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Pit bulls which turned on humans when they were supposed to be gripping a bull, boar or other dog would have been culled from breeding. What resulted is a dog with a unique genetic predisposition to NOT bite human beings.

BREAKING UP DOG FIGHTS

The average dog fight poses more risk to the humans involved in breaking it up than to the dogs involved. Dogs are relatively tough, and if the size is anywhere near equal, most dogs come out of a fight with minor injuries. But add hysterical humans to the mix and the injuries can become severe, both to the dogs and the humans involved. Knowing how to safety and humanely break up a dog fight is something that you, as the owner of an American pit bull, should know. A typical pit bull may very well fight back lustily if bothered by another dog. This is not a breed for the "dog park set".

American pit bulls which display behavior "typical" of their heritage are gripping dogs; they come from a long, long genetic history which dictates they get a hold and HANG ON! This behavior saved their life during the thousands of years they were hunting boar, stag and bear, and also stood them in good stead when they moved on to working bulls, bears and other animals in baiting sports. This same behavior can work to make breaking up a pit bull to pit bull fight quite easy and safe. However! When speaking of breaking up dog fights, it is important to understand the difference between a "real" pit bull and a "cur" dog. A "cur" is any dog which is NOT an American pit bull, or an American pit bull which shows cowardly characteristics not commonly seen in a "real" pit bull. Why is it important? Because breaking up a fight between two pit bulls is far different from breaking up a fight between cur dogs.

It is very common for "cur" dogs to lash out at humans intervening in the fight. You can get a nasty bite reaching into a fight involving dogs other than well bred pit bulls. I personally have broken up upwards of 50 dog fights in my quarter century with the breed and I have yet to be bitten. Pit bulls simply have no interest in biting a human - they are all about the other animal. Pit bulls which turned on humans when they were supposed to be gripping a bull, boar or other dog would have been culled from breeding. What resulted is a dog with a unique genetic predisposition to NOT bite human beings.

Two kinds of dogs - two kinds of fights.

To make things simple, "cur" dog will refer to any dog, of any breed, who fights "like a typical dog", meaning lots of noise, growling and teeth - but not much else. In the animal kingdom fights are meant to be stressful, unpleasant and brief; a contest to establish dominance or repel an intruder. Fights are self limiting by Nature's design, otherwise too many animals would be seriously injured and a species might well die out. As horrific as that dog fight out in the street sounds, chances are not much damage is being done and - importantly - if the dogs were left alone chances are very great they would sort themselves out in short order. One dog would stand over the other in dominance, and the loser would lie still in submission.

Bull breeds have been altered over centuries by man to enhance certain aspects of both prey and fight drive. Dogs which wasted time strutting around in a threat display would be quickly killed by boar or bear or dog and thus threat displays were minimized. In other words the dog "got to work" with a minimum of fuss.

As well, the bull breeds were bred to retain their grip no matter what their opponent did. The ability to understand and respond to submissive signals while fighting was diminished as well. However, outside of fighting situations, bull breeds respond to all dog body signals the same as other breeds.

For these reasons, the responsible owner of a bull breed should be aware of the genetic predisposition to engage another dog with little warning and to grip and hang on during a fight. Will ALL pit bulls show these breed traits? Absolutely not. In fact, chances are very great that your pit bull will respond exactly like other dogs for the simple reason that even in a tightly inbred "game bred" litter a percentage of dogs are often what is termed "cold"; they don't want to fight. After 30 years as a "fad breed", a large majority of American pit bulls present a "generic" temperament, meaning one not typical of what is considered "breed type". BUT! It behooves the thoughtful bulldog owner to prepare for his/her animal to mature into a specimen which displays typical breed traits.