[Tatanka1094]

Il riferimento che facevo non riguardava George Washington ma Theodore Roosevelt, grande cacciatore e grande cacciatore di lupi che a fine '800 popolavano ancora gli USA, si tratta di lupi nord americani che sono sì più grandi dei nostri, ma è anche vero che a quell'epoca si usavano cani che non hanno niente a che vedere con quelli di oggi giorno... erano ottimali per lo scopo per cui furono creati, caccia o combattimento che sia!

"A wolf is a terrible fighter. He will decimate a pack of hounds by rabid snaps with his giant jaws while suffering little damage himself;
nor are the ordinary big dogs, supposed to be fighting dogs, able to tackle him without special training.
I have known one wolf to kill a bulldog which had rushed at it with a single snap, while another which had entered the yard of a Montana ranch house slew in quick succession both of the large mastiffs by which it was assailed.
The immense agility and ferocity of the wild beast, the terrible snap of his long- toothed jaws, and the admirable training in which he always is, give him a great advantage over fat, small-toothed, smooth-skinned dogs,
even though they are nominally supposed to belong to the fighting classes."
Theodore Roosevelt, 1893

Qui si notano due cose, la descrizione della potenza del morso e soprattutto il fatto che il lupo è stato affrontato da bulldog (che all'epoca sai cosa era!!!) e un "large mastiff" (che sicuramente non era uno di quelli che oggi fanno più tenerezza che altro!)




"A mastiff, if properly trained and of sufficient size, might possibly be able to meet a young or undersized Texas wolf;
but I have never seen a dog of this variety which I would esteem a match single-handed for one of the huge timber wolves of western Montana.
Even if the dog was the heavier of the two, his teeth and claws would be very much smaller and weaker and his hide less tough."
Theodore Roosevelt

Come dicevo negll'altro post, un cane tosto poteva sì battere un lupo, ma se era giovane o notevolmente più piccolo, infatti parla di lupo del Texas che credo sia simile al lupo messicano.




"The true way to kill wolves, however, is to hunt them with greyhounds on the great plains. Nothing more exciting than this sport can possibly be imagined.
It is not always necessary that the greyhounds should be of absolutely pure blood. Prize-winning dogs of high pedigree often prove useless for the purposes.
The greyhounds sometimes do best if they have a slight cross of bulldog in their veins; but this is not necessary. [..] Greyhounds trained for this purpose always seize by the throat;
and the light dogs used for coursing jack-rabbits are not of much service, smooth or rough-haired greyhounds and deer-hounds standing over thirty inches at the shoulder and weighing over ninety pounds being the only ones that, together with speed, courage, and endurance, possess the requisite power.[..]
I have several times seen wolves run down and stopped by greyhounds after a break-neck gallop and a wildly exciting finish, but this was the only occasion on which I ever saw the dogs kill a big, full-grown he-wolf unaided.
[..] These greyhounds were trained to the throat-hold, and did their own killing in fine style; usually six or eight were slipped together."
Theodore Roosevelt

Qui descrive i cani che potrebbero uccidere un lupo grande e grosso, hanno in comune al Dogo Argentino sangue levriero e sangue di bulldog, ma sembra che la parte più incisiva al fine della caccia al lupo sia proprio quella del levriero, e anche qui sai come erano i levrieri di una volta! (tra l'altro anche in Russia i levrieri erano molto bravi alla caccia e uccisione di lupi!) quindi il sangue molossoide non credo sia così importante come si pensa alla grande attitudine e capacità del Dogo alla caccia e lotta contro il selvatico, direi allora che sicuramente il sangue di terrier ha dato molto di più in questo senso del molossoide.




"Two great greyhounds struck him like stones hurled from a catapult, throwing him as they fastened on his throat; they held him down and strangled him before he could rise, two other hounds getting up just in time to help at the end of the worry.
Ordinarily, however, no two greyhounds or deer-hounds are a match for a gray wolf, but I have known of several instances in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, in which three strong veterans have killed one.
The feat can only be performed by big dogs of the highest courage, who all act together, rush in at top speed, and seize by the throat; for the strength of the quarry is such that otherwise he will shake off the dogs, and then speedily kill them by rabid snaps with his terribly armed jaws.
Where possible, half a dozen dogs should be slipped at once, to minimize the risk of injury to the pack; unless this is done, and unless the hunter helps the dogs in the worry, accidents will be frequent, and an occasional wolf will be found able to beat off, maiming or killing, a lesser number of assailants."
Theodore Roosevelt

Inoltre, come dice sopra, i cani devono avere grandi doti fisiche ed essere davvero bravi per sopraffare il lupo, non si tratta solo di razza o incroci ben riusciti ma di esemplari che sono molto al di sopra della media dei propri simili.