|
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
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Article by
Ray Delaney
|
