Your Dog Is Not A “Pitbull” - A Guide



The reason why this blog was created was simple, to educate people on what a true pit bull is and to educate people to keep things like BSL from being enacted, children and pets from being needlessly attacked, and innocent dogs being put to sleep.



What Is A Pit Bull?

No matter what anybody says, the one and only true breed of dog that can be called a “pit bull” is the American Pit Bull Terrier, no other breed can correctly be called one.

"Pit bull" itself is not a breed but a short form for the entire breed name, and is not correctly used when used as a blanket term for many breeds. The media uses the term pit bull to describe many breeds (and mixes) of dogs that resemble the APBT or are related to them through history, these breeds are most commonly the APBT, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, American Bully, Dogo Argentino, and less commonly the Boxer and Tosa Inu. The media’s liberal usage of the name “pit bull” is what leads to BSL: dog breed bans that target any dog that resembles the above. It is downright incorrect and dangerous to be calling your American Bulldog a “pit bull”, when that exact same word is what is killing innocent dogs in shelters.

Call dog breeds by what they are, call your American Bulldog an American Bulldog, call your American Pit Bull Terrier a pit bull if you must, but do not use this word for your shelter mix or your American Staffordshire Terrier - it is incorrect.



What Makes A Pit Bull? (History)

Pitting dogs against other animals has occured for a long, long time, with some documented instances dating back to 13.BC in the Roman Empire. Before then, dogs were used mostly for hunting and the peasants used dogs to hunt for their food. When farming and agriculture started the ball rolling, hunting with dogs was no longer needed and it then became a luxury - something for the elite to do. Peasants were no longer allowed to hunt with their dogs and if they were caught hunting, the punishment was often death for both man and dog! They had to keep their dogs chained up to keep from killing local wildlife to avoid this fate. Bulldogs were viewed as hunting dogs/hounds (“boar hounds”, “bull hounds”, etc) at the time and peasants were not allowed to have them but they were allowed to own terriers, which they used to kill nuisance animals like rats, mice, badgers, etc. This is possibly a reason why the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was and is so small, perhaps they were bulldogs that the owner disguised as terriers? Either way, they did the job of killing rats well… and that is when the owners of pit dog ancestors began getting entertainment from fighting dog against beast. However, we will continue to look further back in history at the ancestors of these dogs for just a while longer.

Bloodsports involving dogs have varied from fights with lions, bears, badgers, bulls, monkeys, rats, foxes, wolves, donkeys, and horses. In the earliest days, large mastiff-typed dogs were used such as Cane Corsos and English Mastiffs, but they were proven to be generally useless against large predators like bears or lions and did not make good entertainment due to their clumsiness and slowness. Over time, people desired smaller, more agile dogs to fight against larger animals, and so the bull-and-terriers were born. Not quite a pit bull yet, but they were getting there.

These dogs were great fighters and were able to get at the throats of lions and take them easily, to get underneath a bull’s face and grab onto his nose; they were able to show their hunting prowess against bulls and it was a way to show off who had the strongest dog, who had the dog that could hunt the best, who could grab onto a boar or a bull and never back down from a challenge. These sorts of activities were practiced by the elite at the time because they were the ones who participated in hunting with hounds. Smaller terriers at the time were used to kill pest animals (which is where your Yorkshire Terriers, Jack Russell Terriers, Patterdale Terriers, Plumber Terriers, etc come from!), and the gameness of a terrier was desired, as well as the athleticism and strength of a bulldog (not the atrocity known as the English Bulldog today, mind you). It’s important to point out that 100lb, clumsy, jowly dogs like American Bulldogs and Cane Corsos never made good fighting dogs. The elite began to cross the bulldogs (which only they could legally own) with smaller terriers to get the pit bull terrier.



Over time, the Animal Welfare acts slowly banned pitting dogs against other animals, no longer would animal-baiting take place, but instead these dogs were pitted against one another. This is where the Pit Bull Terrier or “Bulldog” was born. These dogs were bred more for gameness in the dog-fighting pits and were eventually brought over from Ireland to America around the 1800’s and were fought here as well.



