Skill vs. Mouth

I think almost all of us can agree that gameness is the first priority when it comes to a breeding program but lets say you have some good deep game dogs which of these do you think is the most important in adding to a program skill or mouth??

IMO it really depends what the dog is lacking the most but id rather have a skilled game dog that can dance all over the box and win from almost any position

to me id take a Deep game ACE over a Deep game hard mouthed dog

 

My priority - as a basic outline:
Game
Intelligence
Wind/Stamina
Mouth

Reason = without game its gonna quit one way or the other which is instant fail, MUST have attribute. Intelligence as a second, because a smart dog, can dance around, rope a dope, and control the pace, conserving energy and forcing its opponent to expend a lot, which is why wind/stamina is slightly lower priority, and finally mouth is last in my books.

Don't get me wrong, if the stars align just so and you end up with a hard mouthed dog that has the rest, all the better, if not... no skin off my nose.

Do some research for your own peace of mind, find out how many big shows have been won on a hard mouth, and how many have been won by a smart dog that picks and chooses its times carefully, paces itself and ain't afraid to go back in even if the other dog has a hard mouth. I'm not saying hard mouthed dogs can't and don't win, I'm just saying if you're a smart betting man... Come back and tell me what you find coz I've already done the same :cool:

 

i'll take mouth. skill can be learned to a degree

 

I agree with Jrouble and Naustroms......

I would go with the skill. I would take a dog smart enough to stay out of trouble and pick his shots. like Ali said "the hands cant hit what the eyes cant see". i would assume the same would aply to dogs. all the mouth in the world aint goin to help if he cant catch him. so i would take the skill over mouth.

With that said Naustroms is right. Skill can be tought to some degree (thats the point of "schoolin").... I know when it comes to mouth "the dog either has it or he don't". I can't get over that. bite is controld by muscle. why is it, those muscles can't be stregthend like every onther muscle to increase mouth? I for some reason can't get over it. Has any one tried?


Vic

 

Skill over Mouth definitely. Game being equal, a really Skillful dog beats a really Mouthy one.

 

A game dog with a heavy mouth can always wait around during the hunt until it gets its opportunity to lay his teeth into his opponent. Animals are mortal and make mistakes and as soon as it slips up, he'll make it count.

You can school the dog to the point that its competent. It might not be as skilled but it won't be a lumbering idiot getting cut to ribbons.

 

I agree. Mistakes happen to all dogs skillful or not. But its habits, particularly the bad ones, that a skillful dog displays less of.

 

I'll go with skill first, skill can be learned to some degree, but a dog with natural skill is amazing to watch. A hard mouth is definitely good to have, but a skilled dog is more durable in my opinion. I honestly like to have both in a dog!

 

Balance, my friend.

 

I would take a good hard mouth over skill. I believe that if taken to the right classes, the skill(s) can be learned, whereas a hard mouth(meaning big hard teeth, imo) though it can be added through breeding, is kind of hard to come by.

 

ill take skill and gameness a hard mouth dog cant bite what he cant get to

 

A hard mouth means big hard teeth:confused:

 

Lol, skill will last for the whole fight but you will eventually lose your mouth, lol!

 

A hard mouth won't run out. That's like saying a gamedog quit. he's either game or he's not. Same with a hard mouth. Its either hard or its not.

 

You really think a dogs mouth is going to be the same 20 minutes in and exactly the same 2 hours in? Think again

 

IMO skill comes next, if u have a good game dog that can wrestle and think calmly under pressure u have have a very good prospect.

 

If you work your dog correctly, yes, his mouth will still be there.

 

I can show you some bite work techniques if you're willing to learn Wardog.

 

Tough question , you could argue both sides , you have those master head dogs that stay right on that ear or side of the head or nose and dance all night long letting the other animal do the driving and tiring himself out . Then you have those hard mouth dogs that just can end it all in short order . prime example Silver vs Black Mup two great dogs

 

intelligence is more important than both to me. Maybe some consider skill and intelligence as the same, but I don't. Intelligence is the ability to work smartly. I would take a hardbiter that knows how to pace himself and when the time comes BAM! If gameness is equal who will be the last one the punisher or the dancer? How many times has a so called ace been unable to go? I guess it's the unstoppable force vs the immovable object.