The Dog Whisperer's Dog (what is a Pit Bull ? ). Questions

Hi all,

I am a great Fan of the dog whisperer, and adore his dog, Junior. I would love to own a dog of that breed one day, and so have been doing some research.

He often refers to junior, and daddy for that matter, as pitbulls...
I know pitbulls have alot of skepticism about them, and I have even read in several places that the dogs refered to as pitbulls are infact illegal to import or breed in England.

But more research I have done suggests that 'pitbull' is a term that refers to several different breeds of dog that includes several bull dog breeds and staff breeds.

I am utterly confused, what is a pitbull? Is it a breed or a term for several similar breeds? And if that is the case, what is Cesars dog, Junior?

thanks in advance

JRWH..

Welcome to Dogsey

Junior was a pit bull terrier that belonged to a Rapper, however it lived with CM most of it's life until it was PTS. It was never a"red zone"dog as many think.

no ,that was Daddy his dog before junior ;-)

Doh shows how much I know about his dogs LOL He has had junior since he was a puppy then I remember seeing him saying that his new puppy was the new"Daddy"which is what confused me-nothing to do with my age at all ;-)

Junior was part of the group of puppies cm raised as part of his show. He is a full pedigree American pit bull terrier a breed recognised by the American and uk kennel clubs and banned in this country under the dangerous dog act. The dda bans both pedigree pit bulls and 'pit bull types' which are those dogs that have been bred or crossbred to mimic the breed standard for the American pit bull.

If you love junior there are plenty of cross breed staffy dogs in rescue that have similar looks and temprement. Check out battersea dogs home or any other rescue shelter for a 'blue staffy cross' or 'irish staffy' but be careful to never claim your dog to be just like a pitbull or a pitbull cross or you could run afoul of the dda.

Hope that helps and welcome to dogsey

yeah Daddy was Redman's dog

APBT are not recognised by the UK KC & never will be

Are they not? You learn something every day... I was told once they were, but were banned from shows after the dda. But i'm sure you're right... Makes it difficult to ban them doesn't it when they're not really a 'breed' per se! But then we all know the dda is woefully flawed...

Blew me down when I found out jack russels aren't either! You'd think they'd been around for ages and must be a pedigree breed wouldn't you!

Lurchers aren't a"breed"either

Jack Russels arent but Parsons Russells are

thats why the DDA doesn't the pedigree breed of Pit Bull, but bans 'pit bull types'.

You could still be facing issues regarding the DDA whether you claim your dog is a pitbull or not. The act applies to Pitbulls and dogs "of type" so if you adopt or buy a dog that's been bred to look like a Pitbull, or a cross that unfortunately has inherited those characteristics, you may find your dog being siezed for being "of type", i.e. looking like a Pitbull. If you're lucky/patient/determined, you can fight this, but just look at the cases like Lennox
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...ave-their-pet-seized-by-wardens-14855253.html
Or Bruce
http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/3045/eleventh-hour-mercy-plea-to-save-death-row-dog-bruce/
And the many other "of type" dogs seized for simply looking kind of like a Pitbull.

battersea would not advertise nor rehome blue staffy croos or irish staffy as they are well known pseudonyms for pit bull type.

battersea work with met police DLO'S and run pit bull type ID courses.

I think anything that looked like a 'leggy staffie' could, theoretically, be seized under the DDA - couldn't it?

Personally would not touch with barge pole and I am a 3rd generation bull terrier owner who has also had (and loves) staffs.

Get a staffie to be on the safe side. Check out the breed standard and don;t get anything taller - that way you will get to keep your dog even if legislation changes again.

There are so many proper staffs and staff crosses in rescue, most through no fault of their own but the idiots who think they are a 'weapon' dog.

A leggy staffie type thing may have recent ancestors who have been used for fighting and bred for that 'gameness' - foolish to even go there.

the short legged Staffs are so much nicer to look at too.

HEre's the low down on Pit Bulls. The American Pit Bill Terrier, and the American Staffordshire Terrier are very similar breeds, in fact one dog can be registered as an APBT under the United Kennel Club, and as an American Staffordshire Terrier with the American Kennel Club. APBT's have a looser breed standard, and are NOT recognised with the AKC or our own CKC, the American Staffordshire Terrier is the recognised breed within the AKC and CKC.

All that being said, many, many people use the term Pit Bull for both the APBT and the AST, and will include American Bulldogs, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers in that as well (actually most people here think Staffy's are Pit Bills crossed with Beagles LOL)

Generally, if the dog isn't registered, it's called a Pit Bull. Junior and Daddy are both Pit Bulls... but I dont know if they're AST's or APBT's.

Confused? it took me a long time to get the facts sorted...

Basicly anything any particular policeman/nosey parker thinks looks like a pitbull type can be seized.

It would then be your responsibilty to prove it is not a pitbull type rather than the prosecution prove it is.

Its a fight i would avaoid as dogs are often kept kennelled during the long process.

I have been through it with a young person i worked with in the past and though she got her dog back (had to be neatuered, tatooed, muzzled and on lead in public) it came back thin and in ill health. The police officer covering the case showed his ignorance when after the case he said "nothing personal but those dogs turn all of a sudden and kill kids"

Get a staffy or a rescue cross. I have a cross, and not loong ago had the police at my door as someone had reported me as having a PIT. He looked at the rescue papers, looked at the dog and said he doesnt look pit to him. (i could tell from the time i invited him in he had no intention of taking my dog and was just following procedure)

The UKC stopped dual registration last year. Only dogs from existing UKC registered parents can be registered. Also, the dual registration only allowed AKC registered Amstaffs to get UKC registration. A dog registered with the UKC could not subsequently get AKC registration.

Yes, but I always thought that the dog had to be from parents that were dual registered... I had thought the UKC closed their registry a long time ago. I had no idea it wasn't closed until last year, though the AKC has been for a very long time. Hmmn learn something new every day

On a side note, the BSL in Ontario lumped in all 4 breeds, the APBT, SBT, AST, and AB... It seems that they cant tell the difference and decided to do away with them all. I'm glad I live in a province with no BSL.