BLASCO FAMILY BULLDOGS :: No, American Bulldogs Are Not Pitbulls :: The differences between American Bulldogs and Pitbulls

Introduction...

Few things frustrate or even offend American Bulldog owners more, than to have their American Bulldog mistaken for a Pitbull, or the new vernacular to overshadow widespread public ignorance, "a Pitbull type dog." Imagine if you heard someone call a motorcycle a car, or a car a bus, or a Rose Bush an Oak tree, or a BLT sandwich a meatball sandwich, you'd think those people were idiots, or at the very least, did not have a functional grasp of the English language. Imagine going to a lumber store to purchase a 2x4 and being given a 1x2 instead. Imagine asking your waiter for a Greek salad and being given a shrimp salad. If you opened a carton labeled milk and poured out vodka onto your kid's cereal, would that be acceptable, or would you maybe have a complaint with that mislabeling? Ignorance, when identifying a specific thing, is not accepted in basically any instance... not until we start talking about Pitbulls and "Pitbull type dogs." Then, being factually incorrect doesn't matter, right? After all, everyone knows what you're talking about. Sort of like wrongly applying the terms, "Chinese type guy," in reference to a Korean gentleman, or "Mexican" to a woman from El Salvador. Similarly, the American Bulldog, as well as other breeds of dogs commonly confused with the Pitbull, have their own rich cultural identities, with different physical characteristics, as well as different temperaments and needs.

This then is an article aimed at educating the reader about the clear and distinctive differences, between Pitbulls and "Pitbull type dogs," from American Bulldogs, and other dogs that Pitbulls are commonly confused with. The information being provided herein, while DNA lab analysis is commercially available and should be utilized when question remains, is nonetheless a definitive and authoritative publication, that can easily make genetic testing unnecessary for the larger majority of dogs that come into question. This article can and indeed should be used by apartment managers, home owner's associations, animal control authorities, police and the Courts, in helping to determine the breed of any "Pitbull type dog" in question.

Dr. Victoria Voith and colleagues from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., surveyed animal adoption agency personnel, asking that they identify the breed or breeds of dogs whose origins they did not know. DNA analysis of the same dogs concluded that these supposed community animal "experts," who are regularly called upon by the Courts, to either fine or not fine an owner, to either confiscate or not confiscate a citizen's dog, to make life and death decisions, to either kill or not kill a dog, based upon its breed... typically COULD NOT correctly identify the breed or breeds of dogs they were being called upon to assess. (1)

What Exactly is a Pitbull?

The term "Pitbull" refers to three breeds of dog: The American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and crossbred dogs between any of the three. In an effort to create small, very strong, agile, and tenacious working dogs for cattle management, all three dogs, as well as their genetic progenitors, were similarly developed by crossbreeding various Terrier dogs to Bulldogs.

The Bulldog most commonly used was the short, squashed nosed lapdog, known as the English Bulldog, and NOT the American Bulldog. This is an important historical distinction. The English Bulldog of that time, was a direct and recent descendent of fighting dogs, a sport in the process of being outlawed in England. Those English Bulldogs - or what was in that era in England and Ireland, simply called a Bulldog, bred to equally aggressive Terrier specimens, created the original, and previously much more aggressively bred Pitbull.

In contrast, an American Bulldog is a Mastiff offshoot, cousin to the Bullmastiff and descendent of other Mastiff bred dogs. The American Bulldog's Mastiff bred progenitors were not primarily used in dog fighting at all, but for hunting, homestead protection and cattle management. Obviously in more recent American history, both dogs were once misused in dog fighting, however, among those well known characters doing the dog fighting in early 1900s America, the American Bulldog was considered not fit for the sport, because of its much lesser instinctive inclination towards dog-on-dog fighting. In other words, the American Bulldog was not successfully bred for dog fighting, even by those who tried it.

In any event, the Pitbull is a Terrier, most typically with all the associated and relatively well known "small dog" tendencies of the dogs in the Terrier group, tendencies not typically shared with the larger, and somewhat less energetic American Bulldogs.

