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Although
the precise origin of the APBT is not known, we can reliably trace its roots back at least one hundred and fifty years or
so to England. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries the sport of bull-baiting
was very much alive and dogs were bred to excel in this endeavor. The same type
of dog was also used by hunters to catch game and by butchers and farmers to bring down unruly cattle. These dogs were called
"bulldogs." Historically, the word "Bulldog" did not mean a specific breed of
dog per se, but rather it was applied to descendants of the ancient Mastiff- type dogs that excelled in the task of bull-baiting.
The "bulldogs" of yore were much different from, and should not be confused with,
the loveable clowns of the show ring today. The old, performance-bred, working
bulldog was closer in phenotype and spirit to the APBT and/or the modern American Bulldog. The
use of the word "bulldog" applied to APBT's persists even today among APBT fanciers.
When bull-baiting was outlawed in England
in 1835 the sport of matching two dogs against one another in combat rose in popularity to fill the void. One point of contention about the history of the APBT is whether these pit fighting dogs were essentially
a new breed of dog specially created for this popular pastime. Some authors,
notably Richard Stratton, have theorized that the APBT is essentially the same breed as the Renaissiance bull-baiting dogs,
largely unmixed with any other kind of dog, specifically terriers. These authors
consider the present name, American Pit Bull Terrier, a double misnomer, since, in their view, the breed is not of American
origin and is not a terrier. They explain the popular attribution of the breed's
origin to a cross between bull-baiters and terriers as a retrospective confusion with the breeding history of the English
Bull Terrier, which is a totally distinct breed that was never successful at pit fighting but whose origin is well-documented.
Other authors who have researched the topic, such as Dr. Carl Semencic, argue
that the APBT is indeed the product of a cross between bull-baiting dogs and terriers and that the breed simply did not exist
in its current form during the Renaissance. They would argue that when we think
of the terriers in the APBT's ancestry, we should not envision modern-day show dogs like Yorkshire Terriers, but instead working
terriers (probably now extinct) that were bred for great tenacity in hunting. The
problem of proof, which hangs over the discussion of any early breed history, is compounded in this case by the extreme secrecy
of the breeders of pit dogs. In the 19th century pedigrees, if committed to paper at all, were not divulged, since every breeder
feared letting his rivals in on the secrets of his success and replicating it. In any case, by no later than the mid-19th
century, the breed had acquired all of the essential characteristics for which it is still prized today: its awesome athletic
abilities, its peerless gameness, and its easy-going temperament.
The immediate ancestors of the APBT were Irish and
English pit fighting dogs imported to the States in the mid-19th century. Once
in the United
States, the breed diverged slightly from what was being produced back in England
and Ireland. In America, where these
dogs were used not only as pit fighters, but also as catch dogs (i.e., for forcibly retrieving stray hogs and cattle) and
as guardians of family, the breeders started producing a slightly larger, leggier dog. However, this gain in size and weight
was small until very recently. The Old Family Dogs in 19th century Ireland were rarely above 25 lbs., and 15-lb. dogs were not
uncommon. In American books on the breed from the early part of this century,
it is rare to find a specimen over 50 lbs. (with a few notable exceptions). From
1900 to 1975 or so, there was probably a very small and gradual increment in the average weight of APBTs over the years, without
any corresponding loss in performance abilities. But now that the vast majority
of APBTs are no longer performance-bred to the traditional pit standard (understandably, since the traditional performance
test, the pit contest itself, is now a felony), the American axiom of "Bigger is Better" has taken over in the breeding practices
of the many neophyte breeders who joined the bandwagon of the dog's popularity in the 1980s. This
has resulted in a ballooning of the average size of APBTs in the last 15 years. Another, less visible modification of the
breed since the 19th century was the selective intensification of genetically programmed fighting styles (such as front-end
specialists, stifle specialists, etc.), as performance breeding became more sophisticated under competitive pressures. In
spite of these changes, there has been a remarkable continuity in the breed for more than a century. Photos from a century ago show dogs indistinguishable from the dogs being bred today. Although, as in any performance breed, you will find a certain lateral (synchronic) variability in phenotype
across different lines, you will nevertheless find uncanny chronological continuity in these types across decades. There are photos of pit dogs from the 1860s that are phenotypically (and, to judge by contemporary descriptions
of pit matches, constitutionally) identical to the APBTs of today.
Throughout the 19th century, these dogs were known
by a variety of names. "Pit Terriers", "Pit Bull Terriers", "Half and Half's", "Staffordshire Fighting Dogs", "Old Family
Dogs"(the Irish name), "Yankee Terriers"(the Northern name), and "Rebel Terriers"(the Southern name) to name a few. In 1898,
a man by the name of Chauncy Bennet formed the United Kennel Club (UKC) for the sole purpose of registering "Pit Bull Terriers"
as the American Kennel Club wanted nothing to do with them. Originally, he added
the word "American" to the name and dropped "Pit". This didn't please all of
the people so later the word "Pit" was added back to the name in parentheses as a compromise. The
parentheses were then removed from the name about 15 years ago. All other breeds
that are registered with UKC were accepted into the UKC after the APBT. Another
registry of APBTs is the American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA) which was started in September, 1909 by Guy McCord, a close
friend of John P. Colby. Now under the stewardship of the Greenwood
family, the ADBA continues to register only APBTs and is more in tune with the APBT as a breed than the UKC. The ADBA does
sponsor conformations shows, but more importantly, it sponsors weight pulling competitions which test a dogs strength, stamina,
and heart. It also publishes a quarterly magazine dedicated to the APBT called the American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette. The authors feel that the ADBA is now the flagship registry of APBT as it is doing
more to preserve the original characteristics of the breed.
