A question for everyone

Disclaimer: I am not Anti-Pit Bull. The American Pit Bull Terrier is my favorite dog breed and I’ve spent a great amount of time learning about them(reading books, attending shows, research, etc). My stances are often viewed as “controversial”, which results with people using emotions than logic when debating me. Take what I say in consideration and no matter what kind of dog you own, do your part as a responsible owner in providing everything your dog needs to be happy and healthy.

A brief history lesson on Pit Bulls: Back in early 1800’s British Isles, the Old English Bulldog(a catch dog used mostly for bear and bull baiting) was commonly crossed with various of Terriers of the time such as the Old Black and Tan Terrier(ratting breed). This resulted with the “Bull and Terrier” which was mostly used for dog fighting(being used as a catch dog was its secondary job). The Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 passed, making dog fighting a much popular bloodsport as bear and bull baiting was much more difficult to hide. With that, “Bull and Terrier” breedings became more frequent and nicknames were given to the dogs such as “Half and Half’s”, “Pit Bulldogs”, “Pit Bull Terriers”, and “Pit Bulls”. These dogs eventually were immigrated to America where they were given the name American Pit Bull Terrier(Pit Bull) by the United Kennel Club(UKC) in 1898 and by the American Dog Breed Association(ADBA) in 1909. The “Bull and Terriers” that stayed in the British Isles were mostly used for hunting badgers and foxes and given the name Staffordshire Bull Terrier(Staffy) by The Kennel Club in 1935. Advocates of the American Pit Bull Terrier wanted their breed to be accepted by the American Kennel Club(AKC). However, the AKC wanted no affiliation with dog fighting as this was a predominantly dog show organization so they compromised and accepted the breed until the name “Staffordshire Terrier”. “American” was later added to in when they accepted the Staffy in 1972 to avoid confusion, creating the American Staffordshire Terrier(AmStaff). During the early 90’s, a program made in hopes to create a new companion breed with UKC Pit Bulls/AKC AmStaff cross being the foundation. This breed became the American Bully(Bully). Today, it is obvious that there are other breed influences such as French Bulldogs and different types of Mastiffs to create the out of standards sizes such as Micro and XXL.

4 different breeds with 4 different purposes, but the general public still views them all as “Pit Bulls”. If “Pit Bull” has historically been a nickname for a fighting dog(Bull and Terrier) and there is only 1 breed of dog with the words “Pit Bull” in its name and is the only breed in its group that is still living up to its fighting name, how can “Pit Bull” be an umbrella term? That is exactly how those that despise the breed creates skewed statistics as any dog with a blocky head could be mislabeled as a “Pit Bull” despite the fact that the “blocky head” characteristics could be found in several other breeds. Ironically, the majority of dogs involved in “Pit Bull Attacks” tend to have characteristics that are more common in other Bull Breeds and virtually not found in Pit Bulls, whether it’s color or size. Within those “‘Pit Bulls’ are responsible for 80% of dog attacks” statistic that is spewed by Anti-Pit Bull people, you’d see that the majority of those dogs involve tend to not be American Pit Bull Terriers(Pit Bulls) after all. Contrary to popular belief, only the minority of Pit Bulls throughout the history of this breed were human aggressive including the ones that were used for dog fighting.

All Pit Bulls are Bull Breeds, but no all Bull Breeds are Pit Bulls. Using “Pit Bull” as an umbrella term allows attacks committed from American Staffordshire Terriers/American Bullies/Staffordshire Bull Terriers to be pinned to the only breed with the words “Pit Bull” in its name, creating unfair backlash on American Pit Bull Terriers. The equivalent to this would be calling the Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherd as “Alsatian” just because they look like German Shepherds, resulting with a higher number of attacks than what is actually is.

With all of that said, my question is this: If “Pit Bull” wasn’t misused as an umbrella term for all Bull Breeds, do you think Pit Bulls would still be slandered the way it is today?