Pitbulls Myths and Facts

Decendents of modern pit bulls, which are believed to be from
Europen bulldogs, as well as other related dogs were of powerful
mastiffs bred for farm work. Specifically, these dogs worked
with farmers into the fields to assist with bringing nasty bulls
in for breeding, castration, or to be butchered .

The dogs, known generally as english and French bulldogs,
protected the farmer by subduing the bull if it attempted to
gore him. Typically a dog would do this by biting the bull on
the nose and holding on until the bull submitted. Due to the
fact that this was the canines main duty, these buldogs were
bred to have very powerful jaws, muscular bodies, and the
resolve to hold onto a violently-struggling bull, even when
injured.

Over time these dogs inspired the the widespread practice of the
bloody type sports of bull-baiting and bear-baiting. Bulldogs
are believed to have been bred with terrier dogs in order to
produce a more muscular, smaller, and agile dog for these
sports.

The resulting dogs are known as bull-and-terrier breeds, and
modern examples include all pit bull-type of dogs. In England in
the early 1800s, these spectacles were popular forms of
entertainment. However, in 1835, the sports of bull-baiting and
bear-baiting were abolished by Parliament and deemed to be
cruel, and the custom died out over the following years.

Dogs were bred for specific traits found useful in the
dog-fighting ring, refining the agility, gameness, and power
already present in the bull-and-terrier breeds. They were also
bred to be intelligent and level-headed during fights and
un-aggressive toward humans.

The standard for organized dog-fighting required that an owner
be able to enter the ring, pick up his dog while it was engaged
in a fight, and carry it out of the ring without being bitten.

Dogs that bit their owners were culled.

Staffordshire Bull Terriers were less ordinarily used as
fighters, because they generally had stable temperaments and
were susally kept in the home by the sporting men who owned
them.

Pitbulls made their way to the US during the mid-1800s, by way
of immigration to the United States from Ireland and England.

These Pit Dogs were bred to be larger and stockier, working as
farm dogs in the West as much as fighting dogs in the large
cities. The resulting breed, the American Staffordshire Bull
Terrier, also called the American Pit Bull Terrier, became known
as an “all-American” dog.

Pit bull type dogs started to become popular as family pets for
citizens who were not involved in dog-fighting or farming. In
the early 1900s they began to appear in films, one of the more
famous examples being Pete the Pup from the Our Gang shows…