Whether you call them sweet loafs or baby hippos, pit bulls are some of the most widely-seen dogs in America. They also come in a wide variety, although they generally share a few adorable traits. These include large, squarish heads, strength, a medium to large size and velvety short coats. They’re a very popular family of dogs (notice we said “family”, not “breed”, hint-hint!). But pit bulls appear all too often as strays or in rescue shelters. This is due in part to a completely unfair reputation for aggressiveness.
If you’re wondering what other myths about the pit bull population aren’t true, here’s an amazingly basic one that most people get wrong. Pit bulls aren’t a breed of dog at all! In fact, they’re something else entirely: a family of dogs descended from three breeds. Let’s learn more about pit bulls, the breeds they come from, and what commonalities are shared across the Pit Bull Family.

Pit bulls may historically have been bred for unsavory sports, but they have no natural tendency to aggression.
©Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock.com
What’s a Pit Bull?
A pit bull is any individual dog descended from three frequently interbred breeds of dog. (We’ll talk about those breeds a bit later.) We can make a number of generalizations about all pit bulls: they tend to be strong and energetic. They have sturdy bodies and proportionately large, squarish heads. Though powerful, they have well-balanced temperaments. That means that with training, their gentle, loyal, lapdog-ish side can be evinced — but they’re equally ready to be pumped up into tireless working animals, shepherds or guards.
Is “Pit Bull” a Breed?
Is “Pit Bull” a breed? Pit bulls are not a breed. They are a family of dogs with broadly similar characteristics, made up of the following American Kennel Club-recognized breeds: the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. All of these breeds have a long history, stretching at least as far back as the Middle Ages, and they all have been put to work by humankind through the centuries. The breeds have been cross-bred for that long, too (which is good for the gene pool). The result has been a distinctive family of loyal, energetic, medium-to-large short-coated dogs with dense frames.
They and their parent breeds have been known to hunt boar, deer and even to hold bears at bay. Yet by contrast, pit bulls were known in the 1900’s as Nanny Dogs! This was due to an urban legend that pit bulls were sufficiently intelligent and gentle that they could be trusted as babysitters. The point is not to make your pit bull into your kid’s nanny. It’s only to point out how versatile pit bulls can be.
Agressive Breed? Wrong and Wrong
You may have heard that pit bulls are an “aggressive breed”, which is an impressive two lies in two words! There’s nothing naturally aggressive about the pit bull family — only naturally energetic. Any dog that doesn’t get enough exercise will misbehave. And it’s worth considering that pit bulls have strength and often size, which can add to the havoc. Yet pit bulls who get enough exercise and are well trained in obedience have no additional propensity towards aggression.
This sad reputation is the fault of humans who engage in dogfighting. It may be true that these individuals prefer pit bulls for their natural strength, but they tragically train these dogs for aggression by abusing them. Hence the “scary” pit bull image was born, contributing to the prevalence of this dog family seen homeless or in shelters. But pit bulls are not to blame for being strong, nor does that strength equal violence without explicit human encouragement!

A pit bull puppy.
©AlexNazath/ via Getty Images
Pit Bull Ancestors: The American Pit Bull Terrier
The American Pit Bull Terrier is itself a cross-bred animal, even if it is now accepted as a breed. It was bred from Old English bulldogs and various breeds of terrier. The reason for this interbreeding couldn’t be sadder: in 1835, the horrific sport of bear-baiting was outlawed. However, people who still wanted to engage in animal bloodsports sadly pivoted away from bears and onto dogs, and suddenly “ratting” (races to see what dog could kill the most rats fastest) and dogfighting grew in vogue.
Where there are sports involving animals, there are people breeding individual animals to do better at those sports. This can have an extremely positive side — but not in this case, of course. Yes, people began cross-breeding bulldogs with terriers to create dogs who would do better in these violent arenas, and a new breed was born. It was dubbed the American Pit Bull Terrier, and recognized in 1898. Of course, history is not destiny: as laws and social mores have grown further and further away from this awful tale, the American Pit Bull Terrier has thrived under responsible breeding, and is in no way doomed to be a fighter.
Pit Bull Ancestors: The American Staffordshire Terrier
Here’s where it gets just a tiny bit confusing: The American Staffordshire Terrier is also a cross-bred animal now accepted as a breed. It originated in England — just like the American Pit Bull Terrier. Yet the American Staffordshire Terrier, also historically a pit-fighter but also a big game hunter, was in fact bred from the American Pit Bull Terrier! It was recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club much more recently — in 1936.
American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers are both praised for their marvelous temperaments — loyal, confident, alert and intelligent. Great training is highly recommended, both for its exercise benefits and because these big, working-history dogs can create a ruckus when they misbehave! (Although, we repeat, they are prone to being energetic, not aggressive)! And you’ll see them working to this day, on farms, with law enforcement, or even as therapy dogs.
Pit Bull Ancestors: The American Staffordshire Terrier
The American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, as their similar names imply, are very closely-related. The American version was bred from the British (Staffordshire being a place in Britain). Here are some of the differences between the two: the Staffy is of a medium size, though quite muscular, while the American Staffy is classified as a large breed. A big Staffy might almost reach 40 pounds, but an American Staffy can reach 70. Similarly, American Staffies can grow to 19 inches tall at the shoulder — about three inches taller than max standard-Staffy height. Though both breeds are muscular, Staffordshire bull terriers tend to be compact with a broad chest. American Staffordshires tend to have deep chests and be less, compact, more outsized.
The two have similar coats and colorations — short, smooth and often velvety. American Staffies can be solid-colored or patched, and tend to be black, blue, brown or brindle. Contrastingly, Staffordshire bull terriers come in those colors plus white, fawn and red.
Why Do So Many People Think “Pit Bull” Is A Breed?
Well, two reasons, really. For one, people have been freely inter-breeding the three parent breeds of the pit bull family for millennia! The second reason, and the explanation for why there’s been so much interbreeding amongst them, is simple. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier are all quite similar in the first place. From their blocky heads and bodies to their smooth coats, the general size they grow to and so on, there’s a lot in common.
So when you take three breeds that already have a lot in common — in fact, have already been bred out of one another — they interbreed to create an “average” of individual dogs who all have a ton in common. We’re not big proponents of the theory “if it walks and quacks like a duck” here. But given that there’s this huge family of dogs who all appear to share lots of traits in common, you can be forgiven for falling under the common misconception that there’s a Pit Bull breed!
But at the end of the day, there isn’t. There’s just a big, beautiful doggie family, made up of some very similar “pawrents” out of the AKC-recognized Staffies, American Staffies and American Pit Bull Terriers. You learn something new every dog!
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