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The American Pit Bull Terrier
Breed Identification

What IS a Pit Bull? What is an American Pit Bull Terrier? An American Staffordshire Terrier? What about a Staffordshire Terrier? It all can get very confusing and there is no good, one answer.

If you look back in history and trace the three breeds, at one time they were one. Breed registries and fanciers have now made the breed three and they all have very specific standards.

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is the oldest of the breeds, it can be traced back to 18th century England. It seems to be the foundation breed that has created the American Staffordshire Terrier as well as the American Pit Bull Terrier. While they all share a lot of the same genetics, they are all very different dogs.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is not a breed recognized by the most popular and largest dog registry, the American Kennel Club. The AKC closed it's studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. They allowed registration only to those dogs with parents registered as Staffordshire Terriers. For a short period in the 1970's, the AKC reopened its studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. In 1973 the AKC added the prefix "American" to the breed's name in an effort to distinguish it from the newly recognized Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Today, only those dogs with AmStaff parents are eligible for registration. Both the UKC and the ADBA allow registration of AmStaffs, but in these organizations the dogs carry the original name, "American Pit Bull Terrier."

Confused yet? This breed has never been far from controversy, whether it be in it’s name, registry, history or Breed Specific Legislation.
A fun game to play is the “Find the Pit Bull” game and you can play it here: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html There are actually 20+ breeds that are commonly mistaken for a Pit Bull.



Breed Standard by the UKC:
General Appearance
The American Pit Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, solidly built, short-coated dog with smooth, well-defined musculature. This breed is both powerful and athletic. The body is just slightly longer than tall, but bitches may be somewhat longer in body than dogs. The length of the front leg (measured from point of elbow to the ground) is approximately equal to one-half of the dog's height at the withers. The head is of medium length, with a broad, flat skull, and a wide, deep muzzle. Ears are small to medium in size, high set, and may be natural or cropped. The relatively short tail is set low, thick at the base and tapers to a point. The American Pit Bull Terrier comes in all colors and color patterns. This breed combines strength and athleticism with grace and agility and should never appear bulky or muscle-bound or fine-boned and rangy.

Characteristics
The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children. Because most APBTs exhibit some level of dog aggression and because of its powerful physique, the APBT requires an owner who will carefully socialize and obedience train the dog. The breed's natural agility makes it one of the most capable canine climbers so good fencing is a must for this breed. The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its willingness to work.

The American Pit Bull Terrier has always been capable of doing a wide variety of jobs so exaggerations or faults should be penalized in proportion to how much they interfere with the dog's versatility.


EYES - Eyes are medium size, round to almond-shaped, and set well apart and low on the skull. All colors are equally acceptable except blue.

EARS - Ears are high set and may be natural or cropped without preference. If natural, semi-prick or rose are preferred. Prick or flat, wide ears are not desired.


Body
The chest is deep, well filled in, and moderately wide with ample room for heart and lungs, but the chest should never be wider than it is deep. The forechest does not extend much beyond the point of shoulder. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the elbows. The back is strong and firm. The topline inclines very slightly downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched to the top of the croup, but narrower than the rib cage and with a moderate tuck-up. The croup is slightly sloping downward.

Coat
The coat is glossy and smooth, close, and moderately stiff to the touch.



Height and Weight
The American Pit Bull Terrier must be both powerful and agile so actual weight and height are less important than the correct proportion of weight to height. Desirable weight for a mature male in good condition is between 35 and 60 pounds. Desirable weight for a mature female in good condition is between 30 and 50 pounds. Dogs over these weights are not to be penalized unless they are disproportionately massive or rangy.

What does all this show and breeder jargon mean to a regular person? Pictures are not always a positive identification but they do help.

A well-bred example of the breed


Your average APBT in a shelter



Property of PNWPBR 2007