Various
Topic Postings From Forums
Various posting topics - by Ray Delaney ( Brocstock
Staffords)
Southern.
Athletic. Canine. Society
I
would have been more convinced if the dog
was an actual badger dog rather than one that
looked like one.
I really don't know how to help you there,
but if you've seen any of Willies dogs, as
I have already stated, all of Willies dogs
were show stock, his goal was to produce a
great looking dog by the KC standards but,
dogs that had the desire to do what they were
bred for, it's as simple as that, the ones
that didn't come up to par regarding KC standards,
were either held back and given a bit more
time to develop and take another look at them
in a few months time, or if any of the pups
had any glaring faults from a KC stand point,
then these pups were the first to got, most
of the time they were given to family members
or friends because Willie still wanted to
keep his hands on the dogs he bred close to
him and also, if he wanted to take the dog
out on a badger run, he always knew where
they were, and when he was tapped out on family
and friends he would try and place the dogs
in homes that would work them, friends of
friends etc..
This
also opens up a huge can of worms, because
you've got to remember that a majority of
the Stafford lads back then, had the same
very goal as did Willie, to produce a set
type of dog (KC Standards) but with the heart
to do what they had originally been bred for,
and to get the equal balance of bull and terrier
just right was, as in any other breed hard
thing to produce that so called perfect type.
So if you were a fan of the staff breed back
then, you knew what type of dog was winning
and what type of dog you had to produce. Like
being in any breed and being at the top of
your game, Willie had the dogs that were kicking
ass in the show rings and to top that, because
he was a man that believed that a dog should
be able to do what he was bred for, he badgered
them and badgered them really well... so it
didn't matter whether you were Willie Delaney
or anyone for that matter, who was at the
top of their game, it set the pace and even
harder to accomplish but it didn't stop them
from trying, there were many men at the shows,
who were also at the badger trials, playing
the game, all friends, but in the back of
their minds out to prove who had the better
dog of the day, just how it should be. the
stories are endless on how they got to shows,
on how they got to certain trials around the
country, many of them traveled together. Then
it became a rivalry kind of thing, the Dublin
lads and their dogs going to say county Cork
or county Limerick etc, the lads in there
own counties also hard their own top men,
so as you can imagine Willie at the top of
his game was not welcome at many of the trials,
because the fact is, many of them felt intimidated
because you can bet your bottom dollar, if
Willie is traveling to any major badger trail...
he's not traveling to loose or with un-tested
dogs.
Now
getting back to your comment.... that was
all just one are of the Staff game, remember,
a majority, I can't emphasis this enough,
a majority of the Staff fancy were Show enthusiasts
first, but not just have a looker but one
that could hold his own in the ring and do
what he was bred to do. Now in saying that,
you also had another group of Staff enthusiasts,
these lads, like any other enthusiasts, loved
the breed of dog, but looks and type set were
not at the top of their list, all they cared
about was, can the dog pull or kill a badger,
and "Dog" these are the type of
Staffs that you are referring to, that looked
more like a badger dog than the KC type.....
these lads, many of them were also great friends
with the KC group of Staff enthusiasts, call
it what you like, the great divide or whatever,
the fact is, there were a number of different
groups of breed enthusiasts in Ireland, (KC
and Badger) (Badger) and (Gamebred) so again
"Dog" when you are referring to
type, the dogs you are referring were, I'm
sure from the Badger or Gamebred group, but
the fact is, the majority went to the (KC
and Badger enthusiasts)
I
think this post will, or should give you a
better idea as to the confusion of the different
types, another thing that needs to be mentioned
that there is no question about it, Brindle
Devil was the dog to have in your line, for
either type and gameness, with many of the
various groups using him over their bitches,
so lets think about this for a minute, if
you have a bitch from KC background mated
to Brindle Devil, chances are your going to
get a majority of the pups that will reflect
the show background type of dog.. on the other
hand if you take a bitch that absolutely has
no KC points or standards, of course the are
going to be extremely varied in type and look
nothing like the KC type of dog, but for the
Badger group, this type of dog would be perfect
for what they want and need to take badger
and so on.. but it must be also noted that
many of the badger dogs that were bred just
for badger and by the badger groups, when
they came to the major trails, many of them
couldn't come close to the KC type of dog,
this is not a personal opinion but a fact,
just look at the dogs from, Willie Delaney,
Tommy Connell, and his dog "Duke of Rubycon"
Bobby Watts, and Kerry King, Ban Ri, Battling
Beauty, Billy Rickard, John Barrett, Edward
Byrnes, Billy Bell etc... some real cracking
KC show and badger dogs, the absolute best
in the country.
I'm
more than willing to concede that dogs of
that type may well have been used and been
very good at that trial but it's not a type
I ever want to own or admire. I think it's
an exaggerated, overdone, characature of a
dog. I'm sure a dog of less disabling dimensions
could have done the job just as well.
Well
I mean, that's a given, your into that athletic
type and that's why you in this particlklur
forum board, so of course your not going to
give the KC type dog the time of day, because
what appeals to you is your own type, and
that's great as I say to each his own, you
can't really compare or match up dogs from
their own respective groups, whether weight
pulling, KC or Badgering they are all different
types, horses for courses..
you
may be right about the dog in the picture
but I will never think of that dog as "cracking","excellent","one
of the best dogs I've ever seen" and
it is certainly not an ambassador of the breed.
In my eyes it's everything a Stafford should
not be.
Again your right, you wouldn't see this dog
in the same light as myself because your not
a KC type enthusiast, but being that you are
into weight pulling you might know a good
little Stafford bitch called" Red Lady
of Samantha" a 40-41lb bitch, pulling
in the 580's to 590's, she was a nice bitch
out of (Red Tiger x Sally of Delaney) and
if you look at her, she is very close to the
old head type, a nice bitch and one that I'm
sure you would appreciate because she's a
Staff within your group type..... so ya know,
to each his own, but you can't compare or
square off dogs from their different types,
as I say horses for courses..
The
Stafford is a mix of Bull and Terrier and
that dog is (if you'll excuse the pun) all
Bull.
The KC enthusiasts we wouldn't call it all
bull, but would call it "Over Done"
sam thing really but from a KC's point of
view he's not over done, and I have no doubts
if you want to see the terrier in him, just
put a badger in front of him and you'll soon
see the terrier in him.
You
know, the KC type dogs are not perfect, not
even close but we try, there are many faults
within the KC breed and that would be the
chronic breathing problems, alleviating some
of the bull, would help, being that alot of
the more bull type Staffs carry this problem...so
I can see where you would think, he's a frog,
turtle etc... but in the KC world.... for
sure considered a great looking dog for the
standard.
Hope
all of this helps... you weight pulling fans
and also the apbt lads..... I have quite a
bit of information in that area also but one
at a time...
All
the best.....
Ray
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Article by
Ray Delaney
Terrier Network
www.terriernetwork.com
