History of Dog Fighting

Using dogs in fighting has been around for hundreds maybe thousands of years. The Romans, Greeks, Spanish and French used dogs for fighting.

Fighting between all kinds of animals have always been a very popular event. As far back as can be recalled dogs called gladiator were bred for the sole purpose of dog fighting.

The British began breeding the bulldog for the sole reason of dog on dog combat, but they were not the first; since this event has been around since the day of the Roman Empire. The dogs that the British used are commonly known today as the American Pit Bull Terrier.

The bulldog is well known for being used to manage unruly bulls, and by hunters for helping them in catching and holding wild boars or other big game.

Since, the bull dog was so popular for these types of activities the sport of bullbaiting became very popular. Bullbaiting was where bulldogs and other larger animals were pitted together.

Animals such as horses, bears, lions, and yes even men were put together for the sole purpose of fighting. This bullbaiting sport was eventually outlawed, so the public turned to dog fighting. Dog Fighting was economically better for the owners of the fighters, because they did not need as much room for the fighting area, and they only had to feed two dogs; instead of one dog and a larger animal. Also, with just dogs fighting it would be easier to hold these fights in secret if the need arose.

To acquire a smaller dog with increased agility and more stamina and fighting ability the bulldog was bred with game hunting terriers. As this breeding increased so did the aggression in these dogs.

Dog fighting breeders especially searched for dogs with the gaming and aggressive behavior, as their goal was to refine the best canine gladiator in the bulldog.

Dog fighting was seen through out the 1800’s into the 1900’s and still does continue today. But, it is illegal in most of the 50 states in America and most European Countries.