American Pit Bull Terrier History

Recent pit bull history dates back to the 19th century England while some consider the actual lineage to have been started earlier by the Romans. Pit bulls are from the terrier dog breed but their origin started when they were crossbred with bulldogs.

Many suspect the theory behind this crossbreeding was to combine the intelligence of the terrier and the strength of the bulldog to create a workhorse on the farm while still being an intuitive family pet.

The reality of pit bull history is that these dogs were used to hunt, drive herds and for bull-baiting – a brutal practice of attacking a restrained bull to ultimately ease the slaughter process.

Breeds of Pit Bulls

The three types of pit bull breeds are the American Pit bull Terrier, The American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Each possesses different size and characteristics due to the types of terriers and bulldogs used during crossbreeding. The United Kennel Club was the first registry to recognize the American Pit bull Terrier in 1898.

Aggression in Pit Bulls

Plain and simple pit bulls are not born to be aggressive. They are bred that way by irresponsible owners. The intelligence and “scrappiness” of a terrier coupled with the size and strength of a bulldog make the pit bull the ideal fighting machine.

Many owners still participate in dog fighting and breed pit bulls to compete in the illegal sport. Other owners breed pit bulls to be aggressive so they can have a guard dog or attack dog who will attack on command. Regardless of the reason it is completely irresponsible.

Every once in a while these pit bulls break free and the result is an attack on an innocent adult or child which results in serious injury or death.

This then in turn sparks debate in Breed Specific Legislation because they analyze these attacks purely mathematically because of the difficulty of digging beneath the numbers and discovering it’s the irresponsibility of the owners.

It’s much easier to look at a recent statistic and see that pit bulls were responsible of 42% of attacks and say OK, if we insist they are muzzled, spayed, neutered or even euthanized if they attack someone, we solve the problem.

Characteristics

Pit bulls are a strong, intelligent, energetic breed. Typically a muscular dog that requires daily exercise. They are loyal dogs and make great family pets. They require socialization with other dogs, adults and children.

Socialization will help your pit bull get acquainted with different settings. This will help it to remain calm and not act out because of fear which can make them feel threatened. Socialization along with obedience training are two very important training techniques which differentiates a responsible owner from an irresponsible owner.

Pit bulls attack because they are bred to be aggressive or they are not trained and socialized properly.  Pit bull training is easy and can be done professionally or with a little research, on your own.

More on pit bull history…

Pit Bull Breeds – There are three main pit bull breeds. They are the American Pit bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. There are many different types of pit bulls or…

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Blue Nose Pit Bull – Blue nose Pit bulls and Red Nose Pit bulls are among the most popular types of pit bulls out there. Their appearance is defined by the beautiful…

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