Dog Fighting History

Dog Fighting

History

                    Fights between two or

A dogfight, c. 1785

more animals have always been popular spectacles. The Romans, the Greeks, Spanish, as well as French have pitted dogs  against other animals, dating back hundreds or thousands of years. So when the British people began selectively breeding the popular old-time bulldog for use in dog-on-dog combat, they couldn't take credit for having been the first to pit one animal against another. (It seems the bloodlust of humans extends across time and the globe!)

                   The dogs that were used in these British dog fights became known as the American Pit Bull Terrier.

                    The original, old-time bulldog was used for all manner of stock-related work, particularly as a catch dog: used by the butcher to manage unruly bulls,  and by the hunter for help in catching and holding wild boar and other  game. The sport of bull baiting became popular in England, having arisen from  these functional jobs that the bulldog performed for humans.  

                     Baiting was extremely popular and nearly a national past time. At one point, there was even a law mandating that the flesh of a bull could only be sold if the animal had  been baited prior to slaughter. But the baiting of animals was  eventually outlawed due to the increasingly loud voices of opposition.

                   And so humans--with their insatiable lust for blood and violence-- turned to the sport of dog-on-dog fighting.

A turn-up between a dog and Jacco Macacco,
 the fighting monkey, 1822

                   The bulldog, mixed with tough hunting terriers, was created to be used in this emerging ‘sport’. Selectively bred down to a smaller size to increase agility in the pit, these dogs were also bred for stamina and wrestling ability. However, the most important trait in the fighting dog was gameness. Gameness--the willingness to keep going and not give up--is a trait common to breeds of bulldog ancestry. It may also be described as that plucky, never-say-die attitude seen in terriers. Lastly, the fighting dog had to be easily handled by humans, and so any aggression shown towards people was carefully selected against.
                     These dogs were eventually to become known as the “Pit Bulldog” or “Pit Bull Terrier”, the precursors to our modern  APBT.

                    Pit Bulldogs (the new bulldog/terrier fighting dogs)were imported to America around the time of the Civil War, and they gained great popularity over the years. The dogs were not only the fighting dog of choice, but they were also surprisingly popular with the general public who embraced the breed wholeheartedly.

                   Viewing art and old photographs from the early to mid 1900’s, you can see that the Pit Bulldog was viewed as a valuable part of American culture.  Back then, the breed was known as a sound family companion, and a dog that was great with kids—despite the fact that it was also a fighting breed.

                   In the realm of the American dogman, dog fights provided betting opportunities, entertainment, and also served as a means to establish and then preserve a specific type of dog--the American Pit Bull Terrier (aka “Pit Bull”). In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed in order to preserve the breed, establish a stud book, and create rules for the pit. UKC founder CZ Bennet officially named the breed: American Pit Bull Terrier. Through dog fights, breeders could identify certain traits in a dog and  then breed that dog that manifested the sought-after traits. Besides gameness, a  very stable, sound dog was extremely important. Aggression towards humans was not tolerated. Through this type of careful selection, the Pit Bull breed was refined. (Please see Pit Bull History for more information about the development of the breed.)

                  Dog fighting continued on into the 1900s, although it began to lose favor after the turn of the century. Throughout the 1900’s, dog fighting would gradually lose ground. The fighting amendment added to the Animal Welfare Act in 1976 helped propel stricter laws (and to push dog fighting underground where it unfortunately still flourishes). It was eventually outlawed as a felony all across America.


Dog Fighting Today -
                                Coming soon...

History of the American Pit Bull Terrier APBT : A Game Breed Part 3

History of  Pit Bull Part 3                                                                    Part 1            Part 2

            In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed with the express intent of providing registration and fighting guidelines for the now officially-named American Pit Bull Terrier. Later, those who wished to distance themselves from the fighting aspect of the breed petitioned the American Kennel Club for recognition of the Pit Bull so that it would be eligible for dog shows and other performance events. The AKC conceded in 1936 but only under the stipulation that the dogs registered with them be called "Staffordshire Terriers", the name of the province in England in which the breed supposedly originated. Upon acceptance of the breed, many people dual-registered their dogs with both the AKC and the UKC. Lucenay's Peter (the dog that starred in the Our Gang series) was the first dual-registered Pit Bull/Staffordshire Terrier.

