Is The Breed Right For You?

The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is the “Schwarzenegger” of the dog world, a canine athlete known for his incredible strength. These high energy, confident and happy dogs love to work, and they want a job to do. Beware of allowing them to become bored because they are accomplished fence climbers and need an assertive and savvy owner to provide proper direction. The APBT is an intelligent dog that does well in most performance events. But he does not make a good guard dog since he’ll make friends with the burglar.

While noted for eagerness to please, love of people, and trainability, the APBT is not a “starter dog” for a first-time dog owner. Some dogs love to cuddle and become couch-potatoes but the majority of the breed are dogs-with-a-purpose and not cutesy canines. Breeders refer to them as hard-drive dogs, and recommend that they not be left alone unsupervised as they can cause much property damage during goofy play. In a tug-of-war with a sofa, the pup will win.

Often characterized as comedians, the APBTs require owners with a firm but fair hand dedicated to proper socialization and training. Like any class clown, the breed can act like eternal two-year-old children and go through the “terrible twos” for life. The breed needs boundaries and rules, or will take advantage of any opening to do things their own way. Aggression toward people is not common, but they can be pushy.

The breed routinely serves society in a variety of roles, such as police dog, search and rescue, therapy animal, and utility farm dog. He excels in competitions of strength and intelligence, and as a companion dog has no rival. But due to his heritage, strength and tenacity, the APBT has been singled out by the media as the poster-dog for dog fighting and aggression, leading many cities to condemn the breed as a community problem.

This strong-minded dog is not appropriate as a first dog. The APBT requires an owner who understands the challenges of the breed, understands society’s attitudes and legal issues about them, and is dedicated to properly train and socialize the dog. Owners must be willing to work toward countering negative perceptions in order to allow the dog to become the loyal and loving family member he’s meant to be.

BREED HISTORY IN EUROPE

When the Normans invaded England in 1066, baiting originated with butchers who kept dogs to handle unruly bulls herded to the market for slaughter. The dogs would clamp down on the out-of-line bull’s nose and hang on until the handler could regain control. If a dog let go, the bull could maim or kill, and soon only the surviving bulldogs (those able to tenaciously bite and not let go) passed on their genes. The butchers celebrated their dogs’ prowess in public displays of “bull baiting,” and by the 16th century, nearly every town in England had its own baiting ring.

When British parliament made baiting illegal in 1835, it was easier to hide two forty-pound dogs than a 5,000 pound bull. Fighting dogs were expected to ferociously attack other dogs without hesitation, and never give ground. Dogs that showed aggression toward humans were killed, because during a fight the handlers needed to be able to handle the dogs without fear of injury themselves. The same heritage that kept dogs impervious to the blows of bulls, the fearless tenacity that said, “hang on, or die!” lived on in these original bulldog and terrier crosses.

BREED HISTORY IN THE US

When English and Irish immigrants came to America their “bulldogs” came with them. Dog fighting was common in America throughout the 19th century. But as immigrants traveled west, the dog’s talents were redirected and expanded.

The American Pit Bull Terrier, no longer a one-dimensional bruiser, became an all-purpose dog that drove cattle and sheep, protected against thieves and wild animals, hauled w