Bully Breeds--American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT)

There are several breeds that fall under the general term "pitbull."  So I'm gonna spend a bit of time on each one in the category.

HISTORY:
The modern American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) comes from stock in England and Ireland.  They were specifically breed between bulldog types and terrier types to create a dog to use in bear and/or bull baiting.  These poor dogs have been used badly by humans for a long time.  They have courage and tenacity and are good at coralling bulls.  Fortunately, bull and bear baiting was deemed inhumane in 1835.  Unfortunately, things turned more sinister for the dogs that were breed for baiting and dog fights were the new direction that the APBT were steered.  It is interesting to note that these dogs were never breed for human aggressive traits and that dogs who exhibited aggression toward humans were put down.  The "pit" part of pitbull comes from the pits that the dogs were put in to fight each other.

The first registry for APBT was actually in the UK in 1898 and to be on the registry, the dog had to have won three fights.  The AKC adopted the APBT under the name Staffordshire Terrier in 1972.  The breed is often referred to as APBT or American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, AmStaf, Staffy, and so on which often leads to a lot of confusion about whether it is one breed or several.

CHARACTERISTICS:
The American Pit Bull Terrier differs in appearance from the breed in other countries as the "bull" aspects are more muted and less pronounced in the dogs' features.  They are a medium sized dog with short coat of fur.  They can be any color.  They have short to medium ears, which can be cropped---a practice that was done to prevent excessive bleeding when the dogs were fighting in the pits and serves no real purpose anymore other than for appearance.  They range from 17 to 22 inches tall and weigh between 30 and 60 pounds.  They have a lifespan of 12-14 years.  They are muscular, but should not be overly muscle bound.

TEMPERMENT:
The APBT is highly intelligent and eager to please.  They are quick learners, strong and full of energy.  They are very friendly and make excellent companion dogs, particularly for families with children.  Because they are so friendly and outgoing, they don't make the best guard dogs.  They are very energetic (this cannot be stressed enough) and very athletic, so long walks and play time is a daily necessity.  They can leap fences very easily.  They are not human aggressive.  In fact, most reports of human aggression in the news are from dogs who were used in dog fighting (Shame on you Michael Vick!), dog baiting, or in dogs that have been trained to be "aggressive."  Dogs who have been trained to go against their nature are more dangerous because they have no filters of their own and only have the ones they were taught---remember they are eager to please.

RESOURCES:
About Dogs--pitbull
trainingapitbull.net
Pit Bull Rescue Central