14.0. History
The origins of the English dogs referred to as “Pit Bulls” are as varied as the dogs themselves. However, most historians agree that “bull-baiting” was a starting point for many dogs whose descendants ultimately turned up in the fighting rings that the English referred to as “pits”. A video of an event in Spain in 1997 that contains a dog versus a bull is probably an example of bull-baiting and can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFwkc2qE35s or http://pitbullsfactormyth.net/6-0-bull-baiting/.
Bull-baiting can be traced to as early as 1209, but is believed to have started much earlier in England. It is believed to have been a form of amusement among the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans.
In the early days of bull-baiting, very large dogs that had been used in battle to attack the enemy and carry supplies, to hunt bears, wild bulls, wild hogs, on farms to herd animals, etc., and originally referred to as “the big, ugly English dog” were used. Later, these dogs came to be known as Mastiffs, i.e., up to 250 pounds, but the Mastiffs were a very large target for the bull’s horns and too slow to get out of its way. Consequently, they usually lost to the bulls.
Since the bull-baiting events awarded prize money to the winners, many poor peasant farmers in the areas surrounding the bull-baiting events would use their farm dogs to try to win some money. However, the farmers’ dogs were typically much smaller Terrier-types rather than the much larger professional bull-baiters’ dogs since the smaller dogs were used for more utilitarian purposes.
The need to eliminate rats who were carriers of deadly diseases like the Bubonic Plague that killed millions and to prevent rats from eating the farmer’s grain that was destined for the farmer’s dinner table were some of the reasons for the development of the Terrier-types. However, the dogs were usually small because they required less food, and thus, were less expensive for the poor peasant owners to keep and maintain.
These small dogs of many different breeds, mixed breeds and mutts had also been used on farms to herd livestock, hunting, etc., and thus, had experience dealing with livestock. They were small enough to crawl on the ground as they did, at times, when herding livestock, and the bulls could not gore them with their horns because they were such small targets and so close to the ground. But they were very fast and agile, and so they could jump on and bite the bull’s snout.
The dogs had to be courageous and strong to hang on while the bull tried to shake the dog off of its snout. They also had to be tenacious and have abundant amounts of strength and stamina to continue their attacks until the bull was exhausted and could no longer remain on his feet. When the bull fell to the ground from exhaustion, the bull was deemed “pinned”, and the dog was declared the winner.
Since the smaller farm dogs were having much success at these events, the “professionals” who bred dogs for bull-baiting, bred their dogs to be smaller. The smaller Mastiff, i.e., up to 150 pounds, came to be known as the “Bull Mastiff”, but they were still too large and slow for bull-baiting.
Mastiffs and Bull Mastiffs were not the only breeds of dogs developed or used for bull-baiting. Many other breeds, mixed breed dogs and mutts were used, but all dogs used for bull-baiting were referred to as “bull dogs”.
Later, the “Olde English Bulldogge” name was given to one particular breed of dog that was developed specifically for bull-baiting: however, their appearance and physical characteristics were markedly different from the modern “Bull dogs”, and they were declared extinct in the late 1800s in spite of the fact that a person can still purchase a so-called “Olde English Bulldogge”, if they are uninformed.
Over the centuries, the dogs used for bull-baiting became smaller until many were the size of the dogs that ultimately came to be known as Staffordshire Bull Terriers. In the days of bull-baiting, the male Staffordshire Bull Terrier typically weighed 28 to 38 pounds. This dog was reputed to be incredibly strong for its size and have extraordinary courage, tenacity and stamina. Consequently, it was very successful in the arenas.
The modern Staffordshire Bull Terrier can be up to 65 pounds: however, that would be as uncommon as a 7 foot tall, 350 pound American male, i.e., they exist but are rare and more likely a mix with a larger breed or are afflicted with a hormonal disorder that causes the pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone and cause “gigantism”. Nevertheless, they are frequently and incorrectly referred to as a “Pit Bull”, “American Pit Bull Terrier”, “Blue Pit” and “Blue Pit Bull”.
In 1835, bull-baiting was outlawed in England, and the “professional bull-baiters” were left with dogs they bred for bull-baiting and without a means to support themselves. In response to the change in the law, they reacted with dogfighting: however, bulldogs were not good fighters. So, many breeders began crossing the Olde English Bulldogges and other breeds, mixed breeds and mutts with Olde English Terriers and other breeds and mutts because they felt that such crosses produced better fighters.
The now extinct Olde English Bulldogge is believed to have been a cross between Mastiffs, Greyhounds and the Olde English Terriers.
By the 18th century, the Olde English Terriers also known as the Black Terriers had been developed into two types, the rough-coated Black Terriers and the smooth-coated Black Terriers.
