goes down and he let’s go and starts to

panic, and he seems more preoccupied

with getting up than he is with doing his

job, the chances are he’s a quitter.

2. Does your dog have a confident

expression on his face; in other words,

does he look like he’s enjoying what

he’s doing? No matter what’s happening,

your dog should always be intense and

think he’s winning. If your dog’s eyes

start to wander, or if he turns away from

his opponent at some point, loses

intensity, and/or starts hollering in pain,

the chances are he’s thinking about doing

something else. If you mastered Key #1

in The 5 Keys to Success, and if you

truly love your dog and understand what

he’s thinking, you should be able to see

what you’re dog is thinking and how

much he likes what he’s doing, if you

have a good eye for a dog!

3. Is your dog’s tail up and wagging, or

is it dropped and limp? You should hope

that his tail is arched over his back

(and/or wagging) or you are probably

the owner of a cur. Not always, but 9x

out of 10.

4. Does your dog struggle in the corner

to get back to his opponent, or does he

just stand there content that he’s been

given a break? A good dog is upset that

the action was stopped and wants

nothing more than to return to it—and

he’ll let you know it by the way he acts

in the corner. But if your dog is in the

corner, and does nothing but stand there

looking up at you, the chances are it’s

okay with him that you stopped things for

awhile—which is not what you’re

looking for. (However, some easy-going

dogs will just chill in the corner,

knowing the drill and not wasting

energy, so be on the lookout for the

difference between a dog who simply

lacks intensity—and a cagey veteran

who is just conserving his energy☺)

5. When he’s tired and is turned back

around to face the other dog, does he

hold his head UP and look down at his

opponent—or does he hold his head

DOWN and look up at his opponent? A

tired dog that lifts his head UP generally

is getting whipped by fatigue and is

concentrating on his breathing—and is

therefore sure to quit to fatigue

eventually. By contrast, the tired dog that

lowers his head DOWN and raises his

eyes up at the dog is suppressing fatigue

and is maintaining focus on the opponent

—which is what you want.

6. Finally, how does your dog scratch? I

realize that some very good dogs happen

to be slow scratchers, but generally you

want a dog that scratches hard. Some

hard scratchers have bashed their heads

against the boards (in missing their

ducking opponents) enough times where

they adjust their style. They’ll tippy-toe

half way (making sure that their

opponent isn’t going anywhere), and then

they’ll rocket across and really blast

their opponent. Whatever the case, not

only is hard scratching a very good

indicator of a dog’s gameness, but it can

actually stop the opponent’s dog when

things get in the trenches. How would

you like to be in a knock-down, drag-out

fight with someone for an hour and still

have your opponent screaming and

struggling to get back at you, like

nothing’s ever happened, and then pile-

drive your ass in the corner? Well, if

your dog’s opponent has any cur in him,

your dog’s hard scratches tell him,

“Nothing you do has any effect on

me!” Hard scratches have stopped many

an opponent!

7. The bottom line is to look for is a

pacer, a dog that does not let it all hang

out in the beginning, but does just enough

to stay ahead—saving part of himself for

the finish. I am not impressed with dogs

that shoot their load right away. If they

have a horrible mouth, they can get away

with it (usually), but all things being

equal I want a dog to pace himself. This

does not mean a lazy dog that puts out no

effort at all; quite the contrary. But the

dog should definitely build momentum

as the hunt continues. He knows what

he’s doing, he sticks to a good (but not

ridiculous) pace—and he picks it up,

just a notch, every time his opponent

dips down, just a notch. He does not just

go apeshit from the get-go. Just as in

human professional fighters, a good pit

dog does not barnstorm, only

inexperienced dogs and/or fight-crazy

curs do. By contrast, the gradual,

steady increase of pressure and the

steady effort to slowly, but surely, pull

ahead is a sure sign of a quality game

dog.
On the other hand, the steady de cline of

desire and effort is the sure sign of a cur.

These two sentences form the crux of

how to judge a dog game or cur, simply

by how they fight. Are they building and

building to a crescendo of destruction—

or did they start out wide-open, and have

they given it all they’ve got, and are they

now starting to decline in their efforts?

You can spot the cur in a dog, or the

quality of a dog, by answering these two

simple questions as you watch things

unfold, with or without turns, hollering,

or any other “sign.” Diminishing effort,

not hollering, turning, or fuzzing up at

the tail, is the true sign of a cur.

You don’t even have to let it go all the

way to see these things. I guess it’s kind

of a knack, but it is better to be aware of

what to look for in a dog, than not to be

aware and just beat them up until the last

breath of life is in them and then see if

they’ll scratch. This is the fool’s way to

test dogs—it takes way too much out of

them. Instead, watch how they fight and

you will answer all of your questions by

watching the degree to which they do, or

do not, follow these guidelines. Things

like wrestling ability, air, and mouth, are

the easiest things in the world to judge in

a dog. They either dominate the dog, or

they don’t. They either tire quickly or

they don’t. They either hurt the dog

quickly, or they don’t. But gameness and

true quality are determined by how they

fight. So remember, the steady attempt to

in crease pressure and the steady effort to

pull ahead, when the time is right, is the

sign of a quality game dog. By contrast,

the steady de cline of desire and effort is

the sure sign of a cur. These two

sentences, if you remember them, will

give you the eye to spot a game dog or a

cur, long before a dog either stands or

dies game. The object of a test is to

determine these things as quickly as

possible, with the least trauma to the

animal. Then add to your equation

whether or not they can breath, wrestle,

and bite, and you will answer for

yourself whether you have an ace, a

matchable dog, just a game brood dog—

or a cull.

All right, as a recap, remember that only

after you have schooled your dog

properly, and after he is fully-started,

and fully mature, should you game test

your dog—and then do that only once. If

your dog passes your game test, then

either show the dog, or breed to the dog,

or get rid of the dog, but don’t

deliberately put him through the rigors

of a game test again. Doing this will

save your dog’s best efforts for the

match, and it will keep him in there

longer if things do go the distance for

real. It will also decrease the chances of

permanent injury so he doesn’t have to

live out the rest of his life as a cripple.

If you insist on game-testing your dog

several times, and you follow this with a

long hard match—look for the fat lady to

sing eventually if you keep this kind of

thing up. You must always keep in mind

the medical evidence proven by Pavlov:

dogs form simple associations in their

think- ing. If you stretch your dog out

too hard, and/or too many times in a row

(without breaking up the pattern with

short, easy ones), the chances are very,

very high that you are taking steps

toward ruining your dog because he will

begin to associate the “pleasantness” of

fighting contact with the unpleasantness

of horrid exhaustion/punishment. Let me

give you an example: you may love ice

cream, but if you are forced to eat 10

buckets of it every time you sit down to

eat it, and if you do this often enough,

you just might lose your taste for ice

cream after a while. Get my drift?

Therefore, don’t ruin your dog’s love of

battle, by repeatedly stretching him out

and beating him up, and then your dog

won’t get the idea that fighting sucks

after awhile. He may love to do it, just

as you may love to eat ice cream, but if

every time he does it you make him get

so fukken tired he can’t stand up, then he

may get sick of it after awhile. Same as

you may get sick of ice cream after

awhile, if you are forced to ingest too

much of it every damned time you eat it.

If you keep this fact in mind, and if you

make sure to give the dog a short bump

or two after he goes through any long

one (once he’s healed of course), you

will prevent your dog from forming any

negative association between fighting

and being totally exhausted, and thus you

will go a long way toward keeping your

dog in there if things do happen to go the

distance again for real in a match.

Final Tip:

In this regard, if you game test your dog

prior to matching him (or if you’ve

matched your dog and he got stretched

out hard his last time out), and you want

to avoid your dog forming this negative

association of fighting action and total

exhaustion/punishment), again make sure

you counter-act this: Wait several

months for your dog to recover, and then

give him a light bump for 5 minutes

against a dog he can easily handle—

and then do it again a month later. Once

again, the reason to do this is you do not

want your dog to associate fighting with

horrid exhaustion, because that more

than anything else will ruin a dog.

Breaking up a grueling ordeal with a

couple of easy

ones afterward is they only way to avoid

your dog forming this association.

To those “hard core” dogmen out there

who think I am being too soft on a dog

and that this is babying a dog too much,

which will result in curs escaping “true

testing”—I say bullshit. There are Laws

of Nature, and basic principles that

occur, and so I don’t care how game a

dog has

shown in the past, any dog can be

stopped if you really want to stop it.

If you doubt me then try this test: set your

dog down for 40 minutes with a huge

opponent. If he lives, then set him down

the next day with another opponent for

:40, and (if he makes it passed this)

repeat this test, again and again, 40

minutes against a different monster every

damned day of his life, and believe me,

he’ll quit! Naturally, no one would be

stupid enough to test their dogs this hard,

because it’s unfair to the animal, and no

bloodline or individual dog could pass

this severe a testing process, so I think

I’ve made my point. Therefore, don’t get

all high and mighty about how “game”

any dog is—they’ll all quit if you test

them hard enough—or often enough—I

don’t care what he’s shown in the past.

The point of this section is many dogs

that have quit and been put down would

not have quit had they been brought

along properly. Your job as his friend,

manager, and owner is to try not to have

him quit by managing your athlete

properly, and this schooling and game-

testing process I have outlined will help

your dog along in this regard. If he quits

anyway, then you know it was he, and

not you, who was the weak link on your

team. Too many times it is the owner

who is in fact the weak link by expecting

the dog to do everything—and yet it’s the

dog who gets the bullet if the team fails.

In truth it should be the other way around

and the owner is the one who deserves

to be planted more often than not. The

dog has the much tougher job on this

team, so if the owner can’t do his job

and help his dog to do well then it is the

owner who really should be culled. The

key to success on this team, therefore,

lies first in the owner’s competence and

only then is the rest decided by the dog.

When you first do your part, by

remembering schooling a dog is just that:

schooling, you are well on your way to

success. Again, you school your dog for

only two reasons: 1) to develop his

skills and his style, and 2) to develop his

confidence. Schooling is something

totally different from game-testing. Once

you have thoroughly schooled your dog,

and he is fully mature, then you game test

your dog (or hook him). After his test, or

if he gets exhausted after any hunt,

remember to bump him for a short

period a month later against an easy

opponent—and then do it again a month

after that. This will prevent your dog

from forming the negative association of

extreme exhaustion and the hunt—and

will thus go a long way towards keeping

him in there when he finds himself in the

trenches when the money is on the line

the next time. Believe it!

Chapter 14

Evaluation

(The Perfect Performance

Dog)

The most crucial subject that exists in

these dogs, that all dogmen forever

fantasize about (or at least that they

should be fantasizing about), is what

constitutes “The Perfect Fighting

Dog?” I mean, if you are trying to breed

and select-for the very best performance

dogs that you can, then how can you do

this unless you identify what, exactly,

constitutes “The Perfect Fighting Dog?”

After all, how can you regularly achieve

canine fighting perfection, if you do not

even know what that is? Because, really,

“game dogs that will scratch” are just

the tip of the proverbial iceberg. A game

dog that will scratch is tantamount to a

human boxer who will take blow-after-

blow up against the ropes, and who will

answer the bell for the next round. Such

a boxer may be admirable in his

courage, but he is hardly “Hall-Of-

Fame” material. So too, a perfect

fighting dog is one hell of a lot more

complete animal than a “stupid-game

dog” that will “scratch to a killing.” The

fact is a perfect performer is a superb,

all-around athlete , that is also game,

but who is absolutely outstanding in his

ability to perform the many aspects of

his complex job.

Now then, in order to create the perfect

performer in your mind’s eye, to have as

a target to look for in an animal and to

breed for when you are trying to make

“more dogs like that,” you must first

have a deep understanding of the rules of

the sport in which your entry is intended

to compete. This goes back to Key #3 on

p. 227 of “The Five Keys to Success,”

which is understanding your dogs’ job.

For instance, what is “perfect” for a

human runner of the 100-yd dash is “not”

perfect for a human runner of the 20-mile

marathon race. Another example: what is

perfect for a human powerlifter is “not”

perfect for a human gymnast; each of

these sportive events requires vastly

different overall prowess. Therefore, if

you are going to select a human athlete to

coach, it makes sense to first understand

the sport for which your athlete is

supposed to compete, so that you can

then select the right athlete for the job.

In the various dog sports, what

constitutes the perfect canine athlete

required to run a shortdistance race on a

racetrack (in the desert heat) is “not”

going to be the perfect candidate to run a

long-distance marathon Ididarod race,

cross-country pulling a sled (in the

frozen arctic tundra). Again we see that

the ideal or “perfect” athletic candidate

is going to vary greatly in his physical

strengths, aptitudes, and even

appearance based on the demands of

each sportive event. Thus, in order for

we as dogmen to strive for perfection the

canine sport of fighting prowess, with

any sort of accuracy in judgment, we

must understand that very sport in which

our entry is intended to compete.

In the sport of pit dogs, therefore, you

must keep in mind that “the perfect

animal” should excel in a fighting

situation, with no time limit, where who

wins and who loses is predicated on

scratching. And if you are lost already,

at this most basic point, you may as well

get out of the dogs because you have no

sense or aptitude for understanding the

game or what kind of an animal it takes

to win that game. Is everybody with me?

I ask this sincerely because most dogmen

are not.

Most dogmen are trying to breed “100-

yd-dash dogs” to win no-time-limit

affairs—and therefore most dogmen

have breeding standards that are exactly

bass-ackwards to what they should be

breeding for. In short, most dogmen have

no clue—and this fact is reflected in

their woefully-inferior win percentages

as breeders and showers of dogs. So

stay with me here, because these dogs

are not designed to win “short” contests;

these dogs are designed to win rather

long contests. Okay?

So let’s move on from the basics. In my

sincere opinion, not only does a person

have to understand dogs, and on top of

that understand the basic rules under

which his dogs will be competing, but

since this sport centers around fighting

within those rules, a person must

understand the basic nature of

fighting as well. And therefore, in my

opinion, in order to be an effective

“fighting strategist,” I truly believe that

not only must a person be an intelligent

individual, in order to have the capacity

to understand these concepts, but a

person must also have legitimate

fighting experi-

ence himself. I believe truly legitimate

personal fighting experience in a dogman

is absolutely essential in order for said

person to have a truly deep

understanding of fighting strategy in

general, so that he may accurately see if

such strategy is present or absent in his

dogs.

Those who pooh-pooh this idea are only

those who do not have the appropriate

legitimate fight training and experience

—and I am not talking about some “Tae-

Kwan-Do” bullshit martial arts fake-

fighting experience—I am talking about

a person having legitimate boxing, muay

Thai, NHB, jiujitsu, sambo, or some

other form of legitimate fighting

experience. A person must have both the

intelligence and the necessary

experience in order to be an effective

fight analyst, not either-or (or none).

Let’s face it: there are people with

fighting experience who have no

intelligence, and there are highly-

intelligent people who have no fighting

experience. Worse, there are also

absolute im- beciles who have no

fighting experience either. And,

unfortunately, our sport is predominately

filled with such complete bozos, who

have no fighting experience, and so their

“opinions” on combat tactics are either

nonexistent or utterly worthless.

So let’s forget about them.

The fact is, top fight strategists will

always be persons of high intelligence

who have some experience. I mean,

truly, how can any person (even an

intelligent person) understand fighting

strategy without having learned fighting

strategy? Even the most intelligent of

individuals, without legitimate training,

do not have the same perspective on

fighting as equally-intelligent

individuals who do have such training.

To those who would like to stand up and

say, “Human fighting is not the same

thing as dog fighting,” please, sit

down, as I am fully aware of this fact.

What I also know is, while the two are

not exactly the same, that there are

definitely more similarities than there

are differences. The main dif- ference

between human fighting strategy and dog

fighting strategy is that there is “no time

limit” with the dogs, and there is also a

greater reliance on gameness and basic

genetic aptitudes in dogs than there is

on the “taught training” and “learned

skills” that are the norm with human

fighters. There is also a big difference in

the amount of abuse that is dished-out

and allowed to happen in the dogs than

what is dished-out and allowed to

happen in humans. So, please, don’t

think you’re telling me anything new by

pointing out the “differences” between

human fighting and dog fight- ing—

instead, pay attention to the similarities.

Because the fact of the matter is, when

all is said and done, that in any kind of a

fighting situation you want to talk about,

whether it be dogs or men, you are going

to have two basic goals: (1) to defend

yourself from harm and (2) to harm and

finish your opponent. Those are your

two most basic goals in any fighting

situation, whether you are a canine

athlete or a human being, and re-

gardless of the duration of time you are

talking about. Well, in the dogs, I will

add that a competitor needs to be able to

defend himself for as long as possible,

and (when the opportunity is there) the

dog should be able to close and finish

his opponent as quickly as possible.

A perfect fighting dog can control his

opponent, nullify his attack, and defend

himself from being hurt for as long as he

has to, and he likewise has the capacity

and instinct to close the show the

moment that opportunity presents itself.

In other words, a master of both

defense and offense. Any experienced

fighter (with a sound understanding of

strategy) will tell you that the first rule

of any top fighting system is to protect

yourself at all times. The finishing part

comes second. Defending yourself from

harm, by controlling and nullifying your

opponent’s attack, is the number one

goal in fighting, and anyone who doesn’t

agree with this has no experience or

understanding of the fight game.

Protecting yourself first is the foremost

rule of any fighting discipline. In boxing,

for example, the saying goes, “protect

yourself at all times”; in Brazilian

jiujitsu the saying is “position then

submission.” Regardless of whatever

fighting situation it is that you want to

talk about, Rule #1 that any fighter has to

remember (if he wants to make it till the

end) is to control his opponent and to

protect himself first.

Are you with me here? All right. Once a

fighter has established this key goal, of

making sure he is able to control his

opponent and protect himself first, then

that fighter can roll up his sleeves and go

to work on trying to finish that opponent

once he has established this kind of

control.

With this basic strategy in mind, we can

now see that the Premier Head Dog is

the only style of dog that goes into a

fighting situation “protecting himself at

all times” first. Now then, when I say “a

head dog,” I do not mean any old dog

that just “tries to bite the head”; what I

am talking about

is an animal who snatches-up and

maintains absolute control of that head.

There is a big difference between an

ineffective weakling dog “trying to bite

the head,” to get his opponent off of him,

and a premier head dog who has

absolute control of his opponent’s head.

The reason why starting out controlling

the head is so important is that every

other style that a dog might come out

there with leaves said dog vulnerable to

getting bit back. A dog who bites the

front leg is the worst for that, as his face

and eyes are right there vulnerable to a

counter. Chest dogs leave their faces

exposed, shoulder dogs leave

themselves exposed, and stifle dogs

leave ev- erything exposed. I realize that

there are lots of body, shoulder, and leg

dogs who can overpower “lesser” foes

and get away with that. I also realized

there are weakling “head dogs” that

can’t hold their stronger opponents out.

In many cases, a strong driving dog will

never find a good foe and go on to make

Champion by just overpowering bums.

But, folks, if even the best driving dog

ever meets an equally-powerful foe who

is a Premier Head Dog, the driving dog

will be biting air and that head dog will

be killing him without being bitten in

return. At best, the driving dog will

“have his moments” when he is able to

finally get ahold of the head dog, but not

only will these “moments” be few and

far between, and very short in duration,

but “at worst” the driving dog will be

getting killed without ever being able to

touch his premier head dog opponent.

And I have seen this happen innumerable

times: at best the driving dog has “a few

moments,” but the head dogs are always

in holds and they are always biting the

driving dog off, and when the driving

dog loses his momentary hold, he has to

spend a long time biting air again, while

the premier head dog always has “dog”

in his mouth. If anyone can’t see the

advantage of true head style then they are

simply lacking knowledge as to effective

strategy. Plainly and simply, if anyone

can’t see that the premier head dog’s

style falls within the basic precept of

Rule #1 in fight- ing strategy, to protect

himself at all times, then such a person

needs to come out of the dark.

Note: In the sport of dogs, the head of

the opponent is what contains the

teeth, and the teeth of the opponent

are his only weapons, and so he who

controls the head, therefore controls

the weapons, and therefore he

controls the fight. Period.

Folks, the head of the opponent is what

can hurt your dog, and so your dog needs

to achieve absolute contro l of his

opponent’s head if he wants to maintain

absolute control of protecting himself at

all times, which is the number one

objective in any conflict. The greater a

dog can achieve this kind of control, the

less he gets bitten and the more

“perfect” will be his performance—the

lesser a dog can achieve this kind of

control, the more he gets bitten, and

thus the more flawed will be his

performance. And if anyone can’t follow

this basic logic, then he is truly lost as a

fight analyst. The simple fact is, a dog

who can’t control the head can’t control

the fight, and a dog who has absolute

control of the head has absolute control

of the fight.

Now, just because your dog is on the

head in his schooling doesn’t make him a

premier head dog either. Even among so-

called head dogs, if the other dog is so

powerful that the head dog can’t keep his

holds, then he has lost control of the

head, and thus the head dog loses control

of the fight. You see, most people have

so-called head dogs that are “C-level”

animals, who fre- quently lose their head

holds due to lack of neck and body

strength, or sloppiness, or recklessness,

and so these aren’t really “controlling”

anything, are they? They’re in-and-out

of control. Such dogs are therefore

losing control just about as often as they

regain it, which is not the kind of a dog I

am talking about here. So again, when I

say “a premier head dog,” I do not mean

a dog that just “tries” to bite the head,

but who loses his hold in the next second

—I am talking about a powerhouse

supreme who snatches-up and totally

controls that head and thus the dog

attached to that head.

Typically, however, when you see two

dogs go at it in school, what you see are

just two super-aggressive, average dogs

“swapping it out.” Neither dog is in

control of anything, especially the head,

they are just mutually killing each other,

or (pitifully) not doing anything to each

other. When two dogs “swap it out” and

do damage to each other, this is usually a

crowd favorite amongst most of your

average, clueless dogmen, same as two

clubfighting human boxers going “blow-

forblow” is a big favorite in low budget

smokers—neither of which crowd has

any idea about fighting strategy or what

makes for a truly high-level fight. Sure,

seeing two dogs “swap it out” is very

exciting to watch—you see lotsa action

and lotsa gore—but what you are really

watching is two sub-par bruisers

banging it out, until someone’s mouth (or

superior gameness) wins out. Same thing

as it is exciting to watch a slugfest

between two bums in boxing: lotsa

action, but little true talent. In our sport,

when you see two dogs “swap it out,”

realize that neither dog ever controls the

head, and

therefore no dog is in control of the fight,

because both dog take unnecessary

punishment. Stated differently, neither

individual makes any sort of attempt to

“protect himself at all times,” and thus

neither individual lives up to Rule #1 in

his fighting effort. Thus both “swap out”

dogs are a far cry from anything close to

the perfect ideal of a fighting dog. They

are exciting canon fodder for a clueless

crowd, and that is about it. As such,

these kinds of “swap-out” dogs will

always get massacred when they face a

Premier Head Dog, same as Jerry

Quarry got massacred when he faced

Muhammad Ali. Two totally different

classes of fighter.

So the next time you see someone

bragging about how their dogs “swapped

it out,” just make a mental note that the

person knows nothing about fighting and

is bragging about a very ordinary (and

vulnerable) dog. Consider him an easy

mark who doesn’t know the first thing

about what makes for a truly superior

athlete.

Now then, if you are a breeder of dogs

who wants to keep alive “The Ideal

Standard,” as well as an impeccable win

record intact, not only is a true head dog

the only style of dog that lives up to Rule

#1 in fighting strategy, but your dog also

has to be a world class athlete. Yes

gameness matters, and yes again style

matters, but unless I am missing

something, fighting is also an athletic

event. Therefore, such things as speed,

timing, reflexes, coordination, balance,

and body strength are paramount to an

elite-level fighter, on top of his

gameness and his effective head-

controlling style.

In fact, really, because these dog

contests are no time limit, and are most

often won or lost on scratching, your

dog’s superior athleticism and head style

must be built upon a solid physical

foundation. Of all the wonderful traits a

good dog can possess, only 3 of them

have to do with the ability to go the

distance. Those three traits are (1)

Gameness, (2) Durability, and (3)

Stamina. These “Big Three” traits are

all intertwined as being foundational to

success in a no-time-limi t affair: (1) the

will to win or gameness level to keep

trying can never stop; (2) on the few

times where your dog may be reached

and bitten-back by a quality opponent, he

has to be rugged and durable enough to

take it; and (3) through all of his

physical efforts, your dog cannot get

exhausted before the other dog does— he

has to have the stamina to keep his

efforts going—otherwise everything he

did up to that point will be lost when he

gasses-out first.

Therefore, when you think deeply about

constructing “The Perfect Fighting Dog”

for a notime-limit sport, you have to

build and select-for your dogs in

relation to the task they have at hand.

In our sport, since it involves fighting,

and since there are no time limits, your

dog has to follow Rule #1 in his fighting

style and strategy: to protect himself at

all times. He also has to be a superior

athlete to compete on a superior level

athletically; and finally, foundational to

all of this, he has to be built to last in a

no-time-limit affair.

I realize all of this sounds very complex,

and that is because it is. There is a

whole lot more to being a “Perfect

Fighting Dog” than a dog “that likes the

head,” and there is a whole lot more to a

dog with true bottom end than a dog that

“will scratch to a killing.” I am very

much aware that some of the readers

might be Simple-Simons, with simple

minds, and that the information here

might be too much information for some

ape-brains to comprehend. So, if a

particular reader finds himself getting

lost in this section, or getting confused at

this point, or if his little head is starting

to swim— great! That person should feel

free to stop reading my this section and

to go pick up a picture-book.

But I am assuming that most of the

readers of this book have sharper minds

than the average dogmen, so if you have

a keen mind, and a sincere desire to

learn, you will quickly realize that I am

giving you pearls here—because what I

am saying here is The Truth—so read

on:

Note: In keeping with the concept of

being “Built to Last,” the perfect fighter

must pace himself. In fact, any time you

see a balls-out driving dog, what you are

really seeing is a dog whose style is

counter-productive to winning a

distance, no-time-limit fight, and

therefore whose style is counter-

productive to having true bottom end.

Never thought of it that way? That’s

probably why your win record isn’t

approaching 90% in Cajun Rules (no-

time-limit) contests. But if your record is

this high, or close to this high, then you

have probably been nodding your head

in agreement all along so far—and that’s

good.

Anyway, sure, driving dogs can win,

they do all the time, but then again

driving dogs are usually only facing

other lower-level mirror copies of

themselves too. Sure again, driving dogs

can even lose game, sometimes very

game. But the true fight connoisseur

realizes having that having “bottom end”

is much more complex and quite a bit

different from having mere gameness.

Does a driving dog who is “picked-up

game” have true bottom end? No. Why?

Because true bottom end is a matter of

style, it is a matter of defensive savvy

and effectively neutralizing an attack,

and true bottom end is also a matter of a

dog conserving his energy by pacing

himself, so he can win in the end, rather

than wasting his energy going all-out

only to run himself into the ground and

lose in the end. Thus a dog with true

bottom end is physically-capable of

going the distance defensively and he is

physically-capable of putting his

opponent away in the end, when said

opponent fades during the stretch. So,

rather than get “picked-up game,” a dog

with true bottom end isn’t just willing

“in his mind” to go across, he is also

able to go across, physically, and he

can still perform and win when he gets

there.

Therefore, a dog with true bottom end

will have all of the gameness, durability,

stamina, and effective, defensive control

of his opponent’s weapons necessary to

survive, until the time is right to switch

to from defense to offense, and then the

dog will move in to finish his opponent

with his own weapons. That is what

“bottom end” really means, to those who

know what they’re talking about, and that

is the ability to win in the end, not “lose

game.”

In point of fact, the very effort of

“driving” expends more energy than the

effort of “steering,” and so the very

effort of driving is the mark of a dog that

will not have true bottom end, who is

wasting all his energy, and who

therefore had better get things over with

quickly. It’s just like running hard versus

jogging. You can only run your hardest

on a track for so long before you’re

wiped-out and tired, which happens

pretty quickly, but you can jog and pace

yourself for quite awhile on that same

track. The same thing is true with dogs

who go all-out versus dogs who

intelligently pace themselves.

The pacing dog on the head, who does

the steering not the driving, is simply at

the tactical advantage. Hell, a good head

dog can control a 400-lb wild boar out

in the field, so controlling another dog

by the head is a cinch! Remember, the

first rule in any fighting system is to

protect yourself first, and so what is the

most effective way in which to handle an

attack? The answer is to parry and re-

direct any linear energy against you, not

by “blocking” it or trying to meet the

force with an equal force of your own.

Blocking a punch, or meeting force-

with-force, is not as effective a defense

in boxing as either slipping the punch or

re-directing an actual physical charge.

To drive this point home, it is not

advisable for the matador to stand

directly in front of the bull’s charge ☺

Therefore, a premier distance athlete

with true bottom end conserves his

energy with a pacing style, by first

gaining control of the head (the

opponent’s weapons), and then the

distance athlete makes sure he he’s

always off to one side, forever re-

directing the driving dog, wearing him

down little-by-little. The driving dog

will always have to “turn left” to find

his opponent (if the head dog is on the

left side)—or the driving dog will

always have to “turn right” to find his

opponent (if the head dog is on the right

side). This is called “giving angles” in

fighting, which is the mark of a world

class tactician.

To illustrate, in human fighting, the

quickest way to get KO’d is to back up

in a straight line to a heavy puncher

launching bombs, or to get caught

coming in with a big bomb. So if you see

a boxer backing straight-up to a puncher,

don’t go and get a sandwich, because the

fight will quickly be over. By the same

token if you see a guy just standing and

trading with a big puncher, again he is

setting himself up for getting clobbered.

And, in dogs, the quickest way to get

jammed-up in a corner and get yourself

hurt by a driving dog is to stand straight

in front of him or to back up in a straight

line. The driving dog will smash the

dumb dog in a corner, double him over,

where he can now reach his spot, and

then whatever head hold the dumb dog

had at that point won’t mean much. Nor

is “swapping it out” the answer. Sadly,

that kind of poor-man’s mediocre mutt is

what many people believe is a “head

dog,” that backs straight up. Or even a

dog that “bites the head” trying to swap

it out while the opponent still has his

hold too. Wrong!

A premier head dog is one who clops

onto a driving dog’s head, but stands off

to one side (sometimes even standing

shoulder-to-shoulder with his opponent)

and he is not getting bit back and is

virtually impossible to get-to in this

posture. And if the head dog can bite

like hell himself, then that driving dog is

really in a bad spot: totally defenseless

and unable even to bite back, while

getting murdered the whole time. But

even if the head dog can’t bite hard, just

with this style alone he is still in

complete control, and almost impossible

to get to, by simply a matter of his style.

Thus GR CH Robert T (9xW) beat CH

Gomez (4xW). Thus CH Robert T Jr.

(4xW). beat CH Bootlegger (5xW, 1xL).

Thus CH Mikey (3xW) beat CH

Chomper (4xW). Thus CH Zero (3xW)

beat CH Evil. Thus CH Vengence (3xW)

beat CH Soldier (3xW). In fact, any time

where you have a true freak biter, the

only style of dog that can beat that

killer is the Premier Head Dog. Same

as Muhammad Ali was the only guy who

could beat George Foreman in his prime.

Another body dog will just be more dog

food for a freak biter, as his direct style

leaves him vulnerable to be bit back by

the freak mouth. A chest dog will also

get bit back by the freak biter, and will

die thanks to his lack of defense. A body

dog, leg dog, shoulder dog, stifle dog,

“4-corners dog,” whatever, has no hope

against a truly freak-mouth biter. Their

style leaves them with no defense,

because they fail to control the head of

the freak biter (where the teeth are), and

thus they will fail to survive the freak

onslaught they are about to receive. It’s

simply a matter of strategy.

Only a Premier Head Dog, even of

average mouth, can stop a freak biter

from biting him, proving the

effectiveness of the style, as well as the

wisdom of Rule #1 in fighting: protect

yourself at all times. In the examples

above, CH Gomez was a dog that if he

bit you twice, you die, it was that

simple. Fortunately for average-mouth

GR CH Robert T, he was an untouchable

premier head dog, and so poor CH

Gomez couldn’t get his freak mouth on

anything but air. Because Robert T had

no mouth of his own, the contest took

three hours and ten minutes of ear dog

“matador” excellence to conclude, but

defeat the freak-biter CH Gomez, GR

CH Robert T did. Same thing happened

when Robert T’s son CH Robert T Jr.

beat the 5xW CH Bootlegger. Ol’ I.S.

used to run full-page ad, after fullpage

ad, proclaiming from the rooftops how

great his freak-biter “Boot” was back in

the early 90’s. But when this freak-mouth

driving dog Bootlegger tried that style

with the premier head dog, CH Robert T

Jr., all CH Bootlegger could bite was

air, and so the toothless (yes, that’s

right, toothless) CH Robert T Jr. just

wore ol’ Boot down, and frustrated him

into submission, on the ear alone,

without a cutter in his head. This match

had a lot of stupid, aggressive people

very angry at the outcome—but it made a

lot of smart, cagey people tens of

thousands of dollars who knew to bet

with style, and not mouth ☺

When Big Brad’s CH Evil was being

campaigned in the early 90’s, so horribly

would he finish a dog in the kidneys, that

you could hear them “pop” within

moments of Evil’s getting into their

vitals. CH Evil became feared so much

that everyone stipulated to Big Brad that

he “couldn’t use” CH Evil when they

hooked into him. That was, until O.S.

came out with CH Zero and directly

challenged CH Evil. When the deal was

hooked and the moment of truth was

upon them, O.S. wanted to make sure

that Zero was 100% ready, and that he

didn’t get bit even one time, and so he

brought another dog with him as a

primer. Right before the weigh-in, O.S.

faced the other dog to CH Zero, and this

got CH Zero wild-eyed, and totally

focused, and so when the dogs were

faced and released in the pit moments

later, CH Zero immediately snatched-up

the head of the freight-training CH Evil

—right from the get-go—and he never

let that head go—and Zero had a freak

mouth of his own, too. Well, and so it

was in this way that Ozzie’s CH Zero

avoided sure death, achieved *absolute

control* of the head, and killed the

devastating Big Brad’s CH Evil in :31—

without ever being bitten once. And let

me take a moment here to add this is

exactly how CH Vengence silenced the

devastating C.A. & G.D.I.’s CH Soldier

Which brings us to the next key element

of a premier head dog: he must be a

holding dog. The age-old saying,

“Hang-on like a bulldog!” exists for a

reason. A truly premier head dog doesn’t

come loose from his hold. He sticks to

his spot, he keeps his body out of the

linear direction of harm’s way, and he

punishes that spot he has (or at least

controls it absolutely), from which point

the elite head dog just lets the driving

dog tire himself out, trying to find him,

dismantling him all the while in the

process. And when the driving dog

finally slows down, then the head dog

finishes him.

(Now, when I say “finishes him,” I

don’t believe any dog should be

allowed to die in any pit contest. Just

like in jiujitsu, or in NHB human

fighting, you can “finish” a guy with a

choke hold—but no one should ever let

a man get killed in there either. The

fight is stopped, the “finished” fighter

is rescued, but we all know what would

have happened had there been no

referee intervention. We appreciate the

finishing hold, we know that the loser

was as good as dead, but we stop things

before it gets to that point. In the same

way, if you are a true pit dog

sportsman, and you see your dog is

getting finished, be a classy competitor

and pick up your charge at that point

and don’t let him actually get killed in

there. Yes, you want your dogs to go in

there and finish—in either the guts, the

kidneys, or the throat—those are the

tactical finishing spots—but this does

NOT mean you should actually let any

dog “get” finished. Just as when a

human fighter is “choked-out,” we all

know that he’d die at that point, and so

we stop things at that point too. Show

the same class and respect for

life with your dogs. Look for finish in

your best dogs, admire it when you see

it expressed, but don’t let any dog truly

get finished, because this whole

“game” stops being a game or a sport

at that point and becomes an evil and

negative affair. Appreciate this as a

fighting sport, just as you appreciate

human boxing and jiujitsu, but KEEP

IT a sport and never let any dog

actually lose his

life.)

Anyway, with that said, even if the

driving dog is so powerful that he gets a

good head dog down, if the head dog is a

true distance athlete, he remains calm,

whereas an excitable dog (i.e., cur) will

become razzled by being on the bottom.