Chauncy Z. Bennett started the United Kennel Club in 1898 to recognize working dogs, and he took this Pit Bull Terrier that came over from the UK, slapped the word “American” in front of it and it became the American Pit Bull Terrier. Chauncey believed that if he put the word “American” in front of it, people would be more likely to accept it and be more open with it because country morale was at an all time high after the civil war in the 60’s. It worked, Americans loved the APBT and accepted it. The American Pit Bull Terrier continued to be fought in pits throughout the country and remained legal to do so until about the 1960’s. Literally the entire history of the American Pit Bull Terrier has been created in the pits, there is absolutely no room to deny this. To do so is simply delusional and ignorant.

When dog-fighting became widely accepted and practiced across the country, America began to put up laws against dog-fighting. The UKC dropped it’s support for fighting dogs (which it used to openly promote and considered American culture!), and so did many Americans. Americans began to petition to allow the American Pit Bull Terrier to be registered and shown with the American Kennel Club under the name American (Pit) Bull Terrier/American Bull Terrier, a throw back to the original dogs called Bull Terriers (like “Staffordshire Bull Terrier”). AKC denied this and would not allow it, as the Bull Terrier breeders in the club felt that they owned the right to call their dogs Bull Terriers. Boston Terrier breeders also tried to get their dogs recognized as Boston Bull Terriers but were turned down for the same reason. The breeders decided that American Staffordshire Terrier was a fair compromise, and that breed was born.



Recap: The American Pit Bull Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier were always fought in the pits, only when Americans put their foot down against dog-fighting did breeders start breeding the APBT with hopes of getting it registered as a show breed with the AKC. They bred their American Staffordshire Terriers (at the time, they were called Staffordshire Terriers) with Staffordshire Bull Terriers and this really pissed off the SBT owners, who refused to consider Amstaffs as the same breed. They fought tooth and nail to get the Staffordshire Terrier considered a different breed, and the word “American” was slapped in front and that was that. The American Staffordshire Terrier does not have a long history in the pits, with the only notable AmStaff pit dog lineage being Colby’s. APBT = fighting dog, Staff = fighting dog, AmStaff = show dog.

In Chicago, Guy McCord created the registration group called the American Dog Breeders Association which accepted working (re: mostly fighting) APBT and still does to this day.

The Staffordshire Terrier slowly began to lose popularity as a fighting dog, the American Staffordshire Terrier became a show dog, and the APBT has been sent all over the world for dog-fighting. Hopefully it is clear now why it’s dangerous to lump Staffordshires and AmStaffs in with fighting dogs by calling them “pit bulls”.



What Is Gameness?

Gameness is a trait possessed by some breeds of dog, it’s described as the desire to continue working or fighting despite the chance of severe injury or even death.

“Game is the dog that won’t quit fighting, the dog that’ll die in the ring, the dog that’ll fight with two broken legs.”

Gameness is not exclusive to the APBT and Staffordshire, but is also in small terriers like Jagd Terriers, Patterdales, Jack Russells, Airedales, and larger breeds like Dogo Argentino, Tosa Inu, Alabai (CAO/Volkodav), and English Bull Terrier. Not all dog breeds are game anymore, either. If a dog breed has not been bred for gameness (gamebred), there’s a good chance that the dogs are no longer considered game. The one and only way to tell if a dog is game is to pit him against another dog or another animal (in the case of the terriers). Gameness is not an appearance, it is not a look, it’s not something that you can tell by looking at a dog. There is simply no way to look at a dog and tell if he is game - he can be gamebred (bred from proven game dogs) but that does not mean he is game. Many people confuse the look of a worked/conditioned dog for being game - this is not true, it’s utter bullshit. The dogs who are game and gamebred are usually worked on flirt-poles, spring-poles, cat mills, and put on strict diets to lose a bit of weight and gain muscle mass - they look this way because they need to be in shape for fighting. Not every conditioned (“in-shape”) dog is a fighting dog, but the “appearance” of a game dog has nothing to do with the fact that he is game or gamebred and has everything to do with what his owner wants him to do.

