Hi everybody 
I would like to present some information that I have gained over the years for my love of "pit bulls". I put "pit bulls" in quotes because "pit bull" is an ambiguous statement that can easily be inaccurate.
First off, lets look at the history of these dogs. The first "pitbull" was a cross of the bulldog and black & tan terrier in England. The original English bulldog was actually extremely fit and looked a lot like "pit bulls". The modern English bulldog is a horrible act of improper breeding; mind you I love the dogs, but they have a lot of health issues and pain because of there physiology. As some may know, the original bulldog was used to bait bulls, because there was a belief that the bull tasted better + it was a good excuse to bet.
Bull baiting was eventually banned and people lost interest. So hence, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (nicknamed "the nanny dog" in England) was spawned; the original "pit bull". The dog, when crossed the the terrier, because very quick and nibble, with a more aggressive attitude that was good for killing. All terriers were bred to kill, every single one; 1/3 of the worlds grain stocks are lost to rats and the solution back in the day was terriers. The old English bulldog brought a significant amount of strength to the cross. So people would pay to watch the Staffordshire Bull Terrier kill rats in a ring. I forget the number but I believe the highest recorded number was around 200 rats in a very short amount of time.
Man, being man, got bored with watching the dogs just kill rats and realized that they could pit the dogs against each other because of the flabby skin they possessed. All fighting dogs by the way have loose skin, so that if it was ripped off the dog probably wouldn't die; Sharpei's, Chow chows, pit bulls and others. Now this brings me to one of the greatest points about these dogs: If you had to handle a dog that had just killed another dog, was in a loud and scary environment, would you breed for a dog that might attack you as well? No, the fact was that these dogs were selectively bred to NOT attack humans; unlike German Shepard's, Doberman's and many other guard dogs.
Eventually the dogs made there way out west, where gambling was allowed, still and profits for life were to be had. Through selective breeding the Americans then took the dogs and made them stronger and larger; hence, the American Staffordshire Terrier was spawned. Unfortunately, up until not to long ago dog fighting was legal. Also because of gambling the American Pit Bull Terrier was created, now with cropped ears and had actually been bred to be smaller again.
Now that you have a brief background and understand of the three different breeds that could be considered "pit bulls", you will realize that the only thing that can be called a pit bull is the American Pit Bull Terrier (my dogs breed).
The real point of this long ranting is to not only give a history of the dog, but to also address some behavior issues and blessings of these dogs. Pit bulls tend to one of the most commonly bred and owned dogs in America, aside from Labs and Golden's. The unfortunate thing about this is, most people do not know how to properly address their unique personalities and challenges. Pit bulls are not like normal dogs, they're extremely hard-headed and don't like to follow orders, compared to say... a Standard poodle.
These dogs need to have a very firm master that isn't looking to be image based. These dogs have a huge potential for aggression and if that's what the owner wants, thats what they will get... which is irresponsible and dangerous; if you want a guard dog, get a German Shepard.
Staffy's/pitbulls all have lock jaw, like most Mastiffs. Whereas most other dogs have whats called a Scissor bite, where they bite repeatedly to create puncture wounds. Whereas all Mastiffs will lock onto the victim and not let go. Its one thing for a dog to bit a kid and make the kid bleed, its another for it to rip its arm off.
Being fighting dogs, these dogs have issues with other dogs and its highly discourage to own multiples of the breed. They will fight eventually, they were designed to attack each other. They will also fight with other neighboring dogs and must be isolated from them. Hunting dogs (labs, goldens, and many others) were designed to run in a pack for hunting purposes, so were bred to not be aggressive with each other.
Beating of these dogs will only cause them to become more aggressive, discipline is a difficult thing to deal with. They do not like to listen and often don't care if you yell "bad dog". They are some of the boldest and more independently minded dogs out there. You need to deal with them like you would a young child.
Ok, enough with the negatives, thats not why I'm here. I want to discuss some of the best things about these dogs. They will bond with you harder then any other dog I've ever met. They will gladly give their lives for you and will protect children to no end. They love to go with you everywhere and are highly social with other people. The more people they meet, the better they turn out. I think of my girl as my daughter; she has her trials and tribulations, sleeps next to me at night and need my comfort and reassurance. She's just like a 2 year old.
Well, was that long enough? LOL
Anybody got something good to say/add to the subject?
