A little history of Americas original dog that I put together a couple of years ago. Hope you enjoy. The Story of The Pit Bull: The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), the American Staffordshire Terrier (Am Staff) and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffies) are the three breeds of dog that are classified under the identifying name Pit Bull. These dogs are part of the molosser breed group and their roots can be traced back to the 19th Century where they were created in England and Ireland as the result of the cross-breeding between certain terrier breeds and bulldogs for their combined traits of athleticism, strength and gameness. At first, in the early-mid 1800s, they were bred for the sport of ratting, where several dogs were unleashed in a pit with a bunch of rats and the dog who killed the most rats would be the winner. Eventually they were bred to become the perfect all-around dog for working on farms, protecting livestock, and protecting the family home. As years passed the breeding began to become more specialized and certain traits were bred into the dogs such as a high prey drive. They were then used for the bloodsport of bull-baiting, where these dogs would clamp onto the face of a bull and drag it down to the ground until the bull eventually died of exhaustion and blood-loss. Thankfully this horrible and cruel sport was outlawed in 1835. When bull-baiting (along with bear-baiting) became illegal, dog owners searched for new ways to make money through blood sports, so the dogs were further bred to have a high fight drive against other animals. They were also bred to have a very high tolerance for pain. At first they were put into pits and were used to kill rats - a sport aptly named ratting. When that became boring, the owners eventually pitted the dogs against each other, and thats how they eventually wound up with the name Pit Bull. They used to be called bull-and-terrier, half-and-halfs, bull terrier, and pit dog. In the year 1898, the United Kennel Club (UKC) was founded and this dog was officially named American Pit Bull Terrier. In the early days of pit bull fighting, the owners used to stay in the pit with their dogs. Aggression towards any person was considered extremely undesirable and unacceptable, therefore any dog that showed aggression towards a human would be killed. Only the dogs that showed the least human aggressive traits were allowed to be bred with one another, therefore all known traits of human aggression were bred right out of them over the years. As the 20th Century rolled in the APBT was given a new lease on life where they were used primarily as work dogs on farms and in several other capacities. They were revered for their steadfast loyalty to their owners, friendliness towards people, their unyielding affectionate, loving and protective nature of their owners and their households. They have also been nick-named the nanny dog for their fondness and protective nature with children. The dog Petey on the Little Rascals was a pit bull. The dog on Buster Brown shoes, Tige, is a pit bull. The dogs used on WWI and WWII posters to rally for the troops was always an APBT. America absolutely fell in love with these dogs, and for over a century they enjoyed the respect and admiration of everyone and were unofficially considered Americas Dog. These dogs were the most popular dogs in the U.S.A. and many people sought to have one as their own pet. Famous people like Fred Astaire, Helen Keller, and Theodore Roosevelt owned APBTs as pets. As the 1980s rolled in, these dogs began to go from respectable to detestable thanks to the criminal sub-culture. Thugs, drug dealers, and gangs wanted a macho dog to bolster their images, so they began breeding pit bulls at an alarming rate and selling them for about $50.00 each. The most undesirable traits were being bred into them, such as high dog aggression, abnormally large heads and bodies and even human aggression (which is NOT a natural trait in a pit bull bred from a good gene stock, but a typical trait of inbreeding). As this decadent trend began to increase, the media eventually bolstered their own ratings by sensationalizing all kinds of horror stories about savage pit bulls mauling and killing people. All kinds of urban myths began to surface, such as a locking jaw and bites of 1,800 PSI (neither of which is even remotely true). It has been proven by veterinarians everywhere that pit bulls do not have a locking mechanism in their jaws. These dogs are mammals, and like every other mammal on Earth they do not have any such ability. Pit bulls have been bred to never let go once they clamp down, but their jaws do not lock. Now we have a modern society that shares a common misconception and fear of these otherwise amazing wonderful dogs. Its come to the point where some cities in this and in other countries -- Denver, CO and Toronto, Canada for example -- have enacted a law called Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). This law not only bans people from owning a pit bull, but it mandates the euthanization of thousands of pit bulls every year. No questions asked. If a dog even looks like a pit bull or a pit bull mix, they get destroyed. Our goal and our mission is to become part of the advocacy that is fighting to destroy BSL, educate and inform people about this incredible dog, and help restore the breeds impeccable time-honored name.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 21:12:01 +0000
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