The UKC evolved, eventually beginning to register other working-type breeds, and later holding shows similar to those of the AKC. Currently, the UKC is the second largest purebred dog registry in the United States, complete with strict bylaws that ban anyone who is convicted of dog fighting. The American Dog Breeders Association was formed in 1909 because of certain fanciers' opinions that the UKC was not doing its job protecting and preserving the Pit Bull breed as they felt it should be preserved. The ADBA's goal is the same now is at was then: to register, promote and preserve the original American Pit Bull Terrier fighting-type dog, although like the other two registries, they officially frown upon the illegal act of dog fighting.

The AKC eventually closed its studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. For a short period in the 1970's, the AKC reopened its studbooks to American Pit Bull Terriers. In 1973 the AKC added the prefix "American" to the Staffordshire Terrier's name in an effort to distinguish it from the newly recognized Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Today, the AKC only allows registration of those dogs with parents registered as American Staffordshire Terriers. In April, 2010, the UKC closed its studbooks to the AmStaff and no longer allows dual- registration.  The ADBA allows registration of AmStaffs, but the dogs carry the original name, "American Pit Bull Terrier."

Today the Pit Bull has evolved into a marvelous working and companion dog, used for purposes as varied as those it originally performed. Pit Bulls are employed as police/armed services dogs, search and rescuers, therapy animals, and livestock workers. They compete in all manner of organized dog sports, from herding to agility to conformation to obedience and the bite sports like Schutzhund and French Ring. They make loving pets for children and seniors, and everyone in between. They are indeed one of the most versatile breeds on the planet. Much of this is owed to the activities it once performed. The harshness and physical demands of the activities molded a strong, healthy, stable animal, one anyone should be proud to own.

Bibliography:

•  The Working Pit Bull/Diane Jessup
•  History of Fighting Dogs & Fighting Dog Breeds/Dieter Fleig
•  This is the APBT/Richard Stratton
•  Evolution of the Bulldog/VH Ross
•  A New Look at the contribution of the eastern brachycephalic breeds to "bull breed" history/  Carl Semencic with Don Fiorino ("Dog World" magazine, March, 1984)
• Bulldog History/John Kragenskjold

                                                                Back to Part 1 

History of the American Pit Bull Terrier APBT : A Game Breed Part 2

History of Pit Bull Part 2                                                                               Part 1

              In 1835, a law was set in motion in England that would make the sport of baiting illegal, and over the next few years, the activity eventually died down upon enforcement of the law. The people turned to another blood sport - dog fighting - and of course turned to the bulldog as the likely candidate for what was to the become the foundation of a new breed.

"Dustman" - a known bulldog-terrier cross.

                Bulldogs with a heightened tendency to exhibit dog-directed aggression, a smaller size, and greater agility for performance in a pit that was decidedly smaller than the large areas that baits were typically held in were the likely candidates. Hardy, scrappy sporting terriers were crossed into these fighting bulldogs to further enhance these traits. The crosses were called bull-and-terriers.
               

                 It is considered general knowledge that these crosses were the first Pit Bulls, however there is some speculation as to whether or not the history of these crosses is that of our Pit Bulls, or rather a history "borrowed" from the Bull Terrier, which is a very well documented bulldog/terrier fighting dog cross. Some students of Pit Bull history believe that the Pit Bull is practically a living replica of the old-time bulldog, and that during this time the bulldog was refined as a fighting dog ‘as is’, without any crossbreeding. The question presented is this: why would the devotees of the already extremely game bulldog dilute the blood of the perfect fighting dog with non-game terriers? The typical argument is that the terrier blood increased agility and decreased size. However, the jobs the bulldog was typically required to perform would have demanded agility and the ability to avoid the antics of an enraged bull. As already pointed out, bulldogs came in a variety of sizes and shapes, so breeding down the size to be more compatible with the pit would not have been a difficult task, even without looking outside the gene pool. Examining works of art from all points in history, one will discover dogs that look similar to today's Pit Bull.

