History of the APBT part two

[Marty]

Part Two: Yesterday and Today
Complete text copyright ©Marji Beach.

The 1980’s saw an upsurge in the popularity of American Pit Bull Terriers as “guard” dogs for drug dealers and also as an expression of ego or “manhood” for street kids. Thus, it began - the production of disproportionately large “Pit Bulls”. For all intensive purposes, these were not (and still are not!) true American Pit Bull Terriers - lines of American Bulldog, Cane Corso’s and other molosser breeds were incorporated into the APBT’s lineage to produce massive brutes. In some cases, a large APBT pup was born and was overused as a stock breeder, thus producing highly inbred dogs with serious behavioral issues. It is a myth that an APBT can weigh 80lbs or more - those are not true Pit Bulls and if a pedigree was attained, at some point, there would be
molosser (mastiff) blood added or the dog would have come from highly inbred lines.dogmen/women (those who fight dogs) were horrified to see the onslaught of massive hulks, for in the pit ring/box, bigger does not mean better performance.

Today, the vast majority of APBT’s do not get over 60lbs (and this is true for AST’s) and the vast majority are household pets. Unfortunately, a of dog, it is imperative for owners to properly socialize their dogs and that means exposing them to everything imaginable: from young to old children, from the elderly to the wheelchair bound, from umbrellas to kites, etc.

Dogs should never be chained outside or left outside in the backyard for most of the day as that is simply creating a dangerous dog by circumstance. The APBT’s that have attacked have ALL been poorly socialized, under trained, and neglected - they never learned appropriate behavioral skills to cope with the outside world. All that these dogs had were the poor social skills that only a chained or neglected dog can receive; since they were never taught to suppress some of their predatory instincts, these dogs inevitably hear a screaming child and see the child running and instinct takes over.

APBT’s are no more or less difficult than any other dog to train or socialize. Owners most certainly need to understand the dog fighting history and take necessary precautions by ensuring early socialization with other dogs and monitoring of their interactions with other dogs. And even with extensive socialization, some APBT’s may never become comfortable around other dogs, so each dog should be treated as an individual with careful consideration. By their very nature, APBT’s strive to be around humans - centuries of breeding have seen to that. They need a kind heart AND a kind hand - physical reprimands are useless and ineffective for any dog and should rarely, if ever, be employed.APBT’s have been used by the FDA and USDA for sniffing out bombs and drugs and have been used by the military as well as police forces. APBT’s have also been used as therapy and service dogs; in fact, the first certified hearing dog in Alaska was an APBT. APBT’s are great at weight pulling as well as agility, schutzhund, obedience and carting. As far as temperament is concerned, APBT’s have consistently scored an 82% and higher on the American Temperament Test Society’s evaluation, higher than Goldens, German Shepherds and most other breeds. With socialization, training and a kind hand - APBT’s are wonderful companions for all walks of life: from families to single individuals, from joggers to apartment dwellers, and onward.

[CRG]

good posts,marty

[Marty]

good posts,marty

Thanks there is a part one too!

[CRG]

yeah,i read both of them.

[pappasmurf]

I would add that begining in the 70's under educated street toughs in the innercities began to hear about the pitbull. They mistook fighting dog for attack or guard dog. And began to acquire the dogs through various means. At around the same time, certain poltical motivated groups sought to exploit dog fighting as away to get contributions. Much like the stories about sea monsters told by ancient sailors these groups told horrific tales of brutality and cruelty. Not only the media and general public believed this but the street toughs actually brought these horriffic fairy tales to life. Bait dogs, kittens in sacks, and gunpowder posioning, tales found a rapt and eager following among these young criminals.

[badger]

part one and 2 are a great read, thanks marty.
'

[rmiller2000]

part one and 2 are a great read, thanks marty.
'

2 Thumbs up, very informative!

-R

[mutt]

i have a question isint the lancaster breed a tampered with pitbull line

[PADogman]

Never heard of the Lancaster Breed were are they from.Would like to know more about this line.

[Big River Kennels]

i personally agree with everything but the chaining up bit. my dogs are all on chains and are very well taken care of and any child could come upon them, they will not do anything to tem even if theyescreamed.

[miakoda]

great job, marty. I love reading about the dogs. I can't ever get enough......

[JBlazeRx7]

Thanks Marty! They could trace there blood back to England but I always thought they originally came in from Ireland?

[JBlazeRx7]

Pullin out the old books. Doin some reading i found this.

I Quote a book Titled:
The World of Fighting Dogs

Among the oldest and most capable strains of Pit Bull ever developed is a strain known as the Old Family Red. These Old Family Reds, so called because of their red coats and often red noses, are characteristic of the strain developed in Ireland during the middle of the 19th century in the counties of Cork and Kerry.

[JBlazeRx7]

It is also said that it is probable that these dogs were a strain of the original Staffordshire Bull Terrier and were introduced to Ireland from England in much the same way that they were introduced to the United States. The limited size of the breeding population in Ireland led to the development of phenotypical characteristics which were not representative of the breed in general. Some of the more obvious of these characteristics were a red coat, red nose, red claws and (sometimes) golden eyes. These dogs found their way to the United States with Immigrants to this country from Ireland, and the strain was preserved here (although the phenotypical traits of the strain are recessive) because of its exceptional gameness and fighting ability.

[preme]

Thanks J That Was Good Info