The Misconception of the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT)
Today, it is inevitable for people to equate American Pit Bull Terriers to aggressive, vicious, and human attacker 60 pounds of dog. However, these are just misconceptions that defame these lovable and protective animals. In fact, American Pit Bull Terriers are intelligent, loyal, and fun loving animals that only receive bad reputations because of heartless owners.
It all started in 1835 England, when bull baiting was still a popular violent and bloody past time that some dog breeders got inspired to breed bulldogs for dog fighting. They saw this dog’s tenacity and fierceness and so they bred bull dog with terrier. The result is what they call the Bull Terrier.
The Bull Terrier was born with impressive characters which are: aggressiveness to its enemies, tenacity and bravery, high pain threshold, and at the same time they are affectionate and sociable to people. These traits made the dog unbeatable and deadly in the dog fight scene. However, the Bull Terrier was not all violence because its natural ability to be caring and loyal to humans made the difference.
In the middle of 1800’s, immigrants introduced the Bull Terrier to the United States although not for dog fighting anymore. Bull baiting was banned in England and so people ceased breeding them for fighting. In the United States, the Bull Terrier acted as an all- around farm dog and frontier guardians.
In 1898, the United Kennel Club officially renamed the Bull Terrier to American Pit Bull Terrier. By this time, too, the breed became famous among different kinds of people. It was so popular that even companies such as Buster Brown Shoe Company, RCA phonographs, and Levi’s used APBT as mascots to represent dependability, loyalty, toughness, and bravery.
The American Pit Bull Terrier became America’s beloved dog that even some famous people were known to have one. The likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Hellen Keller, and Little House books’ Laura Ingals Wilder sported APBT as pets. In World War I, even a Pit Bull named Stubby became a decorated war hero.
The American Pit Bull Terrier, however, did not always have good fortune and high praises. This breed went through countless controversies, like dog fighting and fatal human aggression, that kennel clubs changed its name and standards a few times in many years. From the Bull Terrier to American Pit Bull Terrier, from American Pit Bull Terrier to Staffordshire Terrier, and finally to its present name and current standard- the American Pit Bull Terrier.
There are still many people who breed and raise APBT for dog fighting and aggressiveness. Because of this bad training, indeed some APBT lost their human affection. In view of this, it is not the poor dog that’s to be blamed for their misled behaviors but those heartless individuals who only wish to satisfy their violent cravings and selfish, and often, criminal acts.