The American Pit Bull Terrier

The APBT is one of the sweetest, most loyal, and affectionate dog you could ever meet. Pit bulls have been in existence for hundreds of years. They have been used for a variety of things but unfortunately, mostly known for dog fighting. Sadly, the fabulous pit bulls throughout history have gone unrecognized and unappreciated by most. These dogs were the ultimate family dog for years, and still very much are in our society today. Contrary to popular belief, the Bulldog type dogs (this includes pitbulls, staffs, american bulldogs, bull terriers, staffordshire bull terriers, etc.) all of these COMBINED make up less than 1% of dog bite in this country annually. Unfortunately, they have become a media target and when one of them does anything, it is reported, and typically reported incorrectly so they can make this breed appear to be vicious.

A few years ago there was a story on the news about a "Pit Bull turning on its owner". This then fueled a huge pitbull hatefest for many months ahead and news stories also about they are so prone to aggression, etc...but with no factual basis. The pitbull had bitten its owners leg...but what was left out of the report was that the owner had poured gasoline all over the dog and lit him on fire. That is NOT spontaneous aggression, that is self defense. Sadly, news stories like this occur much to often.

Pitbulls can range from being approx. 25-75 lbs. You can see them larger than that, but they is NOT in their breed standard nor it is healthy for them to be so "supersized". It is debated that Pitbulls are more of a body style of dogs rather than a breed. Given this, their looks and body styles can vary. They are now often crossed with American Staffordshire Terriers, American Bulldogs, Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario, Rottweiler, and anything else people can find that is a larger, more muscular dog.

The most common misconception again of Pitbulls is their temperaments towards people. People do generally anticipate them having issues with other animals, but that can be avoided with proper socialization and confidence work. Having done it, I can etell you that even dogs that have been fought in the past can recover, trust and sometimes even cohabitate happily with other dogs (The rehabilitation of a fight dog is NOT for everyone, I do not recommend an inexperienced dog handler/owner to rescue a fight dog and try to rehabilitate it with other animals, especially without the guidance of someone with experience in this). Without proper socialization and without a capable owner, some can develop animal aggression. The important fact here is that they are NOT at all prone to human aggression. Even dogs with fighting histories will contain their aggression to animals. They may never be trusted with an animal again but they can be the most wonderful dog with people.

If you look into breeders who breed the dogs for fighting, they justify this because they say then you have the ultimate loyal dog. Any signs of human aggression, which is rare, is NOT acceptable by any pitbull owner/handler. The breeders of "game-bred" pitbulls claim it is a good thing to breed them for this (which is obviously ridiculous) because the psychology behind dog fighting is not actually dog aggression, what it is is a test of loyalty. It is a showing of how much fear and pain the dog will endure to show their owners how much they love them, and unfortunately, most pitbulls who show their love for their owners in this fashion, which is forced upon them, are either shot, abandoned and left to bleed to death on the streets or many other awful fates. Another way people have "dumped" them, especially the losers is they will tie cinderblocks to the dog and throw him in the nearest large body of water. We have even gotten dogs that ahd been lit on fire as a method of punishment for not fighting.

These dogs are bred to be the most loyal family companion you can find. They are in fact true, loving, loyal family companions. They are also often used as working or service dogs. There are many PitBulls in this country today that are used for Search and Rescue, Narcotics, Money, Cadaver, Bomb, seeing-eye dogs, and any other forms of service dogs. (Helen Keller's seeing-eye dog was a pit bull!) All of this aside, pit bulls are amazing family companions. When fostering or owning a pit bull, you will see that.

They are a dog that will typically follow you into any room in the house, go for hikes right beside you, go swimming, go for car rides, snuggle on the sofa, sleep in bed under the covers with you, welcome and accept any stranger into your home, and when properly socialized, they often love to play with other dogs! They love to play fetch, they love agility, any competition they LOVE. This is the ideal family pet. They have a superior tolerance of children, they are typically extremely gentle, they can match a child's energy level, they will do any family activity you can think of...All they want is to be with their family and show them how much they love them...Many, including myself, rank this dog as one of the top family pets.

Back to Breed List | The Rottweiler