Lawsuits and legal actions began to center on any area of real or imagined personal injury. The emerging “pit bull” became a litigator’s dream. An unsavory dog with a bad reputation owned by a real or imitation criminal type wouldn’t find many friends among the judiciary or among juries. Certainly, some dog bite cases were horrendous. Small children killed or frightfully maimed should make every reasonable person shudder. Dog bites, especially by large and powerful dogs, can be crippling and disfiguring. Legal remedies and public outrage in such cases are certainly more than appropriate, but unfortunately, society tends to use a broad brush in inflicting our retribution.
The APBT by Any Other Name
The “pit bull” epithet given to any dogs that even remotely fit this image has resulted in a great deal of carnage among innocent dogs. Either the word “pit” or the word “bull” came to generate public indignation. Even the squat and humorous Bulldog (known colloquially as the English Bulldog) has not escaped some heat.
Many breeds and mixes have become victims of mistaken identity. In the quest to rid the world from the vicious and hyperaggressive street pits, well-intentioned, but ignorant souls have caused many of these other dogs to be given the mark of a canine Cain. That the vast proportion of the dogs in these breeds are excellent pets hasn’t stopped people from seeking out and eliminating any vestige of a dog that might just be a “pit bull.”
The APBT receives most of the grief. This breed has the misfortune to have both “pit” and “bull” in its name. This breed also provided some of the genetic material that went to make the street pits that have been the actual cause of much pain, anguish, and misunderstanding. The APBT is also a dog that needs reasonable precautions when it confronts other dogs, but the APBT and these other breeds mentioned earlier are no more dangerous to people than any other breed and considerably less than some.
The APBT suffers because of look-alike and sound-alike dogs that do bad things.
Chapter Two History and Heritage of the APBT
The APBT is not American in lineage, and it has not always been called by this name. Some other terrier breeds considered the word “bull” as their private property. Some others argued that the breed is not even a terrier and really should be called a “bulldog.” One of the largest dog registries in the world could not abide the word “pit” in the breed’s name, so they renamed the breed and accepted their creation into membership
The history and heritage of the APBT spans most of this millennium. The excellent APBT of today is descended from some of the most powerful canines ever known. To begin to understand this breed, it is necessary to start with some of the key elements that were brought together, honed in battle and bloodshed, refocused, and then shaped into the American Pit Bull Terrier.
Mastiffs and Bulldogs
One of the oldest of all dog classifications is the widely diverse and extended breed group of the mastiff (or mollossus) family.
Note: For this book, breed names will be capitalized; breed types (and general groupings) will not.
Most typically, the mastiff breeds are giants, tall and heavy. They have been spread around the world and many countries have their own mastiff breed. Large bones, great height, great weight, and often very large heads and clearly defined features are points of identification for the mastiff breeds.
The mastiff family includes both well-known and lesser-known breeds;
• The Mastiff, sometimes referred to as the English Mastiff, a huge fawn or brindle giant, was the favorite of kings and commoners in England. The Mastiff is recognized as near kin to the other giants in the family that bears its name.
• The Great Dane, called the German Mastiff in much of Europe, is taller and slimmer, but clearly still a mastiff. Irish Wolfhounds, and perhaps Greyhounds helped give this tall breed a powerful, but less bulky appearance.
• The Dogue de Bordeaux, or French Mastiff, was popularized in the United States to some extent, by the Tom Hanks’ film, Turner and Hooch. Not quite as large as the Mastiff of England, the Dogue de Bordeaux has a huge head and is recognized in only a reddish fawn with a muzzle that can be red or black.
• The Saint Bernard, or Alpine Mastiff, is known worldwide for its reputation as a finder of avalanche victims and other lost souls attempting to cross the Saint Bernard Pass in the Swiss Alps. Though the brandy keg on his collar probably is a myth, the Saint comes in two coat lengths, rough and smooth.
• The Newfoundland is water safety’s equivalent to the snow-oriented Saint Bernard. Newfies are legendary for saving drowning people. Quite large and mastiff-like, Newfoundlands” named after the Canadian region of Newfoundland—have long coats and are solid black, brown (bronze), or gray, and also Landseer, which is black and white. In some countries the Landseer is recognized as a separate breed.
• The Bullmastiff is a member of both the mastiff and bulldog families, resulting from a cross between the large bulldog of England, not the short modern dog with the smashed-in face, and the Mastiff. Originally meant to make the giant Mastiff quicker and more agile, the Bullmastiff, as an estate gamekeeper’s dog, became the poacher’s worst nightmare.
• The Rottweiler is another mastiff breed of German extraction. The Rott was originally a cattle dog, but has become the most popular mastiff breed in the United States.
• The Pug is both the only Chinese member of the mastiff group, and the smallest mastiff. The Pug is really a mastiff in miniature and comes in fawn (apricot) and black.
• The Bulldog, once called the English Bulldog, actually has a family of breeds of its own, but is also clearly descended from the mastiffs. Today’s Bulldog is more of a pet and canine curiosity than the other much larger and more rugged mastiff family members.
• The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is the British version of the fighting pit terrier. As with the Bulldog, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier has been greatly bred away from any of its original purposes, with the modern dogs being short, squat, and more pet dog than pit dog.
• The American Staffordshire Terrier and the APBT were the same dogs until the mid-1980s when the “pit” part of the United Kennel Club’s (UKC) name for the breed found hostility at the AKC. The AKC, at a loss for a name, accepted “Staffordshire Terrier” in its attempt at refurbishing the APBT. Later, in the 1970s, the additional name “American” Staffordshire Terrier had to be added to avoid confusion with the new AKC member from England, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Having been bred for conformation for over half a century, the Amstaff is now primarily prized more for his looks than for his working abilities.
• The APBT is the American version of the pit fighting dog that remained with his more appropriate name after the Amstaff was developed and moved on to the AKC. The APBT is one of the most
