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Even though the APBT has historically been bred to excel in
combat with other dogs, a well-bred APBT has a rock-steady
temperament and, contrary to popular belief, is NOT inherently
aggressive towards humans. However, as adults, some APBTs may
show aggression towards other dogs. This fact, along with the
APBT's strength and determination, should be taken into account
when considering if the APBT is the right breed for you. As with
any companion dog, socialization and consistent fair-minded
training is a must from a very early age. Although some APBTs may be suspicious of strangers, as most
dogs are, and will protect loved ones if necessary, in general
they do not excel in protection/guard work. If your main reason
for getting a dog is for protection/guard work, perhaps a
Rottweiler, German Shephard, or a Doberman Pinscher would suit
you better. Or, if you really like the bulldog phenotype, look
into an American Bulldog. There are several types of dogs that are commonly called "Pit
Bulls." Primarly, these are the American Pit Bull Terrier, the
American Staffordshire Terrier (AST), and the Staffordshire Bull
Terrier (SBT). All three of these dogs share common ancestry but
have been subsequently bred emphasizing different breeding
criteria. Due to this divergence, some people feel that they are
now different breeds. Others choose to view them as different
"strains" of the same breed. Neither view is wrong, as it comes
down to how one defines what a "breed" is. This FAQ is primarily
about the American Pit Bull Terrier, specifically those dogs of
relatively recent game-bred ancestry. Some of the material may
ring true for the AST and the SBT, but the authors are biased
toward the APBT from performance-bred lines, and this bias will
be clear throughout the FAQ. Among enthusiasts, the history of the APBT is as
controversial as the breed itself is among the misled public.
The breed's history is a recurrent subject of lively debate in
the magazines devoted to the breed. In fact, this FAQ was hotly
debated among the contributors before it reached its final form,
and still everyone isn't 100% happy!
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 (see the
"References" section). 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.
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 (see the
section on APBT's and protection/guard work). [1]- Actually one can trace the "Bulldog" history back
further than that, but for this document that's far enough.
Readers who are interested in more information on the history of
the breed are encouraged to refer to Dr. Carl Semencic's book
"The World of Fighting Dogs". [2]- Through out this document, unless otherwise noted, when
we refer to the American Pit Bull Terrier(APBT), we are
referring to the ADBA version which is more likely to be bred to
the traditional APBT breeding standards. In general, the UKC
version of the APBT is now being bred mostly for looks alone,
and thus has much in common with the AKC AST
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BSL: A group of laws that bans particular breeds, usually pit bulls (a type of dog, not a breed) and sometimes Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Akitas, Dobermans, Chow Chows, and a few others. These laws are usually passed after several attacks by a particular breed so that city councils can assure citizens they are “doing something” about a voter concern. But breed bans don't work. They target all dogs of a breed -- the innocent as well as the guilty; are difficult to enforce; and do not end the use of guardian dogs by criminals. If pit bulls in their various incarnations are banned, drug dealers and other felons switch to another breed or mix. In the meantime, the ill-tempered terrier mix that bites the hand that feeds it and the poorly-bred purebred that attacks the neighborhood children pose a far greater danger to people than the obedience-trained American Staffordshire Terrier that is a registered therapy dog but cannot step foot inside the city. Far better than breed-specific bans are strict laws to control aggressive dogs of any breed or mix. Known as generic vicious dog laws, they put restrictions on the ownership of dogs that pose a danger to people, restrictions such as confinement in locked, escape-proof kennels while outdoors on the owner's property; muzzles when the dog is off the property; and purchase of a liability insurance policy.
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2. Which course of action in Question 1 do you
think would:
(a) because most of the tens of millions
of pet dogs are NOT registered, "breed" cannot be defined
in a meaningful way?
Real answer: If your dog hurts someone,
you -- not the dog -- should be responsible. Anti-cruelty
and anti-dog-fighting laws already exist. Tell your mayor,
and city or county or provincial council to up the current
penalties, and insist that judges enforce those penalties
against lawbreakers.
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The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is a descendent of the
original English bull-baiting Bulldog and has historically been
bred with working/performance goals in mind. The challenge of
describing the American Pit Bull Terrier inevitably invites a
long sequence of superlatives. The APBT is a supremely athletic,
highly versatile, adaptive, gushingly affectionate,
eager-to-please, all-around family dog. In courage, resolve,
indefatigableness, indifference to pain, and stubborn
perseverance in overcoming any challenge, the APBT has no equal
in the canine world. Although the APBT was once used as a
national symbol of courage and pride, the breed is largely
misunderstood today. 
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 [1] 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--a
harmful phenomenon for the breed, in our opinion. 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.
In 1936, thanks to "Pete the Pup" in the "Lil Rascals" and "Our
Gang" 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." 
