Are APBTs and American Staffordshire Terriers the same thing?
Well, yes and no. How’s that for straightforward? There are several different “breeds” of dogs that are refered to as “Pit Bulls” by the general public. Primarily, these are the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. There are two general schools of thought pertaining to this issue. The first is that these dogs come from the same English/Irish pit fighting stock of over 100 years ago but have been subsequently bred to differing standards and are now different breeds. The second is that these dogs are just different “strains” (working vs. show) of the same breed. It all really comes down to how one defines what constitutes a breed. In general, however, ASTs have lost most of the gameness of their pit fighting ancestors, while at least some well-bred lines of APBTs have maintained this quality unaltered. Dogs of both breeds, if well-bred, have similar human-friendly dispositions.
