The American Pit Bull Terrier has always been the center of bloody sports involving dogs and, for some people, is the perfect dog for this practice, considered 100% functional.You should know that the world of dogfighting is a community and extremely complex.Although bull bait was highlighted in the 18th century, the prohibition of bloody sports in 1835 resulted in dogfighting because this new “sport” required much less space.Then, from the old gladiators Bulldog and Spartan Terriers, a new cross between Bulldog and Terrier was born that marked the beginning of a new era in England, in terms of dogfights.
Today, the Pitbull is one of the most popular breeds in the world, either because of its unfair reputation as a “dangerous dog” or because of its faithful nature. Despite its bad reputation, the Pit Bull is an especially versatile dog with different qualities. Therefore, in this Animal Expert article, we will talk about the history of the American Pit Bull Terrier, offering a real and professional perspective based on studies and verified facts.If you are a lover of the breed, this article will interest you. Keep reading!
- Between 1816 and 1860.
- Dogfights increased in England.
- Despite their ban between 1832 and 1833.
- When bullfights.
- Bear bait.
- Rat bait and even dogfights were abolished.
- In addition.
- This activity came to the United States around 1850 and 1855.
- Rapidly gaining popularity among the population.
- In an attempt to end the practice in 1978.
- The Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty (ASPCA) officially banned dogfighting.
- But despite this.
- In 1880 this activity continued to occur in various parts of the United States.
After this period, the police gradually eliminated the practice, which remained clandestine for many years, is a fact that even today dog fights continue to develop illegally, but how did it all start?Let’s go to the beginning of Pit Bull’s story.
The history of the American Pit Bull Terrier and its ancestors, the Bulldogs and Terriers, is a bloody axe. The old Pit Bull, pit dogs or pit bulldogs, were dogs from Ireland and England and, in a small percentage, from Scotland.
Life in the 18th century was difficult, especially for the poor, who suffered greatly from animal pests such as rats, foxes and badgers, had dogs out of necessity because otherwise they would be exposed to diseases and supply problems in their homes.These dogs were magnificent burrows, selectively created from the strongest, most skilled and most stubborn specimens.During the day, burrows patrolled the area near the houses, but at night they protected potato fields and agricultural fields, they themselves needed to find shelter to rest.out of the houses.
Gradually the Bulldog was introduced into the daily life of people and, from the cross between Bulldogs and Terrier, the “bull” was born
These dogs were used by the most humble members of society as a form of entertainment, forcing them to fight. In the early nineteenth century there were crosses of Bulldogs and Terriers fighting in Ireland and England, old dogs bred in the Cork and Derry regions of Ireland.. In fact, their descendants are known as the “Old Family”.In addition, other English varieties of Pit Bull were also born, such as “Murphy”, “Waterford”, “Killkinney”, “Galt”, “Semmes”, “Colby” and “Ofrn”.The latter was another strain of the old family and, over time and selection during selection, began to divide into other completely different strains (or strains).
At that time, pedigrees were not written and properly recorded, as many people were illiterate, so the common practice was to breed them and pass them on from generation to generation, carefully protecting them from mixing with other strains. The former family’s dogs were imported into the United States around the 1850s and 1855s, as in the case of Charlie “Cockney” Lloyd.
Some of the oldest varieties are: “Colby”, “Semmes”, “Corcoran”, “Sutton”, “Feeley” or “Lightner”, the latter being one of the most famous creators of Red Nose ‘Ofrn’, which he stopped creating because they are too big for your taste and you do not like completely red dogs.
By the early nineteenth century, the dog breed had already acquired all the characteristics that still make it a particularly sought after dog: athletics, bravery and a temperament friendly with people.Upon arrival in the United States, the breed was slightly separated from the dogs of England and Ireland.
In America, these dogs have been used not only as hunting dogs, but also as hunting dogs, for slaughtering wild boar and cattle, and also as family guardians. For this reason, breeders have started to breed larger and slightly larger dogs.
This weight gain, however, was negligible. We must bear in mind that dogs of the old family in Ireland in the nineteenth century rarely exceeded 11.3 kg.Those weighing 15 pounds (6.8 kg) were also not uncommon. In the American books on the breed of the early nineteenth century, It is very rare to find a specimen of more than 22.6 kg (50 pounds), although there were some exceptions.
From approximately 1900 to 1975, a slight gradual increase in the average weight of the APBT began to be observed, without the corresponding loss of performance capacity.Currently, the American Pit Bull Terrier no longer performs any of the functions of the traditional standard, such as dogfights, since performance tests and competition in rinhas are considered serious crimes in most countries.
Despite some changes in the standard, such as the acceptance of slightly larger and heavier dogs, a remarkable continuity in the breed can be observed for more than a century.Photographs archived 100 years ago showing showing show dogs are no different from those created today., as in any performance stroke, it is possible to notice some lateral (synchronous) variability of the phenotype across different lines.We’ve seen images of fighting dogs from the 1860s that were phenotypically speaking (and judging by contemporary descriptions of matches in fights) identical to today’s APBT.
These dogs were known by a wide variety of names, such as “Pit Terrier”, “Pit Bull Terriers”, “Staffordshire Ighting Dogs”, “Old Family Dogs” (their name in Ireland), “Yankee Terrier” (the name in the north) and “Rebel Terrier” (the name in the south), to name a few.