The rough-coated Black Terrier had been established in England during the 17th and 18th centuries.
By the mid to late 18th century, the smooth-coated Black Terrier was likely the result of crosses made between the rough-coated Black Terriers, smooth-coated Terriers and other smooth-coated English breeds.
However, the term Old English Terrier has been applied, to some degree or another, in the past and present, to the Patterdale Terrier, Black and Tan Terrier and the Manchester Terrier.
Consequently, the bloodlines of some of the dogs referred to as Old English Terriers and Olde English Bulldogges are unknown, and thus, the bloodlines of one of the English fighting “Pit Bulls” that is believed to be a mix of the Olde English Terriers and Olde English Bulldogges is unknown. This is typical of dogs bred for fighting in England in the 1800s and in modern day America. The dogs were bred for performance, i.e., to fight and win. The pedigree or bloodlines of these dogs were of little or no interest to the people engaged in these activities. Their primary interest was dogs that won and made money for them. Consequently, records of their pedigrees and bloodlines were not kept or known, except possibly to the people who bred them.
Early in the 19th century, the Bull and Terrier “breeds” were developed to satisfy the needs for animal-based blood sports, i.e., dogfighting. The Bull and Terriers were not a “breed”, but a group of breeds, mixed-breeds and mongrels based on the Olde English Bulldogge (now extinct) and one or more of the Olde English Terriers and Black and Tan Terriers, some of which are now known as Manchester Terriers.
Due to the lack of breed standards—breeding was for performance, not appearance—the Bull and Terrier could not be considered a “breed”, but they combined the speed and dexterity of lightly built terriers with the tenacity of the Bulldogge, which was a poor performer in most combat situations, having been bred almost exclusively for baiting bulls and bears.
Despite the fact that a cross between a bulldogge and a terrier was of high value, very little or nothing was done to preserve the “breed” in its original form. These were some of the so-called “Pit Bulls” since the English called the ring that the dogs fought in “pits”, and many of the fighting dogs were descendants of “bull dogs”, i.e., dogs used for bull-baiting. All dogs used for fighting in an English ring in the 1800s came to be known as “Pit Bulls”. Therefore, if someone put a Chihuahua in a pit to fight in the 1800s, the Chihuahua would also be called a “Pit Bull”. :o)
Ultimately, the English “Pit Bulls” were many breeds, mixed-breeds and mongrel dogs developed for dogfighting in England in the 1800s. There was not one breed used for dogfighting: there were many breeds and mixed breeds as well as mutts. However, the following is what the experts believe one of the commonly referred to “Pit Bull” dogs, i.e., fighting dogs, may have looked like. In addition, this is what the dogs I commonly referred to as “Pit Bulls” looked like fifty years ago.
Note that I have not located any photos of “Pit Bulls” from the 1800s. The following is a photograph of a modern dog with the changes that have occurred in the last more than 100 years and is being used for demonstration purposes only.
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Typically, adult males were 14 to 16 inches tall and weighed 28 to 38 pounds. Yes, typically, they were medium size dogs! Dogs that are larger than that are probably mixed bloodlines with larger breeds.
The jaws were the widest part of the head, and the snout was short. This made for the most amount of pressure per square inch being applied when the dog bit something, but if the snout was too short, the dog would not be able to open its mouth wide enough to bite the opposing dog. If the snout was too long, the pressure the dog’s jaws could produce would be spread over a larger area, and consequently, the biting pressure per square inch would be less.
The top of the head was narrow and made a smaller target for another dog to try to bite. Note that the head is “pointed”.
The skin on the fighting dogs was taught to prevent another dog from using it as a “handle” by biting it and getting a hold of his opponent. The skin in the preceding photo is not taught, and is not representative of the skin of an English fighting dog or “Pit Bull”.
The stop of its nose connected to the skull just below the lowest part of its eyes so that the dog could look to either side without the bridge of his nose interfering with its view.
The chest was large, and the back end of the dog was small. This latter feature came from the bull-baiting era. Dogs that were developed for bull-baiting had small rear-ends to minimize the likelihood that the dog’s back would be broken when a bull was trying to shake the dog off of its snout, i.e., reduce the possibility of a broken back from “whip lash”. The rear-end on the dog in the previous photo is larger than the English fighting dogs or “Pit Bulls”.
The following represents the “experts” best guess about the bloodlines of one of the commonly referred to “Pit Bulls”, i.e., English fighting dogs. However, since records were never kept, the actual bloodlines of any dogs called “Pit Bulls” are unknown. This is why the universally recognized domestic and international kennel clubs do not recognize the “Pit Bull” as a “breed”.
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