Are Pit Bulls a Pure Breed of Dog?
“Pit Bull” is most often used incorrectly as a general term for dogs that have certain characteristics or type. More accurately, it’s the shortened name for American Pit Bull Terrier. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is considered a purebred. “Pit Bulls” are registered by their formal names with kennel clubs as either “American Pit Bull Terriers” (UKC, ADBA) or as another breed, “American Staffordshire Terrier” (AKC), although there have been dogs registered as both. That alone shows that they are an existing pure breed, but so does their long history. Pedigrees, which are written family trees, go back 200 years or more for some of these dogs. They are an older breed than many. The media commonly lumps three breeds together. While they may have all originated from similar dogs in Britain, they are separate breeds in their own right, such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, which are smaller and look different, American Staffordshire Terriers, which have different bloodlines than APBTs,