By contrast, a truly game and skilled

head dog is unflappable even when on

the bottom. A cool, pacing distance

animal, who happens to be weaker (at

first) than a powerful driving dog,

calmly keeps his head hold, perhaps

working the hold to the bottom jaw of

his energy-wasting opponent, and either

“chews him out,” or at least he nullifies

the biting effort thereby reducing the

damage. A head dog can do this by

either being in the mouth, or deep in the

bottom jaw, or deep on the muzzle and

upper palate—coolly negating the attack.

I have also seen plenty of ace ear dogs

be on the bottom, in a deep ear hold,

twisting the more powerful driving dog’s

head all the way around so he’s looking

up at the ceiling, even though the driving

dog has got the head dog down. The

driving dog still can’t even bite the ear

dog, even though he’s on top of him! Or

(at worst) the driving dog’s biting efforts

while on a down dog are nullified by the

cagey head dog who remains affixed to

the head of the driving dog, while he’s

got him on the bottom.

All of these defensive moves when on

the bottom remain success at controlling

the head (i.e., weapon) of the other dog,

even from a more powerful dog. The

distance athlete is wasting no energy,

he’s just keeping cool and nullifying the

attack from the bottom, biding his time

until the driving dog slows down.

Repeated over and over again, the

driving dog’s attack will eventually lose

its intensity, because he can’t keep that

energy level up forever, whereupon the

distance athlete will then coolly get up

and take the fight right back to his

leveled-out and (now) fading foe. If my

information is right, this is how a

weakened ch MIagI (4xW) nullified his

much stronger opponent for his second

win, taking bottom for over an hour, but

neutralizing everything that his stronger

foe was trying to do, and eventually

working his way back up top to win in

1:58.

By contrast, an inferior pretender, when

he gets slammed to the bottom, will have

no answer and just take the abuse. He’ll

lose his hold and/or he’ll struggle wildly

to regain its feet, failing both to control

the head as well as to conserve his

energy. And that is the kind of crap most

people have. And, folks, it is subtle

differences like this that elude most dog

people out there. I can’t give you an eye

for a dog, and I can’t make you “get” the

logic which I have put forth here; all I

can do is “cast the pearls” and hope they

are not before the swine, but instead that

they have been put in front of earnest

dogmen wanting in on the secrets to

winning 9 out of 10 times.

Economy of movement is the mark of

the professional, while wasting valuable

energy is the mark of the amateur (and or

cur), because the latter involves lack of

emotional and tactical control. The dog

who only takes a step where that step is

needed, and who only switches holds

when it’s to his advantage, is exhibiting

true economy of movement. By contrast

the dog who is scrambling around trying

frantically to get a hold is wasting his

movements and energy. True fighting

prowess involves a system and a plan,

and the best dogs literally achieve

absolute control over their opponents,

and they do so in a cool, decisive, and

energy-conserving fashion. A “Perfect

Fighting Dog” is an intelligent, world

class distance athlete, whose efforts are

built upon a solid foundation of extreme

gameness, durability, and stamina—

whose style religiously adheres to Rule

#1 of every fighting strategy in existence

(“protecting himself at all times”)—and

a dog does this by maintaining absolute

control of his opponent’s head, all the

while wearing him down, to the point

where he can now be roll-over and

finish his opponent.

If the worst my dog can do is to get

waxed while never touching yours, then

the best I can do is to have my dog wax

yours without ever getting touched

himself in return. And only the premier

head dog/finisher can execute such a

perfect performance, therefore this

style must be The Standard.

Let all of the other idiots keep trying to

breed barnstorming sprinters for the

marathon race of a Cajun Rules contest.

Their poor breeding strategies will be

reflected by a poor record of suc- cess.

These bozos may enjoy some degree of

success in the bushleagues, or even on

the fast track against other bozos like

themselves. But when they face one of

your premier head dogs, who are

world class distance athletes, they will

all have that smile wiped-off their face,

as slowly-but-surely your dogs gain

absolute control over their inferior

animals, eventually taking all the play

out of them, and then who will put them

away in the stretch with true bottom end.

Do all of your dogs have to be 100%

perfect to be worthy of being bred? No.

Hell, of the 35 adult dogs I had ten years

ago, only 1 was nearly 100% perfect in

his style. This dog was the only dog I

had who was fast enough, smart enough,

athletic enough, and savvy enough that he

could routinely get the first hold, deep on a dog’s ear, and then maintain

absolute control of that animal, and beat

him totally down—without getting bit

once in return—and without getting the

slightest bit tired. And when the time

was right, this dog could close the deal

and finish a dog with one deep throat

hold. That was Stormbringer and he was

simply perfecto. Now, I had many others

that were damned good, but they could

get reached at first, whereupon they

would then pluck the other dog out. But

that is not perfection. I had dozens of

dogs that the right style, but were either

a little slower on the draw, or who

would make mistakes here and there, or

who could control but not finish, etc..

However, even though almost none of

my dogs was 100% perfect in his style, I

still always shot for perfection. The

reality of life is that perfection is simply

rare, so that was to be expected. The fact

is, the majority of my dogs were close

enough in most respects as to remain

head and shoulders over other people’s

one-dimensional crap. Some, for

instance, would flounder a bit out of the

gate—but by :08 - :10 they would

achieve a high degree of control and

would then methodically attempt to keep

this control, trying to hurt the dog when

they could. Some were very tough and

very determined, just not the incredible

athletes that others were, nor the

powerhouses that still others were, but

yet they remained very-solid in all

categories and would win in the end.

I had others that were the opposite:

brutal out of the gate, and a little short-

winded, and some that didn’t keep their

holds the way I like to see. However,

they were blistering-fast, very strong,

very athletic, and very capable wrestlers

—who would absolutely finish you if

you made a mistake.

So, again, not all of your dogs have to be

100% perfect in every aspect of their

style. Maybe (and most likely) none of

them will be. The point is to forever

strive for this perfect ideal in your

breeding efforts, knowing that most of

your produced animals will fall

somewhat short in some way or

category, but yet you will forever be

moving them in that direction. By

forever striving for this ideal, you will

be making sure that most of your brood

dogs have a high degree of all of the

complex traits that have been discussed

here, and will thus have a much higher

degree of success than most of the linear,

one-dimensional, short-winded

specimens that most dogmen use or

concoct. When individual dogs in your

program come out with shortcomings,

simply breed them in the direction that

will fill their handicap for your next

step.

Is your dog a little light-boned? Then

breed him to a thicker-boned relative.

Is your dog too slow? Then breed him to

a faster relative.

Is your dog switching holds too much?

Then breed him to a closely-related

sticker.

You truly do not have to beat your dogs

half to death, and see “if they’ll scratch,”

to win most of your matches or to breed

good dogs. That is the simple-minded,

non-strategic, idiot’s way of selecting-

for and breeding dogs. All you need to

do is start look for a superb athlete,

assess that his style is such that he

totally controls the head, that he paces

himself, and that he never makes one

bad move during the process of

nullifying the other dog, while he

effectively maneuvers him for the

finish.

Because, you know what? Such a style is

the mark of an effective game dog as

opposed to a stupid game dog. Beating

dogs half to death and then “seeing if

they’ll scratch” is only what idiots do to

evaluate their animals, and they

invariably lose more good dogs than

they “make better” with this stupid

practices. Now I agree that once your

dog is fully-mature, and fully-schooled,

that he should never make a sound or a

bad move in his schooling, but you do

not have to beat a dog half to death to

see if he has a winning style.

What you will also discover is that dogs

with the truly winning style I have

described here in fact are game dogs,

and again (and more importantly) they

are effective game dogs, professional

athletes that are designed to win Cajun

Rules, no-time-limit contests. Anyway,

this is a subject bigger than Texas, so I

will conclude here by saying I hope you

will see the truth of what I have written

here, and reflect upon the capabilities of

the very best dogs you have seen, and

that you slowly come to realize that you

now have The Key to select for these

traits yourself.

Chapter 15

The 60-Day Natural Keep

The art of conditioning is the great

buzzword that rebounds throughout the

dog game. Bloodlines and conditioning

programs, along with the results of

actual matches, are about all dog men

ever talk about. I have been exposed to a

wide array of conditioning programs

over the last two decades of my

involvement in these dogs. If you’re new

to this, you must keep in mind that a dog

match make human fights appear

laughable so great is the difference in

ability, stamina, and courage displayed

by these dogs. There are never time

limits. It’s all or nothing from the word,

“Go!” The art of conditioning, therefore,

is one of the, if not the, most important

of aspects of the dog game (other than

having a good dog to begin with at his

best weight). Still, there are too many

instances to count where one dog has

defeated a genetically-superior dog

because his owner was the superior

conditioner—and the otherwise better

dog fell apart through lack of proper

conditioning as the hunt wore on. I have

been on both ends of this equation and

can tell you first hand that you can lose

with the better dog through improper

conditioning and calling your weight

wrong.

Most experienced dog men can tell

whether a dog is in superb condition or

not just by looking at him and the way he

moves—and it has nothing to do with

muscles, either. There is a glow, a

vitality, and movement like quicksilver

of a properly-conditioned dog that

cannot escape an educated eye.

As with human conditioning, there is a

great disparity of belief as to “how” to

condition a hunting dog. Pulling weights

vs. free running—carpet mills vs. slat

mills vs. electric mills, etc.—the

ideologies differ vastly as to how to

bring one in “right.” The best

conditioners (i.e., the ones with a proven

track record of success over the very

best dogs in the country) believe it

depends on the dog how you condition

it. For instance, if you have a “shotgun

dog” (that is, a “Mike Tyson” that is

extremely strong, hard mouthed, and

comes out like a bat out of Hell), then

you need to do a lot of explosive work,

heavy windsprints pulling weight,

followed by rest intervals, followed by

windsprints, flirt-poling, etc. Basically,

you want to increase your dog’s ability

to devastate in short order, by in-

creasing the amount of time he can

sustain a ballistic attack without tiring,

because that is his style. And there are

various exercises to increase

explosiveness. However, if you are a

smart conditioner, you also want to train

him for the distance—just in case he

doesn’t blow through Ol’ Rover as fast

as you had hoped.

By contrast, suppose you had to face this

really fierce dog with a tactical,

defensive, ear dog? You would

definitely train this boy to go the

distance. You would have him go for

long dis- tance runs on a jenny, and you

would likewise windsprint train him—

and you would most definitely

springpole him. (A springpole is a

device where you hang a garage-door

spring from a stand w/ a hide attached to

it, which your dog latches onto and

shakes like crazy. The springpole should

be placed high enough so that your dog’s

front feet are just barely skimming the

ground while he’s clamped onto the hide

—while his back feet are firmly planted

on the ground, so he’s “standing”). What

a springpole set-up like this does is,

while your dog’s working the hide like

crazy, he’s getting used to biting

something, shaking it up and exercising,

all the while something’s in his mouth.

The reason for this is he’s going to have

to be holding out Mike Tyson who’s

going to be barreling after him. The ear

dog is going to have to get used to

panting (which typically requires his

mouth be open) out of the sides of his

mouth, with his mouth still shut—

clamped on Mike Tyson’s ear (or nose

or face), to hold him out while he’s

charging—without ever letting go. Thus

you train this “holding dog” to go the

distance, and you do this w/ incredibly

longer runs and the springpole. The ear

dog has got to be able to go the distance,

without letting go once!

While he’s going the distance, the

defensive dog cannot afford to let go of

Mike Tyson to catch a breath, otherwise

Mike will get into his vitals and do

serious damage. Therefore the defensive

dog has to be trained to hold on

throughout the onslaught, even when

he’s tired, panting out of the sides of his

mouth, not with an open mouth.

Meanwhile, Mike Tyson is being trained

to be explosive and get through Rover’s

defense to seriously injure him and get

his owner to pick him up.

Nonetheless, each kind of dog also has

to be trained in the other’s specialty. The

shotgun dog has to be prepared by his

conditioner to go the distance, in case he

can’t power through

Ol’ Rover, and the ear dog has to have a

good amount of strength trained into him

to be able stand-up up to, and hold out,

the ever-charging powerhouse Mike

Tyson. Usually, either the shotgun dog

winds up powering his way through his

foe—or Ol’ Rover takes poor Mike

Tyson into deep water and drowns him,

finishing the job once poor Mike isn’t so

strong and fresh anymore. A great

conditioner can make a shotgun dog

“barnstorm” all night long—or turn a

defensive ear dog into an impenetrable,

defensive powerhouse. Such is the

recipe for a classic “styles” contest in

the dogs.

Getting back to conditioning, the best

conditioners train their dogs according

to their styles, yes, but they also train

their charges at ALL levels. Some dogs

happen to be of the “Holyfield,” “Ali,”

“Hagler,” and “Chavez” variety—

they’re not skin-pinchers, nor do they

end things in one bite. But they can, and

do, hurt the other dog with an

accumulation of punishment. They’re

deep game, durable as hell, athletic, and

they have incredible natural air. Now

natural air is great, but it is not the same

thing as muscular condition. I have seen

dogs not be winded before—but

watched their wobbly legs tell the tale of

insufficient muscular condition. This is

what happened to Poncho when he lost

to CH Leonard. Poncho never got tired,

but he was too lean and his muscular

strength wore out to the better-

conditioned Leonard. That loss taught

me a lot, and that was over 13 years ago.

I have since learned an incredible

amount about how to condition a dog

correctly, the main theme of which is

being offered here to you, the reader.

The bottom line most conditioners try to

achieve (regardless if they have a

shotgun dog, a skin-pincher—or a dog

somewhere in the middle) is balance.

To make sure all potential levels of

hunting intensity are trained for, you

have to simulate them as best you can in

training. To do this, you need to

implement some sort of (what is called)

periodization training. That is, have

super hard exercises of all-out activity:

hardcore windsprints, weightpulls,

flirtpoles, etc.—while you also train for

endurance—with little rest. Basically,

you try to increase the amount of time a

dog can go all out as he progresses,

daily and weekly, while keeping his

intermittent rest periods constant or even

shorter in duration. You follow this work

with moderate, prolonged, but still

fairly-well-paced activity, with fewer

rest periods but longer sessions—at a

still-tough but lessened pace. You try to

increase the duration of these sessions,

too, as the keep progresses. You follow

this lessened work with lighter work

still—ending on the springpole where

the dog is just “hanging on.” If you

choose, you can follow this with a long

walk to “give ‘em a leg to stand on” in

case things go for hours. However, I

don’t really believe this is necessary.

All aspects—the heavy explosive work,

the moderate (but still tough) exertion,

and the low energy, long-term stamina

routine—are increased in intensity as the

conditioning period (called a “keep”)

progresses week-by-week—both in

intensity as well as the duration of each

workout—while keeping rest days

constant. This is where you adapt the

keep to your dog’s style: if he’s a

barnstormer, concentrate on the

explosive work; if he’s a “Holyfield”

concentrate on the stamina and the

ability to be strong for the long haul.

This keep is not set in stone and you can

adjust it to fit your own unique

individual animals.

Yet you’re still training your charge at

all levels, because a match

encompasses all levels. If you’ve ever

seen a match, then you know it starts out

hard while both dogs are keyed-up and

fresh, but then it slows down a bit after

awhile (but is still intense). If one dog is

clearly the better then a win/ loss may

obtain. But if the dogs are relatively

equal, then the intensity drops off again

—to a steady but intermittent pace. And

finally, if the dogs are still game and in

there, the contest peters out and slows

down considerably to a “hang-on”

contest (if it even goes that far).

Therefore, you need to train your dog to

excel at all stages of the hunt, with the

first two stages being the most critical,

because your dog can get hurt the most

during the more intense first two stages

of the contest, which usually last up to

the :30 to :45 mark in well-conditioned

animals. Thus you want to max-out the

amount of time your dog can perform

intensely at the first two and most

intense levels. Realistically, most of the

match after that point will be fought at a

moderate level, and if your dog excels in

the that phase then load up on this level

in his training. But again, you might want

to load up on hard work, or hang-on

work, too, it all depends on your dog’s

style. In any event, you definitely want to

train your dog at all intensity levels in

some capacity. Some really serious

conditioners work their dogs out twice a

day, morning and evening, and also feed

their dogs twice a day (an hour after

each workout) on this method. I

recommend working a dog only once a

day, however, at the time of the

designated event. Yet I do recommend

feeding twice a day, but the first meal is

pretty much just water, oils, and

supplements to prepare him for his

work later-on in the day. So here it is,

The 60-Day Natural Keep:

Supplies Needed:

♦ 10’ Lead + Conditioning Harness +

Tracers

[O’Brien’s Supply; (434-568-3148)]

♦ Jenny/SlatMill

♦ Flirtpole
♦ SpringPole

♦ Dog Booties

♦ Postal Scale (Staples or Office

Depot)

♦ Hanging Scale

[Chatillon Scales Model # IN-60

(http://www.chatillon-scales.com/)] ♦

Test-P (25 lbs) [Apex Scales

(http://www.apexscales.com/)] ♦ Test-P

(50 lbs) [Apex Scales

(http://www.apexscales.com/)] ♦

Microwave Oven

K-Ease

Supplements Needed:

(www.thomasveterinarydrug.com)

♦ Bee Pollen

(http://www.beepollen.com/)

♦ Gingko Biloba, 120 mg

(www.vitaminshoppe.com)

♦ Gucosamine Sulfate,

750mg/Chondroitin Sulfate 600

mg(www.bodybuilding.com) ♦ Organic

Germanium, 200 mg.

(http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/) ♦

Coenzyme Q-10, 60 mg.

(www.bodybuilding.com)

♦ L-Inosine, 500 mg

(www.vitaminshoppe.com)

♦ L-Carnitine, 500 mg

(www.bodybuilding.com)

♦ Tribulus Terrestrus, 675 mg

(www.vitaminshoppe.com)

♦ Flax Seed Oil / Salmon Oil / Wheat

Germ Oil

(http://www.bulknaturaloils.com)

♦ Nature’s Variety Raw-

Frozen DietFeed Needed:

(www.naturesvariety.com)

• Beef

• Chicken

♦ Cheddar Cheese

♦ Mustard Greens / Turnip Greens

Keep Overview

Take heart in the fact that this is the most

successful keep ever written, with nearly

200 wins so far as of this writing,

including two Grand Champions [GR

CH DaBeast (7xW) and GR CH

Yellowman (5xW)], more than 15

Champions [including CH Mecca

(4xW), CH Playboy (4xW), CH Code

(4xW), CH Hitman, and CH

CashMoney], more than 25 two-hour

dogs, and at least 6 three-hour dogs.

Take heart in the fact that even though I

myself haven’t matched a dog in nearly

15 years, that I have researched dog

contests more extensively than anyone

else has ever thought about doing in the

past. How so? Well, I have recorded the

contest times of nearly ten thousands

matches. I have crunched the numbers on

more than a decade’s worth of Sporting

Dog Journals, spanning 1990 to 2001,

and I have discovered a few critical

facts about what match dogs actually do.

Here are the facts:

Fact #1 : 75% of all contests are

decided in :45 or less; Fact #2: 92% of

all contests are decided in 1:20 or less;

and Fact #3: 98% of all contests are

decided in 2:00 or less.

What do these facts mean? These facts

mean that most of these guys who train

their dogs for 4-6 hours in their keeps

are wasting their time and they are

hurting their dogs, not helping them. Why

on earth would anyone train their dog for

5 hours, when the odds are 75% that the

contest will only be :45 and 98% that it

will be decided in 2 hours or less? I

mean, why?! People who do this just

aren’t thinking. They plainly and simply

really haven’t sat down and thought

about it, and really crunched the numbers

like I have, to come up with the most

effective conditioning regimen designed

around the parameters of the actual

contest duration. And hell, even if your

dog does happen to go in one of those

rare contests that go past the 2-hour

mark, his chances are still better of

winning it if you haven’t repeatedly

over-trained him in the gym! A fresh and

well-conditioned dog has a much better

chance of winning a super-long one if he

comes in strong, vital, and right—than he

does coming in weak, over-trained, and

exhausted.

So not only have I designed the work of

this keep to mirror the actual cadence of

a dog contest, but I also have designed

the times and the sequence of each

exercise to mirror the actual duration of

a dog contest. In this way, once again

you will see that this keep follows #3 of

The 5 Keys to Success, which is

Understanding Your Dog’s Job, and

you will also see that most of these other

keeps made by uneducated rednecks are

not based upon an understanding of the

dog’s job. Anyway, in preparation for

this keep, the first thing you should do is

make sure your dog starts it at only 2-3

lbs over his show weight and in perfect

health. This keep is not for a fat dog but

for a lean, healthy, fit dog. The next thing

you need to do is worm your dog out

with Pyrantel Pamoate, Fenbendazole,

Praziquantel, and I vermectin a week

before you begin Day 1. You can find out

more about these wormers in my

“Saving Money” chapter, but you need to

worm the hell out of your dog a week

before you commence his first exercises.

Next, you should also get a full CBC

(Complete Blood Count) blood profile

on your dog at the vet, again a week

before Day 1. Your dog’s hematocrit

(HCT) should be at least 38 (normal is

36-45). This test will also evaluate

several important body functions, and

you need to review each of them with

your vet. Any abnormal signs that have

to do with kidney function, liver

function, thyroid function, blood count,

etc., should be addressed to your vet and

corrected before Day 1 occurs. If this

means it will take your dog 6 weeks

before he is healthy, then you need to put

off the keep for 6 weeks and get him

healthy before you start his first day of

work.
Assuming you have a lean, fit, healthy

dog, that’s been wormed-out and who

has come back with a good blood

profile, you now want to get your athlete

on a strict schedule. You want to feed

him at the same time every day, and you

want to work him at the same time every

day. Period. A dog forms his security

and his confidence through regularity

and being able to depend on you, without

question—in addition to the fact the

dog’s body forms its regularity and its

best peak possible through a regular

schedule—so your ability and

commitment to a strict schedule is

paramount. This will prime him.

As for the work, be flexible. This keep

is a general framework, it’s not etched in

stone. Not every dog will work every

conditioning devise, so if your dog

refuses to work one of the prescribed

exercises, then try to figure out a

reasonably-close substitute for that

exercise. Nothing is set in stone,

including the duration a dog should

work, yet the basic guidelines should be

followed. This keep is just a framework,

not a law. Some dogs won’t be able to

handle the load of this keep and they

won’t develop as fast in building their

stamina, while for other dogs the work

listed here won’t be enough. Adjust this

keep accordingly, based on your dog.

Each dog is unique and has unique

requirements, and you can still capture

the intent and scope of this keep, while

making minor individual adjustments.

Also, each dog has a unique style, and

you should also adjust this keep to suit

your dog’s style. If your dog is a hard-

coming barnstormer, then you might want

to devote more time to WeightPulling

and Flirtpoling, and less time to the

Jenny and SpringPole. If your dog is a

longwinded, tricky stylist, you might

want to devote more time to Flirtpoling,

the Jenny, and the SpringPole, and less

time to the Weight Pull. Adjust this

schedule to your dog, don’t force him

into a box. Really analyze your dog’s

style and then adjust this keep to fit your

dog, rather than trying to force your dog

to fit this keep.

The basic exercises are laid out for a

reason, however, and if you analyze

them you will see the exercises are

arranged in the order that events

actually unfold in a match. Normally a

lot of strength is burned out of the gate,

so to simulate this in training it is

necessary to use a strength exercise first

in the keep, which is why we begin

(after the handwalk to empty) with

weight pulling. A

dog needs to be strong out of the gate.

Next we do flirtpoling, because a lot of

balance, moves, and speed are also

requited out of the gate, and flirtpoling

addresses this better than any other kind

of exercise. From there we move to a

jenny (or a mill) because a contest

usually starts to slow down a bit, after

the strength is gone and the fancy

footwork is used up, and then simple

staying power and steady stamina come

into play, which the jenny mimics

perfectly. And, finally, we move to the

spring pole where a dog has to learn to

keep his mouth shut, and continue to

work, even while he is totally exhausted

—and this is exactly what he is doing on

the springpole—he is working hard,

after being totally exhausted, with

something in his mouth. There is a

method to this madness, but again you

can tweak it to fit your own dog’s unique

individual style.

N ote: A Jenny is preferred over a

slatmill, as it is more natural. If you

don’t have a Jen

ny, then roadwork on an ATC 4-wheeler

would be a great substitute and is every

bit as good

as a jenny. Only use a slatmill if you

have no other choice. Also, if you live

in the city, and can’t

find a park to weightpull your dog, a

hard-turning carpet mill can substitute

for the weight pull.

A carpet mill and a slatmill are not the

same and they do not do the same things.

The carpet

mill is a substitute for weight pull, and

a slatmill is a substitute for running (or

the jenny), so remember this. But still,

you should try to get a jenny, and you

should try to find a place where

you can weightpull, because these are

superior to a slatmill or carpetmill.

Anyway, here is an

overview of the 4 Primary Work Modes:

WeightPull:

When you weightpull your animal, it is

best to have two people helping

condition, one behind the dog in control

of him, and the other ahead of the dog

baiting him with a hide. The person in

front tries to get the dog to pull and run

as hard as he can after the bait, for as

long as he can, dragging the weight until

he peters out. The other person behind

the dog is in control of him with his

leash. When the dog fades, the person in

front may slow down to let the dog catch

his breath, while the person behind the

dog may drop off some of the weight.

Still, the dog should always keep

walking forward at all times. When the

dog’s breathing stops being so labored,

and goes back to just average panting,

then the conditioners will try again to get

the dog coming on strong and running

hard again, with the rear man adding

weight back on to the harness, while the

front man keeps on baiting the dog. This

is trying to develop a second wind in the

dog. The conditioners keep doing this

until the pulling workout is complete.

Again, you want to (a) in crease the

amount of time it takes for the dog to

blow hot, and then (b) de crease the

amount of time it takes for the dog to

recover from exhaustion. As the days

and weeks wear on, the conditioners

want to (c) increase the amount of

weight he is able to pull all the while he

does this.

Have a stopwatch handy and jot down

these times and weights in your journal,

so you know how your dog is

progressing. Keeping a daily journal of

all the dog’s activities, energy levels,

and performance times is absolutely

critical to a successful keep and to

guiding your dog to peak condition.

You start the dog off on his pre-keep

pulling ¼ his bodyweight just to tone his

muscles and to prepare him for the

harder work ahead. By the time the true

keep begins, the dog should be fairly

solid, and to the point he is pulling about

½ his own full bodyweight. As the keep

progresses, you will gradually increase

the weight until your dog can

comfortably pull his own full

bodyweight—or more. After all, he will

have to be pushing against something his

own full bodyweight in the show, won’t

he? So you have to prepare him for this

and mimic this reality with a legitimate

weight resistance regimen —and this is

especially important if you have a hard-

driving body dog as an entry! When the

keep gets to the point where the dog is

pulling greater than his own weight (if

he can), you will likely have to pyramid

him up to that point in the beginning of a

workout (so he doesn’t pull a muscle

while cold), and then you will

eventually have to pyramid him down by

pulling weight off (so he is able to

complete the workout duration). No dog

will be able to go too long pulling a

ton of dead weight, but the idea is to

give him superb muscular endurance,

for the long haul, not to make him

into a powerlifter,

so ease up if you have to.

Using lengths of heavy chain is a good

way to allow for this kind of flexibility.

If you have 4 lengths of chain, each

weighing 10 lbs, that should be

sufficient. The man behind the dog can

clip more 10-lb lengths onto the harness,

when needed, or unclip lengths when

needed, based on the dog’s state at the

time. The man with the bait can help

slow the dog down for these

adjustments. You may, or may not, want

to use booties for your dog’s feet during

weightpull workout, depending on what

kind of surface your dog is pulling on.

Start the dog off light, pyramid up to a

summit, and then gradually pyramid him

back down to a manageable weight again

as he grows more and more tired. But

keep him pulling as much as he can

handle fairly comfortably at all times.

The dog should not over-burdened with

weight to the point he is straining and

struggling just to move; he should

always be moving forward “almost”

fast enough to catch the man who is

baiting him, but not quite. Again, the

idea is to give him muscular

endurance, not to try to see how much

weight he can pull. (A carpetmill would

be a

substitute for weight pulling.)

Flirt Pole:

When you flirtpole your dog, you are

trying to get him to run all-out, as well

as trying to get him to change directions

continually. You are trying to stimulate

fast-twitch muscle use, as well as to

develop the balance muscles that simple

linear running can’t duplicate. This is

why flirtpoling is so much better than a

mill. At the same time, the dog learns

eye-to-mouth coor- dination and timing.

The flirtpole can be one of the best

conditioning aids of all, and if I had

only one device to choose from the

flirtpole would be it. In my opinion, no

other workout develops so many

different traits as the flirtpole: strength,

speed, coordination, stamina, reflexes,

balance, and you can even use it for bite

work. Do not underestimate the power of

a simple flirtpole! (Especially if you do

it with a dog pulling a little bit of weight

attached to his harness.) What’s more,

you can make a flirtpole for dirt cheap.

Just go to any hardware store and buy a

10-ft. long, 1” thick plastic PVC pipe.

Drill a small hole about 2 in. from one

end of the pipe all the way through. Take

a 1 ft. long piece of parachute rope and

put one end through the hole and tie it

securely to the pipe, wrapping it around

several times. You should have maybe 6

in. still dangling from the pipe. Now

take a 1 ft. long piece of rubber (not

cloth) bungee chord and tie one end to

the parachute rope. To the free end of the

bungee chord attach another small piece

of parachute rope and then attach a hide

onto that last rope by tying another knot.

Simple! (You can also buy hides from

various vendors.) A flirtpole should

have negative resistance. That is what

the bungee chord is for—when a dog

happens to grab the hide, the bungee

gives negative resistance. This does two

things: (1) it allows the dog to tug

against the pull of both pole and bungee

for strength work, and (2) when the hide

slips out of his mouth, the negative pull

of the bungee whisks the hide quickly out

of reach, so you can begin the chase

again.

When you work the dog, keep the pole

close to the ground, and change

directions constantly. Let the dog build

up a good momentum, and then switch

directions, again, and again, and again.

Slow it down when he runs hot, and as

soon as his breathing gets back under

control, speed it up again. Again, this

will build-up his second wind. Repeat

until the workout time is concluded.

(Playing “fetch” would be a substitute

for the flirtpole.)

Jenny:

A jenny is another name for a catmill.

They call them “catmills” because you

can put a cat in a cage as bait for a dog

to chase, however this is considered

cruel, and in any event it is unnecessary,

as hanging a simple hide as bait is all

you need. A jenny is basically a giant

metal pole-arm, about 20’-40’ in

diameter, set parallel to the ground about

4-5’ high, supported on a central

spinning axis. On one end of the arm is

another “T” arm, from where you attach

your dog’s collar on one side, and on the

other side of the “T” you dangle the bait

in front of the dog to get him to run. At

the opposite side of the giant arm is a

counterbalance to keep it level. Below

is a schematic someone

was kind enough to send me to show you

how a jenny is constructed:

I am not going to go into the precise

construction of a jenny, because it is

assumed the reader knows what one is,

but the above schematic should suffice to

give the reader a general idea. Basically,

your dog chases the bait in front of him,

round and round, in a giant circle. Care

is needed to use a good running surface

(like rice hulls or soft dirt), and you

must make the jenny so that you can run

the dog in one direction on one day, and

then in the opposite direction on the next

day. A jenny is a super piece of

equipment, and you can really put some

air and leg under a dog for the long haul

with a jenny—and you can also develop

strength by adding weight for the dog to

pull during this exercise. What you want

to do is let your dog go at full steam, for

as long as possible, until he has to break

stride and trot. Let him trot as long as it

takes for him to collect himself, and then

have him go all-out again. Record these

times daily in your journal to monitor his

progress. As soon as he collects himself

again, encourage him to go all out again,

until he breaks stride again. Repeat this

sequence, until the workout is concluded

—or until your dog cannot go anymore

or seems “spent” and needs a break.

Take him off and call it a day at this

point. Again, jot all times down in your

journal, and always keep in mind you’re

trying to develop a second wind in your

dog, which is critical.

If you have a dog that won’t run a jenny,

but only jogs next to a bike, or on a mill,

then try to mimic the same thing. Have

him go all out, until he seems too tired,

and then let him trot until he has

recovered, and then have him go all out

again. Keep this up until the workout is

done, or until the dog can’t recover,

which means the workout is over. Never

force your dog to go on and on when

he is totally exhausted! If he can, he’ll

start up again. If he can’t, then right there

the workout is over. It is better to risk

under-training your dog than it is to risk

over-training your dog. Again, jot down

all times so you can see how he is

progressing. Remember, a jenny is far

superior to a mill. Better surface, more

realistic running, it is just superior.

[However, a slatmill (or electric mill),

or running next to a bike or car would be

a substitute for the jenny.]

SpringPole:

A springpole is a device with the intent

to strengthen a dog’s jaw power and

grip, not so much for biting power, but

for muscular endurance in his ability to

keep his holds when he’s tired, so he can

keep working them. A springpole is

simply a small spring affixed to a rafter,

a constructed stand, or even a tree

branch, by a rope. From the other end of

the spring you tie either a hide, a length

of fire hose, or a thick rope (fire hose is

preferred). In fact, O’brien’s Supply has

“Firehouse Tugs” which are ideal for the

springpole.

You want to construct your springpole in

such a way that when the dog has ahold

of the hide, he has his back feet firmly

planted on the ground, while his front

feet are just barely touching the ground.

This is to simulate an actual contest,

when your dog has ahold of an op

ponent’s ear and is slightly off balance.

Working a dog on a springpole in this

way, especially while tired, gets your

dog used to being able to stay in holds

so he can still work, even while he is

tired and off balance. This can be

critically-important if your dog is facing

a hard biter and/or if you have a show

that winds up going the distance! Your

dog should be able to stay in holds, and

stay in control, even while tired—

because if he has to “fall-out” at some

point he is now vulnerable.

To train your dog to stay in holds while

tired, encourage him to be as active and

aggressive on the pole as possible, even

though he is probably dead-ass tired

after all of the previous work. That is the

whole point! Take a stick and touch his

front legs, back legs, etc. and see if he’ll

try to cover up or move out of the way.

You are simply trying to simulate the

thought of defense on the part of the

dog while he works. If he gets too tired

to work anymore, then let him hang on

and just chill for a bit—but when he

seems to recover then egg him on again

by pulling or tugging at the rope or

springpole. As always, this is to develop

a second wind, and again jot everything

down in your journal. (Playing tug-o-

war would be a substitute for the

springpole.)

Some Final Comments:

As a final note, even during the

weightpull, flirtpole, and jenny work, try

to have your dog perform all of these

tasks with a tennis ball (or something) in

his mouth—but don’t let him swallow it.

Some dogs won’t do this, and if your

dog won’t, no big deal. But again, if

your dog will do his other work with

something in his mouth, then this will get

him used to working all the while with

his mouth on something, which can

mean the difference between life and

death when it’s for real. Again, staying

in holds is one of the most important

things a dog needs to do in his contest,

so like anything else, this all has to be

part of his training. Also, you should

give your dog a Kong Ball after every

workout, before he eats his meal (all to

be outlined later.) Then, on every rest

day, give your dog a big, fresh, raw

shankbone to chew. These things will put

the final touches on strengthening his

mouth, bite, and jaw muscles.

Remember, the jaw muscles are

muscles like any other, and they need

to be conditioned also! However, make

sure that you discontinue the use of ANY

biting toy, or bone, one week out from

show time; you need to allow for full

recovery of the jaw muscles.

Finally, before each workout, you need

to verify what your dog’s weight is

empty. Therefore, before you weigh your

dog, take him for a short walk, or have

an empty chain space to put him on, and

make sure you watch and actually

witness your dog both urinate and

defecate prior to your weighing him, and

prior to you starting his actual work.

This will give you your dog’s true

weight, which (of course) is critical to

monitor in your journal, as you are

always matched according to exact

weight. Another part of getting the exact

weight of your dog, aside from the

above, is to make sure your scale is

accurate. The first step in making sure

you have an accurate scale is to buy a

highquality hanging scale. I do not like

digital scales, as they require batteries,

and if your batteries are off, so too will

your measurements be off. A good

Chatillon hanging scale (or other solid

brand) is perfect, so long as the model

you select is rust-proof, which I have

given you already. The third step in

making sure your weight is right is to

utilize 2 Government-Certified Test-P’s:

you want one of them to weigh 25 lbs,

and the other to weigh 50 lbs. These

Test-Ps are absolutely essential, because

you do not want to use “barbell plates”

or anything inexact like that. Barbell

plates are often “off” by up to a full

pound (or more). By contrast, a

government-certified Test-P weight is

the truth. Therefore, if your scale reads

true on both test weights, at 25 lb and at

50 lb, then you know that your dog is

spoton weight if he’s anywhere in the

middle. You can look in your Yellow

Pages (or on the Internet) for both

hanging scale companies and for outfits

that will provide government-

certification of the scale and the Test-Ps.

