[Marty2009]

History Part 1

The modern American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) can trace its roots back to England and the early 19th century. Crosses between “bully” type dogs and terriers eventually produced the modern APBT. Although not recognized as a “breed” and much smaller than the modern APBT, the early “bulldogs” were used as working dogs, controlling unruly bulls for butchers as well as farmers.

These “bulldogs” resembled, phenotypically, the modern APBT but were considerably smaller, weighing in at 15-30lbs. The courage and tenacity that made these dogs good at corralling dangerous bulls made them great at the blood sport of bull baiting.

The year 1835 saw the end of deadly bull baiting (countless thousands of dogs lost their lives to this “sport”) and the emergence of an even more sinister blood sport - dog fighting.

To understand the American Pit Bull Terrier, it is imperative to understand the breed’s fighting origins.

The lower class had used blood sports as an outlet for their frustration and aggression towards the monarchy - pit fighting was, in essence, an outcry and an outlet for that aggression.

Dogs were bred to be courageous, utterly devoid of pain sensations (they, no doubt, felt pain but were bred and encouraged not to express that pain), tenacious and determined.

A quality that was never bred into them was human aggression. Human “aggressive” (aggression may not be the most appropriate term, it is more likely that these dogs simply had a lower bite threshold) dogs were undesirable as these dogs required extensive handling prior and during their fights - most of theses dogs were also family pets so no human “aggression” was ever tolerated.

Dogs that exhibited human “aggression” were typically killed, meaning that only human friendly lines were perpetuated and desired. It is highly unlikely, however, that these culled dogs were naturally more aggressive towards humans than their bred counterparts but their bite threshold may have been much lower meaning that it did not take much for them to turn around and bite their handler. Animals were bred for an increased bite threshold, as far as humans and only humans were concerned, which decreased the likelihood of humans becoming victims of dog bites.

In 1898, Chauncy Bennet formed the UKC, a breed registry aimed solely at the registration and acceptance of pitbulls. The AKC had wanted nothing to do with pitbulls, so Bennet sought to create an organization that would represent the breed as performance dogs. Mr. Bennet added “American” and initially dropped “Pit” from the APBT’s name but public outcry let to “Pit” being added back to the name - thus the American Pit Bull Terrier.

For a pitbull to be accepted into the UKC the dog had to have won three fights - a requirement that was later dropped. Another registry that was started solely for APBT’s, the American Dog Breeders Association was born in 1909. The ADBA was started by Guy McCord who was a close friend of one of the founding fathers of the modern APBT, John P. Colby. The ADBA was created to test the performance quality of a APBT without actual pit fighting; the ADBA’s main focus was on weight pulling competitions with a spattering of conformation shows.

The AKC decided to register Pit Bulls but under a different name - the Staffordshire Terrier, which was later changed to the American Staffordshire Terrier in 1972, or AST. Up until 1936, Pit Bulls and AST’s were physically identical. After 1936, AST’s were bred solely for conformation and their breed requirements became much more stringent. APBT’s were being bred for both performance (fighting) as well as conformation shows and the breed’s standard became much more lenient. The AST’s, phenotypically, became “flashier” with blockier heads, larger chests and a thicker jaw while the APBT’s varied phenotypically from lanky to stocky. Although the phenotypic expression varied in the APBT, relative weight, size and proportion remained constant and dogs over 60lbs were rarely seen. Both AST’s and APBT’s were bred to be exceptionally sturdy and extremely human friendly, not to mention athletic, courageous, and tenacious


article credit : Marji Beach

[Marty2009]

Part Two: Yesterday and Today
Complete text copyright ©Marji Beach.

The 1980’s saw an upsurge in the popularity of American Pit Bull Terriers as “guard” dogs for drug dealers and also as an expression of ego or “manhood” for street kids. Thus, it began - the production of disproportionately large “Pit Bulls”. For all intensive purposes, these were not (and still are not!) true American Pit Bull Terriers - lines of American Bulldog, Cane Corso’s and other molosser breeds were incorporated into the APBT’s lineage to produce massive brutes. In some cases, a large APBT pup was born and was overused as a stock breeder, thus producing highly inbred dogs with serious behavioral issues. It is a myth that an APBT can weigh 80lbs or more - those are not true Pit Bulls and if a pedigree was attained, at some point, there would be
molosser (mastiff) blood added or the dog would have come from highly inbred lines.dogmen/women (those who fight dogs) were horrified to see the onslaught of massive hulks, for in the pit ring/box, bigger does not mean better performance.

Today, the vast majority of APBT’s do not get over 60lbs (and this is true for AST’s) and the vast majority are household pets. Unfortunately, a of dog, it is imperative for owners to properly socialize their dogs and that means exposing them to everything imaginable: from young to old children, from the elderly to the wheelchair bound, from umbrellas to kites, etc.

