10/25/2025
All of us have made bad decisions in these dogs, that have cost our dogs in some way or another.
For some of us these are infrequent occurrences that we try to learn from, while for others making bad decisions is virtually a way of life that is repeated over and over again. There are some aspects of these dogs that require experience to understand, while there are other aspects of these dogs that ought to be basic horse sense for anyone with a clue as to how life works.
One of the things I notice that happens all the time is that about 90% of the people try to "say" the right things, but in point of fact only about 10% of dogmen actually *DO* the right things in these dogs, on a consistent basis. These "right things" can range from what age they start their dogs, to what age they test their dogs, to how much weight they make their dogs push, to what quality of feed they feed their dogs, I mean, you name it, and there are intelligent ways (and stupid ways) to go about accomplishing one's goals in these dogs.
The funny thing is, every single one of us starts out with the same basic goal ... of having good dogs. It is how we GO ABOUT GETTING good dogs that separates everyone so much ... and even our understanding as to what a good dog IS ... that separates everybody so much.
Some people "buy" good dogs, because they either don't have the skill, or the inclination, to produce their own. Others have yet to ever pet a truly good dog. Hell, some people buy these big, massive dogs "low to the ground with big heads" thinking they have something (don't laugh, most beginners start here) ... while other people think if they "feed their dogs gun powder" that this will "make them awesome."
Obviously, most of us here are beyond this type of rank beginner stupidity, but what is not so obvious to many of us is that most people STILL are a long ways away from "doing the right things" on a consistent basis. And make no mistake: ONLY doing the right things will enable us to succeed on a consistent basis. So while we all may want to roll our eyes at the thought of some bozo buying an 85-lb dog and "feeding it gunpowder" as the best way to get a helluva dog ... again MAKE NO MISTAKE ... there are still about 90% of the people here who fail to do what it takes to be successful, day-in and day-out.
Things like buying dogs that are well-bred off of high-percentage lineage to begin with (as opposed to buying dogs that are scatterbred off of inconsistent crap)
Things like being patient (as opposed to rolling the s**t out of 14-16 month old dogs)
Things like socializing and acclimating a dog as part of its developmental process (as opposed to letting him sit on a chain for his entire life, only to throw him in the [] and proclaim a life-or-death judgment on the results)
Things like that make a difference. And, believe me when I tell you, 90% of the people in these dogs are no closer to consistent success than a guy who has an 85-lb staff, PRECISELY BECAUSE every step of what the average joe does is a stumble in the wrong direction, and not a step in the right direction.
I even see people here (and on my own board) "saying" the right things ... but when it comes time to actually DOING the right things ... that is, when the rubber actually meets the road and they actually have to make either an effective decision or an ineffective decision ... invariably the average dogman will fumble and fall on his face.
He will buy second-rate stock; he will try to start, school, and test too young; he will feed cheap feed; he will spot too much weight; he will get rid of dogs and get new dogs (over and over again) and will never actually GET TO KNOW any bloodline he is working with. In short, most people will insist on taking the route of the failure.
Hell, I know people who have been in dogs for 20 years, and yet every single dog that they own today has "other people's names" in their pedigrees. What does this mean? This means that these guys have basically wasted every dog they ever got their hands on. They BUILT NOTHING. They salvaged nothing. They preserved nothing. They WASTED EVERYTHING.
I could probably write 200 pages on this subject alone, but the simple matter is everybody "thinks" what they're doing is the right thing to do in order to get (and to have) good dogs ... but not everyone is correct. And even among those who actually DO know what the right things are to do, few actually DO THEM consistently enough to succeed.
"Man, I couldn't find anything his weight" ...
"Oh, he'll do fine eating Ol' Roy" ...
"16 months is old enough for a look" ...
"The X bloodline wasn't working for me so I thought I'd try the Y line" ...
On and on it goes.
People justifying their bad choices of spotting weight, feeding s**t, checking them too young, jumping from one bloodline to the next, etc., etc., etc.
Folks, there is no one "magic bloodline" that will make you successful, and there is no one "magic anything" to getting good dogs on a consistent basis ... except for consistent GOOD HABITS that you can adopt any day you like ... that will, slowly but surely, make you a successful dogman over time, with whatever decent bloodline you choose to start out with.
These habits are simply DOING THE RIGHT THINGS with your dogs ...
Starting with high-percentage stock to begin with ...
Feeding well and caring well for your charges ...
Allowing them to mature and to be socialized ...
Schooling intelligently and gradually ... WAY before you even think about "testing" ...
Not making them spot a buncha weight ...
Having the proper medical supplies on hand ... etc., etc.
If a person makes it HIS HABIT to do the right things, and make the right choices, for each step and every step ... and if he does this consistently ... he simply cannot help but succeed.
And while many people "say" they do these things, the truth is few people actually DO these things consistently. They always half-step, side-step, over-step ... or in some way try to SPEED-UP these natural processes ... and in so doing they lose control and wreck yet another chance at success.
So while many people may laugh at the guy who buys a "big-headed staff" and feeds him gunpowder, they really shouldn't laugh too hard, because many people here are still a million miles from being successful ... because they are consistently doing THE WRONG THINGS with the "gamebred" dogs they do have ... and in doing the wrong things, these people still are as far away from success as a guy with the 85-lb AmStaff.
But, take heart, because there really is a path to consistent success ... and it isn't talking tough, beating the s**t out of your dogs, or rushing the natural developmental processes that cannot be overlooked.
Consistent success simply starts with a consistent bloodline, it is perpetuated by consistently doing the right things with EACH DOG you have, and it ends with the dedication and loyalty to those dogs to stick with them, through thick-n-thin.
