What is the history of the pit bull?

Answer 1

The pit bull was originally bred for bull baiting, which was a blood sport in the 1800s, mainly in England. The sport soon became outlawed, but now in present times, even though it is illegal, dog fighting is commonly practiced in pits. People have bred pit bulls to be aggressive, and here we are blaming the pit bull.

Answer 2

--From Wikipedia, The Free Enciclopedia:--

Though the pit bull type dogs were all created with similar crossbreeding between bulldogs and terriers, each individual breed within the type has a somewhat different history. There are an estimated 77.5 million owned dogs in the United States; however, the number of pit bull-type dogs has not been reliably determined. Animal shelters in the United States euthanized approximately 1.7 million dogs in 2008; approximately 980,000, or 58 percent of these were assessed to have been pit bull-type dogs.

• American Pit Bull Terrier

The American pit bull terrier is the product of interbreeding between terriers and a breed of bulldogs to produce a dog that combined the gameness of the terrier with the strength and athleticism of the bulldog. These dogs were initially bred in England, Ireland, and Scotland, and arrived in the United States with immigrants from these countries. In the United States, these dogs were used as catch dogs for semi-wild cattle and hogs, to hunt, to drive livestock, and as family companions; however, some were selectively bred for their fighting prowess, and starting in the early 20th century, they began to replace the bull terrier as the "dog of choice" for dog fighting in the United States. The United Kennel Club (UKC) was the first registry to recognize the American pit bull terrier. UKC founder C. Z. Bennett assigned UKC registration number 1 to his own dog, "Bennett's Ring", as an American pit bull terrier in 1898.

• American Staffordshire Terrier

The American Staffordshire terrier was the product of 19th century interbreeding between bulldogs and terriers that produced the "bull-and-terrier dog", "Half and Half", and at times "pit dog" or "pit bullterrier" that later assumed the name in England of the Staffordshire bull terrier. These dogs began to find their way into America as early as 1870 where they became known as pit dog, pit bull terrier, later American bull terrier, and still later as Yankee terrier. They were imported primarily, but not exclusively, for pit fighting. In 1936, they were accepted American Kennel Club (AKC) as "Staffordshire terriers". The name of the breed was revised effective January 1, 1972 to "American Staffordshire terrier" since breeders in the United States had developed a type which is heavier in weight than the Staffordshire bull terrier of England and the name was changed to distinguish them as separate breeds.

• Staffordshire Bull Terrier

The Staffordshire bull terrier had its beginnings in England many centuries ago when the bulldog and Mastiff were used for the sports of bull-baiting and bear-baiting; in the Elizabethan era, breeders produced large dogs for these sports but later on the 100-120 pound animal gave way to a small, more agile breed of up to 90 pounds. The Staffordshire bull terrier was admitted to registration in the AKC Stud Book effective October 1, 1974, with regular show classification in the Terrier Group at AKC shows available on and after March 5, 1975.