I'd Like to Know More About the History of the APBT

[Renee750il]

And I am hoping our new APBT friends will be willing to enlighten me It's a fascinating breed and the history must be rich. I live just across the county line from Cocke County, Tennessee, where there are still quite a few of the old-fashioned dog men who have been breeding their lines for [human] generations. Every now and then you get a glimpse of an absolutely breathtaking Pittie over there.

 

[elegy]

http://workingpitbull.com/history.htm

 

[GHOST]

i've had pitbulls for alittle or 20 years,,,, i like the loyalty and desire to please that they have,,,a pitbull has a certain amount of DA thats a trait that comes along with the breed,,, and as long as it's respected and control there won't be problems,,, but even the best of keepers will have accidents that happens because u never and i mean never trust one not to fight,,,i currently have 5 and got a pup coming because my male is getting old and i want another one of him,,,me personally i think it's one of the best breeds out there,,,all someone has to do is own one and thats all it takes,,,thats why they are so popular,,,i do think this breed is not for everyone because of the responsibilty that goes along with it,,, to ensure they're dogs are not part of the headlines,,, ppl trust them to much and then when a accident happens they hollar foul on thee dog,,,,when it's actually a human problem most of the time,,,i've had everything from dobermans to german shepards to rotts and boston terriers and my pitts are the best dogs i've ever owned,,,


gamedog is one of the best educational sites on the true apbt out there good or bad it's still part of they're history and has given us the great dogs of today

 

[MyLittleChowChow]

I'm glad you asked. I really enjoyed the other thread before it was closed. I hope Game-dog folks will come back and continue on with educating us and talk about the history of this breed.

 

[Zoom]

I'm interested in knowing the names of the "Big Wigs" out there...like who do you drool over when you see a pedigree with that particular dog included?

 

[GHOST]

zoom there are alot of good dogs out there but there are some great ones


colby dogs--john p colby ,, chinaman---garner ,,,jeep,,, hemphill,,, tudor,,,bouedreo,,,last one is misspelled,,, bolio,,

there are some great ones-- i got a colby dog
but i really want a chinaman to go with it,,
would like to have a good jeep dog

but to answer you question on my opinion colby and chinaman

 

[GHOST]

one of the colby dogs won 24 fights which is unheard of,,, shear amazing
Colby's Pincher 24xW
along time ago
i tryed to put the picture but it didn't work
4xw is 4 wins=champion 5xw is 5 wins= grand champion colby pincher had 24
still is amazing


these dogs were housepets

 

[LuvinBullies]

APBT History 101

This is a general and somewhat remedial outline of APBT history. My source at the bottom. I urge any gamedog members to expand on this 101 style APBT history outline.
Hope it helps answer a question or two. (If it doesn't help at all, please lie to me and say it did. I spent a long time reducing this to an outline!)

APBT defined/early history/debates

• American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) - descendent of original English bull-baiting Bulldog , has historically been bred with working/performance goals in mind.

There are several types of dogs that are called "Pit Bulls."
-American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier (AST), Staffordshire Bull Terrier (SBT).
- These 3 dogs share common ancestry, but have different breeding criteria

APBT roots go back at least one hundred fifty years to England (excluding ancient bulldog history ).
-In late 18th and early 19th c."bulldogs" were bred for bull-baiting as sport, game catching, and bringing down cattle.
Historically, "Bulldog" did not mean a specific breed of dog, but rather it was applied to descendants of the ancient Mastiff- type dogs that excelled in bull-baiting.
- performance-bred working bulldogs of old resembled modern APBT's.
- todays APBT enthusiasts use "bulldog" to describe APBT's
Bull-baiting outlawed in England in 1835
- so matching two dogs against one another rose in popularity.
APBT history debate: were these pit fighting dogs a new breed of dog specially created for this new pastime?
-Some (i.e.. Richard Stratton) feel APBT is basically same breed as Renaissiance bull-baiting dogs and NOT mixed with terrier, as commonly accepted. These folks feel a bull-baiter/ terrier cross is more consistent with the English Bull Terrier's history, not APBT.
-Others (Dr Carl Semencic) argue the APBT is indeed a bull-baiter/terrier cross, and did not exist in its current form during Renaissance.
Proving early breed history is difficult
- Extreme secrecy of dog breeders. Breeders feared letting rivals discover secrets of success and replicating it.
By the mid-19th century the breed has all essential characteristics of today: awesome athletic abilitiy, gameness, easy-going temperament.

APBT crosses the pond
-Immediate APBT ancestors were Irish and English pit fighting dogs imported to U. S. mid-19th century.
-In America, these dogs were used as pit fighters, catch dogs (i.e., for forcibly retrieving stray hogs and cattle) and family guardians
-Breeders producing a slightly larger, leggier dog.
-From the early part of this century, it is rare to find a specimen over 50 lbs. (with a few notable exceptions). From 1900 to 1975 or so, there was probably a very small and gradual increment in the average weight of APBTs , without any loss in performance abilities.
APBT- the name game
Throughout 19th century, these dogs were known by many names:
-"Pit Terriers", "Pit Bull Terriers", "Half and Half's", "Staffordshire Fighting Dogs", "Old Family Dogs"(the Irish name), "Yankee Terriers"(the Northern name), and "Rebel Terriers"(the Southern name), and more.
In 1898, Chauncy Bennet formed the United Kennel Club (UKC) for the sole purpose of registering "Pit Bull Terriers"
- American Kennel Club wanted nothing to do with them.
-Bennet added "American" and dropped "Pit" from the name, this didn't please everyone so later "Pit" was added back in parentheses as a compromise.
- parentheses were later removed from the name

Early stardom and the road to distinguish the "official" APBT
In 1936, "Pete the Pup" in the "Lil Rascals" and "Our Gang" familiarized a wider audience with the APBT
-During this time the APBT was liked in America.
-kids of Lil Rascals generation wanted dogs just like "Pete the Pup".
AKC now jumped in, registered the breed as "Staffordshire Terrier"
- name changed to "American Staffordshire Terrier" (AST) in 1972 ( to distinguish from its smaller English cousin: Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
In 1936, the AKC, UKC, and ADBA version of the "Pit Bull" were identical since the original AKC stock came from pit fighting dogs, which were UKC and ADBA registered.

