Maurice Carver's Pre-Keep
6/21/2010 12:32:58 PM

How I Feed a Dog Out to Determine His Fighting Weight

First of all, this dog is 2 years old. He lives on the chain, is in good shape, about 50 pounds. I've been rolling him since he was 16 months old. He's been rolled about 5 times. He has a good bite, he's a strong wrestler, and he well bred. Now, I want yo to understand that this is a "for instance". I've cleaned my dog up, worms, etc. It takes about 20 to 30 days to put him at the weight I think he should fight at. This depends on whether his fat is hard or soft.

About 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon, I will give him 5 miles of road work. I keep the dog's pace at about 6 to 7 miles per hour beside the car, on about 25 feet of rope. In the 5 miles of work, I wind sprint him twice for about 50 yards. When I get back to the house, I put him in hi condition house for about 45 minutes. The water I give him is thoroughly boiled and cooled. I let him drink until he lifts his head.

The food consists of 1/4 lb. lean ground meat, cooked about half done, 2 - 12 minute boiled eggs, 2 cups of All-Bran, 1 cocktail of tomato juice. This is all he gets. I give vitamins in this pre-keep - this is very important! I kill two birds with one stone. This pup has not been tested yet. The day that he comes to the weight I think he should fight at, I completely change his ration, for 7 days. I give him about 2 lbs. of meat and 2 teacups of Purina. I give him his last feeding the 6th day. What I'm trying to explain is, he does not get any food or drink for about 18-24 hours before he's tested.

I put a big, rough dog, about 15 to 20 lbs. bigger on him for about 20 to 25 minutes. Then, I start scratching him. Now, you must remember that this dog has been in pre-keep and your dog might get in trouble for air. If he does, I'd pick him up and put another rough one on him. You usually don't have to use the second dog, especially if your big dog has been pulled down to about 5 or 7 pounds of his fighting weight. Some say I am too rough, but this is a rough game.

Now your pup is ready to go to the vet and get medication. I've always been lucky about having a good vet that understands.

Take good care of him and he'll be ready to match in about 90 days. With good care and medication, it takes about 62 days for his blood to purify after a hard go. Remember, a dog from 13 to 18 pounds over his fighting weight doesn't have but about 7 minutes of air in him and damn sure can be stopped, especially if he is young. There has been many a fat dog called a cur. Take good care of a good prospect. There's a lot of good dogs ruined every year by the owner's drinking too much and rolling their dogs. It does not go together! I have done this myself and messed up.

I am the third generation in the dog game. My grandfather got dogs from Ireland, from an uncle of his, long before I ever came. He told my father that the family dog dogs he had were bred right and were all game. If they turned out bad, he's blame it on their upbringing.

You young men, or not so young men, that are just starting out, don't hesitate to ask questions because because most of any older man in the dog game will help you. There's not many big secrets that are real, just good horse sense is the big secret! This was not written to cause controversy, just to help a beginner that's interested in the game.

~ Maurice Carver ~