I have also provided information as to

where to get these things at the beginning

of this chapter under “Supplies

Needed.”

Meticulous adherence to monitoring your

dog’s weight is absolutely critical, as

nothing can blow your confidence going

into a show —as well as your dog’s

chances of winning the show—like

having him be off-weight throughout his

entire keep. Too many people think

they’re coming in at 45 lb—because

their cheap scale “says so”—only to find

out on the day of truth that they really are

coming in at 43. I know, I’ve been there.

Don’t do this to your chances of

winning, and don’t do this to your dog!

Get professional measuring

instruments, absolutely exact in their

readings, and be professional. This

will have you coming into the show

confident—because you know in your

bones

that you are coming in there right.

Feed Schedule:

The next thing to address is the feed

schedule. You want to be absolutely

regular on this as well, and you want to

make sure you have all the supplies

necessary for each feeding. Much of the

supplements listed can be obtained

through www.vitaminshoppe.com and at

www.bodybuilding. com. The others can

be obtained at any GNC (or similar

health food stores)—and of course you

can get the cheese, rice, and greens at

any WalMart or supermarket (if

possible, make sure they are all

organic).

You will want to feed twice daily, and

you will want to space each feeding

exactly 12 hours apart. The dog should

have access to fresh, bottled water at all

times, changed once or twice daily.

There should be as much water

available as he wishes to drink.

However, you will notice that gradually

he will need less and less water—as his

condition progresses—but again that

should be his decision. His body will

naturally tell him how much he needs.

The morning feeding will simply be oils

and a large group of supplements mixed

into 1 cup of Pedialyte (see opposite

page). That’s it. This is to give him a

source of energy during the day, yet not

fill him up. Approximately 12 hours

later, after his workout, you will feed the

full feed regimen (after the dog has

recovered from the work), again with 1

cup of Pedialyte. Try to arrange

everything in relation to the expected

show schedule. For instance:

Suppose you had a 9:00 pm show 60

days from now. You’d feed the oils,

supplements, and the Pedialyte at 11:00

am and you’d work your dog at 9:00 pm

(which will be show time 60 days later).

The reason you make the feedings two

hours later, is that the dog’s max workout

will take about 1½ - 2 hours. After the

workout (and after he stops panting and

closes his mouth), your dog gets his full

feed schedule (which will be at

approximately 11:00 pm, exactly 12

hours after the first feeding). Like that—

each feeding spaced 12 hours apart, in

this case 11:00 am and 11:00 pm, based

on a 9:00 pm show time. You arrange the

feeding approximately 2 hrs after the

expected show time, as this is when he

will most likely be recovering and

eating, right after the real deal too. You

simply adjust your feed times based on

two hours past the time you are planning

on having the show.

As for what to feed, you want to keep

your dog on as natural a diet as possible.

I recommend Nature’s Variety Raw-

Frozen. This feed, as well as the oils,

are what you adjust, adding more or

less, depending on whether your dog

drops or gains weight. The supplements

and vegetables are what remain

constant: you simply adjust the amount of

bulk diet to keep your dog’s weight

level. Start at about 1 patty of raw-

frozen diet for every 30-lb of dog,

adjusting up or down based on how your

dog holds his weight. The oils are his

needed energy source that take the place

of carbs. You want to keep him at about

1-2 lb over show weight, throughout his

keep, except for the last two weeks. And

you add 1-cup of Pedialyte to his

evening feed also, to replenish his lost

electrolytes.

Regarding when and what to feed, again,

in the morning feeding you will just use

the oil, the indicated supplements, and

add this to 1-cup of Pedialyte. The

evening feeding is the true meal, which

again is after the workout. However,

before you feed the main meal, you want

to first give your dog about a half an

hour to recover from the work. The

reason we give the dog awhile to

recover, just before the meal, is to

allow the dog the time to burn fat after

the workout. A dog will actually burn

more fat after the workout than during it,

because (by the time the workout is

complete) the glycogen levels in his

muscles are all used-up. This is when

the dog gets too tired to work anymore,

which is when he should be put up, but it

is precisely at this point that the body

will look for an energy source to replace

the lost glycogen in the muscles, which

is when he burns fat.

If you feed a dog at this point of

glycogen depletion, especially if you

feed anything with glucose polymers,

like Vertex, then this is what the body

will use for glycogen replacement and

so it will not burn fat. However, if you

allow 30 minutes to an hour to pass,

where the dog has nothing to draw on to

replenish his lost glycogen supplies, the

dog’s body will have no other choice but

to burn fat to replace it. Therefore, do

not feed the dog immediately after the

workout, like bodybuilders would eat,

as it prevents fat loss. Instead, while the

dog is panting immediately after his

workout, he gets his Kong Ball to chew

on. Put him in a clean 500 kennel for

this. Allow him approximately 30 to an

hour minutes to chew away

(strengthening his jaws), and he will

also recover and reach full relaxation.

This will also give you the time to

prepare the meal and serve it fresh,

along with 1-cup of Pedialyte. The full

meal (for a 40 lb dog) is as follows

(adjust to weight if necessary):

moRning meAl

♦ Bee Pollen (3-4 tBsp w/ Water) ♦

Gingko Biloba (120 mg Water) ♦

Germanium (200 mg. Water)

♦ Coenzyme Q-10 (60 mg. w/ Water) ♦

L-Inosine (500 mg w/ Vertex w/ Water)

♦ Flax Oil (2 tBsp w/ feed w/ Water) ♦

Wheat Germ Oil (2 tBsp w/ Water) ♦

Tribulus (675 mg., morning w/ Water)

evening meAl

♦ Nature’s Variety Raw-Frozen Beef or

Chicken (Approx. 1 patty per 30 lb. of

dog) ♦ Cheddar Cheese (4 oz.)

♦ Mustard Greens + Turnip Greens (2

cups total— 1 of each—finely-diced w/

feed) ♦ Gucosamine/Chondroitin

(750/600 mg., liquid form, w/ feed)

♦ L-Carnitine (500 mg. w/ feed)

♦ Atlantic Salmon Oil (4 tBsp w/ feed)

♦ K-Ease (1-2 Tablets/40 lb, after

workout only if needed)

You will need to make use of a small

postal gram scale, as well as your

vegetable chopper, for feeding. Use all

organic foods, if possible. Take your

base Nature’s Variety raw-frozen diet

and put it in the dish. (By the way, you

should use the Nature’s Variety BEEF

diet exclusively throughout this keep

—until the last 10 days—where you

will switch to the CHICKEN formula.)

To prepare the full meal, handle your

raw-frozen diet as above. Then you put

your raw greens into your vegetable

chopper & chop to pieces. Simply add 2

cups of the mixed greens to the chopper,

pack it slightly, and then chop away.

After you chop the greens, then you want

to microwave them, but only for 1 min.

(on “High”), and then add the greens to

the bowl. Once you have added the meat

and the greens, and the cheese, mix in all

of the supplements and oils, in their

prescribed amounts, and then add 1-cup

of Pedialyte. The Pedialyte replenishes

their lost electrolytes. Mix and serve at

the proper time. After you have fed the

dog, give him his full-body massage.

With the diet covered, let us now get into

the preliminary conditioning work:

The Pre Keep

(Dog should be 2-3 lbs over show

weight)
Day 1:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ bodyweight) - 5 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 5

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 2: EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).
♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ bodyweight) - 5 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 5

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 3:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 4:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ bodyweight) - 5 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 5

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 5:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ bodyweight) - 5 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 5

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 6: EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 7:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 8:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 9:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ - ½ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 10:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Vertex and Indicated

Supplements with 1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

The 60-Day Natural Keep

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 11:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ - ½ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.
♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 12:

MORNING:

Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1-

cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ - ½ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.
♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 13:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 14:
MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup bottled water. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 15:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ - ½ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.
♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 16:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ - ½ bodyweight) - 7 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 7

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 7 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 17:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1- cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 18:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

By now, your dog should be worked

down to exactly 2 lb. over his show

weight. (If he is a very small dog, you

want him maybe 1½ lb over his best

weight; if he is a huge catchweight dog,

you want him maybe 3 lb over his best

weight, etc.; but you get the idea.)

Anyway, you want to keep your dog at

this optimal weight throughout the keep,

just a couple of pounds over, until the

very end. What this foundational Pre-

Keep has done, though, is harden your

dog’s muscles— without over-working

them—and he is now ready to enter into

The Main Keep.

Day 19:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 9 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 9 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 9

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 9 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 20:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 9 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 9 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 9

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 9 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 21:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.
♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 22:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 11 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 11 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 11

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 11 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 23:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 11 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 11 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 11

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 11 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 24:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 25:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 26:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 13 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 13 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 13

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 13 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 27:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty). ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 13 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 13 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 13

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 13 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 28:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 29:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 15 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 15

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 30:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(½ bodyweight) - 15 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 15

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

~ Get Another CBC Blood

Profile ~

Day 31:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 32:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 33:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 17 minutes. ♦
FLIRTPOLE - 17 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 17

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 17 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 34:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 17 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 17 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 17

minutes.
♦ SPRINGPOLE - 17 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 35:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 36:
MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 19 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 19 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 19

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 19 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 37:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 19 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 19 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 19

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 19 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 38:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.
♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 39:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

Feed dog 1 hour later.

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him. REST.

Day 40:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 21 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 21 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 21

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 21 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 41:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).
♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 21 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 21 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 21

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 21 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 42:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 43:

MORNING:

♦ Feed Indicated Supplements with 1-

cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 23 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 23 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 23

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 23 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. Day 44:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¾ bodyweight) - 23 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 23 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 23

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 23 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 45:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 46:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

tWo WeekS out: You now want to

gradually get your dog from 2 lb. over

his show weight, so that one week from

now, and one week prior to the show,

your dog will only be 1 lb. over his

show weight.**

Last Two Weeks

(Pointing)

Day 47:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(FULL bodyweight) - 25 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 25 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 25

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 25 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. Day 48:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(FULL bodyweight) - 25 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 25 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 25

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 25 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 49:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 50:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(FULL bodyweight) - 27 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 27 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 27

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 27 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 51:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min (or put on chain

until empty).

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.
♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(FULL bodyweight) - 27 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 27 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 27

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 27 minutes.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. Day 52:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Switch from Nature’s Variety Beef to

Nature’s Variety Chicken

Day 53:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 54:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(full to 1½ x bodyweight) - 30 minutes.

♦ FLIRTPOLE - 30 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 30

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 30 minutes.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog completely

recovers and stops panting. ♦ Give the

dog his full body massage and talk to

him.

Day 55:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ body-weight) - 15 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 15

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 15 minutes.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

Day 56:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 57:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ WEIGHTPULL w/ harness & tracers

(¼ body-weight) - 5 minutes. ♦

FLIRTPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ JENNY (or TREADMILL) - 5

minutes.

♦ SPRINGPOLE - 5 minutes.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog completely

recovers and stops panting. ♦ Give the

dog his full body massage and talk to

him.

Day 58:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 59:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 60:

MORNING:

♦ Feed double the amounts of

Morning Oils, plus the usual Indicated

Supplements, with 1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Travel to Show (Never more than 4

hours!)

♦ Acclimate and Empty Dog

♦ Prior to official weigh-in, weigh your

dog, and continue to walk and empty

dog, until he empties for sure—as long

as he is not going ballistic—and to

prevent this walk him out it in a

secluded spot so he is calm. Once he

empties completely, put him back in his

crate and make sure you or your trusted

second keeps an eye on your dog at all

time. No one should be allowed to get

near your dog except you or your

second.

♦ Official Weigh-In.

♦ SHOWTIME!

Some Final Tips

The week before show time, you will

want to cut the final pound off of your

dog and point him to his contest weight

come show time, beginning on Day 54.

Most of this loss of weight will be

WATER weight, as your dog should have

burned most or all of his excess fat off

by now. How much water weight to lose

will depend on the size of the dog and

where the show is happening. This is the

key: As you work a dog throughout this

keep, keep in mind where your show is

happening.

If you are going to be in hot, dry, arid

weather you will not want to dry your

dog out much at all, so have him only

about ½ - 1 lb. over by the day before. If

you are going into hot, humid, sticky

weather you will want to dry your dog

out some, which will be a greater weight

loss, and which you have to factor in. So

have him 1- 1½ lbs over the day before.

You will then cut the water you give the

dog by the appropriate amount the day

and evening prior to show time. Never

dry a dog out totally, though!

To dry a dog out slightly—which you do

for hot, humid weather—simply

withhold the water from his evening

meal the day before the show, and only

give him maybe one-to-two cups worth

of water to drink normally during the

entire day prior to the show. You test his

water content all day on the day prior,

and on show day, by lifting the skin up

on his back. If it bounces right back, he

is well hydrated. Again, this is fine for

dry, arid weather, but you do want him

slightly dry for humid weather. Still,

never cut back more than a 1 - 1½ lbs

of water, and never get more than a

slight delay of no more than a 1-count,

even for humid weather.

If it takes 2 or 3 seconds for a dog’s skin

to bounce back, then he is in some

degree of dehydration, which is not

good. You NEVER want a dog to go into

a show with a 3-count level of

dehydration, even in most humid

weather, as your dog’s chances of

surviving afterward are slim. This is

especially true if it goes awhile.

However, for humid weather, you do

want to have a certain degree of dryness

in the dog, otherwise he will blow hot.

A ½ - 1 count for his skin to snap back is

all that you want to risk.

Furthermore, if you are traveling from a

dry climate to a humid, sticky climate,

consider planning for this climate change

throughout his keep. To do this, you

might want to switch from a jenny work

to millwork, and train the dog indoors

instead of outdoors, all the while

running a pot of boiling water in the

same room as your dog every day to

simulate the humidity you will

eventually be hav- ing your dog

compete in. You have to think of things

like this all through your dog’s keep! Not

only about what style your dog is, and

what style of dog you are going to be

facing, but in what kind of weather and

under what kind of conditions as well.

If you are going in very cold weather,

you will not want to rail your dog down

to minimal fat, like you would in

summer, but in fact you will want to

show your dog with some fat on him.

You do this so he does not get

hypothermia in ice cold weather as no

dog should be skinny in the freezing

cold, so make sure you contract your dog

a pound or two over what you would

show that same dog in desert weather.

Hooking in cold weather and

compensating for a pound or two of fat

will again prevent the dog’s getting

hypothermia—which he would surely

suffer from if you brought him in as a

rack of bones in a freezing climate.

Conversely, you do want a dog railed

down pretty well in humid or desert

conditions. Again, if competing in a

humid climate, take a little water OUT

of your dog—if competing in a dry, arid

climate, leave a little water IN your dog.

Additional Tips

If your dog doesn’t like driving, take him

for small trips all throughout the keep to

get him used to traveling. You must

always be thinking of what will help

your dog win this contest in this place.

If you want to prevent cracks and splits

in his pads as he does his keepwork,

make sure you rub his feet down with

Absorbine Hooflex after every workout

(which you can get in the KV

Vet Supply catalogue), and also use his

dog booties.

Finally, even though this is a balanced

keep, remember not to box your dog into

it. Rather tailor everything in this keep

around your dog, and his style, as well

as to what he will and will not do,

work-wise, and finally to your own

particular situation. If you don’t have a

place to weightpull or flirtpole (or use a

jenny), then just use a treadmill and

springpole—but double the times listed

to make up for the missing two

exercises. If your dog will only run a

jenny, then do only this exercise, but add

weights for the first quarter of the time,

and quadruple the overall time

recommended, to make up for cutting out

3 other exercises. If you have no money

and cannot afford a jenny, or a mill, then

just use the flirtpole and weightpulls,

followed by the springpole. Allow for

this kind of flexibility that must exist to

fit each dog and each circumstance.

Nothing is set in stone. You must be

openminded, watchful, and imaginative

—and do you best to mimic The Basic

Principles of this keep, not necessarily

every letter of it.

Once again, this keep is a framework,

just an idea of what to do, it is not the

final word. The final word is do only

those things that will help your dog

win this contest against this opponent.

As long as you keep this thought as a

bottom line, you should be all right.

Don’t be afraid to experiment if you

have to, to make up for a quirky dog or

lack of space/equipment. Nonetheless,

ultimately you must invest an adequate

amount of time and work—doing

something for your dog—that will

simulate what he has to do in The Arena

—and which will elevate his abilities to

do it—or you shouldn’t have him hooked

in the first place.

However, if you have the time, the

dedication, the tools, a good dog, and

good common sense, then the basic

concepts contained in this keep will help

your good dog win. And with that I wish

you Good Luck!

Chapter 16

The 60-Day Mill Keep

Some people simply do not have the

room to weightpull their dogs, to use a

jenny for their dogs, or sometimes even

to flirtpole their dogs. Because of their

living situation (usually in a big city),

they simply must use a mill. What kind

of mill they use is up to them. Myself, I

think a slat mill is better for this keep,

but plenty of people succeed using an

electric mill. Keep in mind, though, that

you can also get two mills, a carpet and

a slat, and mimic the previous keep. The

carpet mill would simulate the weight

pull, you could then move on to the

flirtpole, while the slatmill would

simulate the jenny. You could then use a

springpole afterward. This would be my

first suggestion.

However, if you only can get your hands

on “one” mill, and it is either a slat or an

electric, the conditioning strategy on

either is the same: you want your dog to

run all-out, as hard as he can run—for as

long as he can run—and you want to

record this duration of all-out sprinting

in your Daily Journal. You want to see

how long he can keep this up, until he

has to break stride and trot, and then

you want to record the time he trots to

see how long it takes for him to

recover. For instance, on the slatmill,

you would face your dog off with

another dog (or a chicken or whatever

gets him to go balls-out), and then you

just let him go balls out. Say your dog is

able to run for 5 straight minutes wide-

open. At 5 minutes, your dog can no

longer keep it up, and so he breaks

stride, slows down to a trot or a canter,

and just trots with his tongue hanging out

panting heavily.

At this point, you back off with the bait

and watch his tongue and watch his

breathing. After an all-out run like this,

he is going to be running hot. Your job is

now to remove the “bait” and let him trot

along steady until he cools off down to

normal panting, and is no longer

laboring so much for air. You would then

write down how long he could go all-out

—and you also write down how long it

took him to stop struggling for breath. He

does not have to stop panting entirely, he

just has to stop looking labored in his

breathing, and you have to have an eye

for what’s happening to see this.

Once the dog recovers to “normal

panting,” then you re-introduce the bait

and get them to go all-out again. Again,

log the amount of time he is able to

sustain the next set. Once he runs hot and

has to slow down again, take the bait

away again (or if you have a partner

showing the bait and taking it away, so

much the better), and record how long it

takes the dog to recover. Once he

recovers again, re-introduce the bait for

a third all-out set. (Etc., etc.)

Eventually, there will come a point

where the dog is no longer able to go

all-out, and that is when you end the

workout for that day.

Obviously, what you are trying to do is

notice a gradual increase in duration that

your dog is able to go all-out, with a

corresponding decrease in the duration it

take for your dog to recover and be

ready for the next set. You also want to

see if he can gradually increase the

number of sets he is able to do like this

as well. The main difference between

the slatmill and the emill with this keep,

is that you do not need bait for the emill;

you just turn up the speed which forces

him to run fast— and when he starts

stumbling you then immediately decrease

the speed and let the dog catch his

breath. By contrast, you need to use bait

with a dog on a slatmill. With either

mill, you do not count the trotting time

as the work; the time you count toward

the dog’s actual work is only the all-out

sprinting time. Anyway, here is what this

effort might look like (the feed schedule

is the same as with the other keep):

The Pre Keep

(Dog should be 2-3 lbs over show

weight)

Day 1:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 1 Set (or 10 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 2:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 1 Set
(or 10 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 3:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

Give raw Shank Bone until time to feed

and record how he acts and feels in your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.
Day 4:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 2 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 5:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:
♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 2 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 6:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 7:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 8:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 2 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 9:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 2 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 10:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 11:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 20 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 12:

MORNING:
♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 20 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 13:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.
♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 14:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 15:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 20 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 16:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.
♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 20 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 17:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.
♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 18:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

By now, your dog should be worked

down to exactly 2 lb. over his show

weight. (If he is a very small dog, you

want him maybe 1½ lb over his best

weight; if he is a huge catchweight dog,

you want him maybe 3 lb over his best

weight, etc.; but you get the idea.)

Anyway, you want to keep your dog at

this optimal weight throughout the keep,

just a couple of pounds over, until the

very end. What this foundational Pre-

Keep has done, though, is harden your

dog’s muscles—without

over-working them—and he is now

ready to enter into The Main Keep.

Day 19:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 4 Sets

(or 28 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.
Day 20:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 4 Sets

(or 28 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 21:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:
♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 22:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 4 Sets

(or 28 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 23:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 4 Sets

(or 28 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 24:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 25:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 26:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 5 Sets

(or 35 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.
Day 27:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 5 Sets

(or 35 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 28:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:
♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 29:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 6 Sets

(or 40 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 30:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 6 Sets

(or 40 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

~ Get Another CBC Blood

Profile ~

Day 31:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 32:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 33:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 6 Sets

(or 40 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 34:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 6 Sets

(or 40 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 35:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 36:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets (or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 37:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets

(or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 38:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 39:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 40:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets

(or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 41:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets

(or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 42:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 43:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets
(or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 44:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 7 Sets

(or 45 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 45:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 46:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

tWo WeekS out: You now want to

gradually get your dog from 2 lb. over

his show weight, so that one week from

now, and one week prior to the show,

your dog will only be 1 lb. over his

show weight.**

Last Two Weeks

(Pointing)

Day 47:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 8 Sets
(or 50 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 48:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 8 Sets

(or 50 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 49:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

REST.

Day 50:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 8 Sets

(or 50 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 51:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 8 Sets

(or 50 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ Give Kong Ball until time to feed and

record all activities in your Daily

Journal. ♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog

completely recovers and stops panting. ♦

Give the dog his full body massage and

talk to him.

Day 52:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with 1

cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Give raw Shank Bone until time to

feed and record how he acts and feels in

your

Daily Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

REST.

Switch from Nature’s Variety Beef to

Nature’s Variety Chicken

Day 53:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 54:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 9 Sets

(or 55 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog completely

recovers and stops panting. ♦ Give the

dog his full body massage and talk to

him.

Day 55:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog completely

recovers and stops panting. ♦ Give the

dog his full body massage and talk to

him.

Day 56:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him.

♦ REST.

Day 57:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte.
EVENING:

♦ Handwalk 30 min or until empty.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ TREADMILL - All-out running until

failure ... then recover ... then all-out

again. 3 Sets

(or 15 min. total all-out).

♦ HANDWALK - 30 min.

♦ *** NO Kong Ball ***

♦ Feed 30 minutes after dog completely

recovers and stops panting. ♦ Give the

dog his full body massage and talk to

him.

Day 58:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties.

♦ Weigh dog and jot down weight in

Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 59:

MORNING:

♦ Feed the Indicated Supplements with

1-cup of Pedialyte. EVENING:

♦ Put dog on new chain space until he

empties. ♦ Weigh dog and jot down

weight in Journal.

♦ *** NO Shank Bone ***

♦ Feed dog 1 hour later.

♦ Give the dog his full body massage

and talk to him. ♦ REST.

Day 60:

MORNING:

♦ Feed double the amounts of

Morning Oils, plus the usual Indicated

Supplements, with 1-cup of Pedialyte.

EVENING:

♦ Travel to Show (Never more than 4

hours!)

♦ Acclimate and Empty Dog

♦ Prior to official weigh-in, weigh your

dog, and continue to walk and empty

dog,

until he empties for sure—as long as he

is not going ballistic—and to prevent

this walk him out it in a secluded spot so

he is calm. Once he empties completely,

put him back in his crate and make sure

you or your trusted second keeps an eye

on your dog at all time. No one should

be allowed to get near your dog except

you or your second.

♦ Official Weigh-In.

♦ SHOWTIME!

At this point, refer back to the

instructions on Show Time of the

previous keep, as everything else there

applies. What you are trying to do, in

this keep, should be obvious: you are

trying to maximize the time your dog can

go all-out, while shortening the amount

of time he needs to recover, so that he

can go all-out again before his opponent

can.

If you can afford to get 3 different mills

—(1) a carpet/belt mill, (2) a slat mill,

and (3) an electric mill—you could

actually imitate The 60-Day Natural

Keep conceptually. You could this by

substituting a carpet/belt mill for the

weight pulling, the slatmill (windsprints,

not trotting) for the flirt- pole, and then

substitute an emill at a set, gradual pace

for a jenny. Add the springpole at the

end and you have a pretty good substitute

for The 60-Day Natural Keep.

The bottom line is there is no “one” way

to condition a dog, but there are some

principles that need to be adhered to.

You want to prepare your dog for the

initial heavy pace that is going to be at

the beginning of a hunt—but you must

realize that this pace can’t last forever.

30-60 minutes of all-out activity (with a

certain mount of rest & recovery mixed

in) are all that is reasonable or possible

to expect. From there you want to

establish a decent pace that can be

maintained for awhile, with occasional

bursts mixed in. But mostly at this point

there is going to be just a solid,

intermittent pace—and you are trying to

duplicate this in the work. And from

there, the dogs pretty much simply “hang

on” and fight in spurts.

However, no keep can give you an eye

or common sense. You will have to use

your own eyes, and your own common

sense, to evaluate your dog at all times.

Is the work too much for him? Does he

need more rest? Can he be pushed

further? Is he losing too much weight?

Do I need to add more raw-frozen base

feed to his diet or more oils? I s he

drying out? How does he feel?

I can give you a basic guideline for the

exercises to do, and the basic reasoning

for why you’re doing it, but I can’t make

you understand what I am saying. Nor

can I make you observant for “the

details” that only you will be there to

notice (or not to notice). That part is on

you. So, in

the end, your dog’s condition, nutrition,

and how he feels each day is up to you

to pay attention to. Your dog is entirely

under your charge, and he is entirely at

the mercy of your competence and

concern for him. Those are the two big

“Cs”— concern and competence. Those

two key ingredients to success are up to

you.

If you take your job seriously, pay

attention to detail, if you really love your

dog and want the best for him—and if

you follow correct principles—then this

keep will help both of you to win. You

will come out ahead as winners, and you

will be able to bring your dog back

home so as to enjoy him for the next go-

around.

And in that endeavor, I wish you Good

Luck—which brings us to the next

section of this book.

Chapter 17

Preserving Gameness

(Competing with Class)

Remember, when it is time for you to

actually take your dog into The Arena to

compete, that at the end of the day this is

a sport. If you feel you have to bring a

gun with you, then you’re going into the

wrong kind of crowd. When I competed

a bit back in the 1990s, I never brought a

gun one time and I never went into the

kind of crowd where that kind of

element was a worry. I went into

sportsmen, not criminals, and I myself

was a sportsman and not a criminal.

There were no worries about rubs, about

being cheated, or about having to shoot

someone or getting shot. If you are the

type of person who feels the need to tote

a gun around, you are either very

insecure, a thug, or you are living and

competing in the wrong crowd.

Be a class act and only go into class

competition. Shake the man’s hand and

congratulate him if he beats you, and

smile and offer to help him and his dog

if you are the victor. If your dog is

winning, and his dog is getting killed, if

you have chosen a gentleman sportsman

as a quality opponent he will have the

class to pick up his dog and save him.

And if you are a class act and gentleman

yourself, and if you can see you are

losing and will lose your dog, pick him

up when it becomes clear he no longer

has a chance to win. This makes the

sport enjoyable for all and it abuses

and wastes no animals.

Regarding the subject of “picking-up a

dog,” there are many different opinions

on the subject of rescuing a game (but

losing) dog, or leaving him in there to

see if he “can still win” by some miracle

because the top dog finally quits. To

begin with, there is a difference between

a dog that is just behind for the time

being—but who is still in it and can still

mount a comeback—and a dog who is

losing so badly that if he isn’t picked up

he will lose his life. A true dogman has

the eye to tell the difference, where

many no-talent imbeciles do not. And a

wanton gambler may or may not know

the difference, but he could care less

about his dog’s life, he is just after

winning his bet, quite literally at all

costs, including sacrificing the life of his

dog to get there.

I must state that it is precisely here,

when a dog is left in there with his

owner knowing he will not make it, that

creates the overall general public hatred

of our sport. And in my opinion

deservedly so.

It seems to me that this is the cutting

edge which divides the sport of dogs

from being a “sport”—and instead

makes the activity something other than a

sport. The mindset of “leaving them

down” has become more and more

prevalent, almost a macabre ceremony

where dog lives are sacrificed in the

interests of “a win” and/or the almighty

buck. Seriously, how can someone claim

that sacrificing a dog’s life “to win” a

contest involves any kind of

“sportsmanship” whatsoever. I mean,

when the participant’s ego won’t allow

him simply to admit defeat and concede

a show like a good sport, when an

animal’s life is on the line, then how can

such a person claim to be a

“sportsman?” When a person values the

remote chance of “somehow winning”

(either the money or the contest) over the

lives of his dogs, what is sportsmanlike

about that?

A good sport, by its very definition, is

one who can win graciously and/or who

can accept defeat graciously, without

malice. And, I am sorry, but letting an

animal be brutalized to its death, without

the slightest concern for stopping the

activity at some point to save it, falls

outside any conceivable definition of

“good sportsmanship”there is—and

instead fits every conceivable definition

of malice and poor sportsmanship that

there is.

So why do so many dogmen put up with

people like this who compete in our

sport? Such low-lives simply degrade

our sport, and they degrade us when we

associate with them in our sport. To

draw a comparison, most Americans

love the sport of boxing— I know I do!

—but I seriously doubt that too many

Americans would enjoy boxing if there

were no refs to stop the contests once

it’s finally clear there’s a winner.

What if, instead of a referee stopping a

boxing match when one of the fighters

was ren- dered defenseless, there was

no referee intervention all? And what if

you also had cornermen who

had huge bets on their fighters too, and

so when their fighter was losing, these

cornermen would sit there and just

watch their fighters continue to get

pummeled and killed when they were in

a bad spot, instead of throwing in the

towel? Could a society call itself

“civilized” (or even sane) if such boxing

matches were legal? I mean, are not

values, especially the value of life, the

very separation of man and animal? Yet

that is exactly what happens all-too-

many times in these dogs, thanks to the

scumbags who compete in it. So then,

are we dogmen sane, therefore, for

allowing this kind of cruel stupidity to

continue to go on in our sport of dogs

when we see it happen? We sure

as hell are not.

It is up to every dogman who competes

to have the balls to stand up and say

something if we see this kind of thing

happen. It is up to every dogman to call

a piece of shit “a piece of shit” to his

face, in front of the whole crowd, and to

declare out loud that you will refuse to

go into that individual again in the future,

every time we see an individual conduct

themselves in this kind of manner toward

their dogs.

Now keep in mind, there is a big

difference between an accidental death

as the result of the unforeseen variables

of competition, and an intended death

due to the indifference or even malice of

the participants. All contact sports

involve the potential for fatal injury, and

they should not be abolished just

because a fatality occurs. From race car

driving, to football, to boxing, human

men can and do get killed on occasion,

accidentally, which is unfortunate, sure,

but this does not mean these activities

are “wrong” or should be abolished due

to an occasional accident. Uncountable

deaths also happen every day in ordinary

traffic for that matter, but that doesn’t

mean driving is “wrong” or should be

abolished.

So too, in our sport, dogs sometimes get

killed accidentally or before anything

can be done. If a dog happens to bite so

hard it gets a kill before anything can be

done, then that is just an unfortunate

circumstance and doesn’t take away

from the legitimacy of our sport as a

sport, nor does it make either of the

competitive sportsmen who own the

dogs bad dogmen. These kinds of thing

just happen sometimes. But this is not the

same as intentionally leaving a dog

down, when clearly he has no chance,

has had enough, and will die as a result,

win or lose, if he isn’t picked-up now.

Again, the first scenario is an unfortunate

accidental by-product of the risk of

competition; the latter is intentional

killing. There is a major difference!

Now, despite what fanatical “tree

huggers” have to say, intentionally

killing to eat meat is fine and is a part of

life also. But we’re not talking about that

here, either. We’re talking about inten-

tionally killing just to kill—or for sport.

And that is not fine. That is morally-

reprehensible, yet this is what happens

all-too-often in our sport, and it is my

point here that this which removes our

activity from being a sport at that point.

Furthermore, it is precisely here where

society at large seeks to condemn and

incarcerate us dogmen for our activities.

The greater majority of society thinks

dog fighting is “wrong” precisely

because they believe it involves death

to the dogs. And in the same fashion, the

greater majority of society would outlaw

the sport of boxing too, if they thought it

would involve the death of one of the

boxers. And because the lives of the

boxers are protected and guarded, few

people have a problem with boxing. But

because there are so many uneducated,

malicious criminal thugs in our sport,

who allow these dogs to get killed, that

the greater majority of society “lumps us

all in the same bag” and considers us all

barbaric criminals. You can thank every

dogman who lets his dog get killed for

that, and you can thank yourself (or

anyone you know, who doesn’t have the

balls to stand up and say something

when this happens) for that. Truly good

people will not stand for the senseless

waste of life, it’s really that simple.

You see, there is a significant difference

in mentality and sophistication between

people who understandably enjoy the

sport of dogfighting—when they witness

the skills and courage of the dogs

involved in the contest—in addition to

the friendly, competitive spirit involved

between rival kennels. But this is far

different from immoral killers, who use

these dogs as tools to gamble and make

money, without any regard for the lives

of their dogs at all. I submit that the

former are our game’s fine sportsman

and women, while the latter are our

game’s true downfall. The latter type are

something much lower and base than

dogmen: what they are is a cancer in our

sport; they’re the ones who make true

the humaniacs’ anger at us; and they’re

the ones who have caused this war that

is continually waged on us. I mean think

about it: if every dogman and woman

were a true sportsman, who competed

honestly but who valued the lives of

their dogs and would not let them die,

then the humaniacs really wouldn’t have

much ammo against us, would they?

Preserving Gameness335

But the truth is, there is a non-sporting

element and attitude of death and killing

rampant amongst many in our subculture,

that few of us have the balls to address,

either out loud and/ or within ourselves.

Yet there is no denying it. Plainly and

simply there is a prevailing mindset of

“tolerance” to this kind of flagrant abuse

of dogs, that not only defies every

conceivable definition of

“sportsmanship” that there is, but is best

encapsulated in a quote by a famous

criminologist: “When men first come

into contact with violent crime they

abhor it. If they remain in contact

with it for awhile they grow

accustomed to it and endure it. And if

they remain in contact with violent

crime long enough, they eventually

accept it and embrace it.”

And this happens every day in our sport

doesn’t it? We see young dogmen

growing cold

to the abuse of these dogs, over time,

because so many people in this sport

commit crimes against

their dogs. I mean, how many of us have

seen beginners in this game—who start

out really caring

about their dogs—but who slowly

degenerate into dog-butchers within a

year or so? Happens all

the time doesn’t it? And it is precisely in

accordance with the above quote.

(Really read that quote

above, because it is so true.)

Well, not only do many dogmen slowly

become brainwashed into having a dog-

butcher’s

mentality, but what they do is thus fulfill

the very anger and indictments that are

levied at our sport

by the humaniacs, because ours is not a

sport anymore at the point we allow

these dogs to get

killed for no reason. I submit that those

who have the mentality to intentionally

leave their dogs

down to die, literally sacrificing their

dog in the hopes that they will somehow

hit lightning in a bottle

to gain their precious cash, and/or so

they can win the contest, are the TRUE

problem in our sport.

Because it no longer is a sport at that

point, but instead becomes an insane

sacrificial ceremony

which enrages the majority of the

population against us.

I know of some “dogmen” who (if their

dog is getting killed) will routinely bet

money on

whether their half-dead dog “will still

scratch.” With absolutely no regard for

the life of their game

little animal, these pieces of shit will

make bet-after-bet with the crowd, over

and over again, on

whether their game little dogs will

continue to scratch-back to a killing,

until their poor dog is finally

broken and lifeless to be tossed aside,

forgotten, while these pieces of shit

count the money they

won. Then there are those who, if they

cannot win but have real game dog, will

leave their dog

down just to make sure that he hangs in

long enough to kill the winning dog too.