The term “dead game” is a term granted to dogs who have died while still being game. Dogs like APBT want to fight, they are willing to fight and hold onto the other dog until they’re killed. Being dead game is extremely rare because most dogs are picked up from fights before they get to this point - not every dog is dead game. I used to deny that these dogs wanted to fight but it’s something that we need to just admit already, they are not forced to fight. In fact it’s one of the Cajun Rules of dog-fighting that if a dog shows disinterest in a fight, he is to be picked up immediately, disqualified, and considered a loser. They are bred for gameness (willingness to fight) and always have been.



What About “Blue-Nose” and “Red-Nose”?

These are bullshit. Any reputable pit bull (remember, APBT) owner or breeder will never use these terms, with one single and only exception being the Old Family Red Nose line. If your dog does not come with a pedigree (which any good breeder will provide) stating that he comes from Old Family Red Nose dogs, your dog is NOT a red-nose pit bull. NO EXCEPTIONS.

The terms “red-nose” and “blue-nose” come from way back in history to when the bull and terrier/pit bull terrier breeds were being developed. The history itself is debatable but I’m going to explain what I’ve been told by dogmen when I asked about this - I could be completely wrong and I would love if someone who knew better corrected me.

The term red-nose and blue-nose are pretty self-explanatory, they’re used to describe the nose colour (coat colour) of a dog. Some held value in a dog based on what colour it was, claiming that red-nosed dogs were better fighters than blue-nosed dogs, and that blue-nosed dogs weren’t game. It’s said that the war between red-nosed and blue-nosed started with fights between owners of Blue Paul Terriers and red-coated pit dogs, but it toned down after a while and became a sign of puppy-peddlers and people breeding mutts, trying to call them something special to sell them, similar to a snake oil salesman. The “blue-nosed” dog sellers who claimed to have gamedogs were a laughing stock and generally a warning against their shoddily bred dogs. More recently, the term “blue-nosed” has been used exclusively with bully mutt breeders and American Bully breeders.



“What About Gotti/Razor’s Edge/Grey Line/Mr Pitbull?”

None of these are pit bulls, no matter what the breeders claim. These are American Bully lines that are commonly mistaken for and falsely labeled as American Pit Bull Terriers (remember, the only breed that can be called a Pit Bull is the APBT). The American Bully was created in the early 1990’s for basically no reason, the breeders wanted a dog with less gameness, drive, and dog-aggression and so they began to breed APBT with English Bulldogs, or Staffordshire Terriers with English Bulldogs (which pairing is the correct one is up to debate). The breeders of these dogs commonly breed for blue-coated pups (“blue-nosed”) for no reason other than appearance and to make their dogs seem flashier; the newest line name for American Bullies that I can think of is Blue Galaxy Pit Bull. The breeders of these dogs, thinking that they were breeding Pit Bulls, began to call them that and sometimes APBT. They started to breed for low-and-wide chest and legs and massive head size - for no reason, really.. just for show. There are a few “classes” of American Bully out there:



These dogs are often horribly inbred, have outturned elbows, brachycephalic faces, splayed toes and are walked around on extremely thick collars and chain leashes, all because their ignorant owners think they are “pit bulls”. Do you think these dogs would stand a chance in the pit? I don’t.

Many APBT fanciers dislike American Bullies (calling them American Blue Whales) and their breeders because of the blatant misidentification of these dogs and purposeless existance. They are not pit bulls, no matter what the breeders claim.



“What About Nanny Dogs?”

Nanny dogs are wonderful creatures - like bigfoot, the loch ness monster, and chupacabra, they bring excitement and wonder into our lives. The thing that they all have in common is that they’re fake. Made up. Never existed.

