Pit Bull ReporterÓ

A magazine for fanciers of the American Pit Bull Terrier and other bull terrier type breeds

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about the APBT and other similar breeds

1. Are pit bulls mean?
    Actually a properly bred APBT or "pit bull" is one of the sweetest and friendliest of breeds having a temperament similar to Boston Terriers, Bullterriers, (English) Bulldogs and other bull breed type "cousins". With the pit bull, as with some of its cousins this friendliness doesn't apply to unfamiliar animals and the APBT especially is prone to fight with other dogs, especially when challenged.

2. Do pit bulls make good watch dogs?
    Yes! However, those people expecting a threatening or "vicious" behavior toward people, even strangers, may be very surprised by the APBT's friendliness and apparent acceptance of most strangers. They should not be fooled. That affable nature can quickly turn to stern defensiveness should the dog's owner, family or household be threatened by anyone! I will bow to the vast experience of the famous dog trainer, William Koehler with a quote from one of his books, "Although the faculty for sensing a threat is possessed by terriers in general, it is seen in the fullest measure in the descendants of dogs that fought in the dog pit."  This means your sweet innocent little pit bull bitch (or dog) can suddenly become a very serious and tough customer to reckon with should someone ever threaten you in her (his) presence!

3. What is the difference in a "red nose" pit and a regular one?
    Nothing, really. They are all descended from pretty much the same bloodlines. There are currently some lines that claim to be "pure" Hemphill or something similar that are bred primarily for the red nose and body color but the difference is purely cosmetic. A pit bull is a pit bull unless another breed is crossed into the bloodlines and red nosed dogs come from the same lines as other pits. In fact they often come in litters with black, buckskin (fawn to "show dog" people) or brindle siblings.

4. What about a "blue pit"?
    That is a little different. First, let's define what we are talking about. To me a "blue pit" is a solid slate gray individual, usually with a gray nose as well. I have researched the pedigrees of these dogs and they all seem to go back to several lines of American Staffordshire Terrier (X-pert, Har-wyn, Tacoma etc.) and are often crossed with other lines of APBTs or pit bulls. Amstaffs are NOT pit bulls although they are a close relative. 
    The difference is that starting in 1936 the AKC finally accepted the APBT to the show ring but forced a less controversial name on the breed, at that time, Staffordshire Terrier. The "American" prefix was added later after the Stafforshire BULL Terrier was admitted to avoid confusion. Neither breed is really a pit bull as they have been bred for the show ring for many decades and the gameness has been lost. The American Pit Bull Terrier, however,  is still bred, in some circles, for fighting in the dog pit. In Ireland there are also surviving, game strains of the "Stafford," as they call them, that are bred for the pit as well. Since the APBT originally came from the dogs of the Staffordshire region of England as well as from the fighting dogs of Ireland these game Irish Staffords of today are probably the closest breed to the APBT at this point in time.

5. Isn't dog fighting cruel?
    Well, that is the very popular misconception! Unfortunately, several organizations who make millions of dollars "combatting dog fighting" by collecting money from gray-haired, well-meaning old ladies have created and perpetuated the myth. In actuality, dog fights are conducted by a set of rules that allow a combatant to "quit" the fight at any time he/she wishes and most fights end that way when a dog shows it wishes to stop and fails to willingly return to combat by "scratching." This is where the old saying "is he up to scratch?" comes from. (See "Cajun Rules")

6. Are pit bulls the toughest breed? What about the Tosa?
    In an "even contest", that is at equal weights, the APBT is virtually unchallenged as the reigning king of the pit fighting world! Although many claims are made to the contrary, usually by people selling expensive "imports," marketed as the pit bull's equal or master, when it comes time to "put up or shut up" these pretenders fade quickly into the shadows. There have been mismatched contests between pit bulls and Tosas weighing two to four times the pit bull's weight in which the larger dogs have prevailed but that is much like asking a "lightweight" boxer (human) to fight a heavyweight. The size and strength alone make the difference rather than the fighters' relative abilities.

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