*** 3/5
The American Pitbull Terrier also known as Pit, Pitbull, APT or APBT, is probably the most talked about and misunderstood breed ever. It has been splashed all over the papers for being an aggressive uncontrollable animal, and some uneducated people even say that it is the most dangerous dog breed in existence. While in reality the APBT can be raised as a great family guard dog and pet. The APBT is a fairly tall and muscular breed with a short fine coat and its colourings can range from most colours such as white, grey, brown, black, ginger, fawn, brindle, tan, red, blue and champagne and any mixture of these colours, it can also have a few different skin colours which result in the different bloodlines of the Pit and give it the distinctive nose colour, such as you have the sort after red nose Pit which has a pinkish or red nose and light coloured coat, the chocolate Pit which has a brown nose and coat of the same colour, and also the blue Pit which has a dark grey or black nose and an ash grey coloured coat and sometimes white markings on the chest and paw area, as this particular bloodline shares its blood with white coloured Pits you will always have a mixture of these two colours in a blue Pit litter. Most people favour the APBT with cropped ears but un-cropped there ears are medium and fold over half way. The APBT is an extremely outgoing and high energy dog and needs much exercise and mental stimulation. The APBT originates from America and to clarify, it is the only Pitbull breed in existence, as some people misunderstand and believe that there are different breeds of Pitbull. It was bred into existence mostly for dog fighting sometime in the early 1900's, while trying to combine the gameness of Terrier breeds with the strength and athleticism of Bulldog breeds. The APBT can be quite a handful if not trained properly and may be aggressive to other dogs if not properly socialized with other dogs from a young age, but Pits cannot be blamed for this as this is what was favoured while creating the breed, and people should note that the actions and movements of small children can be seen as extremely offensive and dominant behaviour to an untrained dog especially a breed such as this as they have a very high prey drive and determination of defending their territory. Pound for pound the APBT is the strongest breed as a well trained Pit can pull 30 times his own body weight which is not to say they are the strongest breed, but for there size they are an extremely powerful breed. For all of there bad press they have been labelled a banned breed in the U.K. by the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991 the other 3 banned breeds in the U.K. are the Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa Inu and the Dogo Argentino. |