What was the purpose of breeding pitbulls

As dogfighting began to re-emerge in the s, animal advocates put an increased focus on the cruel, barbaric and illegal blood sport. The inadvertent and unfortunate side effect of this new movement was that some people began to seek out Pit Bulls for illicit purposes.

The criminal set began trying to squeeze these dogs into a mold they were never designed to fit. The breed who was once bred to treat every stranger like a long-lost friend was now being used as guard and protection dogs and were being fought in underground fighting rings.

The demand for pit bulls led to many owners breeding their own dogs without concern for temperament or socialization and for the purpose of making a profit, rather than providing a responsible home.

They were viewed as money-making commodities instead of family members and companions. The Pit Bull, seen by criminals as items to be discarded and now being seen by the public as a danger, began to fill shelters at an alarming rate.

The media portrayal and demonization of the Pit Bull paved a perfect path for the onset of breed-specific legislation. BSL began to crop up in select places as the dogs began to be used as a political platform by opportunistic politicians. Learn more about BSL here. Though media outlets successfully created an air of terror around Pit Bulls, there was a spectacular turn of events, though brought about by one of the most horrible atrocities.

Previously deemed as unable to be rehabilitated, pit bulls that were seized were typically euthanized. However, several groups like Best Friends Animal Society and Bad Rap took a chance on these dogs and found that almost all of them 48 out of 51 were able to be placed in foster care or re-homed. And if these fighting dogs could be rehabilitated, what about all the other ones who just got dealt a bad hand or ended up in shelters….

Twenty years after the breed took its first major PR hit in the media, Sports Illustrated returned to show us a different face of the dog, one that invokes sympathy and even surprise from a re-educated public. Today, Pit Bull type dogs continue to receive more and more positive media attention, due in large part to education and advocacy organization devoted to promoting an accurate image of these dogs.

Howard, an explosive detection dog serving in the armed forces. Once feared and shunned, these dogs thrive among families all over the world today. You can read more about the 4 types of Pit Bulls and their origins in this article.

They simply only have to look like a Pit Bull and not much more. And although the two do share similar genes, it is not completely the same. Different dog breeds are characterized by their behavioral and physical traits. In the past, every breed of dog was bred to perform a certain role in society or a certain job.

These jobs could range from retrieving birds, to hunting, companionship lap dogs , or herding livestock. When breeders are developing the breed, they select dogs from the litter that show the best characteristics for the roles they want the dogs to perform.

In other words, dogs showing the best ability for the job are always picked to continue breeding. Dogs that are well-bred will have behavioral tendencies that favor the learning of the role they are to perform. For example, Border Collies were bred specifically to herd livestock. On the other hand, Pit Bulls were bred with strength , agility and vigilance in mind. These qualities made them perfect for many various tasks that require such attributes.

These dogs also had a wide skull , stocky frame and muscular build. Because they were such heavyset dogs, it was hard to push them around, thus opening opportunities to a wide array of potential jobs. Obviously, genetics do play a part, but even with great genetics, there is still a decent amount of variation within breeds. The ancestors of the Pit Bull can be traced back over years to the United Kingdom.

So, their long history and origins actually start with the bulldog. These dogs were used for bull baiting. It was a cruel sport in which a couple of bulldogs would annoy and attack a bull until the animal gave up and collapsed. This was for pure entertainment and nothing more. This sport, along with other baiting sports , was outlawed in and so a new sick sport came of interest. Eventually, the favored sport became dog fighting because this was easier to hide from the authorities! Since fighting and ratting needed more speed and agility than a bulldog offered, this was when breeders began crossing bulldogs with terriers.

Breeders made conscious decisions to breed Pit Bull Terriers with many of the characteristics Pit Bull owners love today. They were bred selectively and culled if they showed characteristics that were unfavorable.

This is due to the fact that Pit Bull owners had to be able to enter the pit in order to handle their dogs and, of course, they did not want to receive a bite in the process! It is likely that that the vast majority of pit bull type dogs in our communities today are the result of random breeding—two dogs being mated without regard to the behavioral traits being passed on to their offspring. The result of random breeding is a population of dogs with a wide range of behavioral predispositions.

For this reason it is important to evaluate and treat each dog, no matter its breed, as an individual. Rather, behavior develops through a complex interaction between environment and genetics.

This is an especially important consideration when we look at an individual dog versus a breed. Many diverse and sometimes subtle factors influence the development of behavior, including, but not limited to, early nutrition, stress levels experienced by the mother during pregnancy, and even temperature in the womb.

And when it comes to influencing the behavior of an individual dog, factors such as housing conditions and the history of social interactions play pivotal roles in behavioral development. This is why there is such variation in behavior between individual dogs, even when they are of the same breed and bred for the same purpose. Because of the impact of experience, the pit bull specifically bred for generations to be aggressive may not fight with dogs and the Labrador retriever bred to be a service dog may be aggressive toward people.

Early positive experiences, most notably socialization, are considered key in preventing aggressive tendencies in dogs. Puppies that learn how to interact, play and communicate with both people and members of their own and other species are less likely to show aggressive behavior as adults.

Unfortunately, pit bull type dogs that find themselves in these conditions may be at greater risk for developing aggressive behavior. But because these factors are ones that can be controlled by better educated owners, it is possible to reduce these risks, not just in pit bulls but in dogs of all breeds.