Ever wonder what you should be on the lookout for to determine if someone is talking about fighting dogs? I'll try to provide an answer so that you can be alert and know what to look for.
Dog fighters use many code words to disguise their activities. Because it is, in many places, highly illegal and is usually viewed as highly immoral, dog fighters try to keep their hobby a well kept secret. However, it is probably more widespread than you think. It is estimated that up to 140,000 people in the United States are involved in illegal dog fighting; 100,000 in street level, 40,000 in professional level. Fighting dogs ranges from street level backyard brawls all the way up to professionally organized events.
Dog Fighting Slang
Campaign: the career of a fighting dog
Champion: a dog who has won at least three fights
Convention: a very large dog fighting event, sometimes with activities, music, and food
Dogman: a professional trainer or handler
Grand champion: a dog which has at least five wins and is undefeated
Gameness: tenacity and willingness to fight (is also used sometimes outside of fighting)
Prospect: a young dog which is aggressive and is thought of as being a good candidate for a fighting dog
Scratch lines: lines in a dogfighting ring behind which the dogs start in the match
The keep: the training which a dog undergoes leading up to a fight, usually lasting about six weeks
The show: the actual dog fight itself
Breeding stand: a barrel or stand that a female dog is tied to while a muzzled male dog mates with her
EDIT: before assuming someone is a dogfighter, please thoroughly investigate all aspects of the person and their program. Just because a lot of these terms are used for the illegal sport does NOT mean that the terms have died along with it. Now-a-days many of these words have different definitions... a lot of them have been covered in this thread, so please read the original post (this one) and thoroughly read the rest of the responses to this thread to see how much these definitions have actually changed over the last few decades. - Indigo Bully Connection
Dog fighters use many code words to disguise their activities. Because it is, in many places, highly illegal and is usually viewed as highly immoral, dog fighters try to keep their hobby a well kept secret. However, it is probably more widespread than you think. It is estimated that up to 140,000 people in the United States are involved in illegal dog fighting; 100,000 in street level, 40,000 in professional level. Fighting dogs ranges from street level backyard brawls all the way up to professionally organized events.
Dog Fighting Slang
Campaign: the career of a fighting dog
Champion: a dog who has won at least three fights
Convention: a very large dog fighting event, sometimes with activities, music, and food
Dogman: a professional trainer or handler
Grand champion: a dog which has at least five wins and is undefeated
Gameness: tenacity and willingness to fight (is also used sometimes outside of fighting)
Prospect: a young dog which is aggressive and is thought of as being a good candidate for a fighting dog
Scratch lines: lines in a dogfighting ring behind which the dogs start in the match
The keep: the training which a dog undergoes leading up to a fight, usually lasting about six weeks
The show: the actual dog fight itself
Breeding stand: a barrel or stand that a female dog is tied to while a muzzled male dog mates with her
EDIT: before assuming someone is a dogfighter, please thoroughly investigate all aspects of the person and their program. Just because a lot of these terms are used for the illegal sport does NOT mean that the terms have died along with it. Now-a-days many of these words have different definitions... a lot of them have been covered in this thread, so please read the original post (this one) and thoroughly read the rest of the responses to this thread to see how much these definitions have actually changed over the last few decades. - Indigo Bully Connection