American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook. Joe Stahlkuppe
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The little girl, about four years old, was playing in the backyard of her suburban Florida home. She had carefully arranged her dolls for a tea party. Her mother was watching her out of the kitchen window. So intent was the child in her pretending that she sensed nothing amiss, no danger.
In this same suburb, two or three houses up the street, lived a powerful American Pit Bull Terrier. Seven years old, a muscular 45 pounds, he was covered with scars from his years as a fighting dog. Rescued from the pit, the dog lived his new life in comfort. At times, however, this pit veteran would escape from his backyard. Today was just such a time.
Jumping up on an outdoor grill, he cleared the backyard fence. As he walked down the street, he sensed movement from the little girl’s backyard and headed in that direction. The child didn’t see him enter her yard. She didn’t see him fixate on her. She didn’t see the intent look in his eyes. She didn’t see him when he started his charge toward her.
The child’s mother saw the dog hurtling toward her daughter, but she didn’t have time to call out. The little girl looked up and saw the rapidly approaching dog. She screamed as the animal leaped toward her. The dog jumped over the little girl and landed squarely atop a large rattlesnake coiled only a few feet away. Though severely bitten by the rattler, the dog easily killed the snake. He then vigorously shook the still-writhing body.
The child’s mother ran to gather up her crying child and the dog dropped the snake and ran over to the little girl and began covering her face with licks of affection. When she arrived, the child’s mother saw her daughter, the dog, and the twitching snake. She embraced the child and the dog, an old family friend.
Hype About APBTs
Perhaps you had envisioned a different ending to this short and true story. If you did, you may have been affected by the hype and fright-writing that has surrounded the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) over the past few decades. If the dog in this true scenario had been a Saint Bernard, a Beagle, or a Collie, would you have similar apprehensions about what was going to happen? Probably not. APBTs (and kindred breeds) have been the victims of more bad press, rumor, innuendo, myth, and fathomless fear than any dog breed in history.
For some reason it has been easier, certainly in past years, to believe the worst about the American Pit Bull Terrier. That was not always the case. For nearly a century, this breed was accepted as a valued family pet. True, he generally had to be watched around certain other kinds of dogs, but no more so than other large or powerful breeds. For ordinary Americans, especially in the tense times before World War I, the APBT epitomized the American spirit of strength and independence. Some time in the early-to-mid-1970s this public perception changed. An often wrongfully accused old family friend suddenly became Canine Public Enemy Number One.
This book is not about the “pit bull.” This book is about the American Pit Bull Terrier. The two are not the same. “Pit bulls” can be almost anything. They can be poorly bred pit fighting dogs, poorly bred American Staffordshire Terriers, poorly bred Staffordshire Bull Terriers, poorly bred APBTs, mixed dogs of some bull breed heritage, or just shorthaired and thickset mongrels with an attitude. This book is about a great and misunderstood American canine treasure, a breed of dog that has conquered more obstacles than any other breed of dog in the history of the human-canine relationship. It is about dogs that many consider the greatest all-around breed to ever exist, a breed with a long and distinguished history as one of the gentlest and most versatile of family pets, the bravest of war dogs, and the staunchest defenders of children. This book, without a hint of apology, is about the American Pit Bull Terrier.
The APBT as a Family Pet and Companion
The APBT is a dog of extremes. He is extremely strong, extremely powerful, and extremely loyal. He evokes extreme reactions, positive and negative. An alert and intelligent breed, the APBT has not only participated in, but has also excelled in, almost every activity in which dogs can be involved. In obedience, agility, therapy work, hunting, Schutzhund, weight-pulling contests, and candidly, in the dog-fighting pit, the APBT has continually surprised those who know the breed best and has amazed the uninitiated. However, this beautiful, powerful, bright, clownish, controversial dog has done his best work as a family pet and companion animal.
As serious students of canines, breed experts and anyone who has spent any length of time with a good APBT will readily testify that this breed, properly bred and properly socialized, is the least likely of all breeds to bite a human being! Many self-anointed guardians of all-things-canine may not accept this fact, but their ignorance does not make the fact less true. Historically, when they were pit fighting dogs, APBTs were bred never to attack humans. Their owners eliminated dogs that did not conform to this strict ideal.
Appearance
Size
There is some degree of diversity in appearance among American Pit Bull Terriers. APBTs can range in size from 30 pounds to 75 pounds (14 to 34 kg). Some breeders, as they have in so many other breeds, have even produced giant versions of the APBT, approaching 100 pounds (45 kg) or more. Some of the original pit fighting dogs imported from the British Isles were very small by today’s standards. In the pit, some of the greatest fighters of all time weighed less than 35 pounds (16 kg). These dogs gave rise to the popular expression, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Color
The APBT can be any solid shade or combination of colors. Solid colors often show off the rippling muscles of the breed. Spotted or bicolored dogs are often quite attractive. Their white markings provide striking contrasts. Brindle (a red or tan dog overshot with black striping), fawn (in many tones), red, blue, or black APBTs can be beautiful. Solid white is allowed in the APBT, but not in the APBT’s cousin-breed, the American Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff).
Color really never played much of a role in the APBT. The imported Irish dogs of the late 1800s were often solid red or red with white markings. Perhaps the result of closely bred lines, the early imported red dogs—especially with red noses—were often descendants of a well-known strain or family of pit dogs. Even today, when legendary pit dogs are discussed, the term, “Old-Family Red-Nose,” usually comes up in the conversation. Several well-known modern American dog breeders have continued to propagate dogs of this color and of this bloodline or family.
What Your APBT Needs
The well-bred, well-socialized American Pit Bull Terrier can be an excellent family pet, but the APBT is not the dog for everyone. First-time dog owners would certainly be well advised to serve a lengthy apprenticeship with some other kind of dog before undertaking the challenge of owning an APBT, the Amstaff, or any of what is called the “bull breeds.” An experienced dog person, intent on learning about the APBT, should have no difficulty owning a dog of this breed. Much like a spirited horse, the APBT requires a human owner that can handle such a dog, meet its needs, and avoid potential problems.
Socialization
Socialization (page 85) is crucial for any young dog, but absolutely essential for the APBT puppy. Smart dog owners know that a “no surprises” attitude is best when owning dogs of any large and powerful breed. Everything that is true for these other breeds is even truer for the APBT.