In 1898, a man named Chauncy Bennet created the United Kennel Club (UKC) with the sole purpose of registering the “Pit Bull Terriers”, as the American Kennel Club (AKC) did not want anything to do with them for their selection and participation in air flights.Combat. Originally, he added the word “American” to the name and removed the “well”.This did not please all lovers of the breed, so the word “Pit” was added to the name in parentheses, as a compromise., the parentheses were removed about 15 years ago. All other breeds registered in the UK were accepted after APBT.
Another APBT record is with the American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA), established in September 1909 by Guy McCord, a close friend of John P.Today, under the leadership of the Greenwood family, ADBA continues to register only the American Pit Bull Terrier and is more in tune with the breed than the UKC.
You should know that ADBA is a sponsor of conformation shows, but above all, it sponsors weightlifting competitions, thus assessing the resistance of dogs.It also publishes a quarterly magazine dedicated to the APBT, called the American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette.The ADBA is considered the standard Pit Bull record, as it is the federation that strives the most to maintain the standard of the original breed.
In 1936, thanks to “Pete the Dog” in “Os Batutinhas”, which familiarized a wider audience with the American Pit Bull Terrier, the AKC registered the breed under the name “Staffordshire Terrier”. This name was changed to American Staffordshire Terrier (AST) in 1972, to differentiate it from its close and minor relative, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. In 1936, the AKC, UKC and ADBA versions of the “Pit Bull” were identical, as the original AKC dogs were developed from fighting dogs. , registered with UKC and ADBA.
During this period, as well as in later years, the APBT was a very expensive and popular dog in the United States, being considered the ideal dog for families for its affectionate and tolerant temperament with children.That’s when Pit Bull showed up as a nanny. The toddlers of the “Os Batutinhas” generation wanted a partner like Pit Bull Pete.
Learn more about child-friendly dog breeds in our YouTube video
During World War I, there was an American propaganda poster showing rival European nations with their domestic dogs dressed in military uniforms.At the center, the dog representing the United States was an APBT, then declaring, “I’m neutral, but I’m not afraid of any of them.”
Since 1963, due to the different objectives of its creation and development, the American Staffordshire Terrier (AST) and the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) have differentiated, both in phenotype and temperament, although both continue, ideally, having the same friendly predisposition..After 60 years of breeding with very different objectives, these two dogs are now completely different breeds.However, some people prefer to see them as two different breeds of the same breed, one for work and one for exposure.In this case, the gap continues to widen as breeders of both breeds find it unthinkable to breed both.
For an unskilled eye, AST may seem larger and scarier, thanks to its broad and robust head, with well-developed muscles in the jaw, wider chest and thick neck, however, in general, they have nothing to do with sports like APBT.
Due to the standardization of its conformation for display purposes, AST tends to be selected for its appearance and not for its functionality, to a much greater degree than the APBT.We note that the Pit Bull has a much wider phenotypic range, since the main objective of its creation, until recently, was not to get a dog with a specific appearance, but a dog to fight in quarrels, leaving aside the search for certain physical characteristics.
Some APBT breeds are practically destitute of a typical AST, however, in general, they are a little thinner, with longer and lighter limbs, which is particularly noticeable in the posture of the foot.Similarly, they tend to show more strength, agility, speed and explosiveness.Force.
During and after World War II, and until the early 1980s, the APBT disappeared, however, there were still faithful who knew the breed in all the details and knew a lot about the ancestry of their dogs, able to recite genealogies of up to six or eight generations.
When the APBT became popular with the public around 1980, infamous individuals with little or no knowledge of the race began to possess and raise them and, as expected, problems began to arise. Many of these newcomers did not adhere to the traditional breeding goals of former ABPT breeders, and so began the “backyard” fashion, in which they began to breed random dogs to breed puppies massively considered a lucrative good, without any knowledge or control, in their own homes.
But the worst still was to arrive, dogs began to be selected with criteria opposite those that prevailed until then, has started selective breeding of dogs, showing a tendency to aggressiveness with people.produce dogs bred anyway, aggressive pit bulls against humans for a massive market.
This, combined with ease of oversimplification and sensationalism, has resulted in the media war against Pit Bull, something that continues today.Needless to say, especially when it comes to this breed, breeders of “transfer”, without experience or knowledge of the breed, should be avoided, since health and behavioral problems often occur.
Despite the introduction of some bad reproduction practices over the past 15 years, the vast majority of APBTTs remain very human-friendly.The American Canine Temperament Testing Association, which sponsors canine temperament testing, confirmed that 95% of all APBTTs who passed the approved test, taking into account the comparison with a 77% approval rate for all other races on average.The APBT approval rate was the fourth highest of all races analyzed.
Today, APBT is still used in illegal combat, usually in the United States and South America.Fighting in combat takes place in other countries where there are no laws or where laws are not enforced.However, the vast majority of APBTs, even inside the cages of the breeders who raise them to fight, have never seen any action in the row.Instead, they are pet dogs, loyal lovers and pets.
One of the activities that has really gained popularity with fans of the APBT is the weightlifting competition, the weight pull retains some of the competitive spirit of the combat world, but without blood and pain, the APBT is a breed that excels in these competitions, in which refusal to give up is as important as brute force. APBT currently holds world records in various weight classes.
Other activities for which the APBT is ideal are agility competitions, in which your agility and determination can be greatly appreciated. Some APBTs have been trained and performed well in the Schutzhund sport, a canine sport developed in Germany in the late 1990s.
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