"Crib & Rosa" - this painting is shown to
depict two dogs of original bulldog type.

                   As tempting as it may be to sucked in by the allure of such a notion, the odds of the APBT being the original, terrier-free bulldog is not likely. It is the opinion our opinion that, while the APBT is probably made up mostly of old bulldog blood, at least some terrier blood *was* indeed introduced. Please consider the fact that quite a bit of cross-breeding went on among the game dog fanciers of the time who were not so much interested in purebred dogs as they were in dogs with fighting ability, and would therefore breed accordingly to dogs that were game, regardless of pedigree. It is a known fact that bulldogs and terriers were mixed, and fought, and it is extremely unlikely, and in fact no evidence proves, that none of these bull-and-terrier mixes never made it into the APBT gene pool.

                     The breed eventually to be known as the American Pit Bull Terrier was selectively bred specifically   with the idea of it becoming the ultimate canine gladiator. But by virtue of the fact that so much of the breed was made up of versatile bulldog blood, the breed also proved adept at a number of non-fighting activities, including those which the bulldog had been used for. Also, the traits (specifically gameness and a soft, gentle, amiable temperament with humans) bred for in pit dogs were surprisingly relevant in other arenas. Gameness is defined as the willingness to see a task through to its end, even under penalty of serious injury or death. Gameness was the trait most cherished in a fighting dog for obvious reasons, however this same trait proved useful in other areas - a dog who had the tenacity to hold a wild bull or boar, braveness to keep wild and stray animals away from valuable livestock, and extreme tolerance for pain (which made for a very stable dog less likely to bite out of fear or pain) was useful in rural old England, and later on in America. So while a core group of fanciers focused on the fighting uses of the breed, and bred with the pit in mind, others kept dogs for a variety of tasks. And indeed, some family/working dogs were used in the pit and some pit dogs were also family/working dogs. There was never a clear line drawn between ‘fighting dogs’, and ‘non-fighting dogs’ in those early years of the breed.

Sally served with the Pennsylvania Infantry
during the Civil War, and is regarded as a war hero.

                    Pit Bulls were imported to America shortly before the Civil War, and used in much the same manner as they were back in England. But in the USA the breed solidified and was named - the American Pit Bull Terrier. Strains of the fighting dog that remained in England later came to be known as Staffordshire Bull Terriers. There is speculation as to how closely related the Stafford and Pit Bull are as a breed, but the most convincing case is made up of claims that they are a similar breed, developed during the same time, made up of similar but separate strains of bulldog and terrier blood. Cousins, but not brothers. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier became recognized as a breed by the English dog registry, the Kennel Club, in 1935.

"Lucenay's Peter" - aka "Pete the Pup"
 from the Our Gang series.

                 
                    In America, the Pit Bull flourished. It was one of the most popular breeds, highly prized by a wide variety of people. The Pit Bull was used to represent the US in WW1 artwork; popular companies like RCA and the Buster Brown Shoe Company used the breed as their mascots. A Pit Bull named Pete starred in the popular children's television series, Our Gang; Stubby, which many people call a “pit bull type dog” became a decorated WW1 hero. Pit Bulls accompanied pioneer families on their explorations. Laura Ingalls Wilder of the popular Little House books owned a working Pit Bulldog named Jack. Famous individuals like Theodore Roosevelt and Helen Keller owned the breed. It was during this time that the Pit Bull truly became America’s sweetheart breed, admired, respected and loved.


                                                    Continue on to part 3  --->