Pit Bulls through their entire existance have never been bred as “nanny dogs”, there is absolutely no history to support this claim either. The only mention of nanny dogs ever was in 1971 by the author of the book “Staffordshire Bull Terriers: Owner’s Companion” and devoted Staffordshire Bull Terrier fan, Mrs. Lillian V. Rant.

Mrs. Rant made a statement that coined the term “nanny dog”

“(The Staffordshire Terrier) had an unsavory reputation for fighting and violence and his name became associated with ruffians, who cared little for him as a dog but only for his ability in the pit. The Stafford we know today quickly becomes a member of the family circle. He loves children and is often referred to as a ‘nursemaid dog.’”. Mrs. Rant elaborates on what she meant by saying “He has a great affection for children, having earned the title 'nursemaid dog’ many years ago.” (by “many years ago” she means 20, when she first came up with the word herself. She is literally using herself as a source, not even joking).

Many “pit bull” fans will bring up photos of dogs sitting beside children as “proof” that nanny dogs existed, the reality is that just because a dog is sat beside a child does not mean it was the child’s caretaker. Fighting dogs were considered pets, part of the family, and it was not uncommon for them to be sat with their children or family to take a photo. That dog sitting beside that baby could be a champion pit fighter, such is the case with Greenwood’s/Maloney’s Strider: [As a pup with children] –> [As an adult, in a dog-fight].

“Pit Bull” advocate group BAD RAP once supported the claims of the mythical nanny dog, but quickly did a 180* when they realized that spreading this myth has contributed to children being bitten and mauled by pets. A mistake that should have never happened if responsible dog owners were responsible, did not let their children play with their dogs like toys, and did not expect a dog to be.. well.. a dog.



“What About My Shelter Dog?”

No matter what the shelter told you about your dog’s history, they know very little about it - the most a shelter will know about an abused dog’s history is the details about the abuse and that’s it, they know nothing of it’s pedigree or past owners. A common tactic to get “pit bulls” adopted in dog shelters is to slap a sob story on them and you will have people lined out the door to adopt this dog - the most common background story for dogs that look vaguely “pit bull”-like is to claim that they were the victim of dog-fighting.

You cannot claim that a dog is a pit bull if you don’t know the dog’s genetic background, it’s breeder, or it’s pedigree. Calling a dog a “pit bull” and claiming that it must have been fought because it has a square, blocky head and came from a cloudy background is irresponsible and gets dogs killed. People will adopt a dog like this because they want to be a dog saviour, they care little about the dog itself and much more about the fact that the dog was horribly abused by crack addicts and forced to fight in a basement!!, it makes them feel proud. The concentration put on babying the dog and making the rest of it’s life happier and abuse-free often causes these people to treat their dogs like human babies (which is where the term “dog-mommies” comes from). These are the people who believe the nanny-dog myth. They believe that the dog is a pit bull and so they believe it was a nanny dog, and therefore it must have been fought and must be a nanny dog! The lack of training and general babying done by these people results in their dogs attacking, to which their owners claim “I just don’t know how that happened! She’s never done it before!”.

This is because most of them deny the fact that these dogs are dog-aggressive, animal-aggressive, feisty, and certainly not babysitters. Some of them claim that the Pit Bull was never bred for dog-fighting, and that it was bred as a herding dog and a nanny dog and that’s it, no ifs ands or buts. These people are the ones who own the “100lb pit bull” that they rescued from a shelter after it was horribly abused in a dog-fighting pit (remember what I said about large mastiffs being shitty fighters?).

These dog saviours will petition against BSL while continuing to use the word Pit Bull as a blanket term for all dog breeds that look like theirs, they know nothing about the breed history of any of the dogs because they’re deluded about it and simply ignorant. Their fight to get BSL removed goes ignored most of the time because their “pit bulls” keep snapping at their children, getting loose and attacking children, and biting at other dogs and generally doing everything that a good nanny dog shouldn’t do. (Especially when these attacks are “completely unexpected!”)

If you got your dog from the shelter, it’s best to just call it a mix and avoid the term “pit bull” altogether.



“What’s The Difference, Really?”

