The good old days?

I came across this old article and, although I don't agree with the activities it talks about, I found it an interesting read.

I had assumed that when Gentleman Jim achieved success in the Show Arena (1st SBT Champion) that his "sporting activities" would be curtailed somewhat. Apparently not!

Oooh it's tough oop North!

Is this what they mean when they say the "good old days"?  Would Mallen now be referred to as a "Chav"?


http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/Joe-Mallen/story-20155527-detail/story.html

No, I dont think he would be a chav. They say it is not fair to judge the past by the mores of the present, but we are where we are - 2014 - and without the benefit of timetravel, everything we say and do is moulded by twentieth/twenty-first century experience. I would call Joe Mallen a brute, not a chav. A brute in 1920 and a brute if he were alive now. I dont think it's a thing to be celebrated that SBTs were bred to fight, shake and kill - these are skills totally unwanted today. I absolutely do not need to bait a bull in 21st century Scotland. I am utterly opposed to dog-fighting. Many of the behavioural features bred into dogs in the nineteenth (early twentieth) century are completely undesirable now. Which is why I believe (my personal opinion) having a crossbreed (which we used to call a mongrel) is a thing to be celebrated if it can dilute some of the more obnoxious behavioural characteristics that Mallen would have appreciated. The incident involving the badger was truly disgusting; such men are clearly as cruel to their own dogs as they are to innocent wildlife. Nevertheless, thanks for sharing this interesting article!

i dont condone blood sports of any kind, and find dog fighting in particular the most disgusting. in this day and age, i believe it is the ultimate betrayal of the love and loyalty of the Staffie breed, a breed which has been the most abused, maligned and misunderstood of all dog breeds.
Thats easy for me to say in the world we live in today.
Thankfully societies attitude to blood sports has moved on somewhat (still not near enough in my book), but back in Victorian times working men in the black country worked for a pittance and were practically slaves, living in appalling slums, queuing up for work, no employment rights, no mininum wage..
With no family planning available, families were large, often with 12 children, many dying either at birth or in their early years. Many families lived in a single room. the dogs had to live in these close quarters with humans.
These terrible conditions were the ones into which the Staff was born, and dog fighting/ratting was a viable means of income in those times. if you didnt have a 'game' dog, you didnt eat..it was that simple.
Dogs, on the verge of death would be put into the pram with the babies because they couldnt walk home. Fact. These are the reasons why the Staff is so loving to people. if the dog couldnt live in the single room hovels and be reliable with people AND be 'game' they were killed...Utter cruelty, but that was their lot in those awful times. I think that the temperament of the breed has been getting more and diluted over the last 20-30 years. I know from experience, that before they became a fashion item, Staffs were generally much more fiery, but no less soppy. Sadly (in my view) some of this character has been bred out, but in light of the huge amount of irresponsible owners, negative press and general ignorance of this breed, this is probably a good thing. Modern dogs in comparison to the dogs of the early 20th century would be considered 'all show and no go'. I sometimes wonder if this is partly the reason why so many end up in shelters?? The abuse and ill treatment continues in another form.
What im saying is, it was and is an utterly barbaric, inhumane way to treat the most wonderful dog breed on earth...but at least the poor in those days had a reason/excuse (delete as applicable).
The wealthy dog owners of the time did not, neither do the scum that indulge in dog fighting/baiting today. As for people today engaging in this activity, to me, they are as low as paedophiles..utter, utter slime of humanity.
Thank goodness weve moved on..if only a little bit.
One more reason to give lots of love and cuddles to help make amends for the abuse, pain and suffering of their forebears.

if you truly want to know the origins of our fantastic breed then try to find time to visit the staffordshire bull terrier museum in wednesbury. it's about a mile from where i live and i have been a few times but recently the opening times have been cut through lack of interest and funding.

Fantastic comment King. I agree with every word you said. I really hope that it did not come across as any kind of promotion of bloodsports, I just found it a very interesting read and thought it highlighted a bygone era (thank god) very well.

Hey Dazoldo, have you got a link for that Museum?

http://www.thestaffordshirebullterrier.co.uk/heitage_home.htm
website not up to much but the museum is great

I should be making one of my very rare trips up north later this year and slight detour is now very much on the cards. Thanks.

TonyW wrote:Fantastic comment King. I agree with every word you said. I really hope that it did not come across as any kind of promotion of bloodsports, I just found it a very interesting read and thought it highlighted a bygone era (thank god) very well.

thanks Tony, i was worried in case my post was misconstrued. the owner of gentleman jim seemed like a thuggish pig, i certainly hope they werent reunited at rainbow bridge.
it breaks my heart to think that someone, somewhere is still treating these beloved dogs like this. i watched a video on you tube where a wonderful man who rescues strays, saved a young pitbull bitch. she was probably only about 12 months old, but was terribly disfigured, cowering under a bush. she had been used as a bait dog, where these spineless pigs had tied her to a post with her muzzle duct-taped shut and had set dogs onto her..probably, he thought, because she had such a gentle temperament....thankfully she was rescued, nursed back to health and found her forever home.
Im not ashamed to admit, that i cried like a little boy watching that video.

You are a braver man than me. Even when I know that the story or video has a happy ending, I cannot bring myself to click play because it breaks my heart to see the condition of some of these poor animals.

I find it difficult to get the images out of my head so I just do not watch!

Even the ads on tv that show the dogs being tied to a road sign as the owner drives off reduces me to a wreck. Probably because being an owner myself I know how loyal a friend a dog is.

i loath dog fighting as much as the next person but what i ask is that we don't judge people who were around 100+ years ago by todays standards and morals.
it is an in-escapeable fact that without dog fighting in the late 1800s we would not have our beloved breed now.
when my parents bought me my first staffie,when i was 10,my dad also gave me a book to read about the history of the breed. it was fastinating (i was a dull 10 year old) and also taught me a great deal about my own heritage,being from the black country myself.
when i asked my dad about dog fighting he said that although it was disgusting and cruel it was no worse than fox hunting and that was a 'sport' that we didn't see the back of until 9 years ago.
again i loath the practise and the people who continue to pursue and promote it but like it or not it's part and parcel of owning a staffie and we should all be aware of it because that is the only way we can halt the growth of dog fighting.

i probably read that exact same book mate. my view is that anyone convicted of, or found to be involved with dog fighting, or the training of dogs with the intention of dog fighting should receive a mandatory prison sentence. preferably a couple of years and upwards.