The Pit Bull Terrier is an American breed of dog, the breed is simply called pit bull for short. The dog is considered a fighting dog, so many people consider this breed to be aggressive, angry, and believe that the dog is intended only to kill.
In fact, in appearance the dog looks quite intimidating; protruding jaws, sharp fangs, and a special body structure with muscular paws do not allow one to think of the dog as the cutest creature on earth.
The dog is devoted to its owner, protects him, but as soon as strangers approach him, the dog will immediately attack.
Breed Features
The main feature of this breed is that it does not have clear standards.
If you look at photos of pit bulls, you will notice that individuals can have different body weights, different head shapes, a wide variety of colors, heights and other parameters.
Despite this, the APBT is always a strong and athletic dog, with a wide chest, a narrow pelvis relative to it, powerful jaws and a square head.
The weight of an adult can range from 15 to 30 kg. Pit bull puppies gain most of their weight between the ages of 5 and 10 months. By the age of one year, the dog acquires a fully formed appearance.
How to care for a dog?
The Pitbull Staff is a domestic dog, it needs an affectionate owner and additional care. The dog should be kept exclusively indoors in the winter, since this breed does not have an undercoat and will die in the winter.
The pet does not tolerate heat well; you should place the booth outside in the summer in the shade. Dogs of this breed are not kept on a leash; they require a spacious enclosure made of dense wire.
The coat must be brushed twice a week with a special brush for dogs.
Below are photos of a pitbull dog. Look at the special figure and grace of this breed.
Pit bull puppies are not cheap, and when purchasing, you should carefully look at the dog’s documents; all vaccinations must be indicated in the passport.
Differences between Pit Bulls and Staffordshire Terriers
The main difference between these breeds is that the APBT is not a show breed, unlike the Staff.
But the American Pit Bull Terrier is more suitable for various kinds of sporting competitions. Also in big cities mono exhibitions are organized for them.
Externally, it is almost impossible to distinguish between a pit bull and an Amstaff. The Staffordshire Terrier is usually larger. The average weight of an adult is from 30 to 50 kg.
Fight today
Despite the ban on dog fighting in the United States and other countries around the world, it is still in demand . People make a lot of money in this business. The owners receive dividends from the illegal betting. It is difficult for animal rights activists to prove that the dog died in the ring and the courts are powerless to pass a verdict. The fine for organizing fights is minimal.
Until 1976, there was an official organization supporting the breeding of fighting dogs. Its founder was Guy McCordor. After his death, the association was headed by his daughter and she radically changed the course of work. It was then that active promotion of the breed as a companion began. Educational work went on on all fronts. Volunteers literally explained the importance of proper upbringing and that American pit bull terriers are not born killers. To legalize betting, the owner of the association proposed competitions in the transportation of heavy loads and exhibitions.
However, the pit bull breed needed fighting. For this purpose, a humane version of them was introduced. She was called contact. This is not the same bloodbath as before, this is a competition of strength. There is a set of serious rules and restrictions.
Breeding
Since this breed is not recognized and is not allowed for exhibitions, professional pit bull breeders are very rare.
If you buy a puppy with documents, the price will be from $150 to $400. From home breeding, without documentation – up to $150.
The choice of a puppy should be based on the characteristics of the parents; it is advisable to see them live, so that you can evaluate not only external data, but also the psychological state of the animals.
Balanced individuals behave calmly with people, do not jump or bark, and do not show aggression towards each other.
The behavior of puppies mainly depends on age. At 4 months (the time of sale, when all vaccinations have been completed), they are active, show interest in everything new, but at the same time they are cautious and timid.
If a puppy rushes at everything indiscriminately and is aggressive, problems with him are possible in the future due to an unstable psyche.
For the most part, pit bulls are very calm, they may even seem sleepy, and they only show activity when playing or communicating with their relatives.
Story
The appearance of fighting breeds is associated with the human need for spectacle. Already at the stage of ancient civilization, people loved and actively participated in organizing various types of battles. In addition to gladiator fights, animal fights became popular. For this purpose, special breeds of dogs were developed, called fighting dogs. This is how mastiffs and mastiffs appeared. Initially they were released for fights with bulls. There were also fights with monkeys, wild boars and bears. But these breeds were clumsy, so old-format bulldogs were bred. They had a specific exterior - a square head, broad shoulders, a death grip. These were ideal fighters.
Over time, a ban on this type of entertainment appeared in England. As a result, a large number of bulldogs and ambullies ended up on the street. Some of them died, others became the basis for other breeds. Only a small percentage of dogs were left untouched. It was the heavy bulldogs that became the ancestors of the American pit bull terriers.
If you look at the paintings of that time, you can see dog and bull fights captured by the artist. They are vaguely similar to pit bull terriers. They have little in common with Amoubles, as representatives of this breed were crossed with Pugs to shorten their muzzles.
The American Pit Bull Terrier (often briefly called the Bull Terrier) had quick reactions, endurance, and the ability to hunt, guard, and track. It is impossible to say which type of terrier played a big role in the formation of the breed:
- There were all types of terriers in Europe.
- Hunting breeds were in their infancy.
It is a mistake to consider the United States to be the home country of the pit bull. Fighting dogs were imported from other continents. They were mainly brought with them by immigrants from England, Holland, and Spain. Due to the low demand for fighting, the breed was on the verge of extinction. In the United States, “shadow knackering,” i.e., the illegal organization of fighting, existed until the twentieth century. It was in America that the purposeful breeding and improvement of the breed began. So the black pit bull was obtained from the best parents, winners of many fights. In breeding practice, the country of the breed is considered to be the one where the main lines originated, but the pit bull terrier was not originally bred in the USA.
In the 20th century there was a ban on fighting. Which automatically imposed a ban on breeding the relevant breeds. However, the number of pit bull terriers and Amstaffs did not decrease. Articles often appeared in the media about attacks by such dogs on people. It is worth remembering that any animal can bite. But such an advertising campaign helped shape the image of killer dogs.
The black pit bull began to undergo socialization only in 1870. It was then that two breeds were added to the register of the Kennel Union of America - the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier. The separation was done intentionally, as the breeders separated the breeds and did not want people to put them on the same level.
In 1989, a man named Bennett created the Working Pit Bull Association. Due to the lack of a breed standard, several types of exterior can be distinguished. This is how puppies were registered in two clubs. The pit bull began to suffer from closely related matings. So Bennett and his associates gave up dog fighting and left the clubs.
The main activities went in two directions:
- reducing aggression towards people,
- maintaining courage.
The work is still unfinished and continues to this day. You cannot take and radically cross out what has been established for centuries. Today, people can see the pit bull not only as a monster and a killer, but also as a strong and loyal companion. Due to the activities of breeders of fighting dogs, the quality of the breed suffers .