Due to different breeding goals, American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier split in both phenotype and spirit/temperament,
- both continue to have an easy-going, friendly disposition.
-Some feel after 60 years of different breeding goals, these dogs are now different breeds, others view them as two strains of same breed (working and show).
- ASTs tend to look alike within themselves more than APBTs
- APBTs have more wide range of appearance, because historic breeding goal was for performance in contests, not looks
-Some game-bred APBTs are practically indistinguishable from typical ASTs, most APBT's are leaner, leggier, lighter on toes, have more stamina, agility, speed, and explosive power.
From WWII - early 1980s,
-there were only a devoted few who knew the breed in intimate detail. These devotees typically knew much more about their dogs' ancestry than their own--they were often able to recite pedigrees back six or eight generations. They were a small group of knowledgeable dogmen.

Where it all went wrong for the modern day APBT:
APBTs became popular with public around 1980
- people with little or no knowledge of the breed owned and bred them
- these newcomers did not respect traditional breeding goals of the old-time APBT breeders.
-they began randomly breeding dogs to mass produce puppies as profitable commodities.
- neophytes started selecting dogs for breeding for the trait of human aggressiveness.
-Ignorants were owning and producing poorly bred, human-aggressive "Pit Bulls" for a mass market.
- media began its propensity for over-simplification and sensationalization, and gave rise to the anti-"Pit Bull" hysteria we now know.
- In spite of bad breeding practices over last 15 years or so, vast majority of APBTs remain very human-friendly.
The American Canine Temperament Testing Association, which sponsors tests for temperament titles for dogs, reported that 95% of all APBTs that take the test pass, compared with a 77% passing rate for all breeds on average. The APBT's passing rate was the fourth highest of all the breeds tested.
The APBT today
Today, the APBT is still occasionally used (underground and illegally) as a fighting dog in the United States; pit matches also take place in other countries where there are no laws or where the existing laws are not enforced. However, the vast majority of APBT's--even within the kennels of breeders who breed for fighting ability--never see any action in the pit.
- they are loyal, loving, companion dogs, working dogs, and even family pets .
One activity that has really grown in popularity among APBT fanciers is weight pulling contests.
-Weight-pulls retain something of the spirit of competition of the pit fighting world, but without the blood or sorrow.
-APBTs are ideally suited for these contests, in which the refusal to quit counts for as much as brute strength.
- APBTs hold world records in several weight classes.
Another activity that the APBT is ideally suited for is agility competition,
-his athleticism and determination can be widely appreciated.
The APBT also continues his popularity as a naturally able bodied hunting dog for bear (where legal) and hog hunting.
Some APBTs have been trained and done well in Schutzhund sport
-these dogs, however, are more the exception than the rule. APBT's excel more in sport exclusive of the need for human aggression (bitework) or guardianship

More information on the history of the breed in Dr. Carl Semencic's book "The World of Fighting Dogs".

Books by Richard Stratton

SOURCE: History of APBT ​

Michael Burr​

 

[LuvinBullies]

I'm glad you asked. I really enjoyed the other thread before it was closed. I hope Game-dog folks will come back and continue on with educating us and talk about the history of this breed.

I adore your post and hospitality. Thank you!

 

[Zoom]

That outline helped me quite a bit! Thank you for putting the time and effort into it!

 

[Brattina88]

I know they were war dogs back in WW1 I did a huge project on WW1 dog's in history a couple years back. Very interesting, and cool stuff

 

[Renee750il]

Oh boy! I've only got a limited amount of time right now, but I can't wait to get back to this when I don't have to run and do a thousand different things . . .

 

[jess2416]

LuvinBullies thanks for the info, in a easy to understand way...

I have also learned quite a bit, from reading over there and needless to say it has been interesting

 

[LuvinBullies]

I know they were war dogs back in WW1 I did a huge project on WW1 dog's in history a couple years back. Very interesting, and cool stuff

During WWI., while we were neutral, there was a pro-American war poster which illustrated the rival European nations with their national dogs dressed in military uniforms. In the center representing the United States was an APBT. The caption under the APBT read: "I'm neutral, but not afraid of any of them."

 

[Brattina88]

like these?
http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/160e8690.jpg
"We're not looking for trouble, but we're ready for it"

http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/174cdcb0.gif


Stubby is the "first famous" war dog. A pit bull type - WW1

 

[LuvinBullies]

like these?
http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/160e8690.jpg
"We're not looking for trouble, but we're ready for it"

http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/174cdcb0.gif


Stubby is the "first famous" war dog. A pit bull type - WW1

The pics didn't come up on my end, but I betcha thems r the ones.

 

[Renee750il]

Great outline, Luvin! Thanks!

 

[jess2416]

like these?
http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/160e8690.jpg
"We're not looking for trouble, but we're ready for it"

http://kaneskennel.tripod.com/174cdcb0.gif


Stubby is the "first famous" war dog. A pit bull type - WW1

they didnt come up for me either

 

[Renee750il]

I've got Stubby up on another window now - so it's working for me.

 

[jess2416]

Stubby worked for me too... I have read about him before

but the others didnt