They are so selfcentered and

unconcerned for the lives of either dog,

that if they can’t win the money they’ll at

least make sure you lose your dog too.

Who in their right mind can call either

kind of individual “sporting?” In my

opinion, both scenarios simply represent

the insanity present in all-too-many

participants in our underground

subculture. Yet for some reason this type

of behavior is tolerated. The question is,

why is it tolerated?! This is

question needs to be asked, and asked

often, until it no longer is tolerated.

I mean, let’s forget for a moment about

the ethics of whether or not it is “right”

or “wrong”

to intentionally leave a game dog down

to die and let’s focus instead on the

preservation of our

great breed to see the crime involved

in such actions from a different

perspective. Point blank: what

is it that makes a pit dog a pit dog? The

answer, of course, is gameness, and it is

gameness (above

all else) that every breeder of these dogs

seeks to preserve. Okay? So what

happens, then, to our

breed when truly game dogs are not

picked up, when a dog at last is forced

to show his gameness

in a losing effort, but instead of being

picked up and valued at this point of no

return, the dogs are

left in there to die and have their game

genetics be wasted?
Does this help our breed (to say nothing

of our class and dignity as sporting

gentlemen and

ladies) to leave our truly game dogs in

there to die? No! The truth is leaving

game dogs down hurts

the breed, by intentionally killing off its

gamest representatives. That’s the truth

now, isn’t it? Suppose we took this to

the extreme, and suppose we let every

single truly dead game dog prove he’s

dead game, by letting him die right there

as he’s proving it, what then? Don’t we

essentially FAIL to

preserve the gameness in our dogs,

every time we see it, by destroying each

individual who proves

to have it!? In short, the very essence of

what the breed is all about, gameness,

gets thrown away

each and every time it finally shows

itself, by the practice of “leaving them

down.” Think about it. If every match

turned out like this, with no pick-ups, we

would have winners—or either shot

curs or proven dead game dogs. The

losers would always be lost and so we

could never preserve

the uniqueness of the pit bull breed

because these game losers wouldn’t be

around to be bred. Would this be

desirable in any way? Of course not.

All great fighters, if they fight often

enough, will have their day where they

can’t win a particular fight against a

particular foe. Muhammad Ali lost, Joe

Louis lost, Sugar Ray Robinson lost,

Mike Tyson lost, etc., etc. Sometimes

these fighters lost to people whom they

were actually bet- ter than, but they just

happen to lose on an issue of styles—or

an issue of conditioning—or sometimes

just to a lucky punch or a bad day. But

what if these men were allowed to be

beaten to death too, on a bad day, like

these dogs all-too-often are? Not only

would this be despicable, but the world

would have been robbed of many great

subsequent fights when these fighters

made a comeback.

And they all did!

Well, with these dogs it’s the same thing.

Yet, because we also breed for the trait

of extreme

gameness, we thereby lose the ability to

perpetuate proven gameness by letting

the gamer of the

two dogs die. This is an even bigger loss

to the sport than missing out on a

potential future match

with that dog. Yet you will hear

scumbags constantly brag about the fact

they “never pick up.”

What they basically say is, “I care

nothing about my dog’s life, or in

furthering the pit bull breed in

general,” in the same breath as they say,

“I care only about me, this match, and

the remote possibility of winning on

dead gameness at the expense of my

dog’s life.”

These people become intentional killers,

yes, but they also kill-off the potential of

furthering

gameness in the breed. The fact is, if

extreme gameness is the essence of the

breed, and instead

of being treasured and saved, when it

reveals itself in a match, people just

watch it die off right

before their eyes—what they are really

doing is robbing the breed of its truly

game warriors and of

the potential of breeding to them. Again,

this is on top of the fact they turn our

legitimate sport into

a low-class death ceremony that

alienates the public and brings on all the

heat. So the next time somebody brags

about “not picking up,” give them as

much hell as you

can. Because remember, not only are you

looking at an intentional killer of our

gamest dogs, but

you are looking at a so-called person

who hurts our entire breed of dog (1) by

his proving-out and

making real the hatred of the humaniacs

against us, and (2) by his killing off our

breed’s gamest

warriors, rather than preserving them.

Therefore, instead of “tolerating” this

type of person in our

sport, by looking the other way, what we

should be doing is kicking their asses on

the spot, refusing

to go into (or associate with them any

more), and by culling them from our

sport entirely. Therefore, don’t be a

player like that, don’t deal with players

like that, and make sure you

yourself don’t compete like that. If you

are going to play this game, then make

sure you compete

with class—and make sure you only deal

with players who compete with class—

and you will take a

giant step in making our sport a better

one all the way around, especially for

our dogs. Thank you.

Chapter 18

The Aftermath

(Treating a Wounded Dog)

We’ve covered the essential elements of

caring for your dogs—all the way

through grooming, schooling, evaluating,

and testing—to the moment of truth now

when you match your favorite one to see

if he can pull it off and perform at the

level you’d hoped, for real. All of these

incremental steps have formed your

foundation, and they all brought you to

this point, and yet they all won’t amount

to much if you don’t know how to save

your dog, and lose him (even if he wins).

Which brings us to Chapter 18 “The

Aftermath.”

Win or lose, the first step in saving your

dog’s life is having enough sense to

know when to pick him up. Really. All

of the best medical techniques known to

man will be useless to you if you have

let your dog go to the point of no return

if he’s overwhelmed in there and you sit

there and let him take too much

punishment. And some dogs may be able

to win the match, but they will be so

banged-up afterwards that they will lose

their lives. This is no way to win.

The key to realize in any dog deal is that

your dog will continue to go downhill,

even after you pick him up. Think about

that for at least thirty minutes. Just really,

truly, think about that last sentence: your

dog will continue to go downhill a bit

more, even after you pick him up. Then

consider this: when you roll your dogs,

say you’ve had him down for ten minutes

and then stop it. He seems fine when you

pick him up, doesn’t he? But how does

he look a couple of hours later? All sore

and limping, doesn’t he? The truth is,

your dog looked fine after a short :10

bump, however a couple of hours later

he was much more swollen and didn’t

quite look as good.

Well, what do you think happens when

you pick up a dog right at the point when

he’s at death’s door, after a real tough

fight? The answer is he continues to go

downhill after he’s pickedup, and thus he

passes “through” death’s door a few

hours later. And the result is that another

good dog was just lost to his owner’s

ignorance. You must understand, if you

care about your dog’s life, that he will

continue to go downhill another 10%

to 20% after you pick him up.

Therefore, you must factor in this

process in as you watch your dog go,

because picking him up a hair away from

death won’t save him. He will continue

to go downhill and he will die. It doesn’t

matter if he’s winning or losing, there is

a point when you should be able to feel

in your bones that your dog just doesn’t

have too much left.

One of the best ways to make sure you

don’t lose your dog is simply to make a

habit of picking up your dog the minute

the idea pops into your mind. Think

about that for another thirty minutes.

Because if the thought, “I’d better pick

him up,” pops into your mind, there is

probably a reason. And that reason is

you feel in your bones the dog is in

danger, and so you need to act on that

gut instinct. If you are going to be wrong,

it is better to error on the side of your

dog’s life than it is to error on the side of

your dog’s death—It is better to pick up

a dog 15 minutes too early than it is to

pick up one second too late—It is better

to be sportsman enough to let the other

dog win fair and square, than it is to be

stupid enough to lose both your good

dog and the match. Remember: you

cannot breed to a dead dog, you cannot

match a dead dog, and most people

would be uninterested in purchasing a

dead dog. So even if you have no heart

or compassion at all towards your friend

who’s in there trying his hardest for you

—even as a business decision it is still a

dumb move to let your dog get killed in a

fight. Hopefully, however, you have

some moral integrity and do not get off

on watching a fine animal lose his life.

Assuming that you’re a concerned

enthusiast, when your dog is getting

overwhelmed—or even if he is winning

but the win will cost him his life—his

life and your ability to breed to him

depends on your judgment. The first step

in exercising good judgment is to know

when to pick up. There is a big

difference between a dog losing “for

now” (when you can see he still has the

strength and the life in him to be able to

make a comeback and catch the hog), as

opposed to a dog that can no longer

defend himself and needs to be picked

up.

One of the best ways to learn to

distinguish this is to do a little fighting

yourself. Take up box- ing, or wrestling,

or jiujitsu, or some other form of human

fighting (where you’re really in there

fight-

ing an opponent), so you get a sense of

what it’s like to get your own butt

kicked. This will do wonders in teaching

you the difference between when you’re

simply losing for the time being (but can

still mount a comeback), as opposed to

when you are so tired and beat up that

things need to be stopped. This will give

you an eye for where your dog is when

he’s in the trenches on his own fight. You

will note that most of the people who

lack the heart to get in there and save

their dog also lack the heart to fight for

real against a quality opponent

themselves. They may carry a gun, or

talk a lot of smack—but you will

observe a tendency in people like that to

avoid a real challenge. Why? Because

heart goes both ways—if you have a

good heart towards others, including

your dogs, you’ll have it in the trenches.

But if you see people who don’t have a

good heart towards others, including

their dogs, you’ll find it lacking when

they’re in deep themselves too. This is

true

every single time.

OK, enough soap-boxing. So you’ve

decided to pick up your dog (or he just

won a long, tough, and successful match)

—and he’s pretty banged-up, chopped-

up, and he needs your care. You were

smart enough to bring all of the

appropriate supplies to the hunt, right?

“What are those supplies?” , you ask.

Okay, fair question, they are:

Checklist

1. Lactated Ringers + Saline Solution

+ I.V. Fluid Lines, Injection Ports, et

al.

Ringers replace lost blood volume.

Saline solution combats simple

dehydration. You should have 2 bags of

each, and 4 IV fluid lines, catheters, as

well as a few Injection Ports. How to

use IV Fluids properly will be

explained in full detail later on in this

chapter

2. Solu-Delta-Cortef+ Dexamethasone
These are anti-Inflamatory/anti-shock

injectables. They reduce swelling and

discomfort, and with Solu-Delta-Cortef

(or Solu-Medrol) they can bring one

back from a scary downhill turn for the

worse. You should have at least two 100

ml bottles of Dex and two 100 mg vials

of Solu-Delta. How to use them will be

explained in detail down below

3. Solid Antibiotics.

Antibiotics are not really an emergency

item, but they are used to prevent

infection. You should have the following

antibiotics, minimum, in advance: sixty

500 mg. capsules of Cephalexin (or

thirty 350 mg tablets of Clavamox) and

twenty 68 mg. tablets of Baytril or

Cipro. How to use an- tibiotics

properly has already been explained in

detail in Chapter 7

4. Salix ( Furosemide)].

Salix removes fluids from a dog’s body,

which can aid in urination. Sometimes

the strain of a protracted trauma can

cause a dog’s kidneys to shut down and

the dog won’t urinate. Salix can prevent

this. This drug can be critical to have,

but it is best not used if you don’t have

to. IV dose = 0.5 mg/lb. Be careful not

to over-do, though, as the dog can piss

away all the fluids you’re trying to put in

with the ringers. Use only once, if at all.

If a dog will urinate on his own, he does

not need Salix/ Lasix.

5. Banamine ( Flunixin meglumine) /

Rimadyl ( Carprofen.

These are non-steroidal anti-Inflamatory

drugs (NSAIDs ) designed for pain

relief, that will help a dog’s will to live

if he is really bad off. Some dogs that

are in too much pain to move, after being

given a shot of Banamine or a tablet of

Rimadyl, they might stand-up and hike

their leg to urinate a half-hour later. The

dosage for Banamine = 0.5 mg/lb,

injected slowly with the IV fluids im-

mediately post-hunt. Because Banamine

can affect the organs, switch to Rimadyl

as soon as the dog will eat. The dosage

for Rimadyl is 2 mg/lb once a day, or 1

mg/lb spaced every 12 hours

6. Leather Shoestring or Equivalent .

To be used as a tourniquet in case an

artery is hit.

7. Blood Stop Powder.

Clotting powder that helps stop the

bleeding of severed/cut arteries along

with the use of a tourniquet and pressure.

8. Vitamin K Injectable.

Promotes blood clotting and can help

stop bleeders, as well as unseen internal

bleeding that can occur. This is also the

antidote for ingested rat poison. Give

one injection IM or SC at 0.5 mg/5 lb

9. Two Full-Sized Cotton Rolls.

Cotton rolls can be loosely-wrapped

around a broken limb by themselves, for

stabilization, as well as an aid in setting

splints, secured with the gauze and leg

tape. Available at any large pharmacy.

10. Gauze and Leg Tape .

The tape can be used to secure the IV

line to the leg of a dog receiving fluids,

as well as for securing splints and

braces to any broken limbs. You can buy

straight medical tape, but using colored,

non-stick, breathable athletic tape is

better. (You can find this kind of tape in

pharmacies and large sporting goods

stores. The gauze is used underneath

first, to wrap around any splints which

may have to be applied to broken bones,

or over pads used to cover holes. The

tape goes over the gauze.

11. Two Adjustable Splints.

Splints are brought in anticipation of

your dog possibly receiving a broken

leg. These should already be sized and

fitted for your dog’s legs. Having splints

there in your medical box ahead of time

—plus the rolls, gauze, and tape—will

minimize any further and unnecessary

trauma from a broken leg, should your

dog suffer one in the field. By securing

the limb immediately after a hunting

injury, you prevent any further injury and

prepare the animal well in advance of

his trip to the vet.

12. Spray Bottle w/ Betadine .

You need to spray this disinfectant

directly into the holes suffered by your

dog to flush out dirt and kill toxins,

which will cleanse the wounds and

prevent infection. A 30-oz spray bottle is

a good way to do this. Betadine should

be used in most of your dog’s holes and

cuts.

13. Spray Bottle w/ Nolvasan (

Chlorhexidine.

See 12 above. Nolvasan should be used

in deep cuts to mucous membrane

tissues, rather than the Betadine. It is

gentler on these tissues and it lasts

longer too. However, some gram

negative bacteria are resistant to

Nolvasan, so it’s good to use the

Betadine for most applications.

Nolvasan is particularly good for mouth

wounds. You can also spray this

Nolvasan solution into damaged ears

too. Mix 1 quart of bottled water with 25

ml of Nolvasan.

14. Tea Tree Oil.

This is perhaps the best remedy for

poison ivy or poison oak, along with

providing relief for any kind of insect

bite or bee/wasp sting.

15. Prepodyne Swabs.

Ears can swell and fill with fluid. These

swabs (which are like giant Q-Tips)

help by enabling you to cleanse and

remove dirt, pus, and blood-crust from

the ears. When you’re done removing the

foreign matter, these swabs can then be

used to apply Betadine or Nolvasan to

hard-to-reach places.

16. Staple Gun (+ Removers) and also

Cat Gut Sutures.

For closing more serious wounds (after

treatment of same with Betadine or

Nolvasan). Once you clean the cuts out,

then you need to staple or suture the big

ones to both prevent infection and

speed-up healing. This also reduces

scarring (if you do it right). I personally

prefer the ease of staples.

note: If you have a dog that suffers a

completely severed vein or artery, you

can use the cat gut suture to tie-off the

end of the bleeder to stop the blood from

flowing out. Therefore, it’s good to have

sutures onhand, just in case. To stop a

completely-severed bleeder, take a

length of cat gut suture (and make sure it

is cat gut, because these kinds eventually

dissolve) and then tie a knot with a

strand of it around the vein, real close to

the limb. Then you tie another knot with

a second strand of cat gut suture out a

little ways from the first knot, toward the

tip of the severed vessel. Once the vein

is tied-off, then simply push the whole

vessel, with two knots tied on it with the

sutures, back into the hole. The vein will

eventually rearticulate, but you just

stopped your dog from bleeding to

death!

17. Scalpel and/or Surgical Razor.

To cut away dead tissue to prevent

infection/gangrene.

18. Surgical Scissors.

Same as 17, and can be used to cut tape

also when applying gauze or bandages.

19. Sterile Gloves.

To be used while treating wounds,

stapling, etc. to prevent infection.

20. Rectal Thermometer.

Used to monitor the temperature of a dog

in shock.

21. Sterile Vaseline or KY Jelly.

Can aid in temperature-taking, etc.

22. Super Glue.

Used for repairing split ears and tail-

tips.

23. Granulex Spray / Wonder Dust.

Used during the healing process to

remove (debride) necrotic tissue from

bad wounds.

Granulex is great for helping bad mouth

wounds to heal right, whereas Wonder

Dust is great for external wounds.

24. Two Clean, Dry Blankets .

One blanket is used for covering a dog

right after the hunt while he receives his

fluids, and the other used after he gets

his bath and wound treatment. These

blankets are critical so your dog can be

kept warm while he is recovering.

(Bring more blankets if you are in a very

cold area, and you should consider

bringing an electric blanket if it’s really

cold.)

25. Two Clean, Dry Towels .

Used for his after-hunt cleaning bath.

26. 1 Dozen 3-ml Syringes w/ ¾” 22-

Guage Needles.

For all of the needed injections.

28. Epinephrine (“Epi”).***

This is an adrenaline injection to re-start

a failed heart. Should your dog have a

total body shutdown, epi can possibly

bring him back. Epi can also be used to

reverse anaphylactic shock as well, if

your dog ever has an allergic reaction to

any medications. Epinephrine comes in a

glass vial in a 1:1000 solution. It is

dosed at 0.1 - 0.5 ml totalwhen given

SC or IM. If you are injecting epi IV

give ¼ to ½ this dosage. Take these

dosages seriously, as misuse of Epi is

what killed GR CH Sandman after his

legendary hunt with GR CH Buck.

Remember taking a dog this far takes the

sporting aspect out of the game and turns

it into what the humaniacs claim it to be.

Don’t be a player like that. Be sporting

—pick up at the right time.]

Honestly, you have no business matching

your dog without first getting your hands

on all of these supplies. You can keep

them in a Jumbo Vet Box, which is

usually a converted fishing tackle box.

To make such a box yourself, just go to

any sporting goods store, or fish &

tackle shop, and get a great big tackle

box to store all of your meds in. Now

here’s what you do with all of this stuff:

Overview

Immediately after the match, or kennel

accident, get your banged-up dog to a

quiet (and warm) room and get his first

clean, dry Blanket over him. This is to

keep his body temperature level and

warm which will help prevent him from

going into shock. Turn on a heater, or

start a fire in the fireplace, or bring an

Electric Blanket—whatever you have to

do—don’t let the dog’s body tem-

perature drop, or he will shut down.

(You don’t want him too hot either, but a

little too hot is better than too cold.)

Speak kind words to him in a

reassuring voice. He may not be able to

understand your words, but believe me

he understands the emotion that’s behind

your words. The power of emotion and

closeness cannot be overstated in your

dog’s will to live. Any child feels better

if his mother is close by when he is sick,

and any severely-traumatized dog feels

better when his owner is close by

reassuring him. It makes a big difference

whether your dog is left behind in a cold

crate to sleep in his piss, while you go

out and party (don’t laugh this has

happened more times than you might

think)—or whether you’re right there

petting him and praising him for the good

job he did, or tried to do. His will to

live can very much be dependent on

how much he knows you care.

Anyway, immediately after the deal, the

first thing to worry about would be

stopping any bleeders (arteries) from

running. If there are no bleeders, fine.

But if there are bleeders, then apply the

shoestring tourniquet 2-inches above the

bleeding wound fairly snugly (but not

too tight, or you’ll cut of all the blood

supply, which is bad). What you are

trying to do is slow the blood flow, not

cut it off altogether. Slowing the blood

allows for clotting; stopping “all” the

blood flow will kill-off the limb. Once

you have the tourniquet properly in

place, then use the blood stop powder to

place on the wound, after which you

apply pressure. This pressure, combined

with the blood stop powder and

tourniquet, should stop any bleeding

fairly quickly. This is especially true if

you give a Vitamin K injection.

Obviously, if it’s a head, chest, or armpit

bleeder, then you can’t use a tourniquet.

In this case, give the Vitamin K injection

(in the dosage relayed on the checklist

above) to help the body’s clotting

abilities. It’s also a good idea to use

Vitamin K anyway, which also comes

with the greens in your keep, to handle

any unknown internal bleeding.

Sometimes, it can take hours to control a

bleeder, but you’ve got to have someone

applying pressure to the wound until the

bleeding stops.

Now, if you actually have a severed vein

or artery, and you can see it hanging out,

you can use a cat gut suture (and only cat

gut) to tie-off the end of the bleeder to

stop the blood from flowing out. Simply

tie a knot with a cat gut strand on the

vein directly, real close to the limb, and

then tie another knot with another strand,

out a little ways from the first knot,

toward the tip of the severed vessel.

After both knots have been tied, then just

push the tied-up vessel back into the

hole. Eventually, the vessel will re-

articulate and the dog will be fine.

Once you have any bleeders under

control, or while you’re having

someone else control the bleeders, the

next thing to do is check his gums to see

if they’re pink. If they’re white, your dog

is in shock and needs fluids. Press your

finger against his gums to see if there’s

any color coming back. If the gums are

pink, get white when you push them, and

then come back real pink again when you

release, you’re probably all right and

your dog is not in shock. But if the gums

are pale, with little or no color, and

there is a big delay in any color-

refreshment to pressure, then your dog’s

probably in hypovolemic shock (or

headed there). You can also shine a

flashlight in his eyes, and then turn it off,

then turn it on again. If the eyes aren’t

dilating, then he’s very likely in shock.

At this point, you will administer the IV

fluids in a bolus dose, as per the next

section of this chapter on IV Fluids. Use

Betadine (or Nolvasan) to disinfect the

limbs first, before you run your fluids. In

fact, it is a good idea to trim the fur with

hairclippers, so you can see the vein

better. Carefully cleanse the injection

area (usually the main front leg vein,

though in some cases you will use the

hind leg vein—or even the jugular in

severe cases). This exact procedure is

outlined in the next chapter. If you do

not know how to hit a vein, then you

need to bring someone with you who

does; do not match any dog unless you

or someone with you who can do this

is guaranteed to come.

Okay, the most important thing about

running fluids is to use a catheter not a

needle. A needle will blow the vein 9x

out of 10, and even if you get it right you

still have to remove the needle when

you’re done because it’s sharp. By

contrast, if you use a dull plastic

catheter, it will not harm the vein, and

because of this you can tape it in place

when you’re done, and then you can cap

it off with an injection port which

allows you to make future

administrations. This is absolutely

critical!

Anyway, you’re running the fluids into

the dog at a good drip rate (having first

made sure that the fluids are body

temperature—and to do this the bag

should have been held by your second,

under his shirt, during the entire contest

to keep it warm), you will now inject the

Dex (Azium, Solu-Delta, or Solu-

Medrol) into the 1000 ml bag of fluids

you’re running. Which cortico-steroid

you should use, and how much to use,

will be discussed in a another section of

this chapter, but running the these

drugs with the ringers gets them in

there at a gradual rate, which is

critical. Once the fluids are in place,

and the Dex (or similar) has been added

to the fluids, at this point you give the

dog his antibiotic treatment, which is

also explained in complete detail in a

latter section of this chapter. If your dog

is really bad off, you can also give him a

shot of Banamine to ease the pain (see

the dosage previously-stated on the

checklist).

These basics will stabilize your dog for

the ride home. However, if he is really

bad off, I would recommend spending

the night right where you are. At least

take him to the nearest cheap motel so

you don’t force him to travel with you

too far while in a weakened condition.

Whatever the case, after you have

covered these above procedures, then

keep him wrapped and warm in his

blanket, gently put him in his crate, and

then go to wherever you’re spending the

night with him (home, the motel, where

you are right there, whatever.) If you

have a truck, do not but him in the back

if you don’t have a heated shell. Your

friends can sit in the back where it’s

cold—your dog needs to be warm or his

system will shut down. In fact, a van or

an SUV is the best thing you can use to

transport a wounded dog, because you

can keep him warm with the heater on

at all times—and you can work on him

(and be right there with him) while your

friends drive the vehicle.

Make sure whoever is driving drives

easy so as not to unbalance your dog

(and so as not to get pulled over). Once

you arrive at your destination, hotel, or

whatever, turn the heater on inside the

dwelling and then gently carry your dog

to the bathroom and run a body

temperature bath or shower over him.

You don’t want the water either too hot

or too cold—it should be body

temperature. (As a matter of fact, you

might want to bring one of those snake-

like shower nozzles with you, that you

can attach to the shower head and

maneuver the hose-nozzle around your

dog while he stands.) Utilize the

Betadine Surgical Scrub (or Nolvasan

Shampoo) for bathing the dog from head

to toe, gently, and then rinse him gently

too, but thoroughly. Then, after the

shower and disinfectant shampoo, gently

dry him thoroughly with your clean

towels.

At this point, see if he’ll drink a cup of

water with 4 tBsp of Peak Condition in

it. If he does, great; if he doesn’t, try the water mixed with 2 tBsp CytoMax. If he

doesn’t drink this either, try plain water

but don’t panic. Remember, you’re

speaking kind words to your friend the

whole time, praising his efforts, and

confidently telling him he’ll be all

better soon. I’m telling you, this makes a

difference!

Whether he drinks or not, isn’t too

important at this point, because you’ve

just run fluids in him, given him cortico-

steroids, his pain killer, and his

antibiotics. Once he’s clean and dry, then

take him outside and see if he’ll urinate.

If he urinates, you do NOT need to

use the Salix. If he defecates too, so

much the better—his innards are

working and you are probably all right.

There may well be “blood” in his urine,

but that should clear in a day or so.

If he does not urinate, however, (or even

if he does) bring him back in and lay him

down on one of the clean, dry blankets,

and then cover him with the another

clean, dry blanket. Now is the time to

individually treat every single wound on

the dog. Take your spray bottle of

Betadine and apply the opening of the

bottle to each and every cut and puncture

hole and firmly squirt in a little of the

Betadine. (Again, you can use your

Nolvasan mixture instead.) This will

flush all of the wounds, and it will kill

all gram-positive and gram-negative

bacteria, virus, and fungi that may have

entered the wounds. Nolvasan lasts

longer, and is gentler on sensitive

tissues, but it is not as broad-spectrum

as Betadine. Use Nolvasan only on very

deep wounds and in ears, but use the

Betadine everywhere else. Keep treating

every hole as necessary until every

wound has been properly-treated. (For

very small holes, KV Vet sells a special

curved-tip syringe for this specialized

use—which is invaluable! Use this for

awkward dental wounds and such.

KVVet sells a special curve-tipped

syringe for $0.99 that is an invaluable

wound-flushing tool. Prod- uct #80025

as of this writing.

If the dog has deep lacerations that

require sutures (I prefer to use the

surgical staple gun), then use these after

the wounds have been thoroughly-

cleansed. Don’t forget to check your

dog’s mouth for wound too, as they can

become gangrenous if left unattended. If

your dog has mouth wounds, take the

gauze and dip it in the Nolvasan solution

and scrub out the entirety of the animal’s

inside-cheeks, gums, and mouth, and then

squirt the Nolvasan solution directly into

any holes in the mouth you can see with

either the sprayer or the syringe. [Most

bulldogs instinctively know you’re

trying to help them and do not mind any

of this. If your particular dog can’t stand

this, then you should already know this,

and so you will have given him the

Banamine pain killer right after the hunt

—and/ or brought a muzzle, if necessary.

(Neither should be necessary with the

more typical, pain-tolerant, happy, game

pit bulls.]

Anyway, after you cleanse all of the

wounds thoroughly, but before you either

stitch, or staple, any deep lacerations,

use the surgical scalpel or scissors to cut

off any dead tissue that appears unable

to heal. Then gently dry the dog off of

any spilled solution. If your dog has any

broken limbs, now is the time to apply

the splint—after he is cleaned,

disinfected, and dried off (you don’t

want to bandage a wet leg!). First gently

feel the limb and see if it is in fact

broken. If it is only dislocated, see if you

can “pop” it back into place, by

stretching it out and snapping it back in.

(You can tell the difference between a

break and a dislocation by weather there

is a “clicking” sound or not.) Then,

loosely wrap some rolled cotton around

the dry limb. After the rolled cotton is in

place, you then tape it off with the

medical tape, but again tape it loosely

enough to allow for circulation. You then

set the splint in place, in as natural a

position as possible. The cotton around

the leg acts as

a shock insulator from the splint and it

will also prevent chaffing.

Once the splint is in place, gently wrap

this dressing with your white leg tape, to

secure it, and over this you will wrap

the elastic, self-stick colored bandage to

secure it further still. But remember,

always allow for circulation!!! You

can even use a PVC pipe in a pinch,

instead of a splint, which you can get at

any hardware store. Having the PVC

pipe already pre-cut to your dog’s leg

size, length-wise and diameter-wise

(factoring in the cotton wrap too) sure

beats scrambling around after the fact

trying to find a splint.

In any event, you want to make sure the

application is firmly in place and yet

loose enough to allow for circulation.

Make sure you leave the toes exposed so

you can check and see that the dog’s

nerves are still responsive. You can

pinch the toes, or give them pinprick, to

see if he is still feeling anything—and

you can also pay attention to whether or

not the toes swell. If the toes start

swelling, or if the toes are

unresponsive to a pinch or a pinprick,

then you need to remove the

application and splint, and then re-

apply it less tightly, otherwise your

dog’s leg will go dead. After the

fluids/dex/antibiotics, and wound

treatment (and any splinting) are

complete, let the dog rest for about two

hours totally uninterrupted. After the two

hours are up, then take him outside again

to see if he’ll urinate this time. Even if

he can’t walk, you can physically hold

him up and walk him. The action of

walking him is critical, as it encourages

his kidneys and other organs to function.

Conversely, just letting him lie in one

spot for hours will cause his organs to

stop functioning if he is badly off—and

you’ll wake up to a dead dog.

If he urinates this time, great. Put him to

bed in his blanket and go to bed

yourself. It will help your dog’s spirits

if he gets to sleep with you. (Who cares

about your sheets? Remember his life is

on the line!) However, if your dog still

does not urinate, then you need to make

use of that injection port you placed on

your dog after you ran the fluids, so you

add the correct dosage of Salix (0.5

mg/lb) to the dog if he didn’t urinate

(again, you do NOT add the Salix if he

did urinate). Once you add the dash of

Salix to assist him with urination, you

can put him back under his blanket with

you and go to bed— but you need to set

an alarm for every two hours. Every

two hours, get up and take him out and

see if he will pee. Again, the constant

moving around will keep his innards

working, and will stimulate urination,

which will aid your goal. When he

finally pees, great, go back to sleep and

breathe a sigh of relief. Just make sure

you add another dose of fluids to him

tomorrow to make up for the fluid loss

from the Salix.

However, if the hunt was over at (say)

11:00 pm, and your dog hasn’t urinated

or drunk water by 5 am the next morning,

give him another hit of Salix (0.5 mg/lb),

plus another hit of the Azium (or Solu-

Delta-Cortef, etc.) with another ½-

dosage of ringers. Then try to see if he’ll

drink the cup of water/Peak Performance

or water/CytoMax drink (or at least a

cup of plain water). Remember: eating

and drinking encourage elimination.

If his bladder finally releases and he

pees, you’re fine.

But, if the dog has not urinated or drunk

water by 10:00 am the following

morning, then you need to take him to a

vet and you need to do it quickly.

Explain to him about the hog hunt, or the

kennel accident, or whatever story you

need to make up, but get him to a vet. If

you have an understanding vet (which

you’d better arrange before the match),

who realizes that kennel accidents do

happen, and will back you up, so much

the better. But if you do go to a vet,

under no circumstances let him put

the dog under anesthesia, as he will

99% be too weak to come back. If you

have to leave the dog at the vet, make

periodic visits every 4-6 hours to let

your dog know you’re with him—and

insist that someone walk the dog around

every few hours both to encourage

urination and to prevent kidney failure.

If your dog finally does urinate, either at

home or at the vet, and begins eating and

drinking, you can proceed with home

care. Home care consists of flushing the

wounds (as already relayed) every 12

hours, giving cortico-steroids (if

necessary) until normal eating/defecating

occurs. Once normal eating and

elimination have been established, then

you wean him off these cortico-steroids

as will be relayed in a forthcoming

section of this chapter. During this whole

time, you must keep your dog resting

under a blanket, then trying to walk him

every few hours, so that his organs keep

functioning. Keep feeding him the

water/CytoMax/Peak mixtures (or just

plain water) until he accepts normal

food and drink. Keep giving the correct

amount of ringers until he eats and drinks

normally, not just a nibble. Until he eats

and drinks normally, keep giving him

the correct daily amount of IV fluids,

and don’t exceed this amount. Give

him Azium or Solu-Delta every 24 hours

, once

in the morning, until he is eating

normally also.

Once the dog is “out of the woods” and

no longer needs the cortico-steroids,

then gradually wean him off these drugs,

per the forthcoming section in this

chapter. Once he eats, drinks, urinates,

and defecates, normally, he should be

fine. However, continue to keep him

indoors, warm and rested, until all of his

wounds are completely healed. Also,

feed him bland foods, per the chapter on

kidney failure, until his wounds are

healed completely. Too many dogs are

on a fine road to recovery, only to be put

back on the chain too soon, where

they’re either not ready for the cold

weather, and their scabs get scraped off

by their chains, and their wounds

become re-infected with dirt. Don’t get

your dog “over the hump” only to lose

him or bring him back down by tossing

him outside too soon. Let him heal

completely before he goes back outside.

Finally, give him his antibiotics on time

every day, and continue to flush his

wounds until they look totally healed for

three days straight. If he is becomes

gangrenous, or if the infection persists or

worsens, despite antibiotic therapy, then

upgrade your antibiotics (see the

appropriate section of this chapter). It is

highly-recommended that you get a

culture & sensitivity test done on any

troublesome wounds to identify exactly

what bacteria is/are involved in the

infection. This can be critical in fighting

infection as there are some bacteria

which conventional antibiotics won’t

kill, and unless you identify what

bacteria you are dealing with, the

infection can kill your dog. However,

once his wounds have scabbed over, are

no longer “weepy,” and the scabs have

fallen off, discontinue the antibiotics.

Remove all sutures/staples after two

weeks. And then put your tough, little

warrior back on his chain and be

damned proud of him!

Okay, that was the brief overview. Now

we will get into the 4 major specific

areas of care— (1) IV Fluids, (2)

Cortico-Steroids, (3) Antibiotics, and

(4) Kidney Management—more

specifically so that you understand the

full details:

IV Fluid Therapy

IV Fluid therapy is one of the most

important, but overlooked, factors when

caring for an injured dog. There are

times when fluids can mean the

difference between life and death for

your dog or at the very least make the

difference between a quick and

comfortable recovery and a slow,

painful one. Unfortunately many dogmen

take a hard-nosed attitude towards their

dogs and treat them as if they are

indestructible—say by forgoing fluids

immediately after a match perhaps to

give the impression that their dog was

not badly injured. Similar to the boxer

who gets his jaw broken in a fight then

gets up and states emphatically how

“okay” he is. Well in the case of caring

for a match dog, having the tough guy

“you didn’t hurt me” attitude makes your

dog pay an unnecessary price for your

(false) pride. Here are situations when

your dog absolutely should receive IV

fluids:

♦ Any time you match him in the warm

months. If it’s 70 degrees or over and he

exerts himself for any length of time over

20 minutes;

♦ Any time he goes over 1 hour, no

matter what the temperature; ♦ Any time

he faces a hard biting dog, no matter the

length of time; ♦ Any time he has

vomiting or diarrhea for more than 24

hours;

♦ Any time he is not drinking for more

than 24 hours;

♦ Any time he looses a fair amount of

blood;

♦ Any time he receives any cortico-

steroids ( Prednisolone,

Dexamethasone, etc.)

I’ll address these situations each in turn.

When I refer to a dog getting “fluids” I

will be refer- ring specifically to

intravenous fluids (IV). There are some

instances where subcutaneous (SC)

fluids will suffice and I will mention

those independently. Subcutaneous or SC

fluids is when you inject fluids under

your dog’s skin. This is usually done

over the back and shoulder areas where

there is a lot of loose skin (see p. 196). I

will explain, in detail, the procedures

involved in administering IV fluids

along with some of the different types of

fluids and what their varied uses are

later in the article.

