I Wanted To Share This Information With Everyone.

I saw an ad in the Herald Dispatch classifieds the other day for Pit Bull puppies, specifying a particular bloodline. Curiosity got the better of me, so I emailed John Goodwin at the Humane Society of the United States about fighting dog bloodlines. Here is his reply.

"Tamara, There are some pretty prominent dog fighters in WV. But the Razors Edge and Gotti dogs aren't generally fighters. Those are what they call "blue" pit bulls, due to their bluish fur. They are larger and slower than the smaller fighting dogs, and don't show the game "gameness", the same drive to stay in the fight, even when severely injured. Some of the more popular fighting bloodlines are Redboy-Jocko (shortened to RBJ in many classified ads), Jeep, Mayday, Barracuda, Chinaman, Frisco, Eli and others."

It is disturbing to know that WV has many prominent dog fighters. If anyone has any information on any dogfighting ring busts in WV, please post the information. Thanks.

Designer Dogs - The Worst Of Both Breeds.

The mixing of purebred dogs, in my opinion, as a groomer, is a cocktail of the worst of both breeds. By this, I mean that every "designer" dog I have groomed has had major skin problems or health problems. Being a purist, I do not believe in mixing breeds. There might be some breeders of these dogs that have researched and are breeding the best of both into their "designer" dogs, but I have not seen that in the Tri-State area. All I have seen are the worst. If you are thinking of purchasing one of these mixes, please do the research about each of the breeds that have been mixed. Go online, talk to a vet, but do the research. Backyard breeders are so common everywhere, but they are very prevalent in the Tri-State, and they are doing nothing but breeding litters that most likely will have hip, elbow, eye, heart and other health issues as they do not have their breeding stock certified that they are healthy to breed and will not transfer any genetic defects to the litters. Thus, you have litters of puppies that by the age of 1 or 2 will have to be put down due to major health issues. Or you have shelters filling up with them because they are not what the person expected.