American Pit Bull Terrier

For most of this century, if you talked about a "pit bull" you were generally referring to an American Pit Bull Terrier, a recognized breed comprising a group of purebred, pedigreed, and genetically coherent dogs. 

To have a better understanding of what pedigree means, lets use the definition provided by the Animal Pedigree Act of Canada: 

• pedigree, in relation to an animal, means genealogical information showing the ancestral line of descent of the animal; (dossier généalogique) 
• purebred, in relation to an animal of a distinct breed, means an animal that is a purebred of the breed as determined by the by-laws of the association authorized to register animals of that breed; (animal de race pure) 

The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) was first recognized in 1898. C. Z Bennett, the founder of the United Kennel Club (UKC), assigned the first registration number 1 to his dog, Bennetts Ring. Shortly after, the American Dog Breeders Association was founded and had a heavy presence in the world of the American Pit Bull Terrier due to the efforts of John P. Colby. 

Today the American Pit Bull Terrier is recognized as a breed in several kennel clubs such as: 

- The United Kennel Club 
- The American Dog Breeders Association 
- The American Bully Kennel Club 
- The American National Dog Registry 
- The National Kennel Club 

Is this still what "pit bull" means to the general public? Definitely not. We talk more about this under Terminology > "Pit Bull"

---Source and further reading: 

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-11.2/index.html

https://www.ukcdogs.com/american-pit-bull-terrier

https://adbadog.com/history-of-the-adba 

http://theabkcdogs.org/home/breeds/American%20Pit%20Bull%20Terrier

http://americannationaldogregistry.org 

http://www.nationalkennelclub.com/Breed-Standards/apbt-astb%20standard.htm#APBT%20Standard 

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