In 1936, thanks to "Pete the Pup" in the "Lil Rascals",
who familiarized a wider audience with the APBT, the AKC jumped on the bandwagon and registered the breed as the "Staffordshire
Terrier". This name was changed to "American Staffordshire Terrier" (AST) in
1972 to distinguish it from its smaller, "froggier", English cousin the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. In 1936, for all intents and purposes, the AKC, UKC, and ADBA version of the "Pit Bull" were identical since
the original AKC stock came from pit fighting dogs, which were UKC and ADBA registered. During
this time period, and the years that preceded it, the APBT was a well-liked dog in America. At this time the APBT was considered an ideal family pet. Because of his fun-loving, forgiving temperament,
the breed was rightly considered an excellent dog for families with small children. Even
if most of them couldn't identify the breed by name, kids of the Lil Rascals generation wanted a companion just like "Pete
the Pup". During the First World War, there was an American propaganda poster
that represented the rival European nations with their national dogs dressed in military uniforms; and in the center representing
the United States was an APBT declaring
in a caption below: "I'm neutral, but not afraid of any of them."
Since 1936, due to different breeding goals, the American
Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier have diverged in both phenotype and spirit/temperament, although both,
ideally, continue to have in common an easy-going, friendly disposition. [2] Some folks in the fancy feel that after 60 years
of breeding for different goals, these two dogs are now entirely different breeds. Other
people choose to view them as two different strains of the same breed (working and show). Either
way, the gap continues to widen as breeders from both sides of the fence consider it undesirable to interbreed the two. To the untrained eye, ASTs may look more impressive and fearsome, with a larger and
more blocky head, with bulging jaw muscles, a wider chest and thicker neck. In
general, however, they aren't nearly as "game" or athletic as game-bred APBTs. Because
of the standardization of their conformation for show purposes, ASTs tend to look alike, to a much greater degree than APBTs
do. APBTs have a much wider phenotypical range, since the primary breeding goal, until fairly recently, has been not to produce
a dog with a certain "look" but to produce one capable of winning pit contests, in which the looks of a dog counted for nothing.
There are some game-bred APBTs that are practically indistinguishable from typical
ASTs, but in general they are leaner, leggier, and lighter on their toes and have more stamina, agility, speed, and explosive
power.
Following the second World War, until the early 1980s,
the APBT lapsed into relative obscurity. But those devoted few who knew the breed
knew it in intimate detail. These devotees typically knew much more about their
dogs' ancestry than about their own--they were often able to recite pedigrees back six or eight generations. When APBTs became popular with the public around 1980, nefarious individuals with little or no knowledge
of the breed started to own and breed them and predictably, problems started to crop up. Many
of these newcomers did not adhere to the traditional breeding goals of the old-time APBT breeders. In typical backyard fashion they began randomly breeding dogs in order to mass produce puppies as profitable
commodities. Worse, some unscrupulous neophytes started selecting dogs for exactly
the opposite criteria that had prevailed up to then: they began selectively breeding dogs for the trait of human aggressiveness.
Before long, individuals who shouldn't have been allowed near a gold fish were
owning and producing poorly bred, human-aggressive "Pit Bulls" for a mass market. This,
coupled with the media's propensity for over-simplification and sensationalization, gave rise to the anti-"Pit Bull" hysteria
that continues to this day. It should go without saying that, especially with this breed, you should avoid backyard breeders.
Find a breeder with a national reputation; investigate, for example, the breeders
who advertise in the breed's flagship magazine, The American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette. In
spite of the introduction of some bad breeding practices in the last 15 years or so, the vast majority of APBTs remain very
human-friendly. The American Canine Temperament Testing Association, which sponsors
tests for temperament titles for dogs, reported that 95% of all APBTs that take the test pass, compared with a 77% passing
rate for all breeds on average. The APBT's passing rate was the fourth highest
of all the breeds tested.
Today, the APBT is still used (underground and illegally)
as a fighting dog in the United States; pit matches also take place in other countries where there are no laws or where the
existing laws are not enforced. However, the vast majority of APBT's--even within the kennels of breeders who breed for fighting
ability--never see any action in the pit. Instead they are loyal, loving, companion dogs and family pets. One activity that
has really grown in popularity among APBT fanciers is weight pulling contests. Weight-pulls retain something of the spirit
of competition of the pit fighting world, but without the blood or sorrow. The APBT is ideally suited for these contests,
in which the refusal to quit counts for as much as brute strength. Currently, APBTs hold world records in several weight classes.
I have seen one 70-lb. APBT pull a mini-van! Another activity that the APBT is ideally suited for is agility competition,
where its athleticism and determination can be widely appreciated. Some APBTs have been trained and done well in Schutzhund
sport; these dogs, however, are more the exception than the rule.
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