Pit
Bull Terrier
History
The
history of the Pit Bull varies depending on the sources
you refer to.
One
of these stories goes back to the time of the Romans.
During the time of Minos in Crete the sport of bull baiting
was quite a popular form of entertainment. This sport
was developed as a part of the worship practice in honor
of the warrior god "Mithras".
During
this time most dogs were wild and ferocious by nature.
As the Roman tribes of the time conquered and moved across
the land they also took the sport with them. Due to the
selective breeding of the best dogs a distinctive breed
began to emerge.
By
the 1700's there were two primary bull fighting dogs
that had developed. This was the Blue poll of Scotland
and the Alunt from Ireland both of which were referred
to as bulldogs. The Alunt of the time resembled something
closer to a Great Dane but is presumed to have later
developed into the Alono of Spain.
As
this and other dog sports were developed people selectively
breed different dogs to achieve the fighting attributes
that they desired. They often mixed these breeds with
the great dogs of England also used to bait bulls.
By
the time of the early 1800's due to selective breeding
a dog had emerged which was very similar to the American
Pit Bull of today. Due to a slow economy and a law which
prohibited people of low economic means from owning a
sporting dog the practice of bull baiting began to diminish.
In
1835 bull baiting was officially banned. This forced
people especially of the lower classes to find alternatives
for their dogs. This resulted in a sport known as ratting
where a number of rats were placed in a pit for a specified
time with the dog. This is in fact where the "Pit" in
the American Pit Bull Terrier name came from - not from
fighting other dogs.
The
terrier part of the name came from its ability to hunt
small game and was one of the reasons why ratters knew
it would excel in the rat pit. The larger the number
of kill the better the dog placed in the match. Due to
the constraints of space and the agility of Black & Tan
and now extinct White terriers of England these terriers
were often being mixed with the old bull baiting dogs
to achieve dogs which were premium for these purposes.
It
is believed that this practice of mixing bulldog's and
terriers began in the town of Staffordshire England and
became known as the Staffordshire Bull and terrier.
Due
to the agility and gameness of this new found breed many
began to also fight dogs with each other. Soon dog on
dog fighting and ratting became so popular that practically
all Inns and Pubs were equipped with a fighting pit.
As
colonization of America and Canada began these people
also brought their dogs. These dogs soon became known
by the name of "Pit Bull Terriers".
By
the time of WWI the American Pit Bull Terrier had became
a well loved and desired dog. In fact the Pit Bull was
used as Americas canine mascot of the time and seen in
such posters as this during war time.
As
time progressed a gentleman by the name Chauncy Bennett
founded the UKC in 1898 with the American Pit Bull Terrier
as its foundation dog breed. Although some are fortunate
enough to own a UKC registered Pit's the majority of
the public has chose to not register their dogs due to
financial constraints and subsequent loss of bloodline
determination. The American Pit Bull Registry seeks to
turn this trend around and to register peoples otherwise
un-registered American Pit Bulls and to encourage people
with otherwise registered Pit Bulls to dually register
their dogs.
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