Fighting is the Pits

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http://www.chicagocaninerescue.com

The American-Pit Bull Terrier is the most misunderstood breed of dog. They are feared by many who know the tarnished reputation that they carry. Pit Bulls were bred in the 1800's by breeding together Bulldogs and Terriers to achieve a breed with certain desired traits such as strength and courage. Pit Bulls are members of the "Bully" breed. Bully breeds are a group of dogs that are part of the Bulldog bloodline. 

The purpose of the Pit Bull Terrier was to help with herding livestock and hunting. Besides for those uses, people began using the breed for sporting. These sports were "Bull baiting" and "Rat baiting." Bull baiting consisted of letting the dogs attack bulls in hopes of restraining the bull to help with the slaughtering process. This sport was considered "inhumane" and became illegal in 1835. Then people starting using the dogs for "Rat baiting." This sport was similar to bull baiting except a Pit bull was placed in a pit full of rats, while the gamblers placed bets on how long it would take the dog to kill all of the rats. This sport was popular until the beginning of the 20th century where then it became illegal. Eventually, this is where the "dog fighting" sport came into play. The dogs were placed in a pit (hence the name "Pit" Bull.) to fight against each other. 

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http://pixgood.com/fawn-pitbull-cropped-ears.html

One of the most common believed myths about Pit Bulls are, "They are mean, and love to attack people." Fortunately, this is NOT the case at all. Pit Bulls are driven by a strong determination to make their owners happy and are willing to do anything to achieve their owner's happiness. There are many other myths that surround the name of this breed, but it is very important that before you believe the bull or discriminate, you need to educate yourself. Another common misconceived myth about these dogs is that, "They have the highest attack rate than any other dog, and the highest PSI bite force recorded among other dangerous breeds." Again, these are myths...and are not true. A lot of these statistics recorded are missing a numerous amount of accurate information and tend to sometimes be exaggerated. And as far as the PSI recorded for a Pit Bull, they have the lowest recorded bite force compared to the German Shepherd and Rottweiler scoring at 235 lbs.

This breed is very popular among headlines that are seen in today's news; a lot of them having a negative impact on the opinion of others. As a result, this makes the adoption of a Pit Bull more difficult. "  Thirty-five percent of shelters take in at least one pit bull a day, and in one out of four shelters, pits and pit mixes make up more than 20 percent of the shelter dog population." According to the ASPCA (www.aspcapro.org) Although this dog has a bad name, there are also amazing stories of how this breed have the power to save or change lives. By helping to challenge the negative opinions that many people have and shine light on the many positives that come from owning this particular breed, more people may want to adopt a Pit Bull. Any breed of dog has the potential to attack or kill without being a Pit-bull.  So before you decide to "shun" these creatures and succumb to the negative viewpoints of others, take time out of your day to visit a shelter and meet a Pit Bull, you might actually be surprised in what you find!

Sources:
http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/american-pit-bull-terrier
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/herding/?ar_a=1
http://www.bulldoginformation.com/bull-baiting.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat-baitinghttp://video.humanesociety.org/index.php?id=PLE01490092359B5C3

http://www.akc.org/breeds/bulldog/index.cfm
http://www.akc.org/breeds/boxer/index.cfm
http://www.akc.org/breeds/bullmastiff/index.cfm
http://www.akc.org/breeds/boston_terrier/index.cfm
http://www.aspcapro.org/resource/disaster-cruelty-animal-cruelty-animal-fighting/facts-about-pit-bull-cruelty