Pit Bulls ARE Predisposed to Aggression

Now that I got your attention let me explain.. and to explain you need a little history.
The word Pit Bull does not specify a breed. Today we have the APBT (American Pitbull Terrier ) AST (American Stafordshire Terrier) or AmStaff, the Staffy (Stafordshire Bull Terrier), the Dogo Argentino and there are red nose and blue nose pits. Red nose and Blue nose pits other then they obvious color of their nose have no known decisive history. I hear some people claiming it based on where the dogs originated (where one family bred specifically dogs with red noses, Old Family Reds) to red noses being fighting dogs where blue noses were cool dogs.

The Staffy and APBT had been known as the all american family dog and was regarded very highly in society. What caused its downfall was it was an easy to train dog that fell into the wrong hands. All pits I have known have been easy to train, willing dogs making them perfect for the bad guys to use them in fighting. No man who is out to make a buck would put effort into a harder to train dog.

Now for the history somewhere between 1860ish and 1880ish the first group of Mexican workers moved up to work for cheap labor in America (before it has been the Chinese) then again in 1890's as the railroads started to grow. Then after the Mexican Revolution (around 1910) there was a dramatic decline in living and opportunity for those living in Mexico World War I provided that opportunity and a rush of workers moved into America somewhere around 1930.  This population has only increased over time many of which are illegal.

At the same time the now extinct Cordoba Fighting dog was developing in Argentina. A mix of the fighting breeds of the day (Mastiff, Boxer, Bull Terrier, etc.) this dog was noted to have incredibly high pain tolerance and strong aggression to other dogs. This dog was the main foundation to the Dogo Argentino a dog breed developed around 1920 for large game hunting and fighting in Argentina. Very few dogs actually developed in South America however all were variations on the same theme like the Dogo Cubano, a mastiff type fighting dog from Cuba that went extinct in the 20th century (There are some exceptions like the Rastreador Brasileiro a tracking dog developed in Brazil).

The APBT and Staffy is from England the staffy being the one developed for fighting purposes. And where the Staffy developed in England they share roots with the Amstaff which developed in America.

Now its no coincidence that the dog that was the all american family dog, loving guardian and protector was bred to a similar looking dog from south of the border. Breeders will swear by their lines being clean but the popularity of these dogs is their downfall. Pits where popular before the WWI and the influx of workers only increased their popularity. Unless you know you are getting clean lines from over seas I wouldn't trust the lines in the Americas being "clean."

Now for the nitty gritty why these dogs are predisposed. Now all dogs have a threshold for what they will tolerate. Dogs with fighting lines closer in their background have a slightly different threshold and when a dog snaps you see what it is made of, shall we say. Now most pits in America today have been crossed with one of their similar southern counterparts introducing this "fighting dog threshold." I believe that the "Pit Bulls" in America once were dogs without this problem (this ability to snap to fighting like its life depends on it) and now it is everywhere. Pit bull owners need to come to terms with this, and you cannot say that these dogs are perfect, what needs to be done is people need to realize it and start to breed away from it again. The Staffy, English Bulldog, Mastiff and many other breeds were once fighting dogs but because of dedicated fanciers who wanted to save the breed are now with out the "fighting dog threshold." The same thing can happen to the pits in America. But no one is testing for this I see to many people breeding for color and looks with out testing and pushing the dogs limits to see where its threshold lies.

I would enjoy seeing the Pit Bulls be the all american dog again but with out people willing to do what it takes, this dog will forever have this fight still in them and will forever be predisposed to true fighting aggression.