American Pit Bull Terriers: At a Glance

When someone mentions any phrase or name containing "pit bull" in it, what is your first thought? If it has anything to do with bloodshed or maiming, your only partially right in your thoughts. You may be surprised to hear that the American Pit Bull Terrier is not what you think it is, but just the opposite.

The days of legal bloodsport is where the APBT's development started out as a dog referred to only as a "pit bull". There is A LOT more history to the APBT than one not familar with the breed can imagine, but we'll save that for another time. The early APBT's were just begining to be revered as pit dogs and refined to their own breed. Pit dogs have exsisted over centuries, but todays APBT was developed and refined within the last century.

The begining APBT was a fierce and aggressive fighter, however, his aggression was directed only to his pit opponent which was more commonly another dog or less commonly a bear, hog, or a bull. These dogs were meticulously bred and trained with extreme purpose. The purpose was to challenge and attack another animal without fail, NOT a human and if they did, they were destroyed. Bloodsport was a money game and if you had a dog that couldn't be controlled around the other handlers and the referee, you were not welcome. Therefore it was necessary for these dogs to be friendly and extremely tolerant toward all humans. The opposing handlers needed to be able to handle your dog to make sure nothing was hidden on the dog that would give an unfair advantage in the pit, such as glass shards in the fur or poison. The opposing handlers would bathe each others dog before a fight to ensure any foreign impliments were not present. How then do we explain the reason they attack humans today? Simply, most pedigree APBT's don't.

The APBT and many other "bully" dogs share ancestry. This lends to their similar appearance and in many cases, mistaken identity. Just as much, a mixed dog with any bully-breed type can look just as similar, and most times too similar. Which is why we hear of so many attacks by "pit bulls". Many advocates of the breed, myself included, believe that if better investigation of the animals lineage and documentation (if available) is done, it would be found that the world's largest "Media Monster" was not the culprit in many cases.

In the world of todays illegal bloodsports; gangs; and drug rings, pit bulls are notorious. Are these dogs the same dogs that sleep with us every night? The same dogs who play with our children and their friends? No. If they were, they wouldn't be notorious and probably wouldn't be in those situations. For example: Have you ever seen a Lab guarding a drug den? Have you ever seen a gang with a brood of Golden Retrievers? Have you ever seen a Poodle fight another Poodle to the death? Of course not.

Pit bulls may have lineage of APBT's somewhere along the way, but at some point an APBT bitch or dog was bred to a lesser standard. A vicious standard that can only be achieved by tasteless breeding. Breeding that crosses lines in more ways than one. These dogs are bred to be intimidating and dangerous to protect those who are intimidating and dangerous. Those people are not out to better the breed or keep the standard. They are out to breed a bigger, badder, meaner dog. They care not to breed pedigree to pedigree. They will breed to any other dog who is powerful and has a bad attitude. This results in dogs who look oh so similar to a true APBT, but in all actuality are not. This not only goes for gangs and drugs, this applies to the pit fighters of today as well. Those dogs are what we call pit bulls, not APBTs.

Although rare, human aggression can occur in an APBT, just as in any other breed of dog. The reason for this happening lays on the shoulders of the owners. There are a lot of people out there, aside from those described above, that like the idea of having a dangerous or vicious dog. A sweet and friendly little APBT puppy can be molded into an aggressive adult. A willingness and desire to please is one of the APBTs best traits, in this light it is his downfall. Then there are APBTs who become victims of harsh discipline. Harsh discipline will mentally ruin ANY dog and turn them into a fear biter, the only difference is not every dog has the bite power of an APBT which makes it so much worse for the APBT.

So what is an APBT? Today a true APBT is loving, loyal, strong, has amazing determination, high intelligence, and an overwhelming desire to please it's human. It has the ability to distinguish between friend and foe. It is so sturdy yet so loving as to not be affected by a child that becomes a bit too rough or an occasional tail pulling by a baby. It has the strength to pull hundreds of pounds in Weight Pulling, but also be as gentle as a kitten if the circumstance calls for it. As long as an APBT has been bred by responsible breeders and is raised in a loving and responsible home it is one of the most loving and enjoyable breeds to own and definitely not the "monster" we hear so much about.

All the information and statements above are my own through hands on experience and studying of this breed and other breeds mentioned over the past 15 years. I hope you have gained from it as I have.

-Brandy