18 - 22 inches
30 - 60 lbs.
Any color
Thick, short, shiny hair
Courageous, loyal, full of energy; Should be socialized early on with children and other animals.
Regular brushing with a bristle brush or
rubbing down his coat with a chamois will keep the coat shiny and
clean. Bath only when necessary. Needs a substantial amount of vigorous
exercise which needs to be on-leash. Enjoys running along side a
bicycle.
Mange and heart murmurs. Breeders should be concerned with doing health testing on the sire or dam such as OFA, PENN HIP
His ancestors were brought to the Unites
States in the mid - 1800's by Boston-Irish immigrants. Originally bred
from a variety of bulldogs and terriers, American breeders increased
his weight and gave him a more powerful head. They were originally bred to be a fighting dog. Bull baiting was banned
in England in 1835 and these dogs are no longer been bred to fights.
There is some complication in registries of this breed.
It was one of the most popular breeds, highly prized by a
wide variety of people. The Pit Bull was used to represent the US in
WW1 artwork; popular companies like RCA and the Buster Brown Shoe
Company used the breed as their mascots. A Pit Bull named Petie starred
in the popular children's television series, Our Gang; a Pit Bull mix
named Stubby became a decorated WW1 hero. Pit Bulls accompanied pioneer
familes on their explorations. Laura Ingalls Wilder of the popular
Little House books owned a working Pit Bulldog named Jack. Famous
individuals like Theodore Roosevelt and Helen Keller owned the breed.
It was during this time that the Pit Bull truly became America?s
sweetheart breed, admired, respected and loved.
In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed with the express intent
of providing registration and fighting guidelines for the now
officially-named American Pit Bull Terrier. Later, those who wished to
distance themselves from the fighting aspect of the breed petitioned
the American Kennel Club for recognition of the Pit Bull so that it
would be eligible for dog shows and other performance events. The AKC
conceded in 1936 but only under the stipulation that the dogs
registered with them be called "Staffordshire Terriers", the name of
the province in England the breed supposedly originated in. Upon
acceptance of the breed, many people dual-registered their dogs with
both the AKC and the UKC. Lucenay's Peter (the dog that starred in the
Our Gang series) was the first dual-registered Pit Bull/Staffordshire
Terrier. The UKC evolved, eventually beginning to register other
working-type breeds, and later holding shows similar to those of the
AKC. Currently, the UKC is the second largest purebred dog registry in
the United States, complete with strict bylaws that ban anyone who is
convicted of dog fighting. The American Dog Breeders Association was
formed in 1909 because of certain fanciers' opinions that the UKC was
not doing it's job protecting and preserving the Pit Bull breed as they
felt it should be preserved. The ADBA's goal is the same now is at was
then: to register, promote and preserve the original American Pit Bull
Terrier fighting-type dog.
The AKC eventually closed it's studbooks to American Pit Bull
Terriers. They allowed registration only to those dogs with parents
registered as Staffordshire Terriers. For a short period in the 1970's,
the AKC reopened its studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. In 1973
the AKC added the prefix "American" to the breed's name in an effort to
distinguish it from the newly recognized Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Today, only those dogs with AmStaff parents are eligible for
registration. Both the UKC and the ADBA allow registration of AmStaffs,
but in these organizations the dogs carry the original name, "American
Pit Bull Terrier."
Today the Pit Bull has evolved into a marvelous working and
companion dog, used for purposes as varied as those it originally
performed. Pit Bulls are employed as police/armed services dogs, search
and rescuers, therapy animals, and livestock workers. They compete in
all manner of organized dog sports, from herding to agility to
conformation to obedience and the bite sports like Schutzhund and
French Ring. They make loving pets for children and seniors, and
everyone in between. The are indeed one of the most versatile breeds on
the planet. Much of this is owed to the activities it once performed.
The harshness and physical demands of the activities molded a strong,
healthy, stable animal, one anyone should be proud to own.
|