Dogs should never be chained outside or left outside in the backyard for most of the day as that is simply creating a dangerous dog by circumstance. The APBT’s that have attacked have ALL been poorly socialized, under trained, and neglected - they never learned appropriate behavioral skills to cope with the outside world. All that these dogs had were the poor social skills that only a chained or neglected dog can receive; since they were never taught to suppress some of their predatory instincts, these dogs inevitably hear a screaming child and see the child running and instinct takes over.

APBT’s are no more or less difficult than any other dog to train or socialize. Owners most certainly need to understand the dog fighting history and take necessary precautions by ensuring early socialization with other dogs and monitoring of their interactions with other dogs. And even with extensive socialization, some APBT’s may never become comfortable around other dogs, so each dog should be treated as an individual with careful consideration. By their very nature, APBT’s strive to be around humans - centuries of breeding have seen to that. They need a kind heart AND a kind hand - physical reprimands are useless and ineffective for any dog and should rarely, if ever, be employed.APBT’s have been used by the FDA and USDA for sniffing out bombs and drugs and have been used by the military as well as police forces. APBT’s have also been used as therapy and service dogs; in fact, the first certified hearing dog in Alaska was an APBT. APBT’s are great at weight pulling as well as agility, schutzhund, obedience and carting. As far as temperament is concerned, APBT’s have consistently scored an 82% and higher on the American Temperament Test Society’s evaluation, higher than Goldens, German Shepherds and most other breeds. With socialization, training and a kind hand - APBT’s are wonderful companions for all walks of life: from families to single individuals, from joggers to apartment dwellers, and onward.

[Lara's mom]

It's a shame these dogs have developed such a bad reputation. Where I live they are the only banned breed. There have been no pit bull puppies allowed since 2005 and the adults have to be leashed and muzzled at all times. When the ban was enacted, people surrendered pit bulls to the animal shelters in droves because of the high liability attached to owning this breed. Hard working and dedicated people rehomed many of these dogs out of the province where they are now leading happy lives.

Thanks for posting this info!!!

Nice story

Thanks for sharing the info, pit bulls are such great dogs

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[sandyh]

Originally Posted by cgmccary

In the small town I live in Alabama and in my area, unfortunately, Pit Bulls or some derivative thereof, make up about 90% of the dog population. It is the thugs and the rednecks that own these dogs. They keep them in deplorable conditions and breed them like rabbits. It is always simply astonishing to me that with more than 200 breeds of wonderful dogs, this is the dog breed of choice for so many. Anyone who owns a Pit Bull ". . . as an expression of ego or 'manhood' . . ." possesses neither. Really pathetic, but this is the true reason for ownership of most of the Pit Bull owners I witness.

Most of these Pit Bulls are kept chained in backyards. Inevitably, some get loose. Those that get loose have attacked people, pets and livestock around here. We've had several people hospitalized in intensive care for these attacks. I have many stories of encounters with this breed, personal experiences & I could not care less how they score on a temperament test. I cannot say this about any other breed of dog. Perhaps if 90% of the dogs were German Shepherds, I'd feel differently. Pit Bulls are a big problem, and I have wished the breed banned for a long time.

I do not want ANY dog genetically bred to fight, kill & maim other dogs anywhere around me, my dogs, my other pets or my livestock. Of course, I have given my Pit Bull-owning-neighbors due warning. I feel a sense of responsibility to protect my animals from such a dog.

Nobody wants to live next to any type of dog who is bred to fight or maim or kill. But if your state is 90% of a breed you don't like then I suggest that you move somewhere else because apparently bitching on these forums isnt making it go away because we cant do a damb thing about it. not all areas and not all pitbull owners are bad, that would be like me saying i live by 90 % ankle biters and because they are always biting or nipping peoples ankles to an adult would be minor because they cant reach our face to easy but what damage can they do to a small unsuspecting child. Then we should get rid of all small animals.

Now to most of you posters on here that have small dogs please dont take offense. This was said to just make a statement to the ignorant person that wrote this post.

okay starting from the top- in the first part that is highlighted, you said 90% of the dogs are pit bulls. then you state it is the thugs and rednecks that own them, then you say how they are left outside chained up in the back yard all the time(where is the socialization of these dogs)and then you said further down that if it was a different breed of dog you would feel that way about that breed. geez ya think, get a clue!!!

I am a owner of 3 pit bulls. i have 2 and my daughter owns 1. I am not a man with an ego or looking to show expressions of my manhood. I am also not a thug or a redneck. i am a woman who loves the way this breed of dog looks and behaves.

A dog is only as good as its owner makes it. If you train a dog to fight it going to fight, if you train it to be gently, it will be gentle.

[Lara's mom]

With that many pit bulls in your area, I'm surprised they haven't been banned already. These dogs in the hands of stupid people are like a toddler with a loaded gun - a disaster waiting to happen. I live in an area where these dogs have been banned since 2005. The problem with banning an entire breed is that the good dogs suffer right along with the ones that people have turned bad.

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