I stated “Any time you match him in

the warm months.” I know there are

some of you out there saying, “Hell I’ve

lived here in Death Valley for 30 years

and matched dogs and never gave them

fluids,” or “ I never saw so-and-so give

their dogs fluids and they never lost a

dog after

a match.” Well I didn’t say you would

necessarily “lose” your dog if you didn’t

give him fluids after matching him in the

heat. It would have to be pretty damn hot

to lose a bulldog to the heat in a short

match, but certainly in a real match in the

heat they can die from hyperthermia or

“heat stroke.”

A dog cannot sweat like you and I, so

they do not efficiently dissipate heat

from their body. A dog’s natural body

temperature is also between 101-102.5

degrees so you don’t have much room

for a great increase in temperature. Once

your dog’s temperature hits 106 it will

not begin to come down on its own and

then he will begin to suffer from cell

death. Some of those cells that die will

be in his brain. Need I say more? That’s

where the fluids come in. Fluids will

help bring your dog’s temperature

down, combat shock, reverse

dehydration, and they will stop cell

death. So the bottom line is any dog who

has matched in hot weather should be

given fluids.

I regard to the short match, this is one of

the times where SC fluids (under the

skin) come into play. No, your dog will

not die after a 20 minute match in the

sun, but he will sure feel a lot better

afterwards if he gets some fluids into

him. He will also fight off infection

better if he is well-hydrated. Then there

is this to think about: In a young dog’s

career he learns a great deal from his

practice rolls. Don’t you think a dog will

have a more favorable impression of his

schooling if afterwards there is hardly

any suffering? This goes in line with

Chapter 9, schooling dogs properly, and

leaving them with a good (not a bad)

first impression when they’re young. For

instance, take two young dogs: the first

is rolled for 15 minutes in the heat. He

takes a few bites from the other dog, but

nothing too bad. What really affects him

is after 15 minutes in the heat is the fact

he is tired and laboring, running hot. Say

the first dog gets put back on his chain

spot with no treatment. He is trying to

catch his breath. He is tired, he is thirsty,

he is sore, and he is hot—for at least 30

minutes afterwards he is sucking air and

feeling miserable because he can’t cool

off. What kind of impression do you

think he has from this? Sure he enjoyed

the fight, that’s what his genetics tell him

to do, but there is some amount of

negative influence from the aftermath,

isn’t there?

Now take the second dog, do the same

roll—but afterwards his owner give him

a big slug of 0.9% NaCl ringers, under

the skin. This second dog cools down

quickly; he’s not so thirsty, the fluids

help wash out the lactic acid so he isn’t

as sore. Isn’t this second dog much more

likely to look back on the practice roll

and think, “Damn that was fun!” ?

Repeat each scenario several times and

you’ll get the picture as to which dog is

being handled better. This is off the

subject a bit, but just a little something to

think about.

Dogs who have gone for long periods

of time will always need fluids . It

doesn’t matter if you think he didn’t take

much damage, he still needs fluids.

Here’s why: A few things will happen to

a dog when in long periods of combat.

First, he will probably be in some type

of shock. I’m not going to go into detail

here about the various types of shock as

that would take a whole other article.

Suffice it to say that no matter what type

of shock your dog is in he will need

fluids. If he has lost blood, whether

internally or externally, the fluids will

replace the lost blood volume. If he

hasn’t lost blood there is a good chance

he has put a strain on his heart and the

fluids will help ease the heart’s job. He

will also probably be dehydrated.

Dogs who have faced hard-mouthed

opponents should get fluids no matter

what the dam - age appears to look

like externally, because a truly hard-

mouthed dog (some of you don’t really

know what that is, as luckily they are

rare) crushes everything between his

jaws. Sometimes they don’t shake so

they just leave small puncture holes that

often don’t even bleed much. What

happens to the tissue in your dog when

he gets bit that hard is that much of it

gets destroyed. Cells get squashed like

grapes and these broken cells are just

garbage that your dog’s body needs to

clean up and filter through his kidneys.

Some of the dead tissue forms blood

clots, other parts just get broken down

by the dog’s body, but all this stuff is

waste and it needs to be excreted

through his kidneys. That’s right, your

dog needs to urinate-out all the broken

parts of himself from when he got bit.

Some parts are easy to pass. We have all

seen our dogs pissing red 1, 2, or even 3

days after a hunt. Many people

incorrectly think it’s “blood.” Unless

your dog got bit in the penis or bladder,

it’s not blood. It’s hemoglobin. That’s

the red-pigmented substance that fills

red blood cells. Your dog urinates red

because he is passing free-floating

hemoglobin that was released when red

blood cells were crushed and busted

open. Sometimes the urine is dark

yellow or orange afterwards. That

is bilirubin. Not all the substances are

as easy to pass and they can “clog up”

your dog’s kidneys.

Fluids will help flush out any waste

products from your dog’s kidneys.

Running IV fluids help this flushing-out

process immeasurably.

Dogs who have been vomiting or had

diarrhea for longer than 24 hours stand a

good chance of becoming dehydrated

and should get SC fluids. In cases of

severe vomiting, like parvo or

pancreatitis, a dog should get IV fluids.

If your dog is not drinking water at any

time greater than a 24 hour period, due

to illness or damage, then you need to

give him fluids. It doesn’t take long for a

dog to become dehydrated and a dog

will not heal either from sickness or

from wounds if he is dehydrated.

Blood loss to the point of shock is

common in matches and deserves

special consideration in an article on

fluid therapy. For 99% of you the only

way you can treat severe blood loss

(hypovo- lemic shock) is through IV

fluids. For a very few, a blood

transfusion can be done. Let me describe

what hypovolemic shock looks like.

Your dog will be pale but not always so

pale that he looks white or bluish. If he

looks white or bluish when you look at

his gums or under his eyelids then he

definitely is in shock. But more subtle

signs which may occur while your dog is

still pale-pink in color are confusion,

nausea, severe weakness, and dementia.

I myself had the pleasure of losing about

half the blood in my body once, and

what I felt was comparable to drinking a

5th of whiskey. I couldn’t speak

correctly, I couldn’t walk straight, I was

dizzy and sick to my stomach, and I had

a deafening ringing in my ears. Imagine

your dog feeling that during a match.

When your dog loses a great deal of

blood, his heart will start to work harder

to try to supply the organs with more

blood, which is not there, so the heart

tries to work even harder, etc. Also,

blood contains electrolytes, which are

essential to the body functioning

normally. These electrolytes are lost too.

Blood carries oxygen to the body, so

less blood equals less oxygen, which in

turn makes the lungs work harder to try

to get more oxygen (this works in

conjunction with the heart). With low

oxygen levels, the brain starts to

malfunction. There are more negative

effects, but I’ll stop there because I think

you get the idea—severe blood loss is a

bad thing. The funny (actually sad) part

is that blood loss is the factor most dog

hunters are willing to accept and think

their dog will continue on. Yet they see a

broken leg and they go, “Holy shit!”, and

get a bit worried. If they see their dog

scratch on a broken leg, they pick him up

and proclaim him “game.” And yet these

same fools will see their dog get 3

bleeders hit in the first 30 minutes of a

match, yet they will call him a “cur”

when he stands in the corner at the hour

mark. There is a good chance that dog

did not even know where he was by

then. A broken leg, while moderately

serious, is nowhere near as serious as

severe blood loss when it comes to the

overall effect on the dog’s body and

mind.

The correct amount of fluids given to a

dog in hypovolemic shock will replace

the lost vol- ume of blood and ease the

strain on the heart, although if a great

deal of blood is lost your dog may still

lack oxygen, so increased respiration

may remain. The fluids will also replace

electrolytes and increase the blood sugar

levels.

If you give your dog any type of

cortico-steroids then you should also

give him fluids . At the very least SC

fluids but ideally you should give IV

fluids. Dexamethasone, Solu-Delta-

Cortef, Salix, etc. are all diuretics and

as such all of these drugs will cause

your dog to urinate more than is natural,

so if he drinks one quart of water—and

then urinates one and a half quarts—he

is losing bodily fluid and will become

dehydrated. Giving SC fluids is usually

enough in these cases to stop the de-

hydration, but chances are if your dog

needs any of those drugs in the first

place then he should get IV fluids.

Antibiotics are also much more

effective in a well-hydrated dog than a

dehydrated dog, so the use of IV fluids

concurrently with antibiotic therapy is

considered Best Practice.

Types of IV Fluids

Lactated Ringers Solution & Ringers

Lactate :

These are the same thing made by

different companies. These are used in

situations when you want to replace

blood. These fluids stay in the veins

longer, thereby increasing blood

pressure, plus they carry electrolytes and

lacate (sugar). Use these for

hypovolemic shock, traumatic shock, and

dogs that have not taken food or water in

over 24 hours.

Ringers Solution and Plasmalyte:

These are similar to the above but

without the lactate sugar. All of these

type of fluids are made to be osmotically

similar to blood so they are used to

replace blood loss

0.9% Sodium Chloride, Normal Saline,

or NaCl:

These fluids are made to be similar to

the fluids found inside cell bodies. They

do not stay inside the veins long as they

are absorbed quickly through cell

membranes. These fluids are used to

treat dehydration quickly and to flush a

body out. Ringers will do this also, but

the process is a bit

slower. Use these fluids to treat

hyperthermia (heat stroke),

dehydration, and kidney failure

There are other types of fluids such as

2.5% Dextrose w/ 0.9% NaCl and 5%

Dextrose solutions. You can safely use

the 2.5% Dextrose w/0.9% NaCl after a

hunt in place of normal saline if needed.

Do not use 5% dextrose solutions.

Dogmen have no use for it.

Fluid Rates

I realize that not all of you can figure out

a drip rate. Those of you who can, good,

do it and run the fluids hourly. It would

be far too difficult to explain drip

conversion in this article so I will give

you a better way. The proper

maintenance dosage of fluid is 30 ml/lb

of bodyweight. I’ll do the math for you

and give you the approximate drip rates

for different-sized dogs to achieve this

goal. Also I will give you bolus (all at

once) doses to give your dog before you

hit the road back home, if you’re in a

hurry. Do not exceed the recommended

doses:

I.V. Doses

Here are the approximate DRIP doses

for fluids in a 24 hour period

30-lb dog
♦ 1800 ml IV the first 24 hours

immediately after the hunt.

♦ 900 ml IV every 24 hours for

maintenance if needed thereafter.

40-lb dog

♦ 2400 ml IV the first 24 hours

immediately after the hunt.

♦ 1200 ml IV every 24 hours for

maintenance if needed thereafter.

50-lb dog

♦ 3000 ml IV the first 24 hours

immediately after the hunt.

♦ 1500 ml IV every 24 hours for

maintenance if needed thereafter.

A bolus dose is a massive influx of

fluids given all at once to a dehydrated

dog. You give more than the maintenance

dose to make up for the lost fluids, after

which you revert to a maintenance dose.

A maintenance dose is the standard fluid

rate given by drip after that. Do not

exceed these amounts in any 24- hour

period. If you find you have run the

prescribed amount into your dog within

any amount of time whether its 2 hours

or 18 hours, stop giving fluids when you

reach these levels and don’t continue

until the time you started the fluids

comes round again. For example: I start

fluids on my 30-lb dog who has been

vomiting. I start at 11 pm but they ran too

fast and the whole 900 ml was gone by

midnight. Well he got his dose for the 24

hours so no more fluids until 11 pm

tomorrow. Another example: I have a 40

pound dog who just had a run-in with a

badger, and I give him a bolus (that’s

1200 mls) at 12 am then drive home. I

start a drip on him at 6 am when I get

home and he gets his last 1200 ml over

the next 12 hours. Now its 6 pm. Stop

the fluids because he got a 2400 bolus

ml in a 24 hour period. He isn’t due for

more fluids until 12 am the next early

morning because that’s 24 hours from

when I started. Further, his double-dose

bolus is now done, and so he only gets

the standard 1200 ml daily maintenance

dose after that.

I know it’s confusing at first. In a perfect

world you would just be finishing the

total amounts at the perfect drip rate, just

as the 24-hour period was ending. Then

you would start all over again, with your

dog getting a slow constant supply 24

hours a day. That’s the way it works in

hospitals—but they have electronic IV

pumps. We don’t have these devices, so

make the best of it. The more you

practice the better you’ll get.

note: There is a danger involved with

giving too much fluid too quickly. You

can send your dog into congestive heart

failure and cause pulmonary edema. The

easy explanation of which is, you can

give your dog so much fluids that his

lungs will fill with fluid and he can

actually drown. Stick

to these doses I have prescribed here

and this will never happen to your dog.

Anyway, there are two types of drip

sets you can get. One is a 15-drip set

the other is a 60-drip set. Look on the

bag or box to see which kind of drip set

you have. The 60-drip sets are too slow

to use on large dogs so I only list them

on the 30-lb dog rate. The drip rates

below are set as seconds-per-drip. That

means you need to count the seconds

between each drip in the drip chamber

so as to set a drip-rate. If you need a rate

of 1 drip every 3 seconds, then you

watch the drip chamber and as soon as a

drip falls you start to count—1 second, 2

seconds, 3 seconds—DRIP!; 1 second, 2

seconds, 3 seconds—DRIP! 3 seconds

between each drip. You regulate the time

between drips by tightening or loosening

the wheel on the fluid valve, which you

will find is part of the fluid line.

Tightening the wheel will squeeze-off

the line and slow-down the drip rate.

Loosening the knob will speed-up the

drip rate. You will have to play with the

wheel, making tiny adjustments,

tighter or looser, until you get the correct

timing of seconds-between-drips.

30-lb dog: I.V. Drip Rates

Bolus dose—drip rate

(60-drip set) = 1 drip every 1/2 sec.

(15-drip set) 1 drip every 3.5 sec.

Maintenance dose—drip rate

(60-drip set) 1 drip every 1.5 sec.

(15-drip set) 1 drip every 7 sec.

40-lb dog :

Bolus dose—drip rate

(15-drip set ONLY) 1 drip every 2. 5

seconds. Maintenance dose—drip

rate

1 drip every 5 seconds.

50 lb dog :

Bolus dose—-drip rate

(15-drip set ONLY) 1 drip every 2

seconds. Maintenance dose—drip

rate 1 drip every 4 seconds.

If your dog is more than 5 lbs over a

dose, then move up to the next dose.

Example: A 34 lb dog gets the 30 lb

dose but a 36 lb dog gets the 40 lb dose.

You round up after 5 lbs. Use the bolus

doses for the first 24 hours after a hunt

before going over to a maintenance dose.

It’s always better to get a steady drip

going than just giving bolus doses of

fluids because with a drip-rate the dog is

getting a slow steady supply of fluids.

This is the optimum way to treat your

dog. Sometimes, with a dog that is really

bad off, it is a good idea to give a ½-

bolus dose quick, and then turn the rate

down to a drip-dose.

The bolus doses are large doses given

rapidly all at once. You simply let the

fluids run full-tilt. This is good for when

you are on the road and need to get going

and can’t stay to take care of your dog.

The bolus dose will keep him until you

can get home. Use these doses only if

you can’t place an indwelling IV

catheter, or you just can’t keep a drip

going.

When giving bolus doses you can use a

catheter which is in place but just not

dripping well. Sometimes this happens

because a dog bends his leg which

blocks the flow of fluid through the vein.

If that happens then open up the fluid

valve all the way to get the fastest drip

you can and pull your dogs leg out

straight and hold it while the fluids run

in. When the dose is given stop the fluids

and either cap off the catheter or remove

it.

If you do not have or do not know how

to use catheters you can use a needle.

Place the needle in the vein and attach

the fluids to it. Run the fluids but always

hold the needle still and keep your dog

still or else the needle will go through

the other side of the vein and the fluids

will go under

the skin rather than IV. If this happens

you will see your dog’s leg start to blow

up like a balloon. Then you will have to

find another vein to use as once this

happens that vein is pretty much shot.

Therefore, the use of a catheter is FAR

preferable to a needle!
If you blow a vein, or if you can’t seem

to hit a vein (either with a catheter or

with a needle), then you can substitute

Sub-Cutaneous or under-the-skin

administration. SC fluids are not for a

dog in shock; they’re best used for cases

of mild dehydration from diarrhea or

vomiting, or heat stroke in the summer,

etc. But if you cannot hit an vein at all,

then use SC administration of your fluids

be- cause doing so is better than giving

no fluids at all. (Again, see below for

photographic details as to where to

administrate). You may need to move the

needle to a new location half way

through a SC dose, as sometimes the

fluids will build up under the skin and

make it tight. When that happens just

move to another location of loose skin,

to one side of the back or neck, and

continue giving the fluid. However, if

you use the locations shown, this

shouldn’t happen.

If you are giving SC administration and a

dog is in shock make sure the fluids are

body tem- perature; if you are giving

SC administration to a dog that is

overheated or has a fever, then make

sure the bag is just a little cool.

Finally, you do not bother with drip rates

for a SC administration, you just run the

fluids bolus (at full tilt). However,

because the fluids are not disseminated

as quickly SC, this causes enormous

swelling under the skin, and as such you

will need to give 2 half-doses to get the

full day’s amount which are as follows:

♦ 30-lb = 450 mls every 12

hoursSub-Cutaneous Doses

♦ 40-lb = 600 mls every 12 hours

♦ 50-lb = 750 mls every 12 hours

♦ 60-lb = 900 mls every 12 hours

For the most part, however, you are

going to want to run your fluids in your

dogs IV for most applications. Again,

only if you blow a vein, or can’t get a

vein, or are dealing with a pup whose

veins are too small, will you want to go

SC. Every other application of fluids

should be IV.

How to Set Up an IV Line

1. Take the IV bag out of its plastic

package.

2. Take the fluid line (tubing) out of its

package.

3. Find the valve on the fluid line. It

usually consists of a little wheel in side

a housing that the tube runs through.

4. Turn the wheel down into the tight,

closed position.

5. Pull the rubber stopper out of the IV

bag’s port.

6. Un-cap the large plastic needle on the

drip chamber end of the fluid line and

push it into the port on the bag.

7. Squeeze the drip chamber once or

twice. It should fill about half full.

8. Open up the wheel on the valve and

take the cap of the other end of the fluid

line.

9. Let the air run out of the line, by

running the fluid full-tilt, and once you

see the bubbles get pushed out, then turn

off the valve and re-cap the line. It’s

now ready to attach to a needle or

catheter.

The above represents the basic

components of an IV Bag of Lactated

Ringers, the Drip Set & Tubing, the

Catheter which goes into the vein of

your dog, and the secondary Injection

Ports with which you can choose to cap-

off the end of the catheter after your first

IV fluid administration. You would do

this so that you may re-administer fluids

again at a later time. You will notice that

both the IV bag itself, as well as the IV

Tubing, likewise offer their own

ancillary injection ports, yet these

are much different in function from the

independent injection ports. For

example, the injection port in the fluid

bag is so that you can mix-in any meds

with the fluids, prior to giving them, for

a very slow administration of meds. For

example, if you have to give a massive

dose of dex or solu-delta, these must be

given very slowly over time. To

accomplish this, you could inject your

entire dosage of dex right into the fluid

bag, and then run the full bag of fluids

(with the dex) into the dog in a bolus

fasion over about an hour’s time. The

injection port in the tubing, on the other

hand, is positioned so that you can give a

fairly quick IV administration of meds,

say of antibiotics, which don’t require

such a long, cautious duration. Thus,

both of these injection ports (on the bag

of fluids, and on the fluid line) play a

much different role medically, both from

each other, as well as from the separate

injection port that we will talk about

later. For now, let us cover each step of

setting up IV

Fluid Therapy for our dog.

How to Place an I.V.

Catheter

The two best places to start an IV are the

cephalic vein that runs down the front of

the forelegs or the vein which runs down

the outside of the hock on the hind leg.

Now before you start, let me give you a

warning: Do not think you will be able

to start an I.V. on a shocky dog right

after a match if you do not practice.

I recommend that you practice following

these steps at home first, on healthy dogs

—for at least once a week—until you

can hit the vein with precision every

time—long before you take a chance on

“trying this out for the first time” on a

dying dog. Make sure you are capable of

doing this comfortably before you have

any match, and with or without someone

keeping the dog still for you. Just keep

practicing until you get it right. Now

then, using a needle may seem to be

easier than using a catheter, but is much

harder to keep a needle in place on your

dog. Using a catheter is harder to

learn at first—but worth it ultimately

—because once you have a catheter in

place you can cap it off, which allows

you have access to that vein for days

without having to re-stick your dog.

Therefore learn how to use a catheter,

and have catheters and injection ports on

hand at all times.

The correct way to hold a dog prior to

IV fluid administration: have your

second, your girlfriend, or your wife

support the head with one forearm,

while s/he grasps the elbow joint with

the other as shown. This will allow

you free access to administering to

your dog.

Okay, you will need a helper to steady

your dog and to act as a tourniquet by

constricting the vein so that it stands out

more and is easier to see. (See previous

page). Once the vein is held off by your

second, feel for the under the skin. It

helps if you shave the leg as well, prior

to trying to stick the vein. Shaving the

limb is not always possible under field

conditions, but if it is possible,

then by all means come prepared to do

it.

When possible, shave the dog’s limb prior to trying

to hit the vein with the catheter and needle.

Shaving the leg allows both for greater visibility of

the vein as well as making it easier to stick the

needle into the vein. While your second holds the

dog as previously depicted, then you come in and

hold your dog’s wrist with one hand while you

barely insert the tip of the catheter needle just

inside the vein with the other. This is done at a 30

degree angle, gently and smoothly, until you get the

vein.

Sometimes the little things add up to big

things, and remembering to bring a pair

of clippers to shave your dog’s leg is

one of those (seemingly) “little” things

that can make a BIG difference in

whether or not you can ultimately save

your dog. For example, if you have a dog

who is shocky— and who has collapsed

veins and weak pulse—you may only

have ONE chance at finding the vein and

sticking it right on either leg. Why blow

that chance by trying to see through (and

stick a needle through) a bunch of

matted, blood-stained hair? Instead,

bring a set of clippers (and a bright light

wouldn’t hurt either), and shave your

dog’s limb first, and make sure you have

your BEST chance at hitting that vein,

not a half-ass chance. Believe me, this

little step will make all the difference in

the world.

Once you shave the area where you

intend to insert the catheter, disinfect the

limb with either Betadine or Nolvasan. I

prefer Nolvasan, actually, because

Betadine is red in color which can

sometimes make it harder to see the

vein, especially in darkened conditions.

Nolvasan, on the other hand, is nearly

clear which allows you to see better

while you’re working on your dog.

After you shave and disinfect the area,

your second will have helped constrict

the blood vessel, and after you have

rubbed the disinfectant over the target

area, the vein should be standing-out

very prominently for you. Assuming it is,

take your catheter (which is a plastic

tube with a removable steel needle in the

center) and place the needle tip through

the skin and into the vein

at about a 30 degree angle (see next

page).
Once the catheter is in place, gently

withdraw the needle part, which

leaves the plastic catheter in the leg.

Do not go through the vein at this point,

you just want the tip on the needle inside

the vein. Lower the angle of the needle

to about level with the dog’s leg and

slide the catheter into the vein being

careful to stay straight in line with the

“tube” of the vein or else you will go

through the side of the vein.

A catheter is basically a hollow plastic

tube inside of which is a stainless steel

needle. The tip of the needles protrudes

out of the catheter so you can stick the

vein, and when you do and push the

needle inside the vein, you thus push the

hollow plastic catheter tube in with it.

At this point you then withdraw the

needle part, which leaved the plastic

catheter tubing in the dog so you can run

your fluids (Illus. C).

When you pull the needle-part out, as I

said the plastic catheter remains in the

vein. You will know if you are in the

vein because blood will be coming out

the back end of the catheter. As soon as

the blood starts flowing back out of the

catheter, and you know you are in the

vein, immediately have the person

holding off the vein let go of the pressure

on the vein but not let go of the dog. Just

let go of the tourniquet-hold. This is

important as the vein will blow if you

try to run fluids while the tourniquet-

finger is still stopping off the blood

flow.

Next, immediately hook-up the fluid line

to the catheter and start running the fluids

by open- ing up the valve all the way.

You should see the drips in the drip

chamber dropping very quickly or even

pouring in a stream, just under the bag of

fluids. The reason why the plastic

catheter is so much better than just a

hard metal needle is the plastic catheter

won’t poke out the other side of the vein,

whereas 9x out of 10 a hard metal

needle eventually will.

After the catheter is in place you may

now attach the fluid line and get the

fluids in your dog.

Note: Again, do not try to run fluids

with just a needle. A metal needle has a

razor-sharp tip, and when the dog moves

even slightly the needle will poke out of

the other end of the vein and blow that

vein. This means your dog will not get

the vital fluids or meds. Do not be a

bozo. Make sure you use a catheter for

running IV fluids, not a needle. The

next column shows the connection of the

IV line to the catheter (Illus. D).

Once the fluids are running, then tape

the catheter in place, firmly, but not so

tight as to cut off blood flow. You just

want to hold the catheter in place.

Once in place, using a catheter allows

for multiple fluid administrations; a

needle does not.

Tape the catheter in place (Illus. E) so

that it does not move, but make sure you

allow for circulation. Once the catheter

is in place and taped down you can run a

bolus dose or start a drip by timing the

drops into the drip chamber.

If you feel your dog will need multiple

IV Fluid administrations, then place

an Injection Port on the end of the

catheter after you are finished

running the first bag. This will allow

you to give further ad- ministrations.

If you are only giving a bolus dose

through a catheter because you are in a

hurry, you will want to cap-off the

catheter hub with an injection port. An

Injection Port is a critical piece of

equipment! Screw or push on the

injection port (cap) on to the open-end

of the catheter, after you withdraw the

fluid line (see Illus. F). Then tape the

port to the dog’s leg.

When you are ready to administer more

fluids, or more IV medications, just stick

the needle into the rubber aperture of the

injection port (Illus. G). Once you’ve

placed the needle, then run your fluids or

give your meds. The great thing about an

injection port is that it allows for

multiple ad- ministrations. You can

remove the needle from the port when

you are done, but the catheter and port

stay in place for later use. You can use

this port to inject your dex into also, and

this tool is simply the best way to ensure

I.V. access for long periods of time. It is

a must have for your medicine box.

When the next 24 hr cycle comes

around to administer fluids (dex, or

what have you), simply insert the

needle through the rubber aperture of

the Injection Port to administer the

next dose.

The ability to find and his a vein is

critical, so again I suggest you practice

doing it first, before you ever really

need it. Don’t abuse your dogs, but just

practice occasionally until you are

comfortable with the procedure. You

may hear of people cutting the leg open

to find a vein in cases where a vein can’t

be found. This is called a “cut down”

and should only be done by people with

a lot of experience working on dogs.

I’ve seen some old timers do it with the

skill of a surgeon and I have also seen

some people butcher a dog’s leg trying

to do it. If someone offers to do this on

your dog, make sure they have done this

before with some success before letting

them proceed. Unless your dog is

knocking on Heaven’s door, then what

the heck, go ahead and try as it can’t do

any more harm. If your dog is in fair

shape though, it’s better to go with SC

fluids than slice open a leg and risk

hitting a nerve, cutting a tendon, or

slicing an artery.

Let me finish this article by saying the

best time and place to give fluids to your

hunting dog is immediately after the

match. Do not wait, get it done then and

there.

Shock Therapy

“The proper uses of cortico-steroids” is

an often-debated subject and many a

dogman has his own method of using

these drugs. For the purposes of this

article we will not go into the use of

cortico-steroids prior to a match to “dry-

out” a dog, but instead we will focus on

the proper use and dosage of these drugs

to treat shock.

First of all, what is a cortico-steroid or

“glucocorticoid?” For our purposes here

we will define them as anti-

inflammatory and/or anti-shock

agents. Although they have many other

uses, and some of these uses can be of

great benefit to a dogman (such as

treatment for septicemic and bacteremic

shock—shock from infections—as well

as intracerebral edema—swelling of the

brain); still we will concentrate on the

most common usage for us dogmen,

which is treatment for shock and

swelling due to combat trauma. The

drugs we will discuss are

♦ Dexamethasone(aka: Dex)

♦ Dexamethasone Sodium
Phosphate(aka: Azuim),

♦ Prednisolone Sodium Succinate(aka:

Solu-Delta Cortef)

♦ Methylprednisolone Sodium

Succinate(aka: Solu-Medrol).

Lets discuss two major side-effects of

all these drugs before going into their

uses. The first major side-effect of these

drugs are that they suppress the immune

system. That means they stop or inhibit

your dog’s ability to fight off

infections. The second major side-effect

of these drugs is that

they are diuretics. This means they draw

fluid out of your dog.

For these two reasons I recommend that

any time you use any of the above-

mentioned drugs you use them

concurrently with fluid therapy and

antibiotics, both of which are discussed

in different sections. And finally, if you

can get by without using cortico-

steroids, then do so. Use cortico-

steroids only when absolutely

necessary!

For convenience, I will use the word

“Azuim” for all 4 of these drugs, even

though each is slightly different from the

other. Okay, so when do you use these

drugs? I recently learned about a match

that involved two hard-mouthed dogs.

The event lasted a total of 35 minutes

after which both sides began attending to

their dogs after the deal was over. I was

surprised when I learned one party

involved did not intend to use any Azuim

on his dog, even though he had some

onhand. It seems this fellow was under

the impression that because he had given

the dog some “dex” prior to the match

that the dog would be fine. WRONG! It

does not matter if the dog received a few

ml of dex prior to the match. The doses

given to dogs prior to matches are much

too small to have any anti-shock

properties of any importance.

In fact, let’s bust a couple of myths. Myth

#1: Azium given the day of, or the day

prior to, a match stays with the dog and

stops swelling. WRONG! These are

fast-acting drugs and are not meant to

have a strong prolonged effect. Myth #2:

Dogs don’t need Azuim unless the hunt

lasts a long time. WRONG! Dogs can

take severe damage in the first ten

minutes of a fight. Especially with some

of the hard-biting monsters out there

today. So let me know show you a few

good “Rules” to follow when using

Azium:

Rules to Follow on Giving

Azium

♦ If your dog is in any combat situation

for over an hour, even if you believe

he hasn’t taken any damage;

♦ If your dog has had any bleeders hit

and has lost a significant amount of

blood.

♦ If your dog has gets gored by a hog,

especially if it’s in the guts;

♦ If your dog has run very hot for any

period of time, either fighting out in

the heat or has just been

subjected to the heat in general (i.e.,

heat stroke);

♦ If your dog is in blatant shock: i.e. a

glazed far-away look in his eyes, he

cannot stand up, does not respond at

all to painful stimulus, etc.

Now for dosages. Most people I’ve seen

do not use proper amounts of these

drugs, even when they do use them.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that

these drugs can be hard to come by so

people tend to be frugal with them. I will

list as follows the correct dosages for

all 4 drugs mentioned above. For those

who may not know, for the purposes of

administering injectable drugs (ml) and

(cc) are considered to be the same. 1 cc

= 1 ml. Also, all doses listed are for

intravenous use. All these drugs “may”

be given in the muscle, or under the skin,

but that is not the preferred route of

administration. Further, the doses would

be different from what is listed here.

Azuim and Dexamethasone:

Give 2.5 mg per pound of body weight.

This means, if you have a 42 LB dog (42

x 2.5 = 105 mg). You would then check

the bottle to get the strength of the

solution you are using. The bottle may be

2 mg per ml, 3 mg per ml, or 4 mg per

ml. Suppose you have the 2 mg strength

you would have to inject 52.5 ml in

order to give 105 mg of the drug; if you

have the 4 mg strength you would only

need to inject 26.25 ml to give 105 mg

of the drug. You see, the strength (%) of

the bottle tells you how many milligrams

(mg) of drug in each 1 ml of the drug.

Therefore, if you injected 10 ml of

Azuim that was the 2-mg strength, you

just injected 20 milligrams of Azuim. I

used Azium to explain this fact, but this

principle holds true for all of these

drugs. Another thing to note is try to use

these drugs only once. You “can” give

this drug up to every 12 hrs, until the dog

is stabilized, if you have to—but again

these drugs inhibit the immune system—

so carefully assess each situation to see

if

the use of Azium is warranted at all. If

the dog needs only one dose after the

hunt, then give him that first dose

immediately and right with his fluids. If

he is really bad off, then give whatever

follow-up you deem to be warranted.

For follow-up, keep in mind it is

preferable to give corticosteroids in the

morning.

Solu-Delta Cortef:

Give 2.5 to 5 mg per pound of body

weight. So a 40-lb. dog would get 100 -

200 mg, depending on the severity of his

condition. Generally, this drug comes in

a 100 mg glass vial, so you would use

between 1 and 2 whole vials, depending

on the severity of the condition. Where

dex and azium are generally used for

swelling and inflammation, solu-delta is

generally used for hard shock. Again, try

to use this drug only once.

Solu-Medrol:

Give 15 mg per pound of body weight.

In this case, a 40-lb dog would get 600

mg of SoluMedrol. This drug has both

anti-inflammatory and anti-shock

properties. Again, try to use this drug

only once.

Here are a few things you should know

when using these drugs. First, inject

slowly and if possible give these drugs

concurrently with his IV ringers by

running them into the bag of fluids,

mixing the bag up, and letting them

disseminate slowly that way. Doing this

makes it much easier to give medication,

and you won’t need to worry about

finding a vein multiple times once you

have one catheter in place. If you have a

catheter in place, and want to run these

drugs right into the IV line and not mix

them with the bag, then I recommend you

inject the solution into the line over

about a 10-minute time period, 1 ml

every minute, down the same line you

are running your fluids in. This can

really distribute the drugs well. If you

don’t have a catheter, it makes IV

administration much more difficult, and

you may have to stick your dog multiple

times to get the entire dose into him

(unless you have a very steady hand and

your dog is not moving).

But again, simply injecting the whole

dose of Azium directly into the bag of IV

fluids, mixing it up, and then running

these drugs concurrently with the fluids,

right out of the fluid bag, is the way to go

in my opinion.

Next, don’t be fooled if your dog seems

to be “fine” a little while after the

administration; that just means the drug

is working! Keep a constant eye on your

dog for the next 48 hours. If needed, you

can repeat the dose as often as every 12

hours (actually it can be repeated more

often than that, but if you need it more

often than every 8 hours your dog should

be at the vet). However, in most cases

after a match, a dog will probably be

okay with just one post-match dosage.

However, if he’s still a little shocky in

the morning, then give him one more full

injection when you wake up, but again

only if he needs it.

Don’t be too gung-ho with these drugs. If

he’s fine and “up” the next day, and

eating, then leave him be and let his

immune system work naturally. If he is

still bad off, though, and not very

responsive, then he needs the full dose,

again IV once every 24 hours, given in

the morning. If he doesn’t seem

responsive to these drugs after 48 hours,

then he needs a vet. However, if after 48

hours, your dog is eating, drinking,

urinating, and is not anemic, you can then

wean him off the drug (see below).

Third, if you cannot hit a vein at all, your

best bet is using one of the high-strength

drugs like Solu-delta Cortef. You can

give an intramuscular injection of about

5 mls in each leg and give the remaining

dose (if any) under the skin (SC). This is

not practical with Azuim due to the high

volume needed for effective doses.

Finally, do not “just stop” cortico-

steroid therapy, if your dog has needed it

for a long time. If you just give one or

two doses, then there is no need to wean

a dog off these drugs—however, if you

have given them for more than 5 days,

then there is a need to wean them off

these drugs. Read the following:

According to the Merck Veterinary

Manual:

“On cessation of steroid therapy, the

HPA axis recovers slowly over several

weeks, and animals are particularly

vulnerable to stress if treatment is

terminated abruptly. Restoration of

the HPA function is best achieved by

gradually reducing the dosage while

increasing the interval between doses

... The abrupt termination of dosing

after a prolonged course of treatment

may reveal a life-threatening degree of

adrenal insufficiency.”

In other words, you can kill your dog if

you just stop prolonged cortico-steroid

treatment. Therefore, you must wean

your dog off of any prolonged such

therapy slowly if your dog is severely

injured and has required the use of these

drugs for any length of time. To do this,

decrease the dosage by ½ of what it

was, every other day, and then double

the interval time between doses, over a

week or two, as a way to cease

treatment. This will gradually wean your

dog off of these

system-altering drugs. Finally, here are a

couple of last details:

1) Use the correct drugs for the correct

problems. For instance, if your dog is

extremely

shocky, then you will want to use some

form of prednisolone, either Solu-Delta

Cortef or Solu-Medrol. However, if

your dog isn’t very shocky, but he is

extremely swollen and stiff, then you

will want to

use some form of dexamethasone, either

straight Dex or Azium. The prednisolone

group of corticosteroids has weaker

anti-inflammatory properties, but much

stronger anti-shock properties, while the

dexamethasone group has weaker anti-

shock properties, but are about 10x as

strong in decreasing

inflammation. Solu-Medrol has the

greatest degree of both properties.

