"Pit Bull" is not a breed!!!!!
Now you know the truth. The term "Pit Bull" actually is a slang term for a type of dog. The term "pit bull" on its own is nothing more than a slang term that lumps together AmStaffs, APBT, Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Terriers and any sort of pit bull mutt, mix, or hybrid. There are two breeds that most people think of (if they know what a "Pit" looks like). These breeds are the American Staffordshire Terrier (AmStaff) and the The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT). What is the difference?
Registry, mainly. An AKC AmStaff can be UKC registered as an APBT. The AmStaff *is* the APBT, for all real intents and purposes. The AKC recognized the Pit Bull as the Staffordshire Terrier in 1936. These dogs came from UKC stock. The breeds aren't really very different at all, and you can double register your APBT. 'PR' Lucenay's Peter was one of the first dual-registered AKC/UKC dogs. We know this dog as "Petey" from the "Our Gang" films. Many fanciers continued to dual-register, and the practice is still commmon today.
They aren't vicious man-eating dogs!!!
It has only been in the last couple of decades that the breed -- previously considered an All-American favorite and a great kid's dog became popular with the wrong crowd, and a burst of bad publicity followed. True, "pit bulls ( or ABPT)" were originally bred to be the winning dog in dog fights, but they were never bred to be vicious towards people. If raised correctly pit bulls are extremely social dogs with humans and especially delight in children. The reputation that they have now, has come about from people bringing up puppies to be vicous towards humans so that they would make "good guard dog"s. These poor dogs were taught the wrong things by stupid people and now the dogs suffer. They are often found high on the lists of dog bites. In all bite incidents, ultimately it is a human's fault: either bad breeding or breeding for "aggressiveness," no matter what euphemism is used; bad screening of the prospective dog owner; bad treatment or training or no training; insufficient socialization; not neutering or spaying; intentional training to bring out aggressive "guard dog" tendencies; and/or lack of supervision. If raised correctly pit bulls are extremely social dogs with humans and especially delight in children. Basicly someone chose to pick on the APBT and it took off. There other breeds out there that have caused more deaths than the APBT but becase they don't have a name like Pit Bull they aren't reported on or are kept very low key.
They make great family pets
Because of their size, they do best with older children, just like all large dogs. What pit bulls want to do most, Mullin said, is please humans. Pit bulls are especially good at pleasing people since they are strong and smart, they learn quickly and they are very adaptable. A strong-characteristic of pit bulls is that they want to make you happy. Because of this they are fairly easy to train, and can be very loyal. Hardy, tenacious dogs, pit bulls are moderately active indoors and extremely energetic when outdoors. Be prepared to spend a minimum of 20-30 minutes twice a day engaged in aerobic level activities such as Frisbee tossing, bicycle road-working or agility coursework with your dog.
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