I would like to present some information that I have gained over the years for my love of "pit bulls". I put "pit bulls" in quotes because "pit bull" is an ambiguous statement that can easily be inaccurate.
First off, lets look at the history of these dogs. The first "pitbull" was a cross of the bulldog and black & tan terrier in England. The original English bulldog was actually extremely fit and looked a lot like "pit bulls". The modern English bulldog is a horrible act of improper breeding; mind you I love the dogs, but they have a lot of health issues and pain because of there physiology. As some may know, the original bulldog was used to bait bulls, because there was a belief that the bull tasted better + it was a good excuse to bet.
Bull baiting was eventually banned and people lost interest. So hence, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (nicknamed "the nanny dog" in England) was spawned; the original "pit bull". The dog, when crossed the the terrier, because very quick and nibble, with a more aggressive attitude that was good for killing. All terriers were bred to kill, every single one; 1/3 of the worlds grain stocks are lost to rats and the solution back in the day was terriers. The old English bulldog brought a significant amount of strength to the cross. So people would pay to watch the Staffordshire Bull Terrier kill rats in a ring. I forget the number but I believe the highest recorded number was around 200 rats in a very short amount of time.
Man, being man, got bored with watching the dogs just kill rats and realized that they could pit the dogs against each other because of the flabby skin they possessed. All fighting dogs by the way have loose skin, so that if it was ripped off the dog probably wouldn't die; Sharpei's, Chow chows, pit bulls and others. Now this brings me to one of the greatest points about these dogs: If you had to handle a dog that had just killed another dog, was in a loud and scary environment, would you breed for a dog that might attack you as well? No, the fact was that these dogs were selectively bred to NOT attack humans; unlike German Shepard's, Doberman's and many other guard dogs.
Eventually the dogs made there way out west, where gambling was allowed, still and profits for life were to be had. Through selective breeding the Americans then took the dogs and made them stronger and larger; hence, the American Staffordshire Terrier was spawned. Unfortunately, up until not to long ago dog fighting was legal. Also because of gambling the American Pit Bull Terrier was created, now with cropped ears and had actually been bred to be smaller again.
Now that you have a brief background and understand of the three different breeds that could be considered "pit bulls", you will realize that the only thing that can be called a pit bull is the American Pit Bull Terrier (my dogs breed).
The real point of this long ranting is to not only give a history of the dog, but to also address some behavior issues and blessings of these dogs. Pit bulls tend to one of the most commonly bred and owned dogs in America, aside from Labs and Golden's. The unfortunate thing about this is, most people do not know how to properly address their unique personalities and challenges. Pit bulls are not like normal dogs, they're extremely hard-headed and don't like to follow orders, compared to say... a Standard poodle.
These dogs need to have a very firm master that isn't looking to be image based. These dogs have a huge potential for aggression and if that's what the owner wants, thats what they will get... which is irresponsible and dangerous; if you want a guard dog, get a German Shepard.
Staffy's/pitbulls all have lock jaw, like most Mastiffs. Whereas most other dogs have whats called a Scissor bite, where they bite repeatedly to create puncture wounds. Whereas all Mastiffs will lock onto the victim and not let go. Its one thing for a dog to bit a kid and make the kid bleed, its another for it to rip its arm off.
Being fighting dogs, these dogs have issues with other dogs and its highly discourage to own multiples of the breed. They will fight eventually, they were designed to attack each other. They will also fight with other neighboring dogs and must be isolated from them. Hunting dogs (labs, goldens, and many others) were designed to run in a pack for hunting purposes, so were bred to not be aggressive with each other.
Beating of these dogs will only cause them to become more aggressive, discipline is a difficult thing to deal with. They do not like to listen and often don't care if you yell "bad dog". They are some of the boldest and more independently minded dogs out there. You need to deal with them like you would a young child.
Ok, enough with the negatives, thats not why I'm here. I want to discuss some of the best things about these dogs. They will bond with you harder then any other dog I've ever met. They will gladly give their lives for you and will protect children to no end. They love to go with you everywhere and are highly social with other people. The more people they meet, the better they turn out. I think of my girl as my daughter; she has her trials and tribulations, sleeps next to me at night and need my comfort and reassurance. She's just like a 2 year old.
Well, was that long enough? LOL
Anybody got something good to say/add to the subject?