There are many dog-fighting breeds and breeds that look similar to them but I’m going to give a visual guide on the difference between the main breeds covered under the term “pit bull”: American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, and American Bully.

This is the American Pit Bull Terrier (Pit Bull, Pitbull, APBT, Pit) This is the ONE and ONLY Pit Bull out there. I’ve included both a conditioned example (top) and a regular weight example (bottom). These dogs don’t normally exceed 50lbs conditioned weight, dogs larger than that are rare.





This is the American Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff, AST). This is NOT a pit bull. These dogs are mostly show-bred and pet-bred and are not fought. They are a little larger than an APBT. A well-known Amstaff is “Sharky” on Youtube.





This is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staff, Staffie, Staf, Staffy, Staffordshire, SBT). This is NOT a pit bull. These dogs used to be used for dog-fighting and probably still are, but not as commonly as the APBT. I’ve included a conditioned picture (top) as well as a show-bred picture (bottom). These dogs are usually smaller than APBT. A well-known Staff is “Boom”.





This is the American Bulldog (AmBulldog, ABD). This is NOT a pit bull but is very commonly mislabeled as one. These dogs tend to be around 100lbs and there are two types, Scott-type (top) and Johnson-type (bottom). A well known Scott-type AmBulldog is “Chance” from Homeward Bound





This is the Dogo Argentino (Dogo). It is NOT a pit bull. These dogs are generally around the same size as American Bulldogs. They are most commonly used for boar-catching.





This is the American Bully (AmBully, Bully). It is NOT a pit bull, but is the breed most commonly mis-labeled as one. These dogs can be anywhere from Staffordshire-sized, up to over 100lbs. There are different “types” of American Bully but I’ve only included one picture because these types have been brought up before.







In Closing

I’m sure most everybody who will read this post loves dogs in some way, whether you like GSDs, Huskies, Greyhounds or “pit bulls”, you can probably agree that BSL is non-effective in combating dog attacks or dog-fighting. The usage of the term “pit bull” when applied liberally is damaging to every breed it’s applied to. What was once a term used exclusively for the APBT has become a target for any breed that looks like one, even if it weighs 100lbs and is jowly as hell and came straight from a shelter.

The reality is that the APBT/Pit Bull is not an easy breed to get your hands on, they are mostly owned by dogmen and sold amongst dog-fighters and their familes. You will not find a dogman selling his gamebred dogs on the street… not a smart one anyways. The APBT is mostly underground now, you would be hard pressed to find a purebred APBT breeder selling to the public, but shelters, Craigslist, and PetFinder are rife with “pit bulls”, ready for the taking.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was never bred for human-aggression (HA), but it was always bred for animal and dog aggression (DA). Attacks from purebred APBT are rare, extremely uncommon. While it is not true that every HA gamedog was killed for showing aggression towards humans, most dog-fighters would not tolerate such behaviour and wouldn’t normally breed them unless they produced well in the pit or produced good offspring. When a “pit bull” is shown on the news attacking a dog or a child, there’s a good chance that it is not a purebred APBT - the people who own them chain them down very well, often have fenced/blockaded yards, or have their dogs set up in the woods away from other people. When a “pit bull” attacks a child, every single breed that people call a “pit bull” is targeted - American Staffordshires, American Bulldogs, American Bullies, and any other mix that looks like them. This is similar to one child in a class getting in trouble and the entire classroom paying for it - not fair, is it? This will not stop until people stop calling their mutts Pit Bulls, it will not stop BSL because BSL feeds off of the dog attacks by false pit bulls and feeds off of the dogmommies who claim that these dogs were never bred for fighting and would “never hurt a fly”. They feed off of the “unexpected” (hah, what a lark) attacks and strengthen more and more.



If you love these dogs, please don’t call them Pit Bulls unless you can provide proof that it is a purebred Pit Bull Terrier. Please just call them what they are, a Bulldog, Boxer-mix, Bully-mutt, whatever it may be, and educate yourself on the history of the breeds and the history of dog-fighting. You will save a lot of dogs this way.