Pit Bull Informational Pages
by Diane Jessup 

This is what you should see. A correct dog has all of its head and neck in front of the line running up the dog's front leg.

The correct dog's line running from point of buttock to ground will fall right at the front of the dog's back toes... it is important that the dog be standing naturally when photographed.

This very oversized American Staffordshire shows some neck behind the line and a rear which is way off.

This poor dog shows how the lines we have looked at so far can be put together to get an idea of how far from ideal a dog's structure can be.

* Head and neck are ahead of front leg line (good)

* Prosternum line is low on the body showing the dog's short upper arm (bad)

* Topline has dips and rises, showing that the dog has faults in both front and rear assembly. Head is below topline.

* Rear leg line shows the feet too far under the dog (bad)

At the same time, this young bitch shows great promise because all her lines "work". Puppies go through some awkward stages, so don't despair if your 5 month old pup is slightly out of proportion. However, major faults rarely improve significantly.

Ch. Sorrell's Blue Monday shows quite a bit of rear. When extreme, too much rear is as bad as too little rear. This dog shows about as much as you would want. Because the dog is leaning into the leash, it is not possible to analyze the photo accurately. Far too many American pit bulls have too little rear. This dog is nice.