Pit bulls, where is the love? The pit bull is a dog with a huge heart for their owners. Everyone remembers Petey the dog from The Little Rascals, and his one black eye. Petey captured the hearts of many people. These days Petey would be banned from certain areas in the world just for being a pit bull. Pit bulls have a very strong background, from dog fighting to trying to ban them for their owner’s ways of upbringing them. Pit bull is not a breed; it’s a term to describe the American pit bull terrier, bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and the Staffordshire bull terrier. Pitts are labeled in the terrier breed group. The pit bull has a brick like head and is very broad between the cheeks, thickly muscled and has a very well defined neck. They are very muscular, stocky, and extremely strong for their size. Pit bulls are generally a healthy breed, although some are prone to hip dysplasia, hereditary cataracts, allergies to grass and congenital heart disease. The normal liter size is five to ten puppies. They are expected to weight between 30-85 pounds. Their life span is between 12-16 years. Their height ranges for males is 18-19 inches and 17-18 for females. Over the years the dogs have been interbreed. The pit bull could be an American pit bull terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier or a bull dog. The American Staffordshire terrier is unusually smart, driven and very determined. . They are decedents of the original English bull-baiting dog.
Bull and terrier breeds were created in early 19th century in England for sports such as bull and bear baiting. This was where pits were bred to bite and hold bulls, bears, and other large animals around the face. When this sport was ruled off and became illegal in 1835, dog fighting came active. Pit bulls were used by Greeks as shepherds and guard dogs. In 1898 the UKC, Britain’s equivalent to the AKC,