2) If your dog doesn’t need these

drugs, then don’t use them.

3) I know I said I would not go into

giving these drugs prior to a match, but I

have to give

my two cents. Although many dogmen do

practice this, I only know this, ALL these

drugs can effect

blood sugar levels, blood pressure

levels, and affect the adrenal gland. This

can have a profound

affect on how your dog feels, not to

mention you can dehydrate your dog if

you are not careful with

your dose and the time you give it.

Adversely affecting the way your dog

feels before a hunt isn’t

too bright, and anyone who has ever

been dehydrated knows this is not what

you want going into

a match ...

Managing The Kidneys

Okay, in the preceding sections of this

chapter we have covered three out of the

four most important elements in the

aftercare of your canine athlete after his

match. They are: (1) Fluid Therapy, (2)

Shock Therapy, and (3) Antibiotic

Therapy. There is one final step to

consider in saving a dog after a match

and that is (4) Managing The Kidneys.

How many of you have had, or have

heard of, dogs who seemed “fine” for

several days af- ter a match—they were

successfully treated for shock, infection,

and they were well-hydrated with fluids

—yet for some reason they died about a

week or so later? The odds are high that

there was in fact a reason: t hey died of

kidney failure.

The main symptom of kidney failure is

uremia (poison urine) which is generally

evidenced by lethargy, depression,

anorexia, vomiting, mild diarrhea,

dehydration, and ulcerations of the

mucous membranes. Some dogs get non-

regenerative anemia (pale gums) due to

lack of production of a certain factor

( erythropoietin) but this technical stuff

is unimportant. Basically, an increase

of nitrogenous waste (unusable

protein) impairs the kidneys and

causes them to shut down. How this

happens in our dogs was touched upon in

the fluids article, and even in the chapter

on dog food, but we will go into it a

little deeper here.

The important thing to realize is that the

destroyed tissue in your dog has to be

cleaned out by the bloodstream. Once in

the bloodstream, this destroyed tissue

(nitrogenous waste) is then filtered

through the kidneys. Not only is it

important for you to know that

dehydration by itself can cause kidney

failure, without any injury at all (which

is why fluids are so important), but when

de- hydration is then combined with an

overload of nitrogenous waste (dead

cells and internal bleeding) from a dog

match, then your dog is almost sure to

sustain damage to his kidneys, if they

don’t completely shut down. Therefore,

while your dog is recovering from his

wounds, and his system is filtering his

dead and destroyed nitrogenous tissues

through his kidneys, you must

compensate for this dangerous burden by

continuing to supplement him with plenty

of fluids to accommodate this critical

process. In fact, this is why fluid therapy

was first and foremost in this chapter.

At the same time, it is also important that

the dog not be fed too high a protein

during this period. High protein food

itself becomes nitrogenous waste itself

(partially) after digestion, and by giving

high-protein feed to a battle-debilitated

(probably dehydrated) dog, you are

simply adding another burden to the

animal’s already-overloaded kidneys

that isn’t necessary. Now, we have

already learned the importance of raw

feed and why it is superior to kibble

earlier, and here again we find its value.

That a protein source be extremely

high in quality, and extremely easy to

process,

is critical to a dog at this time, so that

he does not develop any more

“nitrogenous waste” to filter-out than

he has to.

Yet what most people want to do for

their injured dog is feed him as much

“good food” as they possibly can,

incorrectly believing that high-protein

dog food is “good food.” Sadly, they

think they are “helping” their banged-up

dog by giving him giant bowl of 30/20

high-protein, low-quality kibble, when

in fact they are actually sending him into

a tail-spin, possibly killing him with too

much protein too soon for his weakened

kidneys to handle. For that matter, they

have already beat their dog’s kidneys up

all through his keep, by working him too

hard (which itself damages the kidneys),

and then they made it worse by “holding

his water back,” which hurts the kidneys

even worse, and then they’ve been

feeding him a 30/20 garbage kibble all

throughout the keep on top of that. So

now, this poor dog has already gone

through kidney-hell in his keep, and then

he gets it even worse in the match, and

here he is struggling to recover from a

near-death experience, probably still

dehydrated already, and he is being fed

a giant bowl of high-protein feed on top

of this?! Well, I think you can see that

such imbeciles have created the very

recipe that makes for a dead dog. And

it’s sad. The price of ignorance and

doing everything wrong is sad.

But we have just covered how to do

everything right so far, and regarding

getting your dog over the hump you

should actually give your dog very little

protein at this point, mostly IV fluids

and rice as a solid food. What little

protein you do give your dog during his

recovery time should be pre-digested, if

possible, and of high-usability. For

instance, using a cup of Vertex, sprinkled

over well-cooked rice, and then soak the

meal in Pedialyte or chicken broth for

added hydration and electrolytes, is a

good after-match feed until the dog is

fully-functional, feeling good, and

clearly strong again. By contrast, not

having any water available, failing to

run IV fluids, and feeding the dog super-

high-protein kibble after a serious match

is a good way to make him a memory.

Now of course during this whole time,

the dog cannot just lie in his crate for

hours on end. The internal organs have

to be activated to work by the dog

moving around. Many people just let

their dog lie in one spot all day and

night, which by itself will also cause the

kidneys to shut down— and in fact

they’re almost sure to while a dog is in

that kind of condition. Instead of

“leaving him alone,” you should be

making sure that your dog “walks out”

every two hours—until he is urinating

again and well-hydrated. Set an alarm

for every two hours and get him up and

moving as such. If the dog cannot get up

on his own, you must physically lift him

up and walk him out. Get him to urinate

each time, if possible. The use of Salix

was discussed in the Overview, but

getting the dog to urinate regularly and

frequently, all the while being hydrated

either orally or intravenously, is the way

to gradually filter-out your dog’s dead,

damaged tissues through his kidneys.

Adding some salt to his diet via the

product K-Ease (which is for racing

greyhounds and can be bought through

KV Vet) will assist with this endeavor

also. Once the dog is urinating normally,

then get him to walk-out every 4 hours.

This is the final touch to making sure

your little warrior pulls through.

As a recap, if your dog just came through

a hard match, you have to have a game

plan (like anything else) in order to

increase your odds of success in saving

him. As previously stated, picking-up at

the right time is the #1 factor in saving

your dog, because none of this stuff will

matter if you wait too long. Only if you

have picked-up in time will your

intelligent application of proper

aftercare procedures becomes the #2

factor in saving your dog.

The very first thing you are trying to do

for your badly-injured dog is get a life-

line in him: his IV fluids. The fluids do

many things, already discussed, and they

also offer an avenue for you to treat his

shock, to administer his pain relief, and

to administer his antibiotics. After you

have treated him for shock with cortico-

steroids, infection with antibiotics, pain

with banamine, and his fluid loss w/ IV

ringers— don’t forget to help him filter

his dead tissue out of his body without

damaging those filters (i.e., his

kidneys). By understanding their function

and handling things accordingly, you can

treat your dog’s vitals gingerly with

proper kidney management. Therefore,

to ensure proper care for your dog’s

kidneys after a tough match, 1) Keep him

well-hydrated; 2) Feed only predigested,

highquality protein, in small amounts,

with bland white rice and broth as a

stabilizer feed; (3) add K-Ease to his

diet; and (4) walk him out regularly so

that he can pee and so his bodily

processes don’t shut down.

Remembering this 4-step process will

take you a long way towards not losing

another dog to that last step, which can

mean all the difference in the world

between the life and death of your canine

athlete after his match.

Chapter 19

The Art of Breeding Dogs

Wow, we’ve come a long way. Not only

in a lot of typing for me, and a lot of

reading for you, but we’ve come to the

last critical chapter and the end of the

road here: breeding these dogs. Just

think about where we started: total

beginners, setting up the yard right,

feeding the dogs right, getting our yard

maintenance right, getting our meds right,

getting our head right, getting our

schooling right, getting our testing and

evaluation right, getting our keep right,

getting our match right, and (finally)

getting our aftercare right. You see, every

step of the way in our journey as dog-

men, there are countless ways to lose

our dogs. Failure at any one aspect of

our jobs can mean the loss of a truly

great and valuable bulldog, or at least

the loss of an honest and rugged bulldog.

We’ve crossed bridge-after-bridge, and

we’ve successfully made it across every

one. But we’re not done yet. Because

there is another way to lose your

precious dogs, and that is by breeding

them wrong and mixing the genes in such

a way as you breed all of the quality

right out of what you came so far to get,

raise, show, and finally to prove as truly

superior. Which brings us to the point of

this new chapter: “The Art of Breeding

Dogs.” If you really want to keep what

you love “alive” for the long haul,

then you need to learn how to breed

them right so you don’t lose what you

love in the next generation. You see,

that is exactly what most people do

when they breed their dogs: they throw

everything they love away, and this is

because most people have exactly the

wrong idea as to why we should breed

these dogs. Most people think breeding

dogs is some kind of “crapshoot,” where

they’re trying to “cross this to that,”

thinking that somehow they will hit the

jackpot and get the biggest freak of

nature possible. Wrong! What they’ll do

is breed all of the consistency and

quality out of their dogs.

What people who know what they’re

doing strive for in their breedings is to

get consistent and dependable results,

not to crapshoot or play guessing games.

Just stop for a minute and think about the

different breed types in general. We need

to breed pit bulls to pit bulls if we want

to get pit bulls. People breed German

shepherds to German shepherds if they

want to get German shepherds. People

breed Jack Russells to Jack Russells if

they want to get Jack Russells. Now this

may seem obvious, but I’ve got a curve

ball coming, so pay attention here.

You see, out of all the possible “breed

types” there are to breed to in the world,

any serious breeder is going to ignore all

of the other breed types except the one

that applies to him. Because the fact is,

if a breeder starts breeding his purebred

dogs to other dogs of any old breed type,

then he’s going to have no idea what the

hell is going to happen in the produced

offspring. He will have taken all of those

years of genetic dove-tailing and

isolation (that created the purebred

breed to begin with) and he will have

thrown all of these isolated genes away

by scrambling them up again in breeding

to an totally different breed type. This is

why such mix-bred dogs are called

MUTTS, and this is why mutts have no

value—precisely becausethey no longer

have any particular specializa- tion—

and precisely because they are now so

genetically-scrambled that they won’t

be able to reproduce “whatever they

are” consistently and dependably. This

is exactly why purebred breeds cost

money while mix-bred mutts are given

away for free: only the purebred dogs

can produce consistently-dependable

results when they’re bred.

It takes years and years of selective

breeding just to create a “breed type” to

begin with— and so to dump some new

and unrelated breed’s genetics into the

gene pool is like dropping a turd into a

bowl of punch—it ruins all of the

previous work and creativity and it

pollutes the purity and excellence of the

sacred mix with “unwanted matter.”

Well, guess what, it works the exact

same way with bloodlines within a breed

type too. Bloodlines within a breed type

are nothing but the next step in the

process of genetic refinement. Just as

you want to get the same breed

everytime when you mate your dogs,

well so too do you want to get the same

traits everytime within that breed type

when you mate your dogs. You see, there

is a vast disparity of types and traits that

express themselves even within

purebred breeds! We all know that just

because you have two pit bulls doesn’t

mean they carry the exact same traits.

Dogs even of the same breed type don’t

all have the same temper, they don’t

have the same looks, nor do they all

have same abilities and attributes in any

way whatsoever. There are tens of

thousands of different looks,

personalities, sizes, strengths, weakness,

propensities, etc., even within the same

breed type of the pit bull terrier breed.

Therefore, when people just breed any

old pit bull to any old pit bull, what they

do is basically create mutts within the

breed type. That is what 99% of all

people who have these dogs simply

don’t understand, is that breeding dogs

even within a “breed type” takes still

more genetic refinement and

specialization through a dedicated

linebreeding program—but by “mixing

bloodlines” instead, more often than not

what most people get are undependable

mutts as opposed to the “hybrid vigor”

they think they’re going to get with

their “crosses.”
You see, just as you must breed the same

breed to the same breed, in order to get

the same breed of dog on a dependable

basis—so too must you breed the same

bloodline to the same bloodline in order

to get the same specific characteristics

within that breed type on a dependable

basis. Breeding top quality dogs is all

about consistently preserving unique,

excellent traits through the genetic

dove-tailing of linebreeding, it is not

about “crapshooting for excellence”

with a bunch of senseless gene-

scrambling outcrosses. This doesn’t

mean an occasional outcross doesn’t

have its place, it can and it does; what

this means is that any outcrosses

considered need to be made intelligently

and sparingly, not as a matter of routine.

Linebreeding is always any serious

breeder’s mainstay, and outcrossing is

always the exception, not the other way

around.

Revelation
With this in mind, when you have raised,

schooled, evaluated, tested, and won (or

lost game) with your own personal best

dog, if you want to keep those qualities

he has alive for the next generation what

sense does it make to “outcross” this

dog’s genes away? Realize that by

introducing new genes you de crease the

chances of ever having another dog “like

him” again. Now if you don’t think much

of your dog to begin with, and are trying

to breed him to something you think

more of, then why breed the dog at all

and make more of what you “don’t think

much” of? Too many people breed dogs

just to breed dogs, but the only reason a

good breeder breeds a pair of dogs is to

make more of what he likes. Therefore,

when you set out to “make more of what

you like,” the best way to accomplish

this is with a goal and a logical plan, not

by taking chances or by playing guessing

games. Well, the “perfect fighting dog”

is your goal and a linebreeding

program around him is your game-plan

to preserve that goal. This strategy is the

only way a person will succeed as a

breeder over the long haul. Flash-in-the-

pan crosses come and go, but only

linebreeding programs stand the test of

time.

Okay, so you have decided to build a

linebreeding program around your

favorite dog, and your next decision

involves which supporting player to use.

If your dog is already linebred then you

pretty much should know what to do, and

that is breed him to more like-bred

individuals who carry his specific traits.

However, if your dog is himself

somewhat mix-bred, then he is unlikely

to be a consistent producer. Yet this is

not always the case. Cheer-up though,

because even if your dog is not a truly

prepotent animal himself, you can still

create a consistent line by forming a

linebreeding program around him

Note: One of the key things to pay close

attention to as a breeder is the overall

quality of the litter that any good dog

comes from. Even if a dog is himself a

great individual, if his overall litter was

lousy then unfortunately that dog will

therefore tend to produce lousy overall.

Why? Because you get what the

averageof your dog’s gene pool is

when you breed him. You don’t get

what the “best” or the “worst”

individuals are, on average—what you

get are the average dogs in his gene pool

turn out like, on average. Aces won’t

consistently produce aces, and bums

won’t consistently produce bums, they

will produce what most of what’s

behind them is actually like.

What all dogs will produce “on

average” is going to be what the

average of their gene pool is like. By

definition. This is why it is so important

to know what most of the dogs in your

dog’s whole litter were like, and also to

know what all of the dogs in his

parents’ litters were like, so that you

may get an overall “whole average

profile” in your mind’s eye as to what

your own dog is genetically, and

therefore should produce genetically.

This basic principle is why a lousy bum

dog (who happens to come from an

otherwise excellent litter, bred off

excellent parents, who likewise were

out of excellent litters) will invariably

out-produce a Grand Champion (who

happens to come from a lousy litter, bred

off mediocre

parents, who likewise were out of

lousy/mediocre litters). You see, the

lousy bum is the exception, where most

of his gene pool is excellent—while the

Grand Champion is the exception,

where most of his gene pool is lousy.

Therefore, since each dog is “the

exception” for his own particular line,

he will simply go back to producing

what “the average” of his gene pool is.

This is why the above bum will produce

excellence “on average” while the

Grand Champion will produce poorly

“on average.”

You see, the careful evaluation of

breeding potential is exactly the

opposite of the careful evaluation of

match potential. With a match dog, all

that matters is the answer to the question,

Is this particular dog good enough to

win? What his parents were like doesn’t

matter, and what his litter was like

doesn’t matter. The only question that

matters to a match dog is does he have

what it takes to win? His parents can’t

help him, his pedigree can’t help him,

and his littermates can’t help him.

But when you breed dogs, it is exactly

the opposite. How “that particular” dog

is as an individual doesn’t matter

anywhere near as much toward “how he

produces pups” compared to how

consistently-good is his overall gene

pool. If you know everything about a

dog’s littermates, as well as his parents,

as well as his parents’ littermates, you

can tell a lot more about how that

particular dog will produce than if you

only know about “just him.” Therefore,

before you decide to base your yard

around any dog, or before you start

loading-up on any new dog introduced

into your program, it pays to get to know

as much as you can about all of the

strengths, weaknesses, and consistent

propensities of that dog’s entire genetic

profile (brothers, sisters, parents,

parents’ siblings) before you commence.

Whatever it is that you like about your

dog (or dogs) is simply what you want to

produce consistently in your forthcoming

pups and litters, to duplicate more of

these quality animals for the next time

around. Therefore, choosing dogs to

breed that not only have these traits

themselves, but whose littermates and

parents carried these traits also, simply

increases your odds of getting more dogs

like this in your breedings. Conversely,

if your dog doesn’t have those traits at

all, and nothing in his background

carried those traits either, then your odds

of getting the traits you desire using such

a dog in your program is virtually non-

existent. I mean really, breeding dogs is

just about basic logic.

Your dog’s gene pool can be looked at

as a deck of cards: the more aces you put

in your deck, the more likely you will be

able to draw an ace back out of that

deck. However, the more twos and

threes you put in your deck, the more

twos and threes you’re likely to pull

back out. It’s really about that simple.

And, yes, you can pull both an ace and a

two out of the same deck, as well as a

joker or two for that matter. This doesn’t

mean the deck is bad, it just means there

are random variables to be found in any

deck. The key to getting consistency is

to decrease your variables. Again this

is basic logic. You want to pull your

twos and threes out when you see them,

and you want to put your aces back in

your deck when you see them. Repeated

over time, you can eventually get a

“whole deck” of dog genes that can be

reliably-depended upon to throw aces

(or at least “high cards”) every time you

breed them. You simply have to learn to

play your cards right☺

With that visual in mind, the more dogs

you put into your breedings that have

“the perfect style” and live up to your

ideals, the more of those kind of dogs

you’re likely to get back out when you

make your breedings. The only

additional factor you must use to your

advantage in breeding dogs is making

sure those dogs you do use are of the

same basic bloodline and then linebreed

on the star of that line. If the dog you

just won with (or even lost game with)

is the ideal dog to you then you can build

a yard around him. If he is just a decent

or average dog, then you may (or may

not) want to breed him. But beware of

what you call average.

You must also keep in mind that some

“average” dogs may have certain

outstanding abilities. For instance, a

particular dog might have average air,

average mouth, and not much of a style

—but he may have an incredible amount

of body strength and tenacity. If he’s

from a lot of dogs like this, you can

linebreed around this dog so you can

keep pockets of specific traits on your

yard as well. For instance, my Coca

Cola bitch was just an average dog in

intelligence, she had below average air,

and she was one-dimensional. Because

she had some glaring flaws, her original

owner sold her for cheap because (to

him) she didn’t have “match ability.”

Well, I realized that Coca Cola wasn’t a

complete match dog, but I also saw that

she was only 26 lb and was able to

spot a sister to a Champion 4 lb of

weight and drive her all over the pit. To

me, while Coca Cola was never able to

get there and do anything, I saw that her

body strength and tenacity were

outstanding. As they say, one man’s

trash is another man’s treasure, and Coca

Cola proved to be a tremendous

producer for me, and is behind more

Grand Champions, Champions, and

winners

than any dog her prior owner decided to

keep.

I merely linebred Coca Cola to

individuals of her family that had the

traits she was missing (air, defense), and

I got some complete and absolutely

tremendous dogs off of Coca Cola. So

pay attention to your “average” dogs too

in order that you don’t miss some truly

great traits they may have. In fact, when

you start to form your own family around

a key individual dog, you will notice that

certain breeding combinations carry

certain strengths/weaknesses, while

other combinations carry exactly the

opposite strengths/weaknesses.
For instance, my Poncho/Screamer dogs

consistently throw tremendous stamina

and staying power, but not much physical

strength or mouth, while my

Poncho/Coca Cola dogs produce

unbelievable body strength and good

mouth, but not much air or staying

power. Therefore, breeding these two

sub-families together would be a third

step I would have to make to get “the

perfect dog” again. You will notice the

same kinds of thing happen with your

own particular breeding combinations.

What I am trying to get at is you cannot

realistically believe you will get 100%

complete, flawless animals at any point

in your breeding career, so don’t

necessarily throw dogs out of your

program that aren’t perfect, if they still

have a few solid and wonderful traits.

You can’t always get aces in your hand

when you play cards, but as long as you

get mostly “high cards” you’re doing all

right. For instance, you may produce a

dog that wins (or even loses) in 2:20 but

can’t be brought out again. Just because

he wasn’t able to become a 9xW doesn’t

mean he isn’t a damned good dog. You

may not funnel all of your future

breedings through this dog, but if you

have a monster-mouth bitch in heat,

who’s short on air, you might get a litter

of 100% complete animals by breeding

her to your 2:20 stud—especially if they

are closely-related.

Your career as a breeder is a life-long

pursuit, it can never be defined by a

single breeding. Each breeding you make

is a step, hopefully a step toward your

goal of your ideal of the perfect

performance dog. Like driving a car

though, just because you are initially

pointed in the right direction doesn’t

mean you can take your hands off the

wheel and stop steering. If you want to

get to where you’re going, you will

always have to steer your vehicle to the

left a little bit, to the right a little bit, and

sometimes you might make a wrong turn

and have to double-back and try a

different route. You don’t just take your

hands off the wheel and floor the throttle

or you’ll wind up a wreck, and your

dogs will wind up a wreck too if you

don’t continuously evaluate each

generation carefully and completely.

However, again as with driving, the

more you do it the more it becomes

second nature to you. The more

generations into your program you get,

and the more you really truly know

about each dog in the litter (as well as

the whole overall average of that litter),

the more you will just automatically be

able to compute in your mind which

direction to take which dog in the next

step of your program.

Again, by keeping “what you like best”

in a performance dog as your Guiding

Light, and by line- and inbreeding off of

a small group of family-bred dogs that

carry these traits (or at least essential

key components of these traits), the more

and more consistently you will start

seeing your results become as you blend

and re-blend your dogs together in your

matings, in each successive generation.

In fact, renowned German shorthair

pointer breeder, Gary Hutchison (of

WestWind GSP) said in a tremendous

article featured in Gundog Magazine,

“Inbreeding significantly increases

homozy- gosity, and therefore

uniformity within a litter. One of the

best methods of evaluating how

successful a linebreeding has been is

to gauge the similarity of the

littermates as compared with pups of

other litters with similar pedigrees.

Considerable similarity among

littermates tells the breeder the genes

have “nicked” or paired together as

anticipated. The resulting pups will

likely be able to pass these genes to the

next generation.”

Homozygosity = sameness.
Heterozygosity = differentness.

When you linebreed your dogs you are

trying to get sameness in your results

(homozygosity). You don’t want mixed

results when you breed, you want

consistent results. For instance, the

people who linebreed Zebo dogs are

trying to get hellafide mouth and power,

consistently and depend-

ably, in their linebreeding efforts,

because the Flagship Animal (Zebo) was

known for these traits. In linebreeding on

Zebo dogs, what the intelligent breeder

is paying attention to is trying to dovetail

his results to get “the same thing every

time” in his breedings: badass chest

dogs with heavy mouth. The important

thing to remember is this goal. There

will always be particular dogs with that

bloodline that will simply be prepotent

(meaning exceptionally high-percentage

producers), and there will always be

dogs within that line that will not be

prepotent (meaning their produced

offspring will be less consistent). And

the same is true with any line. What you

want to do is continuously funnel your

future breedings only through the

most consistent, dependable

producers.

If you are linebreeding your dogs and

are getting mixed results, then one (or

both) individuals are simply not

prepotent animals in their ability to

throw the desired end. For instance,

when I bred dogs for a living I used to

breed my Poncho dogs to be lightning-

fast, highly-intelligent athletes that figure

you out and break you down over time. If

I came up with a slow, dopey dog—or if

I had a good dog that (for whatever

reason) was throwing slow, dopey dogs

—I don’t care how that dog looked “on

paper”—or what he was himself—if that

dog couldn’t consistently reproduce the

defin- ing characteristics of my

bloodline, then he had no place in my

program. Doesn’t mean I abused the dog

or mistreated him, it means I simply had

to take him off of my breeding list.

However, when I saw an individual dog

(or, even better, a particular genetic

combination) that consistently and

dependably threw the traits that I

enjoyed and desired to see in several

individual animals they produced, then I

would be sure to make it my business to

funnel all of my (or most of my) future

breeding efforts through this individual,

or especially through basic genetic

combinations that would consistently

and dependably reproduce such

individuals. In breeding dogs, this is

called “The Funnel Effect,” where a

man takes the entire breeding direction

of his bloodline down and funnels it

through certain particular breeding

combinations that prepotently throw

those certain traits that said man strives

for. This is when bloodline breeding

becomes interesting!

This is also why two people who have

two groups of dogs down from what

looks like the same bloodline “on

paper” can actually have dramatically-

different dogs in caliber and quality in

the pit. I may have bred my Poncho dogs

for extreme speed, athleticism,

intelligence, and a head style—yet some

other person who bought some my dogs

in the past might have been looking for

and breeding for entirely different traits

than what I sought when creating my

bloodline. This other fellow may not

have my eye or my standards, or he may

have even better standards, but in either

case ten years down the road we both

might (and in all probability will) have

completely different dogs (in looks and

in abilities) than what we both started

with.

This is how two different breeders of the

same bloodline, down from the same

Flagship Dog, can eventually produce

completely different results in their

breeding efforts, over time. One guy can

wind-up with Frisco dogs that can’t bust

a grape, while another man can have

bone-crushing pit artists more in line

with the original ideal that formulated

the effort to breed the Frisco bloodline

to begin with. Same thing with Zebo

dogs, or my dogs, or any other bloodline

that you choose to get. Your own

unique, individual likes and dislikes,

talents and shortcomings in your

judgement, will eventually become the

“stamp” of your own bloodline, good

or bad. That is the fun of breeding and

that is also why there is the

responsibility of breeding dogs well,

carefully, and thoughtfully. The

following article, written by a friend of

mine, shall serve to illustrate how an

entire breed can be taken in the wrong

direction, by genetic mismanagement,

when it had previously been taken to

unprecedented heights through

impeccable genetic management. The

subject of this piece is the bloodhound,

but this man is also a 20-year bulldog

man with his own bloodline also:

Improving The Bloodhound

By G. Mitchell

My long-standing interest and

involvement with working dogs has led

me recently to a keen interest in the

mantrailing bloodhound. I believe the

bloodhound who functions well in his

task of mantrailing, to be among the

most useful of all canines. There are

many impressive types of working dogs,

herding dogs, catch dogs, and a myriad

of various hunting dogs and utility

dogs etc. How- ever, my feeling is that

a dog which benefits mankind directly;

such as guide dogs for the blind, or

mantrailing dogs who can find lost

people or escaped criminal suspects,

are surely among the most elite and

noble of all of the various working

dogs. Therefore, the prospect of being

of service to my

fellow man through volunteering the

use of well-trained and well-bred

bloodhounds appeals to me greatly at

this stage of my life.

Having been a fairly serious student of

animal husbandry since the early

1980s, when I bred a “strain” of fancy

rats, and then later as a breeder of

working dogs, I set out to search for a

pure strain of bloodhounds from which

I could select my initial working stock.

After several months of searching, I

have come to the conclusion: sadly

there are no pure strains of working

bloodhounds currently in existence. I

wish to give a sort of third party

consultant’s view on how I think the

blood- hound can and should be

improved. First, what do I mean by a

strain? The dictionary definition of a

“strain” as pertaining to biology or

animal husbandry as follows:

STRAIN = “A group of organisms of

the same species, having distinctive

characteristics but not usually

considered a separate breed or

variety.”

So, when relating this definition to

canines, a strain is essentially a

distinct “family” or “blood- line”

within a breed, which has its own

unique characteristics. Presumably,

these characteristics are distinct and

superior in nature than the mean

average of the breed, thus making a

proven animal descended from a “pure

strain” or “family” more reliable in his

duties. It is also likely that he will be

more prepotent as a brood animal. Pure

strains are nearly always highly inbred.

By this process of breeding individuals

within a family, any hidden recessive

genes for physical or performance

faults manifest themselves, and the

dogs that manifest weakness of any

kind, or who are at the lower end of the

strain in general, are culled. Also,

recessive genetic patterns allowing

dogs to function well above the average

of the breed are manifest, and more

easily duplicated through inbreed- ing.

This process is what I call “genetic

cleansing”, as we discard the

undesirable genetic garbage, and cause

the most desirable traits to become

dominant through our selectivity.

Breeding clean gene pools or strains,

and then crossing them amongst each

other, is the very process by which the

bloodhound evolved and was

maintained as a working dog in the

centuries that preceded ours. There

were many pure strains in the history of

the bloodhound. While it is true that

some of these early breeders had an

emphasis on show dogs, it is also true

that they were linebreeding on proven

working dogs to produce their show

stock. We must remember and never

lose sight of the fact that form follows

function, not vise-versa. Breeding what

we “think” a solid mantrailer looks

like will never be as successful a

direction to go as breeding good

mantrailers, regardless of

conformation. If we let successful

working dogs become our standard,

they will in general also be handsome

and ath- letic dogs by default.

Apparently, the trait of being able to

scent and trail is so very dominant in

the working bloodhound, that it is not

so easily lost through the careless

scatterbred mating patterns that we see

in large measure today. However,

experienced handlers of mantrailing

bloodhounds know that not all hounds

are created equal. Some are able to

“track” instead of “trail,” and there

are several accounts of hounds both old

and modern wherein the dog would

trail with the head held high al- most

effortlessly, so as to make onlookers

think that he wasn’t even on a scent

trail. Certainly those “once in a

lifetime” types of superior hounds with

outstanding success records are what

all serious mantrailers would like to

see produced with greater regularity.

I’m talking about dogs that can run

older trails successfully, and have a

greater overall intensity for their task.

I’m talking about dogs that can detect

the freshest scent and successfully

trail, when clean and isolated scent

articles may not be available. Dogs

that have an athletic type of hound

body in contrast to the fat, blocky show

type bloodhounds we see today. An

athletic body will of course allow them

to endure and stay on the trail longer

as well as to recover from the work

quicker. A good strain should also be

able to produce a hound with greater

longevity, and fewer health concerns,

than what we see today. The questions

that are raised in pondering such an

effort are “why aren’t these elite

hounds produced with greater

regularity currently,” and “how could

one begin to produce top mantrailers

with regu- larity?”

First let us examine why I believe the

elite type of working bloodhounds are

not produced with greater regularity.

Ifirmly believe we can point to the

AKC (as well as other registries) and

dog shows as the primary reason that

all working dogs decline in quality. I

know that such a statement will chagrin

some, but I believe it is the truth. If we

look back to the people who promoted

show dogs early in any breed’s history,

they usually had the greatest of

intentions in promoting their favor- ite

breeds of working dog in a positive

way. However; over time the show

gradually becomes the primary focus,

and the thought of breeding one’s

winning show bitch to a lanky old

highly accom- plished mantrailer,

instead of the latest and greatest show

champion becomes very unappealing.

After all, who in show circles or the

general public would want to buy

puppies out of a less than stellar

looking working dog with no titles,

even if the dog would truly improve the

breed? It is much easier to sell the

descendants of show champions than

some mantrailer whose exploits are

largely unknown and unpublicized. I

think the very reasons the quality of

dogs have declined, and will continue

to decline, are “dog shows” and the

“puppy business.” “Pet Quality” dogs

have value to both the peddler/breeder

and puppy purchaser. The selling of

puppies simply promotes more selling

of puppies, and that is what keeps a

registry in business. Seldom do we see

bloodhound people keeping entire

litters that they have produced, or

keeping them in tight circles of friends

for stringent scrutiny, and selection,

with no thought of selling any. No, the

majority of any bloodhound litter today

is for sale; in fact most breeders tend

to line up the buyers of these dogs

prior to making a mating. Yet, these

same breeders seem to want to prohibit

the buyers of their stock from the same

type of peddling which they engage in

by registering these dogs with “AKC

Limited Registration.” Again, I know

that this type of commentary will likely

cut to the very center, and enrage some

read-

ers, but the truth usually has a way of

doing that.

To make matters worse, the American

Bloodhound Club is closely aligned

with the Ameri - can Kennel Club, and

promotes its agenda, which are

primarily shows, and the breeding of

more show dogs. The fanciers of

bloodhound today are splintered into

three principle groups, and varia- tions

of the three groups—namely working

dog folks, show dog folks and puppy

peddlers. The ABC; like any breed

organization, is a political

organization, and the same type of folks

that usually are drawn to the politics of

the show dog circles, are also

motivated towards the leadership of a

breed association. Therefore, the

agenda of the ABC is largely the

agenda of the show dog people, and the

people with no interest in shows but

only in working dogs, must sit idly by

with little input or rep- resentation

regarding the declining direction the

breed is headed in regard to working

qualities. Invariably as either overall

breed popularity or show involvement

increases, working quality will de-

crease.

In fact, renowned bloodline breeder Dr.

Leon Whitney stated in his book, How

to Breed Dogs, “It is almost axiomatic

that the more popular a breed is, the

sloppier the breeding will be.” He goes

on further to elaborate about the

separation in the fancy in his early

days with the bloodhound between

those who bred and use mantrailers,

and those who bred show dogs. “Now

neither group was antagonistic to the

other, but one group developed a

hound that could live and was useful

and beautiful, while the other

developed a type that was fragile and

beautiful according the breeders’ type

of beauty. The point I am trying to

drive home is this: why should the

proper type not be that which is the

best for the purposes for which the

breed is intended?” This great

philosophical chasm in the fancy

between typeand functionality, mingled

in with a peaceful coexistence between

fanci- ers is very similar to that we see

today in the ABC. Indeed, history

repeats itself.

Another real life scenario is that many

of the people who are strictly working

dog people have no inclination towards

breeding dogs. They are happy working

with one or two dogs, and when the dog

gets older, they buy and train another

as a prospective replacement. These

people; many of them law enforcement

or search-and-rescue personnel, have

some of the very proven dogs that could

make a big contribution to improving

the breed. Yet sadly their dogs seldom

or nev- er get used in the brood pen.

Other people who are accomplished in

mantrailing do breed their mantrailers,

yet may have limited knowledge on the

subject of genetic management, let

alone improvement. Often times they

breed in the simple format of

“mantrailer to mantrailer,” with no

real regard for bloodline. In the

bloodhound fancy today, I think most of

the better dogs come out of such

programs. While “best to best”, or

“worker to worker,” is surely a step in

the right direction, it is still far from

putting the genetic odds into our favor

and improving the breed to the fullest

extent pos- sible. One other problem

that stands in the way of breed

improvement is the Bloodhound Rescue

movement. Every good home that is

willing to take in some undocumented,

unproven “rescued bloodhound” is one

more home that we eliminate from

taking in a dog of excellent breeding

and character. If someone is desirous to

own a bloodhound, shouldn’t they have

the opportunity to own a good one

instead of some suspect individual that

is not representative of the breed in

phenotype, genotype, temperament, or

any combination of the

aforementioned? I sure think so! The

concept of Breed Rescue is, and always

will be, in direct opposition to true

breed improvement. Again, I am aware

that this position is politically

incorrect, but those who are truly

interested in improving the breed will

clearly see the wisdom in this

viewpoint. With this short overview of

some of the problems I have observed

in the fancy, let us consider some

possible solutions.

The second question I posed was “how

could one produce the elite working

bloodhound with greater regularity?”

