The history of the APBT varies depending on the sources you refer to. One of these stories, and in most cases the most reliable, goes back to the time of the Romans. During the time of Minos in Crete, the sport of bull baiting was quite a popular form of entertainment. This sport was developed as a part of the worship practice in honour of the warrior god “Mithras”.

During this time most dogs were wild and ferocious by nature. As the Roman tribes of the time conquered and moved across the land they also took the sport with them. Due to the selective breeding of the best dogs a distinctive breed began to emerge. By the 1700’s there were two primary bull-fighting dogs that had developed. This was the Blue poll of Scotland and the Alunt from Ireland, both of which were referred to as Bulldogs. The Alunt of the time resembled something closer to a Great Dane but is presumed to have later developed into the Alono of Spain. As this and other dog sports were developed people selectively breed different dogs to achieve the fighting attributes that they desired. They often mixed these breeds with the great dogs of England also used to bait bulls. During this time it was thought that the use of the dog on a bull had a tenderising effect on the meat. In reality this was a myth perpetuated by dog men and gamblers in order to encourage participation and thus draw profits of gambling.

By the time of the early 1800’s, due to selective breeding a dog had emerged which was very similar to the American Pit Bull of today. Due to a slow economy and a law that prohibited people of low economic means from owning a sporting dog the practice of bull baiting began to diminish. In 1835 bull baiting was officially banned. This forced people, especially of the lower classes, to find alternatives for their dogs. This resulted in a sport known as ratting where a number of rats were placed in a pit for a specified time with the dog.

THIS IS IN FACT WHERE THE “PIT” IN THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER NAME CAME FROM. NOT FROM FIGHTING OTHER DOGS.

The terrier part of the name came from its ability to hunt small game and was one of the reasons why ratters knew it would excel in the rat pit. The larger the number of kills the better the dog placed in the match. Due to the constraints of space and the agility of Black & Tan and White terriers of England these terriers were often being mixed with the old bull baiting dogs to achieve dogs that were premium for these purposes. It is believed that this practice of mixing bulldogs and terriers began in the town of Staffordshire, England and became known as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Due to the agility and gameness of this new-found breed many began to also fight dogs with each other. Soon dog on dog fighting and ratting became so popular that practically all Inns and Pubs were equipped with a fighting pit.

When colonization of America and Canada began these people also brought their dogs. These dogs soon became known by the name of “Pit Bull Terriers”. As time progressed a gentleman by the name of Chauncy Bennett founded the UKC (United Kennel Club) in 1898 with the American Pit Bull Terrier as its foundation dog breed. Although some are fortunate enough to own a UKC registered Pit, the majority of the public has chosen not to register their dogs due to financial constraints and subsequent loss of bloodline determination.