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Busting Myths Surrounding Dogos:
Below you will find some common myths and misconceptions that
surround the Dogo Argentino breed, as well as some of the breeds which make up
the Dogo Argentino. We hope you find this informative and quite possibly
entertaining as well. Please feel free to contact the
webmaster
if you have any myths/facts or comments on this subject.
Q.
I hear Dogos are "Fighting dogs," is this true?
A.
I think one of the most widely spread myths about dogos is that they were meant
to be fighting dogs, which is not true of this breed. Because of this myth,
you'll will find many sites that will name the Dogo "Argentinean fighting dog",
or other similar monikers, but the fact remains that the brothers DID start with
a fighting dog, the "Fighting Dog of Cordoba," because the dog had tremendous
courage, but they worked tirelessly to breed OUT the aggression while
maintaining the extreme courage. Dogo's UNLIKE many other breeds is not
"Spoiling for a fight," but they WILL defend themselves if the need arises, but
because of it's "look," this perfectly natural defense, is often mistaken for
aggression. Common sense conveys that a dog that is meant to hunt in small packs
MUST be able to get along with other dogs, therefore "Fighters," they are NOT.
They are big game hunters.
Q.
Several of the dog-breeds' presentation sites on the internet, claim that the
Dogo was meant to be a great hunter of boar, puma which we all know is
correct... but some extend that even to the jaguar! Is there any foundation for
this affirmation?
A.
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There is no
written word from the brothers that the dogo was meant for Jaguar.
In fact, in his book "El Dogo Argentino", Agustín suggests the
contrary in a phrase which goes more or less like this..."the ideal
number of dogos for a pack is 4 to 6, except jaguar". This can be
interpreted as that he is suggesting using more dogs, or that he is
suggesting not using them at all. Of course you could hunt a jaguar
with a dozen dogos and probably shred it to pieces, but since
Agustín and Antonio developed the dogo with the purpose of being a
dog capable of doing the job in small packs (unlike foxhouds) and as
such require less maintenance, I think it's coherent to think they
didn't advocate it for jaguar hunting. As far as I know, neither
Antonio nor Agustín ever did it themselves.
For all I have read, the jaguar thing is something which was
added in anglo-saxon speaking sites.
~Dogoman |
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Q.
Is there any truth to people
claiming that the Dogo has a puma or similar big cat, in their genetic make up?
After all, some Dogos pace back and forth in their kennels, like a lion does in
the zoo, and a lot of Dogos move a lot like big cats...and I've heard rumors
that some of the older Dogos even have retractable claws like a cat as a result
of this. I heard that one of the Brothers was a geneticist, could he have done
this?
A.
No, there is positively NO truth
to this Myth. First of all, Dogs and Cats cannot reproduce. Next, the make up of
the breed is carefully documented by the brothers, and though one of the
brothers was indeed a Doctor, he didn't add a Puma to the mix. Any fluid, feline
like movements are simply a result of a carefully bred, highly adaptable hunter,
and is in no way indicative of a "Puma" being the Dogos "Genetic Woodpile."
...stay tuned, more Myths to
come...
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