The answer to this is by going back to

producing pure strains, just like our

forefathers did. It amazes me that while

the bloodhound fancy reveres Dr. Leon

F. Whitney and his accomplishments as

a breeder of bloodhounds, they are

completely out of step from the

breeding philosophy he employed

successfully. Dr. Whitney stated in his

book, The Basis for Breed-

ing“Inbreeding is the great means at

the disposal of the breeder to originate

new breeds or purify old.” Well, isn’t

that exactly what we would like to see,

the bloodhound purified to the level

that he once was as a working dog first

and foremost? Producing pure strains

is the only way to improve the breed. It

only stands to reason that to try and

obtain “consistency” out of continued

random selec- tion will not work. It

can’t work. The very thought defies

logic! We must add an element of

genetic consistency to attain a greater

degree of predictability to our end

product. Ironically, linebreed- ing has

largely become taboo in the

bloodhound community, usually

because someone heard of a bad result

somewhere along the way. Invariably,

inbreeding gets the bad rap. Christian

Wreidt

wrote the following in his book

Heredity in Livestock:

“Experiments show that inbreeding in

itself is not detrimental, but the

genetic factors of the

animal used in inbreeding alone

determine whether the results are

good or bad.” Folks, my formula for

improving the breed are not new ideas,

it is not magic, and it is not a

quick fix either. The methods I hereby

recommend would take years to come

into fruition, and yet

ultimately it would all be worthwhile. I

believe there should be a three-step

approach to such a

restorative effort of the bloodhound:

First, form a group of fanciers who are

united in their effort to

create a superior strain (or strains) of

bloodhounds. Second, identify the best

mantrailers available

to the group to use as brood stock, and

proceed to make limited selective

breedings with those

individuals. Third, retain all stock

produced for assessment, completely

abandon the practice of

selling any dogs outside of the group

for at least 10 years. Yes, I believe this

is an effort that would

take at least 10 years to see dependable

traits becoming “set” within the family,

and to cleanse the

genetic garbage that lies behind the

scatterbred bloodhounds of our day.

Why do I say 10 years?

Well, that figure was based on my own

experience; moreover, based on Dr.

Whitney’s writings, it

seems that when others faced this

dilemma with the bloodhound in the

past, this is the exact same

time frame it likewise took them to

make progress toward significant

improvement. I again quote from Dr.

Whitney’s book How To Breed Dogs: “I

grew up and bought some

(bloodhounds) of my own. But during

the interim a change had come over

the breed so that what

I got were unlike the dogs I had

watched with such awe twenty years

before. What I bought were

more like the useful dogs before the

show people began to tinker with

them. They had short lips, they

were agile instead of phlegmatic, they

were extremely alert instead of

depressed. But most impor-

tant of all, they were mightily better

suited to their jobs.” Now how did

such a transformation come

about in America? It came about by

the dogs being used, and selected on

the basis of their useful-

ness. And the men who used them in

trailing people and criminals, found

that the show type had

meagre (sic) vitality, was too slow for

the purposes, were no earthly use for

hunting game because

of their ponderous size, were no good

for pets because of their drooling lips,

often made people

exclaim when they saw the big red

patch of skin under their eyes

‘disgusting.” So these men who

found the dogs useful bred for utility

until within ten years the breed

reached the greatest usefulness

the world has ever come to know.”

This type of strain-breeding effort I

have described would also produce

hounds that were

free of entropian, dysplasia, bloat, and

all of the common problems the breed is

faced with to-

day, not to mention the ineffective

phenotype that has been mentioned.

Dogs that manifest any

of these faults later in life, or produce

offspring regularly with these faults

simply need to be elimi-

nated as future brood dogs. In this way,

with intense dedication and devotion, I

know a clean

linebred bloodhound strain could

improve the breed significantly, as

compared to the current scat-

terbred bloodhound of our day. Even if

the performance aspects were not

improved so dramati-

cally, though I estimate they would be,

the cleansing alone from common

genetic faults would be

a great boon to the breed. As I stated

earlier, history repeats itself. Isn’t it

time that a group comes

along and once again creates a pure

strain (or several) to leave a legacy of

working stock to the

future generations who want a real

bloodhound and not the show type

which is so far removed

from the original scent hound? I

believe it is.

~ G. Mitchell What G. Mitchell writes

about concerning the fall (and potential

resurrection) of the bloodhound rings

true for any working breed: (1) form

follows function, (2) linebreeding is the

only way to harness consistent genetic

excellence, and (3) scatter-breeding

and/or not utilizing true working

representatives of any breed type is the

way to drive any breed’s unique

qualities into extinction. And yet 9,999

out of any 10,000 people who breed

dogs do not follow a bloodline, they do

not linebreed off of the best individuals

within their line, and they do not even

breed for the defining

working characteristics of their

preferred breed type.

It is sad but it is true. One of the reasons

people don’t line- and inbreed off of

great dogs is

because of the myth that inbreeding is

“bad.” They lament all of the horror

stories they have heard

about health problems, or temperament

problems, and yet they don’t realize the

tremendous potential of in- and

linebreeding. Speaking of faults when

family breeding, how do we deal with

them?

When Flaws Pop Up

Regardless of how carefully you try to

be when you line- and inbreed your

dogs, eventually flaws will pop up.

These flaws can be either mental or

physical or health-related, or any

combination of such flaws, but flaws can

and will pop up any time when you

family-breed any group of dogs for

awhile. Many people incorrectly believe

that this is the time to “outcross,”

although in some cases it can be. Yet in

other cases this is when a good breeder

has the chance to show his real talents.

Again, I quote the previous breeder:

”When an undesirable trait is

‘unmasked’ the breeder who does his

breed a real service is the one that

stays with his line long enough to rid

it of the undesirable trait. By

controlling which specimens within

their line are used for breeding in

succeeding generations they can

eliminate the undesirable trait. Once

the recessive gene is removed it can

never again affect the breeder’s line.

Inbreeding doesn’t ‘cause’ good genes

to mutate into bad genes, it merely

increases the likelihood that (bad

genes) will be displayed.”

Inbreeding simply dovetails and

concentrates genetics. This dovetailing

and concentrating is done for no other

reason than to increase likelihoods. This

means that you have increased the

likelihood of getting both the good

aspects as well as the bad aspects of the

line you are working with (or the

Flagship Dog you have just begun to

work with). Do not lose heart when bad

traits pop up, this is normal. And do not

listen to the many immature and foolish

dogmen out there who like to talk trash if

they happen to get a pup from a breeder

that has a few bad traits—this is just a

part of life and part of line- and

inbreeding.

Sometimes when you breed closely, you

dovetail and concentrate all of the “bad”

genetics into an individual; yet

sometimes you dovetail and concentrate

all of the desired genetics into an

individual as well. This is when you

funnel your future efforts through the

good individual while ceasing any future

breeding efforts through the flawed

individual. However, you also have to

be able to intelligently discern what is

truly good from what is truly bad. If

you breed-up a 9xW ace that had “the

flaw” of a little demodectic mange as a

puppy, and you bypass breeding him

because of this nothing-flaw, and choose

instead to breed to his game bum brother

who couldn’t whip a puppy, “because he

had no mange,” then you are an idiot.

As Mr. Hutchison said in his own

writings: “Every breeder is fighting

‘the drag of the breed,’ which is the

tendency for all animals to breed back

toward mediocrity. Unsuccessful

breeders overlook an animal that has

a great trait because it also has a

minor fault in favor of an animal that

has no faults but no great traits.

Successful breeders use specimens

within their line that have at least one

truly great trait and breed them with

specimens that in turn are great where

the other dog is weak. In so doing it is

possible to linebreed offspring that are

better than both the sire and the dame.

The resulting specimens in turn can

pass the great traits on to the next

generation, unlike the F1 hybrid

(outcross) animal that results from

outcrossing to get the same traits.”

In this same fashion, the great CH Robert

T Jr. (a 4xW who beat four 4xWs) never

got bred by ignorant owner because

“Robert T had mange on his feet.” Here

was a dog that won over $100,000 in

purse money for his owner, who

defeated four 4xWs, but yet who had an

owner who lacked the sense as a

breeder to “make more dogs like that”

so he could win more money like that.

That man let that kind of unbelievable

genetic ability slip through his fingers

all over a little hair loss. That was over

20 years ago and the man who

campaigned CH Robert T Jr. has never

had a dog like him

since. In fact, this man has never bred a

great dog himself, he has only bought

great dogs, but yet he could never keep

the greatness alive in what he bought,

simply because he had no sense as a

breeder. He would select away from

using any super dog, just over a minor

flaw, and

would instead choose to breed to

“flawless” dogs, who really weren’t

much good at their jobs.

Folks, you need to keep your eye on the

ball when you continue to breed your

family of dogs. “Flawless” mediocre

dogs are not what you’re trying to breed

for— truly excellent pit dogs is what

you’re trying to breed for. If I were

breeding for intelligence in human

beings, for example, that would be

tantamount to my breeding to Albert

Einstein’s idiot brother (because he had

“better hair” and “better skin“), even

thought he was a moron, instead of

ignoring Einstein’s hair and breeding to

him because of his intelligence. If you

want to keep great traits alive, then you

need to breed for those great traits. You

breed for great traits by using

individuals who came from them to

begin with, who have these traits

themselves, and who repeatedly prove to

throw them in their pups.

“Not breeding to Albert Einstein” is

exactly how foolish this man was in not

breeding to CH Robert T Jr., but instead

breeding to dogs that couldn’t whip one

side of Robert T, all because these other

dogs “didn’t have the flaw of

demodectic mange.” This is an

absolutely stupid way to breed dogs, yet

you will see many people do this time

and again. Genetically-speaking, CH

Robert T Jr. (4xW) was an absolutely

ace head dog and was also sired by the

original GR CH Robert T (9xW, 1xL),

who himself was an ace head dog that

beat two Grand Champions and three

Champions. Had this man obtained for

himself a few like-bred bitches to

interbreed to both Robert Ts, that man

could have built himself a monument of

excellence. If the mange bothered this

man, he could have worked on removing

those genes in the forthcoming

generations, while yet giving himself the

opportunity to keep the incredible

abilities of these two dogs alive on his

yard. But such stupidity is how many

great dogs and great bloodlines go by the

wayside, is when fools who didn’t breed

these dogs in the first place get their

hands on them, and either breed all of

the quality right out of what they get, or

(worse) make decisions not to breed to

their great dogs over trivial faults, while

overlooking their truly outstanding

abilities. Don’t let this happen to you!

Remember this: A significant fault is

one which impairs a dog to be able to

do his job. Anything less than that is a

“trivial” fault. Keep your eye on the

ball, and that ball is the ability to win

with a flawless performance.

It is not a bulldog’s job to be “mange

free” it is a bulldog’s job to win. Yes,

you do want to weed-out faults from

your dogs when they pop up, but you

never do it at the expense of excellence.

So sure, if you get a mediocre nothing

dog with mange, I agree don’t breed that

dog, because he has nothing compelling

about him to make you overlook his

faults. But if you have an ace, or a truly

excellent dog with “a minor fault,” who

cares? Breed your excellent dogs and

they will remain excellent for the next

generation. Worry about and weed-out

the trivial faults in the subsequent

generations. Because if you overlook

true pit excellence in favor of breeding

mediocre dogs “with no faults,” you’ll

wind up with a bunch of mediocre shit

on your yard that may do well in

“conformation shows,” but you’d better

believe they will get run over out there

in open competition.

On the other hand, every now and then

you will get ALL of the good genetics

funneled into a particular individual.

From his nose to his toes, to his ability

to win, this dog is simply perfecto. If

that ever happens to you, treasure this

individual. You can then move forward

by breeding everything you got on this

individual, especially if his is closely-

bred. And if you keep this up, and build

a program around such a dog, you might

just happen to do a particular

linebreeding where all of the good

genetics obtain across the board

throughout the whole litter—and then

you know in your bones that you are

dealing with GENETIC GOLD and not

just a mere fluke in “an individual.” If

you ever see true uniform genetic

excellence obtain throughout an entire

litter, then you literally have yourself a

goldmine of opportunity with across-the-

board harnessed genetic excellence. So

whatever you do, don’t louse it up by

“crossing it” out. Instead, preserve it by

again building a linebreeding program

around this new combination. You see,

while your average “unsuccessful”

breeder is worrying about getting “a”

good dog, you should be forever

worrying and striving to create good

whole litters. While you will hear and

see online fools discuss the trivialities

“percentage blood” on paper pedigrees,

what you as an intelligent breeder should

forever be striving for is uniform

excellence across the board in your

litters. Again, as this other breeder

confirmed: “The percent blood of

immediate ancestors is relatively easy

to estimate but not that important.

Homozygosity is far more important in

determining (litter quality).”

You see, most people talk about

“percentage Bolio,” or “percentage

Chinaman,” or “percentage whatever” in

the pedigrees of their breedings, but this

really means nothing. Homozygosity (or

its lack) is what means the world to

your linebreeding program. Again

homozygosity = sameness. The question

you need to ask yourself as a breeder is,

do you really have “sameness” in your

breedings, as in do you have a high-

percentage of pups that turned out

exactly like what your goal was to

begin with, producing across-the-

board genetic excellence? Or do you in

fact have heterozygosity (differentness)

in your litter, which means some good

dogs and some lousy dogs? Or, do you

have what we all hope never to get in

our breedings, and that is an entire

litterful of garbage?

Only the former is what a true bloodline

breeder should strive for. I was blessed

that Mr. Hollingsworth taught me that

years ago, to breed for good litters, and

not just good individual dogs. A truly

good breeder starts with his perfect dog,

he buys a few like-bred, like-performing

key supporting brood bitches (or males,

if the “perfect dog” happens to be a

bitch), and then the intelligent breeder

forms his linebreeding program around

these animals, trying to harness and

cultivate those great traits that make

these dogs perfect in his eyes. Yes, this

takes years of dedication, but it is also

what separates the truly long-term,

dedicated dogmen from the “casual

fanciers” who really aren’t all that

committed to this breed.

This kind of truly dedicated bloodline

breeder is very rare, while the “casual

fancier” who has no true core values is

found literally everywhere. And you can

see this in the hundreds of litters of mix-

bred, hodge-podge, unrelated shit that

most people offer for sale in the

community. But that is not why you

bought this book, to be a common

dogman. You bought this book to rise

above this common level. To a great

linebreeder, who has a good eye for a

dog and a true sense of purpose in what

he’s breeding his dogs for, getting all-

uniform genetic excellence in his

breedings is his goal, and therefore a

much more commonplace affair.

In fact, there are many people who don’t

even believe in uniform genetic

excellence, but that is simply because

those people don’t know what they’re

doing as breeders, and intentionally

minimize their likelihood of getting this

kind of result, by forever making

senseless crosses. You can’t reasonably

expect to consistently get “sameness”

from “differentness”; this is just

logically absurd. You can only

reasonably expect to get sameness from

sameness, which is why if you stick to

using dogs of the same style, bred off the

same basic genes and genetic

combinations, and then you forever

funnel and interbreed your future

generations through its best individuals,

continuously directing the results toward

your envisioned goal and/or highest-

percentage litters, you will eventually

get a bloodline of dogs that can

consistently and reliably be depended on

to produce your goal for you every time.

It’s really that simple.

If you want to in crease your chances of

getting the same, consistent, desired

results in your litters, then you need to

linebreed on “sameness across the

board” in performance traits within a

family, where all (or nearly all) of the

individuals in the past have achieved

across-the-board uniformity and

excellence in those abilities themselves.

But if you want to de crease your chances

of getting “the same excellent results”

across the board in your breedings, then

by all means mix-up a bunch of unrelated

blood together, from low-percentage

background breedings—all of which

individuals carry different traits and

characteristics—and I promise that you

will remain one of the tens of thousands

of nobodies in these dogs who flounders

in failure throughout your entire unevent-

ful breeding career☺

I will now conclude this chapter with a

quote from Mr. Hutchison followed by a

sample of a few key breeding patterns

you can use to good effect: “Successful

linebreeding is a long and arduous

task; one that requires a lifetime’s

commitment to a particular line of

dogs. We have great respect for the

few breeders of German shorthairs

who successfully developed and

perpetuated their particular line of

GSPs in the past. Even if we don’t

have a single dog from their line in

our pedigrees we have studied their

breeding patterns and, over the years,

developed a deep appreciation for

their work.”

Breeding Patterns

You will notice that this man spoke of

“breeding patterns,” and indeed if you

know how to read a pedigree you will,

time and again, see the same breeding

patterns replicated over and over again

by every successful breeder who has

ever bred dogs. Breeding patterns are

seen in paper pedigrees but to a person

who understands what he’s looking at,

the information goes much deeper. The

best way to describe a breeding pattern

in a pedigree would be to say that the

key dogs of the bloodline are placed in

the same slots in the pedigree, so that

they influence the results in a

deliberate way.

Well, what does that mean? It really

boils down to probability and

mathematics. Each slot in the pedigree

has a “percentage chance” of influencing

the produced pups. Each parent, for

example, influences the pups by a 50%

probability (at least on paper). Each

grandparent influences by 25% (again,

on paper). But in reality, a truly

prepotent brood dog will (for whatever

reason) carry a greater percentage

influence factor, while a dog that is not

prepotent will fail to carry any influ-

ence (again, for whatever reason).

Well, when you discover that you have a

truly prepotent animal, when you stick

him in a “slot” on the pedigree tree he

puts a “prepotent spin” on things. While

in theory any sire has only a 50% chance

to influence the pups, if your stud

consistently proves to be throwing

“himself” into his offspring, 60-, 70-,

80% of the time, then he is showing

himself to be prepotent. (It works the

same way with a prepotent brood bitch.)

Therefore, the more you load your

pedigree up with these prepotent

individuals, of the same family, who

throw the same traits, the more control

you have over what you are going to get.

The power of linebreeding will begin

to show itself when you move further

into each generation of your program,

because you will be able to repeatedly

load-up on your prepotent dogs, more

and more, thus minimizing the effect

of the unwanted dogs.

So let’s take a look at a common

breeding pattern: the double-grandson or

double granddaughter breeding to show

how this works. A double-grandson

breeding is one where we pair a half-

sister to a half brother, who thereby

share either the same mother or the same

father, thus doubling-up on that key dog

or bitch.

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "THUNDER"

Hollingsworth's "BULL" Vise-Grip's

"RED SONJA"

Vise-Grip's "COCA COLA"

Vise-Grip's SASSY

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "WILD RED ROSE"

Hollingsworth's "TRUMAN" Vise-

Grip's "LITTLE BOOTIE"

Patrick's "RIO"

This is an example of a double-

granddaughter breeding I did back in

1999. On the left you can see that I

doubled-up on my key stud dog Poncho

by breeding a son of his to a daughter of

his. Yet on the right side you can also

see that not only did this breeding

doubleup on Poncho, but it quadrupled-

up on the Hollingsworth blood behind

all 4 grandparents, leaving the genetic

influence of both elemen- tal components

at 50%.

This breeding above represents some of

my own initial efforts as a breeder. If

you take a look at the indivdual parents,

Thunder and Rosey, you can see my

initial goal when I bred them, as

individuals, was to concentrate on the

Hollingsworth bloodline, which is why

both of these parents (Thunder and

Rosey) are “double-bred

Hollingsworth.” So both of these parents

are “doubled-up” themselves on what I

perceived as key dogs, because at that

point I originally wanted “more

Hollingsworth dogs” as my breeding

goal. Miss Trinx (x2) and Truman were

littermates and Bull was a littermate to

Trinx & Truman’s sire Saber. And I got

what I wanted, because in fact Thunder

and Rosey both came out just like

“Hollingsworth dogs” to a T.

So both of these parents are “doubled-

up” themselves on what I perceived as

key dogs, also, because at that point I

originally wanted “more Hollingsworth

dogs” as my breeding goal as well as

“more Poncho dogs.” Miss Trinx (x2)

and Truman were littermates, on top of

which Bull was a littermate to Trinx &

Truman’s sire Saber. And I got what I

wanted, because in fact Thunder and

Rosey both came out just like

“Hollingsworth dogs” to a T.

Yet when I bred Sassy, Poncho had

proven to be better than any

Hollingsworth dog I had ever had up till

that point, so eventually I decided to

shift my focus away from wanting to

make “more Hollingsworth dogs” to

wanting to make more Poncho dogs.

Thus, by putting Thunder with Rosey in

the breeding that produced Sassy, my

intent was to double-up on Poncho.

However, the genetic dominance of the

wall of Hollingsworth dogs behind

Poncho, (Red Sonja and Little Bootie)

was so heavy it would not be denied in

this breeding—and the fact that both

Thunder and Rosey were so strongly

influenced by their Hollingsworth blood

themselves didn’t help much. And so

Sassy herself came out the quintessential

Hollingsworth dog too, even though my

“intent” was to doubleup on Poncho to

get heavy Poncho dogs.

Key Point: On paper, Sassy was as much

“50% Poncho” as she was “50%

Hollingsworth,” but in the real world

Sassy was for all intent and purposes a

full-blooded Hollingsworth dog—from

her long beautiful ears to her beautiful

body and placid temper. Sassy proved to

be a great, game old brood bitch, but she

was “a Hollingsworth dog” genetically,

and not a Poncho dog in the least. This is

exactly why a person should not pay

attention to paperwork as much as they

should pay attention to their living dogs.

There are probably a thousand people

who would look at Sassy‘s “papers” and

call her “a double-Poncho dog,” but I

look at Sassy out on the yard, as her

breeder, and call her a quadruple-

Hollingsworth dog. She is absolutely

nothing like Poncho, and has nowhere

near his speed or intelligence. What

Sassy is is an absolutely gorgeous

animal, a rock-solid bitch in her own

right, and I consider her to be an

extremely valuable dog. But the points I

am making here are two: 1) You don’t

always get exactly what you breed for

at the beginning of your efforts,

because the fact is the produced dogs

you are trying to make can “pull” from

sides of the pedigrees you weren’t

planning on; and 2) even though a pup

may not come out exactly as planned, it

can still be a valu- able and important

animal to your program, and can still

be genetically-redirected further still.

Sassy was simply 50% Hollingsworth

too and that is what she “pulled” from.

But the story isn’t over yet ...

Genetic Re-Direction

While on the subject of the various

breeding patterns and genetic

combinations that have proven time and

again to be successful, it is important to

keep the concept of “Genetic Re-

Direction” in mind. Genetic re-direction

is a term I coined several years ago to

describe the “steering” effect we must

always do when we breed dogs. You

might remember the analogy to driving I

gave previously, where I said that even

if you are driving a car and are pointed

in the right direction, you still have to

steer the car as you continue driving

forward, otherwise you will quickly go

off course. So too, even if you have a

Flagship Dog who embodies your ideals

as the perfect animal, you will still have

to continuously breed this dog, and the

dogs you get off him, in the right

direction—toward your original goals—

otherwise you will likewise quickly go

off course. The “right direction” is either

their basic genetic composition, physical

performance, or (preferably) both.

All right, so let’s consider the art of

genetic re-direction as it applies to

Sassy’s pedigree on the previous page

and how it can be manipulated. When I

created Sassy, I had already set into

motion a course of “direction” so heavy

in the direction of the Hollingsworth

blood (which is itself tremendously

prepotent) that just one double-breeding

on Poncho was not enough of a genetic

influence to totally change course and

“make more Poncho dogs,” when I had

twice as much Hol- lingsworth influence

behind her. What I did was make another

litter of Hollingsworth dogs (and it was

a good litter too!). But I wanted Poncho

dogs, so I made another breeding, using

Sassy later in her life, to once again try

to re-direct my bloodline back in the

direction of where I wanted it to go.

Vise-Grip’s PonchoBack (2xW, 1:30,

2:36)

By using the principle of Genetic Re-Direction,

both on paper and in physical traits, I bred the

heavy-Hollingsworth Sassy to the heavy-CH

Hammer-bred Silverback. Not only was I triple-

breeding on Poncho and his sister Missy, my

favorite dogs, but the topside of Silverback is also

purebred CH Hammer (where Sassy was purebred

Hollingsworth), which in essence re-created the

original Hammer/Hollingsworth combo that

produced Poncho’s litter to begin with.

In re-directing the heavy-Hollingsworth

influence of Sassy back to a heavy-

Hammer dog like Silverback, I not only

“refreshed” my original

Hammer/Hollingsworth foundational

breeding “on paper,” but I likewise

triple-bred on the littermates of that

breeding by using a direct son of

Poncho’s sister Missy over a double-

bred Poncho bitch in Sassy. This time,

the genetic spin I was looking for

obtained, and I was successfully able to

turn my genetic course around from

continuing in the Hollingsworth

direction, and instead was able to re-

direct it back toward my preferred

course, which is linebreeding on Poncho

and Missy. I had loaded-up on the

Hammer side of my genetic components

in Silverback on one side of my yard,

and I had loaded-up on the

Hollingsworth side of my genetic

components on the other side of my yard

in Sassy, and so I once again was able to

“reinvent the wheel” by blending them

together, and I got one little pup out of

the 10-year-old Sassy that turned out to

be a spittin’ image of Poncho. He has

same exact coloration and markings as

Poncho, the same intense eyes, and the

same full-drop ears. Hence the name

PonchoBack—I got Poncho “back” again

The point of this discussion is that many

things had the potential of happening

genetically with this blood in my hands,

but by directing it, and then re-directing it, I was able first to steer it in one

direction (toward the Hollingsworth

dogs) and then when a new era was

created in Poncho, I was able to change

my mind and in a 2-step effort re-direct

my genes to another new direction. Thus

is the power of paying attention to

everything that is happening at the same

time in your breedings, and directing

things to where you want them to go. You

likewise should not worry if your plan

doesn’t work out the way you want in

your first step—as it may work out to

perfection in the next step. You see,

different breeders may have done

different things from what I did. One

breeder may have continued to breed in

the Hollingsworth direction. Another

breeder might not have had any idea

what direction he was headed, and just

decided to breed Sassy to “some

different blood to see what happens.”

Whereas I decided the best overall dogs

were a combination of the two

elements, the Hammer blood and the

Hollingsworth blood, put together, and

so that is what I set out to do, which was

re-balance everything once again.

This brings us to another element of

breeding dogs, which is keeping

pockets of purebred representatives of

your original components around to

re-blend back together again down the

road. Not only do you want to linebreed

on your top dog by using him to mix with

other like-bred bitches (or a key bitch to

mix with like-bred studs), but you also

want to keep elements on your yard bred

like your key dog’s father, as well as

elements bred like your key dog’s

mother—by breeding

your key dog to both sides of his own

pedigree, so that down the road you can

re-blend these produced dogs with each

other again. This will enable you to “re-

invent the wheel” on two different

levels: 1) you will be “refreshing” the

same basic genetic pattern that created

your dog to begin with, by breeding a

dog linebred on his topside to a bitch

linebred on his bottom side, and

2) you will also be doing this while

linebreeding on him.

This is called “genetic management”

which is making sure you keep your

available options alive to maintain your

precious gene pool on many levels. You

need to do this because some

combinations you try aren’t going to

work right, while others will, and you

may also have to “go back to the

beginning” again, every so often, to

“refresh” your basic genetic

combinations that got you started. This is

what I did to produce PonchoBack, and

if you check the pedigrees of Fletcher

Chavis, Ronald Boyles, E.J.

Hollingsworth, Floyd Boudreaux, Tom

Garner, and many other top breeders you

will see them doing this many times over

in their family breedings too.

When Fletcher Chavis hit the jackpot by

creating his famous Redboy/Jocko

“battle-cross,” he didn’t keep crossing

those dogs. And he didn’t just keep

breeding his new dogs together only.

What he did was he dropped anchor

right there on the spot and set to build an

army of like-bred dogs on his yard, as

well as purebred pockets of both sides

of this pedigree as key elements to tap

into when “refreshment” was needed. He

would load up on some old Redboy dogs

here, and some old Jocko dogs there,

while at the same time he was going

forward with his newly-created Redboy/

Jocko cross-dogs. Yet there were times

when he would occasionally re-blend

his new dogs back again with elements

of one side of their original composition,

or to the other side too, when needed.

Check Chavis’ pedigrees and you will

see this happen over and over again. All

good breeders do this, and if you want to

be a good breeder you will too.

In getting back to genetic breeding

patterns, while keeping in mind the

concept of genetic re-direction, there are

7 basic breeding patterns upon which

you may make an infinite number of

possible breeding decisions. They are:

1) brother/sister; 2) father/daughter; 3)

mother/son; 4) dou- ble-bred; 5) triple-

bred; 6) triple-cross; 7) 50/75.

Getting back to what I was saying on the

bottom of p. 374, the key to forming a

bloodline around your best and most

favorite-style dogs consists of 3 basic

factors:

♦ Keeping your original goal clearly in

mind as you evaluate each new

generation; ♦ Making use of time-

proven genetic breeding patterns in

your program; and ♦ Using only

prepotent individuals to fill-in the key

slots of those genetic breeding

patterns.

Again, you will remember what I said

previously: “The power of linebreeding

will begin to show itself when you move

further into each generation of your

program, because you will be able to

repeatedly load-up on your prepotent

dogs, more and more, thus minimizing

the effect of the unwanted dogs.” You

don’t put ordinary dogs in the key slots

in your peds, you put truly prepotent

dogs in those key slots, if you expect to

develop a truly prepotent bloodline.

Why would you doublebreed on a stud

that throws inconsistent traits? Only a

fool would do this, and yet you see fools

do this all the time. Instead, you double-

breed on a stud that is (and consistently-

throws) a much higher-than-average

percentage of what you’re looking for

than your other studs. When you keep

sticking the prepotent dogs in the proper

“pedigree slots,” what you do is you

begin to diminish the myriad of other

genetic influences that might possibly be

back there, and instead you begin to

hyper-focus on the prepotency of that

special individual you keep repetitively

breeding on.

When I bred Sassy for instance, there

was a big clash in genetics between my

loading up on Poncho versus my

loading-up on the Hollingsworth dogs

behind him and all the others. The

Hollingsworth dogs dominated because

there was more of them back there, on

top of which I used two Poncho

offspring that themselves happened to

pull off of the Hollingsworth side of

their pedigree more too, so I got an all-

Hollingsworth-like litter, including

Sassy.

As I progressed further and introduced

Silverback to the genetic mix, I pushed-

back the Hollingsworth dogs a bit, and

now I triple-bred on the dogs I decided I

liked better, Poncho and Missy, and

whollah! I got “PonchoBack.” There

was nothing wrong with Sassy, nor was

there anything wrong with the

Hollingsworth dogs either. They were

all beautiful, stunning, rock-solid dogs.

But none of them had that nearly-human

intelligence and just the uncanny ability

to figure anything out and turn it against

an opponent. But Silverback did have

this intelligence, and so did his mama

Missy, and thus I used both him as an

individual, as well as what was behind

him genetically, to re-direct the next step

in my program back to where I wanted

it, and I got exactly that. With that said,

let me

show you now the 7 linebreeding

patterns that you can use to a lifetime of

good effect:

Patrick's "BULL BOY BOB " Mason's

"CH HAMMER"

Patrick's "BLITZ"

Vise-Grip's "PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "SABER"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX"

Patrick's "LADY IN RED"

Patrick's "BULL BOY BOB " Mason's

"CH HAMMER"

Patrick's "BLITZ"

Vise-Grip's "PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "SABER"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX"

Patrick's "LADY IN RED"

BREEDING PATTERN 1

(Brother/Sister) BREEDING PATTERN

2 (Father/Daughter)

Patrick's "BULL BOY BOB " Mason's

"CH HAMMER"

Patrick's "BLITZ"

Vise-Grip's "MISSY"

Hollingsworth's "SABER"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX"

Patrick's "LADY IN RED"

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "SCREAMER"

Hollingsworth's "BULL" Vise-Grip's

"RED SONJA"

Vise-Grip's "COCA COLA"

Crum's "JOE BOB " Crum's

"CARIBOU"

Crum's "CHUMAREE" Hollingsworth's

"SABER"

Patrick's "LITTLE TATER" Patrick's

"LADY IN RED"

Anderson's "ROSE"

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "THUNDER"
Hollingsworth's "BULL" Vise-Grip's

"RED SONJA"

Vise-Grip's "COCA COLA"

BREEDING PATTERN 3 (Mother/Son)

BREEDING PATTERN 4 (Double-

Bred)

Patrick's "BULL BOY BOB" Patrick's

"LITTLE TATER"

Patrick's "RED BABY" Patrick's

"LADY IN RED"

Anderson's "CH TONKA" Anderson's

"ROSE"

Anderson's "AUBURN"

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "WILD RED ROSE"

Hollingsworth's "TRUMAN" Vise-

Grip's "LITTLE BOOTIE"

Patrick's "RIO"

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "HERO"
Southern Kennels' "GR CH MAYDAY"

Southern Kennels' "KITANA"

Southern Kennels' "KAROL"

Teal's "SARGE " Teal's "JEFF"

Teal's "LOU" Bass' "TRAMP

REDBOY"

Teal's "JEFF" McCleod's "SUSIE Q

GAL"

Frank's "SUGAR"

BREEDING PATTERN 5 (Triple-Bred)

BREEDING PATTERN 6 (Triple-Cross)

Vise-Grip's "PONCHO" Vise-Grip's

"THUNDER"

Vise-Grip's "RED SONJA" Vise-Grip's

"RAZOR"

Vise-Grip's "PONCHO" Vise-Grip's

"WILD RED ROSE"

Vise-Grip's "LITTLE BOOTIE"

Teal's "JEFF "

Bass' "TRAMP REDBOY"

McCleod's "SUSIE Q GAL" Marlowe's

"RED FEATHER"

Bass' "TRAMP REDBOY" Bass'

"CAT"
Bass' "CLEO"

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "CH STORMBRINGER"

Mason's "BOLIO JR." Vise-Grip's

"COCA COLA"

Patrik's "ROSYTA"

BREEDING PATTERN 7 (50/75)

Mason's "CH HAMMER " Vise-Grip's

"PONCHO"

Hollingsworth's "MISS TRINX" Vise-

Grip's "ZIPPER"

Vise-Grip's "PONCHO"

Vise-Grip's "WILD RED ROSE"

Vise-Grip's "LITTLE BOOTIE"

These are the seven basic breeding

combinations you will be using. This is

not to suggest there aren’t more and

different combinations than these, but

these are the most common breeding

patterns used to manage a bloodline. In

my own program, Poncho was the

Flagship Animal, and so he was

generally the dog I wanted to “influence”

my program. Of the breeding patterns

you see here, the brother-sister breeding

(pattern 1) and the triple-cross (pattern

6) are the least-used. For some reason,

brother-sister breedings tend not to

produce with the same consistency as

other inbreeding/linebreeding

techniques. There have been a few great

dogs produced like this (e.g., CH 357),

but for the most part they don’t amount to

much. Even Maurice Carver himself

said, “Brothersister breedings will put

you two steps forward and 3 steps

back.” I am not saying don’t use them,

but I would only use them very, very

sparingly.

In my personal opinion, the

father/daughter breeding combo and the

mother/son breeding combo (patterns 2

and 3) are the very best breeding

patterns to produce prepotent broodstock

animals, and if a dog from a breeding

like this has match ability also it will be

the best producer you ever had. Also

called, “¾-¼ breedings,” these

breedings will usually serve as the acid

test to determine whether your stud dog

(or brood bitch) is truly prepotent. You

can make the ¼ element of the same

basic bloodline as yours, or you can

have the ¼ element be an “out,” which

has time and again proven to produce

blockbuster performance dogs and

brood dogs. In both breeding patterns 2

and 3, the ¼ element was of the same

general bloodline, and the produced

dogs were tremendously prepotent

animals. But I also have made such a

breeding with a ¼ “out” and the

resulting breeding produce Sudden

Death’s CH Honeybunch. I even bred

two ¾-¼ Poncho dogs together (a sister

to CH Honeybunch to Duke Nukem

represented by pattern 2), and I got

PrettyBoy, who won in 2:42 and lost

game to CH BigBoy in 1:10. So you can

stack these linebreeding patterns on

top of each other also and still get

good dogs.

In fact, the breeding I made to produce

PonchoBack is nothing but combining a

triplebreeding of CH Hammer on top

(pattern 5) bred to a double-breeding of

Poncho on bottom (pattern 4). Not only

was this a combination of these two

breedings that I used, but further it was

itself a triple-breeding on Poncho and

Missy too. In fact, a very similar triple-

breeding on Poncho like this

(represented on pattern 5) was Sassy’s

sister Razor (double-Poncho) bred to

Hero (right off of Poncho), which

produced both CH Miagi and CH Pierce,

bred almost identical to PonchoBack.

