Читать книгу American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook - Joe Stahlkuppe - Страница 7

Perhaps you had envisioned a different ending to this short and true story. If you did, you may have been affected by the hype and fright-writing that has surrounded the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) over the past few decades. If the dog in this true scenario had been a Saint Bernard, a Beagle, or a Collie, would you have similar apprehensions about what was going to happen? Probably not. APBTs (and kindred breeds) have been the victims of more bad press, rumor, innuendo, myth, and fathomless fear than any dog breed in history.

For some reason it has been easier, certainly in past years, to believe the worst about the American Pit Bull Terrier. That was not always the case. For nearly a century, this breed was accepted as a valued family pet. True, he generally had to be watched around certain other kinds of dogs, but no more so than other large or powerful breeds. For ordinary Americans, especially in the tense times before World War I, the APBT epitomized the American spirit of strength and independence. Some time in the early-to-mid-1970s this public perception changed. An often wrongfully accused old family friend suddenly became Canine Public Enemy Number One.

This book is not about the “pit bull.” This book is about the American Pit Bull Terrier. The two are not the same. “Pit bulls” can be almost anything. They can be poorly bred pit fighting dogs, poorly bred American Staffordshire Terriers, poorly bred Staffordshire Bull Terriers, poorly bred APBTs, mixed dogs of some bull breed heritage, or just shorthaired and thickset mongrels with an attitude. This book is about a great and misunderstood American canine treasure, a breed of dog that has conquered more obstacles than any other breed of dog in the history of the human-canine relationship. It is about dogs that many consider the greatest all-around breed to ever exist, a breed with a long and distinguished history as one of the gentlest and most versatile of family pets, the bravest of war dogs, and the staunchest defenders of children. This book, without a hint of apology, is about the American Pit Bull Terrier.