11.2. American Dog Breeders Association (“ADBA”)
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The following is the latest news from the ADBA regarding American Staffordshire Terriers.
At http://www.adbadog.com/p_pdetails.asp?fpid=795&pg=795, the ADBA states,
According to the American Dog Breeders Association, Inc. (“ADBA”) at http://www.adbadog.com/p_pdetails.asp?fpid=2, the ADBA
“was started in September, l909 as a multiple breed association. The residing president, Mr. Guy McCord, was an avid fancier and breeder of the American Pit Bull Terrier, and was a close friend of John P. Colby. Colby was the mainstay of the A.D.B.A. which prompted the boast of being the “home” registration office of the Colby dogs. Colby dogs are supposed to be “fighting dogs” that have been bred by the same family since 1889.
The ADBA passed from the hands of McCord to Frank Ferris in l951. He, along with his wife Florence Colby, (the wife of the late John P. Colby) continued to run the ADBA on a limited scale, but with ever increasing emphasis on the registration of the APBT breed exclusively. In 1973, Ralph Greenwood and his family purchased the ADBA from Ferris, whose advancing age prompted his retirement.
In 1976, the ADBA was petitioned by the owners of the breed to develop a standard on the breed by which conformation dog shows could be held. They did not want a standard that copied those of the United Kennel Club (“UKC”) or the American Kennel Club (“AKC”), but a standard for those dogs that they owned and continued to breed.”
Note that the location and description of the ADBA’s history has changed from the preceding and is now located at https://adbadog.com/history-of-the-adba/.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed_standard_%28dogs%29,
“A breed standard (also called bench standard or the standard) in the dog fancy is a set of guidelines covering specific externally observable qualities such as appearance, movement, and temperament for that dog breed. Breed standards are not scientific documents, but are written for each breed by clubs of hobbyists called breed clubs for their own specific requirements. Details and definitions within breed standards for a specific dog breed may vary from breed club to breed club and from country to country. Dog breed standards are similar in form and function to breed standards for other domesticated animals.”
[When creating a new breed of dogs the first thing that is required is a written breed standard.] (See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/9-0-creating-a-new-breed/) How can there be an ADBA “Pit Bull” breed of dogs that does not have a breed standard, i.e., no detailed description of what they are, what they are supposed to do, what they are supposed to look like, etc., for the first eighty-seven (87) years of their existence, i.e., 1889 to 1976?
This registry claims to have been registering APBT since 1889, but what kinds of dogs were being called and registered as American Pit Bull Terriers if there was no breed standard?
In reality, what kind of dogs were registered as APBT? Mutts?
What are all the dogs that are descendants of these “registered” APBTs? Mutts?
If the dogs were truly a “breed” with a pedigree, why didn’t the American Kennel Club register them?
Most of the public know what a Chihuahua, Dachshund, Pomeranian, German Shepherd, Chow Chow, Doberman, etc. look like. What does an APBT look like?
Do all APBT look like each other?
Why do they all look different? See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/18-4-which-are-the-real-pit-bulls-is-this-a-scam-and-are-these-the-scammers/]
At http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conformation, conformation is defined as
“the way in which something is formed or shaped: formation of something by appropriate arrangement of parts or elements: an assembling into a whole: the shape or proportionate dimensions especially of an animal.”
At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformation_%28dog%29,
“Conformation in dogs refers solely to the externally visible details of a dog’s structure and appearance, as defined in detail by each dog breed‘s written breed standard.
Conformation in dogs is based on the dog type from which the breed developed, along with many details that have been added to the breed standard for purposes of differentiation from other breeds. The breed standard for each breed of dog details desirable and undesirable attributes of appearance and temperament for an individual breed. Breed standards are designed solely to describe the breed’s history and purpose, temperament, and appearance.”
According to the American Kennel Club (the foremost registry in the United States for purebred dogs) at http://www.akc.org/about/glossary/, the breed standard is
“A word picture describing how the perfect dog of a breed should look, move, and behave.”
A written breed standard for The American Dog Breeders Association was not found, but they do have a Conformation Standard that can be found at https://adbadog.com/heritage-american-pit-bull-terrier-conformation-standard/: however, in my opinion, a description of the “Overall Appearance” of a American Pit Bull Terrier as “Should look like an American Pit Bull Terrier from across the ring” is non-descriptive and vague, and of no value, but it does open the flood gates to everyone claiming that their dog “looks like an American Pit Bull Terrier from across the ring” and therefore should be registered as an American Pit Bull Terrier when in fact it is probably a mutt.
Note that at December 31, 2016, the preceding link no longer works: however, the American Dog Breeders Association Inc. Heritage American Pit Bull Terrier Conformation Standard is now located at https://adbadog.com/heritage-american-pit-bull-terrier-conformation-standard/
On October 27, 2006, the ADBA became an all breed registry by opening its stud book to all qualified purebred dogs of the traditional breeds. It would seem that this is an attempt to gain accreditation by associating themselves with legitimate breeds.
At http://www.adbadog.com/p_pdetails.asp?fsid=7&pg=7, the ADBA states,
“An accurate stud book is essential for dog breeders who carefully plan breeding and are diligent in the selection of quality brood stock. Without a true pedigree behind the stock, there would be no way to predict what type of offspring will be produced for the future. Every registration office throughout time has had to rely on the integrity of the breeders who submit paperwork into the office for the accuracy of the stud book. This is true of equine, bovine and canine registries alike.
Having an animal “REGISTERED” with an organization is a stamp of approval from that organization that the breeder has fulfilled the requirements in record keeping, transferring ownership’s, etc. and the pedigree can be deemed accurate. If a registration organization is strictly “in it for the money” and has NO requirements and any dog rescued from the pound, stolen or “looks like a Pit Bull” on visual inspection can be registered for a fee, then having a “REGISTERED” dog with that organization means nothing. We want your dogs’ registration with the American Dog Breeders Association to mean something! Thank you for your support.”
The highlighted statements are correct, but much of the public is aware that many, if not all, of the so-called “Pit Bulls” are dogs that were propagated in someone’s back yard with the objective of making a few dollars when selling them to uninformed individuals who truly believe they are getting something “special” and not a “mutt”.
John P. Colby was a breeder of fighting dogs whose line continues today. The following is from http://dogarchive.kennel-apbt.com/details.php?id=63663, i.e., APBT Online Database,
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A search of the ADBA’s database using “Colby” as the basis for the database search returned four hundred seventeen (417) dogs registered with the ADBA. Thirty-eight (38) Colby dogs were selected and the preceding six (6) had comments referring to their dogfighting abilities.
[Since the ADBA started in 1909, it is stated that the founder of the ADBA was a close friend of John P. Colby, Colby was the mainstay of the ADBA and the ADBA was home registration office of the Colby dogs that have been bred for fighting by the Colby family since 1889. It appears that the American Dog Breeders Association was in fact “registering” dogs that were engaged in dogfighting.
Is the ADBA still registering “fighting dogs”?
Is the 1976 ADBA Conformation Standard for fighting dogs? See http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/24-2-american-dog-breeders-association/]