The only real ¼ difference genetically

would be Ouch vs. Kitana. But with any

triple-breeding (pattern 5), you must first

build it on a pattern 1 or 4 dog, as Ouch

was brother/sister (pattern 1) while

Razor and Sassy were pattern 4. With

pattern 4, you can make the stud your

double-bred focus as I did with Poncho,

or you can make it with your bitch. You

can have the bottom of one side “pure,”

the bottom of both sides “pure”—or one

side “pure” with the other ¼ being an

“out”—or you could

even have both ¼s be “outs” and then

double-up on the key dog again, with

two “outs,” which has also been done

time and again. However, I personally

would only want a ¼ “out” at most in a

double-breeding, for another way to

achieve a ¾-¼ effect.

Very few people get to the point in their

programs that they do pattern #6, which

is taking a father/daughter-bred gyp

(pattern 2) back to that key stud dog

again. But I think that the

performance/production record of

Chavis’ CH YellowJohn, whose

pedigree was used in this example,

proves that this combination can be

extraordinarily successful, in both the

ability to win as well as to produce

winners. The key wasn’t the just the

breeding pattern only, however. It was

the fact Redboy was such a prepotent

animal too that was the truly deciding

factor. These breeding patterns are only

useful if the dog you are sticking in those

slots fits the definition of a prepotent

animal. Sticking a mediocre nothing dog

in these slots will not create a prepotent

bloodline, just a lot of useless

“closebred” garbage.

Finally, breeding pattern #7 is just a

pattern 2 and pattern 4 fused together: a

¾ (75%) dog mated to a 50% dog. And

there have been many, many great dogs

produced from this combination. From

my own bloodline, CH Mr. Serious

comes to mind, and perhaps one of the

most famous dogs of all time, GR CH

Buck, was nothing but a 50% Bolio-bred

dog on top (Little Tater) bred to a 75%

Bolio bred dog on bottom (Red). The

only difference in Buck’s pedigree from

the one shown was the fact his sire Little

Tater was not a direct son of Bolio, but

instead a double-bred grandson (which

is breeding pattern #4).

Conclusion

These breeding patterns I have shown

you are by no means the only way you

can breed your dogs, but they are simply

the best way to breed your dogs on

average—and that includes blending

various combinations of these patterns

together at some point down the road

too.

But here again, these breeding patterns

will not work on just their own. They

require an intelligent and knowledgeable

selection of the right dog to stick into

these slots on your part. Again, using a

mediocre dog who can’t produce as the

foundational animal to build these

structures around won’t get you what

you’re after. However, when you are

blessed with a truly great animal, that

defines your ideals and goals, and that

also is blessed with the legitimately

prepotent ability to produce your ideal,

dependably and consistently, then if you

build a breeding framework around

these patterns and structures, using this

dog as the star—and supported by like-

bred, like performing individuals—you

will eventually build a monument of

genetic dependability for yourself—

provided you continuously go through

each successive generation of dogs

produced and select only those

individuals who accurately-represent

your ideals to put back into your

program.

As you continuously move forward,

every 2-3 generations you should get

another ace or super dog. You can’t

reasonably expect every litter to be full

of aces, but you can expect every litter to

be full of good, solid bulldogs who

epitomize at least some aspect of your

perfect ideal. One group may have

average mouth but great air, another

group may have average air but great

mouth, and then you simply re-blend

these dogs back together again. Etc., etc.,

etc.

Anyway, take some time and really study

the patterns of the great breeders of the

past. Study the breeding patterns of the

great breeders of today. You will see

these same patterns playedout time and

again, all from bloodline breeders. You

will never see a single long-term-

successful breeder who does not use

these patterns, either. You will never

see a long-term successful “blood

mixer” or “scatter-bred” breeder. The

only breeders who have ever, or who

will ever, stand the test of time are

bloodline breeders. Even when a

breeder bases his yard off of an original

cross, the first thing he will do is get

elements of both sides of that cross

together, and then constantly re-shuffle

these decks again and again, blending

and re-blending these two lines—until,

eventually, what that breeder makes is

his own bloodline.

Such is the path Fletcher Chavis took,

and such is the path Victor Aycart took.

These men started with a great original

cross, that really nicked, and they had a

great Flagship Animal to represent their

cross. From there, all these men did was

interbreed supporting members of these

same basic cross with their Flagship

Dog, as well as go back to one side or

the other of their original crosses at

times, only to move forward again with

their same basic breeding combination.

You never saw these men jump around

from bloodline-to-bloodline. You saw

them receive a genetic gift in a dog, you

saw them recognize that gift for what it

was, and then you saw these men stick

with that decision and work with that

combination for the rest of their entire

dog careers. That is what all great

breeders have done, that is what all

great breeders still do, and that is what

anyone who
hopes to be able to breed great dogs

themselves, consistently, must do as

well.

It is my hope that you become blessed

with such a foundational animal for

yourself, and that you also recognize and

respect this dog for what he is, and that

you recognize his potential as a brood

animal as well. If you do so, and if you

are right in your judgment, then

following these breeding patterns will

guarantee your success at preserving his

traits, just as surely as following the

other sections of this book will help you

in these regards as well.

Preserving excellence in these dogs is a

multi-faceted challenge, on every level,

from beginning to end—starting with just

keeping these dogs healthy and alive for

a lifetime, to schooling them right, to

evaluating them fairly and correctly, to

calling their weight right, to conditioning

them properly, to getting passed another

dogman’s experience and charge to get a

win, and then to keeping your athlete

alive after that. But you can still “kill-

off” your quality animals by breeding

them wrong, and thereby lose everything

you worked so hard to get.

My goal in this final chapter was to help

you in this regard as well, by showing

you the timeproven breeding methods

that have been used since antiquity to

keep genetic consistency alive and well

in a bloodline. Bloodline breeding is the

way to go, and basing your line on a

truly defining, Flagship Animal (with the

right supportive breeding partners), and

then basing your breedings on time-

proven patterns, is the way to succeed.

Good luck to you in your goals, and I

hope that this entire book, from

beginning to end, helps you to succeed

every step of the way.

Chapter 20

The Evil of HSUS & PETA

Not to end this book on a bad note, but

there is one final thing you as a sporting

dog fancier should be aware of: that you

are a target for organized criminal

attack. “What?” , you may ask. Yes,

criminal organizations may well attack

you, right in your own home, over your

ownership of a sporting dog breed.

“Who do you mean?”, again you might

ask. I mean the criminal organizations of

The Humane Society of the United

States (HSUS) and The People for the

Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA);

these groups are in truth criminal

enterprises and their target is you. These

groups target any kind of animal owner,

especially breeders, so you need to be

aware of what you’re dealing with.

These groups are not comprised of

“animal lovers,” as the like to portray

themselves, but of animal killers. They

are organizations of animal fanatics who

are in fact enemies to you and your dogs.

So I write this brief epilogue to make

you aware of their agenda and how these

criminal organizations operate. But first

a few facts:

FACT: The Humane Society of the

United States (HSUS) doesn’t own a

single animal shelter, anywhere, in the

world: they are entirely a fund-raising

organization whose proceeds are used to

lobby for extremist animal legislation

and organized terrorism against animal

owners;

FACT: The People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals (PETA) have

killed over 90% of all animals (of any

breed or species) that they have ever

“rescued” in one of their so-called

shelters. They have ruthlessly killed so

many animals in their concentration

camps that the Center for Consumer

Freedom are lobbying as I write to have

PETA re-classified as a

slaughterhouse, not as an animal shelter.

These two organizations, HSUS and

PETA, both operate in the same way:

they prey on the ignorant public for

“donations,” and yet their entire

existence is a lie and a double-standard.

Their true agenda is to destroy the entire

human/animal relationship. They preach

veganism and love, but in truth they want

to stop all forms of animal farming,

breeding, raising, and (ultimately) even

pet ownership.

These groups are (as I write this) filing

lawsuits against Ringling Brother’s

Circus, trying to stop decades of

tradition as “animal enslavement.”

Regarding dog owners, anyone found to

own a kennel of pit bulls is immediately

attacked. HSUS has offered a $5,000

reward for anyone to “call-in” over

suspected dogfighting. This means, if any

person who breeds pit bulls has a

neighbor who needs five-grand, all that

neighbor has to do is pick up the phone

and call HSUS. This “anonymous tip”

sup- posedly gives HSUS the authority

to call your local sheriff on said “tip,”

and the pit bull breeder gets raided, his

dogs get confiscated and killed, his name

gets smeared in the papers—and yet 9x

out of 10 the so-called “dog fighters”

ultimately have their cases dismissed or

are found “not guilty.” But in the

meantime, HSUS (who pay off the news

media) raise millions in donations, they

get to kill off the dogs, and then they go

about their merry way.

In fact, HSUS right now is trying to pass

legislation whereby “if they’re wrong”

in their attacks, they become immune to

counter-suit. You read that right: HSUS

is trying to enact legislation whereby

they can attack you, deprive you of your

property without due process, smear

your name with slander and libel,

without a shred of evidence (just an

anonymous “tip”—that they paid $5,000

to get), and if they’re wrong they believe

they should not have to be held

accountable for their actions. They

believe they should be able to ruin your

life, cost you tens of thousands of dollars

in defense attorney fees, ruin your

reputation in your community, but hey, if

they’re proven to be 100% wrong, they

should have to suffer no consequences.

That is what these animal fanatics

believe, if you own pit bulls.

These groups attack ‘coonhounders in

diabolical ways also. They do this by

secretly passing legislation which makes

it “illegal” to keep dogs on chains. They

are trying to pass laws making it “a

crime” to have your ‘coon dogs run

across another man’s property, knowing

that the runs these dogs do involves

potentially many properties. Other laws

HSUS and PETA try to pass affect all

breeders, include their effort to making it

“illegal” for you to keep dogs outside in

winter. Just think about that! They are

saying it’s “against the law” to have your

doggie be cold outside. Naturally, this

premise appeals to all of the toy mutt fat

ladies, who look at their lil’ foo-foo

doggies in

their sweaters, and can’t bear the thought

of shoo-shoo or foo-foo being cold out

there. So HSUS and PETA get still more

donations, to help their “cause,” and

what happens is if one of these laws gets

passed in your area, you can no longer

have an outside kennel of dogs during

winter! Don’t laugh, because these

groups are trying to get such a law

passed in Rhode Island as I type.

That is how these insidious groups

operate—by raising money and then by

trying to pass extremist animal

legislation, all of it being aimed at

hamstringing the prospective and

established breeders of the world. Laws

against keeping more than 3 animals at

any residence are more fruits of their

labors. Well, so what can you do to

protect yourself against these (quite

literally) organized crime operations?

How To Protect Yourself?

The first thing you need to do is follow

my recommendations in Chapter 2 and

get yourself set-up in the right spot first,

which means a place that is properly-

zoned for animals, and one where

officials of these criminal enterprises

are far, far away from you. Selecting an

agricultural area to live is ideal.

The second thing you need to do is pay

attention to the proposed laws in your

local town, city, and county. Be aware of

any laws that these enterprises might try

to sneak in there. Make sure you (and

anyone you know) shows up at any and

all council meetings to oppose any anti-

dogownership effort that you spot or

hear about. Always remain aware of

your local laws and any politi- cal

efforts to change those laws

The third thing you should consider

doing is joining some of the better

animal-ownership alliances. Here are

but a few:

Center for Consumer Freedom

www.consumerfreedom.com

PETA Kills Animals

www.petakillsanimals.com
U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance

www.ussportsmen.org

National Animal Interest Alliance

www.naiaonline.org

Unlike HSUS and PETA, these groups

truly do love animals, and truly do want

to bring about the best in animal

husbandry and rearing practices. These

outfits vehemently oppose HSUS and

PETA and labor tirelessly to keep us all

informed of their latest agenda. You

would do well to join all 4 of these

organizations, and to make periodic

donations to all 4. Try to take time out

once a week to read their websites too,

so that you stay updated on the latest

goings-on that may affect you and your

animals. To help illustrate their stance,

here is a piece I copied that was put out

there by Patti Strand, the director of the

National Animal Interest Alliance,

speaking out against HSUS:

“We wear (our badges) with honor,

many of our members believing HSUS is

corrupt to the bone. This corruption

comes down to three major elements:

“First, HSUS allows its financial

supporters—ordinary, animal-loving

Americans—to believe it spends an

enormous annual tax-free budget of $123

million on caring for animals, when its

real agenda is passing extremist

legislation.

“Second, HSUS calls itself a mainstream

advocacy group, hiding or downplaying

the fact that it has an extremist agenda.

HSUS is all about promoting vegan diets

—no meat, no dairy—and ending

traditional human-animal relationships

across the board, from agriculture to

biomedical research.

“Third, HSUS constantly engages in

deceptive propaganda,

“ Half-truths and outright lies in well-

funded media campaigns to win its

political and legislative battles are the

true goals of HSUS. But they are not

held accountable for their tactics

because they are a nonprofit group that

enjoys political free speech protections.

NAIA believes it is our responsibility,

as animal experts and proponents of true

animal welfare, to point out the facts.

What qualifies us to know fact from

fiction? NAIA is rapidly becoming the

nation’s leading advo-

cacy organization for animals and the

people who actually care for them.

“Our members include individuals who

interact with animals regularly in a wide

variety of settings.

We are pet owners, farmers, researchers,

animal trainers, biologists, sportsmen,

animal caretakers,

dog and cat breeders and enthusiasts,

educators and entertainers.

“Our members have earned their

credentials by working with, and in

many cases living with, animals, not by

reading philosophical treatises or

emotional propaganda. We support the

responsible,
traditional and humane use of animals in

agriculture, biomedical research,

education, leisure and

recreation, entertainment and

companionship. We support and

advocate reasonable, effective

and enforceable laws that ensure the

humane treatment of animals and provide

penalties for animal abuse.

“We support the rights of others to

disagree with our views but not to

employ defamation and

propaganda to force their views on

others. To recognize HSUS’ deception

and sit idly by would be to

shirk our responsibility not only as

animal experts but as citizens; for we

believe the HSUS is destroying

the mainstream animal protection

movement.

“(HSUS Director) Mr. Pacelle also

seems baffled that anyone would go after

HSUS for not having

shelters because as he stated, “We never

said we run—local animal shelters.”

This is vintage HSUS.

They call themselves a ‘humane society’

and then blame the public for being

confused. “By calling itself the Humane

Society of the United States, HSUS rides

into every situation on a

‘case of mistaken identity’—an identity

that, oops, just happens to raise millions

of dollars: the mistaken impression for

many Americans being that it is a

humane society rather than a giant

propaganda, lobbying and fund-raising

machine.

“When citizens notice that HSUS’

carefully crafted image is at odds with

reality and say so, HSUS

responds with another opportunistic

spin, saying that their critics are just

people “who don’t really

care about animals.”

“Using that logic, maybe (some of the

true and legitimate local) humane

societies around the

country don’t really care about animal

welfare either. Many of them have begun

putting disclaimers on their Web sites

urging their donors not to confuse them

with the HSUS.

“As Pacelle himself stresses, HSUS is a

lobbying group. Instead of representing

the humane values

of the American public, the well-oiled

lobby and propaganda machine of HSUS

virtually assures

that the voting public will be

systematically deceived whenever

they’re asked to vote on an HSUSbacked

measure. The history of successful

HSUS ballot initiatives is a history

replete with after-theevent self-

flagellation and revulsion by people

who recognized later that they were

duped. “To us it appears that the

priorities of HSUS, as former employees

have publicly written, are power

and money, and that acquiring both

justifies the means. That’s where the

willingness to deceive

comes in. These folks should make

Pinocchio blush.”

In other words, HSUS is a great big lie.

They use their name deceptively, but by

doing so they have raised hundreds of

millions of dollars at their disposal, and

they use this money to enact antianimal

ownership laws all around the country.

And PETA is no different. Read what the

Center for Consumer Freedom is trying

to do against PETA right now:

“The Center for Consumer Freedom, a

non-profit trade group representing the

interests of manu - facturers and

retailers, has formally petitioned the

Commonwealth of Virginia to reclassify

PETA as a ‘slaughterhouse.’

“ An official report filed by PETA

itself shows that the animal rights

group put to death nearly every dog,

cat, and other pet it took in for

adoption in 2006 (2007, and 2008).

During that year, the wellknown animal

rights group managed to find adoptive

homes for just 12 animals. The

organization killed 2,981 of the 3,061

‘companion animals’ it took in.

“According to David Martosko,

Research Director for CCF, ‘It is absurd

to classify PETA as a ‘hu- mane

society’ when its employees are

slaughtering nearly every companion

animal they bring in. PETA has killed

over 17,000 pets since 1998. Given the

group’s astonishing habit of killing

adoptable dogs and cats with such

ruthless efficiency, it’s only fair that

the state of Virginia refer to PETA as a

slaughterhouse.’ CCF’s petition was

directed to Virginia’s Department of

Agriculture and Consumer

Services. If approved, the new

classification would force PETA to

abide an entirely new set of laws and

regulations.”

Regardless of any sporting breed you

may own, HSUS and PETA are your

enemies. Their whole concept of

“animal rights” is insane. They believe

that animals “have the right” not to be

kept, fought, hunted, or owned in any

way by human beings—and yet they will

execute any animal they take by force,

basically saying that animals they claim

to have rights “don’t have the right to

life.” And this is insane. It is logically-

ridiculous and it is simply insane to

claim out of one side of your mouth,

“animals have rights” and then to say

“they don’t have the right to life” out of

the other. To show this, I can think of

three top breeders of American pit bull

terriers who had their dogs confiscat-

ed, which animals were put to death

before the men who owned them even

went to trial. HSUS ran press conference

after press conference, calling these men

“godfathers of dogfighting,” smearing

their names in public, and yet two of the

cases were dismissed as being

groundless, while the third was easily

defeated in court.

HSUS destroyed three people’s lives,

they killed hundreds of purebred dogs—

they deprived U.S. citizens of their

property and beloved animals without

due process—on top of slandering their

names all through the media orally and

in writing—and yet when it was all said

and done HSUS had absolutely no

evidence to back-up their accusations,

and the cases were ultimately dismissed

or defeated. Their whole act was based

on lies. Their entire modus operandi was

to kill the dogs, and they looked at the

trial costs as a “business expense” to

achieve their ends, which was offset by

all of the funds that they raised, thanks to

the media lying for them. Here is an

example where this happened to a

woman who owned horses:

News story reprinted with permission

from the Daily American Republic of

Poplar Bluff Missouri, by: Jonathan

Dawe, Daily American Republic Staff

Writer

“Elaine Priest will have her 18 horses

returned to her, but only if she pays

$11,775.03 to the Humane Society.

“This information came after Associate

Judge John Bloodworth entered his

ruling Friday on the disposition of the

horses.

“In his ruling, Bloodworth declared the

horses be returned to the care of Priest

when released by the Large Animal

Rehabilitation Center in Union.

“In his conclusions of law, Bloodworth

said. “The State, by Deputy (Cecil)

Winberry, acted appropriately under

RSMO 578.018 in securing a search

warrant to enable entry upon private

property under section 578.018 RSMO.

There is insufficient evidence, however,

to permit the state to confis- cate the

animals.

“As a result, the Humane Society in St.

Louis has decided to file a lien on the 18

horses for $11,775.03, which is the

amount of the bill for the housing and

care of the horses since being turned

over to the Humane Society on

December 8th.

“Priest, whose horses were taken

pursuant to a warrant based on Missouri

statute 578.018, now faces a different

decision concerning her animals.

“‘Its clear that there was no evidence to

properly support the confiscation of

these animals in the first place,’ said

Priest’s attorney John Scott.

“‘The Humane Society is now just

basically blackmailing my client by

threatening her with lawsuits and trying

to get this money out of her,’ he said.

‘The bottom line here, as far as the

Humane Society is concerned, is money

and not the horses.’”

“When reached for comment about the

situation, the Humane Society’s attorney,

Keith Henson of St. Louis, said, ‘We are

filing a lien lawfully under Missouri

Statutes for these horses.’

“Henson declined any further comment,

stating that saying anything more would

be considered legal counsel and he does

not offer legal counsel to non-clients.

“The statutes under which the Humane

Society filed the lien define the

regulations behind lien enforcement on

the care of animals and are supported by

case history going as far back as 1922.

“When reached for comment, Priest was

very emphatic in her feelings about the

situation. ‘I honestly don’t know what

I’m going to do because I don’t have

many options,’ she said. ‘If they didn’t

have sufficient evidence to take my

horses, why should I have to pay such a

large bill? Where are my rights? They

stole my horses and they stole my rights

and left me without any options.’ “Tim

Slayton testified on behalf of Priest at

the disposition trial January 5th.

“After hearing about Bloodworth’s

ruling and the Humane Society’s lien, he

said. ‘As a civics and history teacher, I

can say that I’ve seen more civil rights

violated in this case. This is just

robbery. I think the taking of the horses

was a complete violation of due

process.’

“Slayton has helped care for Priest’s

horses and has supplied hay for them for

more than 10 years. He said there was

no legitimate reason for the animals to

be confiscated.

“‘The Humane Society does some good

things, but they also do some really off-

the-wall stuff and this is a prime

example of that,’ said Slayton. ‘They’re

getting out of control and need to be

reigned in by proper legislation.’

“Slayton said he feels Priest should fight

the lien… but she has very limited

resources.”

This is classic HSUS, and it doesn’t

happen to just pit bull owners, or even

sporting dog owners—it happens to

catteries, to chicken farmers, to kennels,

to circuses, and to horse breeders. And

what HSUS does is they take your

animals by force, with no legal grounds

other than “an anonymous tip,” and if

they don’t kill them outright then they

charge you “boarding fees” for caring

for them— even though they took it upon

themselves to confiscate and keep them

against your will—and even when they

are proven wrong!

And very seldom do HSUS or PETA

have to pay for this, because most

people don’t have the funds to pursue

malicious prosecution counter-suits. One

group of people HSUS has struggled to

defeat, however, are United States

farmers. They try, but the farmers have a

powerful lobby of their own and can

match HSUS in legal power in court.

Here is a little clipping taken from the

Center for Consumer Freedom:

Congress Declares that Animal

Fanatics (HSUS) are *NOT*

“Experts” on Animal Care, but

Farmers and Breeders Are:

“We almost feel sorry for Humane

Society of the United States (HSUS)

president Wayne Pacelle. Yesterday’s

animal-welfare hearing in a U.S. House

Agriculture subcommittee was anything

but the love-fest he may have expected.

First of all, we were there—testifying on

the same panel, telling members of

Congress and the media about HSUS’s

hidden agenda. Then an immigrant foie

gras farmer stole the show with his

heart-rending account of being pushed

around by animal-rights extremists.

Finally, a Virginia Congressman

declared in front of a packed hearing

room that a key part of Pacelle’s own

testimony was flatly ‘false.’ Not a good

day on the Hill for a man who says his

group ‘has committed itself to political

activity as never before.’

“We made the most of our opportunity to

address the nation’s lawmakers,

advising: ‘When the topic of discussion

is how to make livestock farming better,

the complaints of radical vegans should

be seen for what they are: an attempt to

dismantle animal agriculture, not

improve it ... Encouraging the input of

people who want to crush you is a

strange way of seeking sensible reform.’

“Our hats are off to Salvadoran duck

farmer Guillermo Gonzales, who told

Congress that animal activists ‘trespass,

damage our property, steal our animals,

and sometimes do much worse.’ HSUS

and other groups, he said, are trying ‘to

drive us off our land and out of business

... Acting in the name of ‘animal

welfare,’ some seem to have forgotten

the welfare of human farmers.’

“Our research director, testifying right

after Mr. Gonzales, added: ‘I’ve never

tasted foie gras. But who are these

people to decide I shouldn’t have the

chance to try it? When zealots ban books

because of their politics, millions of

people rise up. Why isn’t banning food

for political reasons viewed the same

way?’

“Among the things we pointed out was

the habit of some groups, HSUS

included, of distorting facts in order to

turn the public away from eating meat.

We noted, for instance, that HSUS’s

website (like that of the PETA-

connected Physicians Committee for

Responsible Medicine) overstates the fat

content of chicken—a big vegetarian no-

no—by more than 500 percent (they say

it’s 23 percent; the real number, 5 grams

out of a 140-gram portion, is less than 4

percent).

“But Pacelle himself provided an even

better example of the fine line between

animal-rights fact and fiction. Talking

about mad cow disease, Pacelle said

that the meat from a diseased cow

identified in 2003 ‘went on to markets

and consumers in various states’—

claiming that it had actu- ally entered the

U.S. food supply. An alert Rep. Bob

Goodlatte (R-VA) pounced, assuring the

hearing room that this testimony was

simply ‘false.’

“In the end, both sides of the aisle

seemed to agree (despite HSUS’s

protests) that the American livestock

system is in good shape. Subcommittee

Chairman Leonard Boswell (D-IA) was

convinced that ‘producers are

vigorously addressing animal welfare

issues.’ And in a stinging rebuke to

Pacelle, Ranking Member Robin Hayes

(R-NC) wrote: ‘Farmers and ranchers,

not activists, should be dictating animal

husbandry practices.’”

In closing, this little chapter is designed

to make you aware that, as a sporting

dog breeder, there is an enemy all

around you named HSUS and PETA.

These groups are after all animal

breeders and farmers, but dog owners in

particular make easy targets, especially

breeders of hunting dogs and sporting

dogs. Realize this and govern yourself

accordingly. Join the groups I have listed

on p. 310 and keep abreast of the issues.

Keep your kennels clean, your dogs

healthy, all shots up-to-date, and keep

records of everything also. Knowledge

is power, and record-keeping documents

knowledge.

If you follow the recommendations of

this book, from start to finish, you should

be in good shape and your dogs should

be in impeccable shape. This won’t

make you completely immune from

attack from groups like HSUS and

PETA, but it will make it a whole lot

more difficult to get noticed, first of all,

and for anything to stick, second of all, if

you do get noticed. Proper housing,

adequate chain space, impeccable food,

impeccable kennel maintenance, disease

and parasite management—all taking

place on a yard far out away from the

city and the prying eyes of nosey

neighbors—will better ensure your

longevity than trying to run a bunch of

dogs in a city, kept improperly,

surrounded by nosey neighbors. And

finally, never keep more animals than

you can care for impeccably

At the end of the day, it is hard for

anyone to find fault with a person who

truly has a beauti- ful yard of vibrant,

healthy animals, all of whom have plenty

of room and just beam with good care. I

hope this book helps you in every real

and tangible way to care for your dogs

impeccably, from their basic care and

nutrition, to their critical care, to their

perpetuation and rebirth through proper

breeding strategy and management, to

keeping them safe from animal activists.

Raising performance animals is fraught

with hardships and pitfalls, but it is also

very rewarding for the man who stays

with it, who learns all he can, and who

really knows how to appreciate,

develop, cultivate, and perpetuate a

great line of sporting dogs. If this book

helps you achieve your goals in this end,

then I am happy, for this means I have

achieved my own goal in writing it.

Epilogue

Our breed of dog is dying. The great

bloodline breeders are becoming a thing

of the past. There are masses of evil and

ignorant animal rights fanatics

everywhere striving to kill-off our

breed, from the outside, and many of the

great bloodlines that we have all come

to know and love have been destroyed.

We have all heard the term “Salem

Witch-Hunt” so many times we don’t

think deeply about it, but truly stupid and

evil people have massed together for

centuries to kill-off what they don’t

know and what they don’t understand.

And this entire “anti-pit-bull” movement

is no exception.

Anyone who has truly gotten to know

and been around a number of these dogs

knows how wonderful they are, and so it

sickens us all when these things happen.

But let’s be real. There are also

thousands of wasteful dog-butchers from

within our ranks who kill-off our

potentially great dogs also. And that

includes ignorant people who don’t

know any better, as well as truly evil

people who do know better but who

don’t care. These terrible “dogmen” are

likewise killing off scores of wonderful

bulldogs too, every day of every year,

somewhere—in both this country as well

as abroad. Wonderful bulldogs get

neglected, suffer, die, get left down too

long, or are sickeningly abused in some

cruel and senseless fashion, everywhere,

and/or are lost to ignorance and

incompetence, everywhere there are

dogs of this breed to be found.

Therefore, from the animal rights

fanatics who kill-off thousands of

wonderful bulldogs every year—to cruel

and stupid owners all over the place

who abuse thousands of these dogs as

well— to just foolish wanna-be

breeders who will take a linebred dog

down from a lifetime of one man’s

breeding ideals, and just “outcross” all

of the quality and consistency away in

just a few short generations—thousands

and thousands of wonderful pit bulls

lose their lives, or get wasted, every day

of every year, needlessly. (And that isn’t

even counting the ignorant owners

everywhere who lose their dogs to

kennel wrecks, not knowing the right

meds to use, or any of a number of other

incompetencies.) The amount of truly

great dogs that have been abused and

lost senselessly is truly staggering.

I wrote this book in an effort to help

change some of that. I wrote this book to

help people avoid the (so) many

mistakes that get made, literally every

step of the way in owning these dogs,

that if something I wrote helps you or

someone you know save the life of just

one dog, or to make the life of just one

dog a little happier and to last a little

longer, then it will have been worth it

for me and for you.

This breed is a treasure and it is dying

off. Start looking at your dogs as gold,

start treating and preserving their

wonderful qualities as gold, start

treating the finest individuals as if they

are kings and queens. Because they are.

Think about them like this because there

may come a day when we don’t have

these dogs anymore.

So please take care of this breed, by

taking care of your own bulldogs as best

as you possibly can. Be a positive

representative of this breed, and only

associate with people who truly do

likewise. The rest of the world is against

us, and we are all these dogs have got,

so please treat them right.

I hope this book helps you to do that. ~

California Jack

Index

Index391

Abscesses .......................... pp. 201-

203, 214, 216

Advantage/Advantix ........................ pp.

172-174

Albon ...................................................

pp. 162-164

Allergy (food) ......................................

pp. 132-134

Amitraz................................................

pp. 170-171

Anaphylactic Shock

.................................... p. 340

Anemia...............................................

pp. 164-170

Animal Rights

.......................................... pp. 17-19

Antibiotics .................................. pp.

163-164, 169, 179-180, 205-217

Antirobe .............................. pp. 169,

202, 214, 216

Azium ........................... pp. 338, 341,

344, 357-359

AE

Emergency Med. Supplies .............. pp.

338-340 Emergency Procedures

..................... pp. 237-260 Epinephrine

.................................................. p. 340
F

Feed (kibble)

................................................ p. 135

Feed (raw) ..........................................

pp. 137-147

Feeding Tube ......................................

pp. 237-240

Flagyl ( Metronidazole) .....................

pp. 163-164, 215-217

Fleas ...................................... pp. 171-

177, 200-201

Flies/Fly Spray ....................... pp. 171-

172, 200-201

Fluid Rates (IV) ....................................

pp. 347-349

Frontline/Frontline-Plus .......................

pp. 172-174

Baytril ........................................... pp.

214, 216, 338

Babesia...............................................

pp. 164-170 Bee Pollen

................................... pp. 186-188, 293

Berenil
........................................................... p.

168 Betadine ......................................

pp. 152-153, 339 Bleach

........................................................ pp.

152 Books (Reference)

............................. pp. 219-223

Breeding (mechanics of) .................. pp.

229-252 Breeding (philosophy of)

................... pp. 361-379 Breeding

Patterns ............................... pp. 375-

377 Brood Bitch (preparation)

................ pp. 227-231, 241-243

Buying Dogs (how to) ............................

pp. 39-45 G

Game Plan .............................................

pp. 39-45

Garlic ...................................................

pp. 188-191

Gentamicin ....................................... pp.

215, 216

Giardia................................. pp. 163-

164, 215-217

Granulex .............................................

pp. 185, 340

H

Herbal Remedies ................................

pp. 185-203

Hot Compresses .................................

pp. 201-203

Housing (plans) .....................................

pp. 78-127

Hydrogen Peroxide ..............................

p. 153-154

Calcium:Phosphorus Ratio

.......................... p. 141

Cancer (bitches/skin) ........................

pp. 180-184

Cephalexin ......................... pp. 179,

213, 216, 217

Chains (axles, rings, swivels)

.................. pp. 68-72

Chains (connecting hardware) ...........

pp. 58-64

Chains (length/sizes) ..............................

pp. 49-56

Chains (thickness/types)

............................... p. 56
Chains (vendors)

............................................ p. 57

Clavamox ................... pp. 190, 213,

216, 206, 338

Coccidia............................. pp. 162-

164, 217, 230

Collars

...........................................................

pp. 77

Compresses ........................................

pp. 201-203

Cut-Heal ...................................... pp.

185, 193-194 I

Imizol ...................................................

pp. 168, 232 Injection Points (for SC

fluids) ...................... p. 248 Injection

Port ....................... pp. 338, 350, 355-

356 Inoculations ................................

pp. 178, 244-245 IV Catheter

.......................... pp. 338, 350, 352-354

IV Fluids ................................................

pp. 338-356

Kennel Cough ............................. pp.

190, 215-216

Kennels (dimensions) .............................

pp. 48-55

Kennel (runs)

........................................... pp. 48-49

Kidneys (management) .................... pp.

359-360

Dexamethasone ...................... pp. 338,

341, 344, 357-359

Diarrhea ..............................................

pp. 244-251 Disinfectants

....................................... pp. 149-154

Doxycycline ........................ pp. 169,

214-215, 232

Lactated Ringers ............................... pp.

338-356 Lasix (aka: Salix)

................................. pp. 338, 343 Lime

Dip ................................................. p.

199-200

Mange (demodex) .......................... pp.

170-171
Measurements (conversions)

..................... p. 148

Mepron

......................................................... p.

176

Milk Replacer

................................................ p. 241

Mitaban ..............................................

pp. 170-171

Ticks .................................. pp. 171-

177, 200-201 TMZ ( Trimethoprim-

Sulfa) ............... pp. 163-164, 215-217

Turpentine ...........................................

pp. 194-197 Tylan ( Tylosin)

........................................ p. 215-216

Trypan Blue

................................................... p. 168

Neem Oil .............................................

pp. 200-201

Nolvasan .................................... pp.

149-150, 339

Nu-Stock .............................................

pp. 185, 194

Nutrition (oils)

................................................ p. 146

Nutrition (principles) ...........................

pp. 129-148

Nutrition (protein values)

............................. p. 131

Vaporizer ..............................................

p. 192, 194 Veterinarians (how to find)

................ pp. 225-228 Veterinary (fair

charges) ............................. p. 228

Vomiting (induce)

........................................ p. 154

Vomiting (stop) ...................................

pp. 247-251

Oil (Neem) ..........................................

pp. 200-201

Oil (Tea Tree) .......................................

pp. 191-193

Oils (nutritional)

............................................ p. 146

Water (fluids: amount-per-lb) ........... pp.

248, 347 Worms (heartworm)

........................... pp. 161-162 Worms

(roundworm) .......................... pp. 157-

160 Worms (tapeworm)

............................ pp. 160-161 Worms

(whipworm) ...................................... p.

160 Worming Schedule

...................................... p. 243

Parvovirus ............................................

pp. 244-251

Pens (above-ground) ...........................

p. 111-127

Pens (puppy) .........................................

p. 126-127

Phenamidine

................................................ p. 168

Pups (feeding/orphaned) ................. pp.

236-241

Pups (weaning) ..................................

pp. 241-243

Pups (worming) .....................................

p. 243-244

R
Reglan ( Metoclopramide)

......................... p. 250 Ringers

.............................................. (see IV

Fluids)

Salix (aka: Lasix) .......................... pp.

302, 305-306

Scales (Chatillon)

......................................... p. 260

Shock (anaphylactic)

................................. p. 303

Shock (hypovolemic) ........................

pp. 301-320

Shots (inoculations) .................... pp.

163, 217-218

Solu-Delta Cortef ...................... pp.

302, 305, 307, 318-320

Solu-Medrol ................. pp. 302, 305,

307, 318-320

Sulfur ....................................................

pp. 179-180

Sulfurated Lime Dip

...................................... p. 142

Stud Dog (preparation) ..................... pp.

207-208

Tamiflu .................................................

pp. 246, 251

Tea Tree Oil .........................................

pp. 191-193

Tetracycline

................................................ p. 215

Zoning (kennel property) .......................

pp. 39-40

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in the process, please refer them to my

website:

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Thank You!

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Offered

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for re-sale to your friends, customers,

dog shows, or events, I give Bulk Order

Discounts on any order of 10 or more

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The Pit Bull Bible

http://www.ThePitBullBible.com
Document Outline
About the Author
Disclaimer
Introduction
A Question of Cruelty?
The Crux of Cruelty
The Failed Laws