Originally posted by midnight Target
I would cut and paste, but the link is copyright protected.. the basteges!
Basically it says this:
"a physical standard was drawn up for the Pit Bull. The name Pit Bull was a problem for these dog show folks - they felt it would scare people off. They tried several names including Yankee Terrier (a silly name for a bulldog from the UK!) and finally settled on Staffordshire Terrier."
Further down: "To add to the confusion the name Staffordshire Terrier was changed to American Stafordshire Terrier in the 1970's when the AKC decided that the Pit Bulls in England had enough variation to warrant being called a different breed. The UK dogs were now called Staffordshire Bull Terriers."
So basically a Pit is a Pit... they need to be deleted from the gene pool.
No, a purebreed Pitbull is bred from fighting stock for game and fighting ability. What it looked like was irrelevant, while the American Staff is the complete opposite and is exclusively bred from show stock to look pretty with a good hock, colour etc...
The AKC never reconized Pits because for one, they were stuck up, and two, because of the fighting aspect; but the ADBA always did reconize Pits. Basically they're the same Dog. The only way to tell them apart is by the ADBA papers and family tree.
These Pits you see today, barrel chested with big heads, wouldn't last more than a few minutes in a match. Some of the best known Pits Evar had small heads and were slim and sleek with deep V chest.
Originally Staffordshire Terriers were brought from Ireland and England, then bred out to hunt for wild boars in the southern states. That's how Pitbulls eventually came about.
They are bred from pure fighting stock or were, hence there aren't many, if any, purebred Pits around today. It's all scattered bred, no papers, my noodle is small but my Dog can hang from a car tire for a good hour or so.
John Colbly must be turning in his grave.
