The American Pit Bull Terrier Dog Breed

The American Pit Bull Terrier, or more simply Pitbull, is one of the most famous dog breeds in the world. Its origin is somewhat dubious and it is thought that they were initially used as dogs to control cattle and pigs and other animals on farms and in slaughterhouses, then also as guard dogs, big game dogs and finally as fighting dogs. This speaks of the origins, but it took several changes and cross-breeding to arrive at today's standard.

The changes began for this breed in the late 18th and early 19th century, when the work of breeders focused on a breed imported from Ireland the Bull and Terrier. At that time in the United States there was a massive invasion of Irish fleeing the mother country because of the potato plague, which caused a severe famine. The Irish brought with them their dogs and unfortunately also the related shows, very much in vogue in Ireland, unknown in the United States, but these soon caught on and became very popular.

In Britain and Ireland, in fact, this molossoid terrier was used for bull and bear baiting, which were dog fights with bears and bulls, and rait baiting, where the dog was introduced into a space with lots of mice that it had to kill. These bloody practices were outlawed and the fights were declared illegal to make way for dog fighting, which was easier to organise.

When these fights were declared illegal in 1936, some breeders began to select the American Staffordshire Terrier breed, starting with Pit Bulls, and for many years it remained with this standard, but lately breeders have been trying to soften character traits by eliminating aggression and favouring aesthetics instead.

There are however in America two schools of thought for the breeding of this dog, one as I said before to eliminate aggressiveness and favour aesthetics, the other instead aims more at breeding them as fighting dogs, favouring courage, temperament and determination.

Character of the American Pit Bull Terrier

When one speaks of the Pit bull, one immediately thinks of an aggressive breed. It is certainly not an easy breed to handle, but if properly trained they prove to be anything but. It is a tenacious dog, brave and loyal to its owner.

Training is essential with the Pit Bull Terrier; this dog needs an owner who is a very firm point of reference, who knows how to make himself respected and when necessary has a pulse, but never acts aggressively nor rewards bad behaviour, it is only wrong training that can trigger aggression towards other dogs and also towards people.

It is an intelligent and lively dog that loves to play, especially with children, with whom it has a lot of patience. It is an excellent guard dog and at the same time a good companion for family time. He is not very accommodating towards other dogs, especially with those of the same sex, good socialisation from an early age may sometimes be enough to get him along, other times, especially if he meets an alpha dog, not. With humans he is much less aggressive, indeed even with strangers, especially if they are sympathetic to him, he immediately establishes a friendly relationship.

The American Pit Bull Terrier also has many other qualities, it is an excellent pulling dog, is used for searching for missing persons and in pet therapy with children and is very good at agility dogs. However, it needs space in the open air and exercise.

Appearance of the American Pit Bull Terrier dog breed

The American Pit Bull Terrier is a medium to large dog, weighing up to 27 kilograms for males and 23 kilograms for females. It is very robust and also somewhat stocky, muscular. The body is slightly longer than it is tall, the chest is very broad while the legs are rather short and the tail not very long.

The head is flat and square, the jaws very large with prominent cheeks. The eyes are set rather low, are not large and can have all kinds of colours, but are normally brown or green. The ears are positioned high and are normally erect or semi-erect. Its expression is serious and alert.

The coat is short-haired, glossy and dense, somewhat rough to the touch and may be of one colour, but also two- or three-coloured.

Health and care of the American Pit Bull Terrier dog breed

This breed does not suffer from any particular health problems, they can however suffer from dysplasia and ataxia. It is advisable to pay close attention to their oral hygiene, in fact they should be accustomed from an early age to having their teeth brushed every day. This breed has an average life expectancy of around 10 years.

As far as diet is concerned, it is good to keep the Pit Bull on a controlled diet as it is a dog that tends towards obesity if it does not get enough exercise.

Grooming is very simple, just brush the hair once a week to keep it shiny.