The United Kennel Club (UKC) is the oldest and traditionally the primary registry for the Pitbull, registering the Pitbull as an American Pitbull Terrier since 1898. The American Kennel Club (AKC) has registered the Pitbull as an American Staffordshire Terrier since 1936. These are not two different breed versions of similar dogs. Owners of AKC registered American Staffordshire Terriers sometimes argue that their dogs are not Pitbulls. Owners of UKC registered American Pitbull Terriers sometimes argue that their dogs are not American Staffordshire Terriers. In reality, it is a fact that AKC registered American Staffordshire Terriers are also automatically eligible for UKC registration as American Pitbull Terriers. In other words, they are recognized as the same dog by those who actually breed Pitbulls at a professional level, i.e., the actual manufacturers of the dogs in question. Mentionable is that the UKC also registers the American Bulldog, and while making no distinction between different types of Pitbull Terriers, the American Bulldog is recognized as a genetically unique breed of dog, with a vastly different set official Breed Standards, as well as different history.

According to the UKC Breed Standard for the American Pitbull Terrier, the size of a male is 35 to a maximum of 60 pounds, female 30 to 50 pounds. The UKC does not have a specific height standard, but does talk about overall balance of the dog, meaning that at its 60 pound maximum weight, an American Pitbull Terrier would certainly never exceed 19 to 20 inches at the withers (shoulders). According to the AKC, the American Staffordshire Terrier does not exceed 19 inches in height. The AKC does not have a specific weight standard, but they too discuss the overall balance of the animal, and thus, no American Staffordshire Terrier should ever exceed 60 or so pounds, maximum weight. The AKC also registers the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, assigning a maximum weight of 34 pounds.

So, from the start we see that a Pitbull is a dog not over 60 pounds and 19 inches at the withers, regardless of its type or title. Obviously a fat, out of shape dog might weigh a bit more, as might a crossbred dog, but 60 pounds is the outside maximum, and a good first litmus test to determining the breed. Further, we see that the Pitbull is a Terrier bred dog, with a distinctively different history from the American Bulldog and all other "bully type" breeds.

By Comparison, the American Bulldog is BIGGER

In contrast, the American Bulldog, with three different types, Bully type, Standard type and Hybrid type, and multiple bloodlines per type, is almost always a much larger dog than a Pitbull. The American Bulldog has four primary registries, the American Bulldog Association (ABA), the United Kennel Club (UKC), the American Bulldog Registry & Archives (ABRA), and the National Kennel Club (NKC). Other registries recognizing the American Bulldog are the Animal Research Foundation (ARF) and the International Designer Canine Registry (IDCR). Drawing across the board from all the registries with height and/or weight standards for the American Bulldog, it is a dog that is a MINIMUM of 60 pounds, a maximum of 125+ pounds, a minimum of 20 inches in height at the withers, and a maximum of 27 inches in height at the withers. So, again, a much larger dog than a Pitbull.

In general, it can be said that the maximum size a Pitbull is supposed to be, is roughly the minimum size an American Bulldog is supposed to be, and nonetheless, (assuming properly bred purebred dogs), an American Bulldog of any type or bloodline should be a notably thicker, meatier dog than a Pitbull, with much heavier bone and muscle, and not looking like a large Terrier bred dog, but more akin to a Bullmastiff, or in his more athletic Standard version, the now extinct Alaunt.

And It's More Than Just a Size Difference...

Apart from the significant size difference between Pitbulls and the American Bulldog, there are other specific traits easily identifiable between both dogs. For instance, the head and snout...

A Pitbull of any type has (or should have) a roughly 50/50 head (skull/snout), ranging up to a 40/60 head. That is, with a 50/50 head, half the length of the dog's head is skull, the other half snout, and as is the case with Pitbulls, they may have a significantly longer snout than skull, i.e., up to a 40/60 head.

By comparison, the American Bulldog ranges from roughly a 55/45 head (skull/snout) to an 80/20 head (that's 80% skull and 20% snout). You'll notice that range goes the opposite direction of the Pitbull. In other words, American Bulldogs, while having a wider acceptable range of head types than a Pitbull (because of their various types, not a loose, inconsistent standard), American Bulldogs still should always have a shorter snout than skull.

Furthermore, while the Breed Standards for the Pitbull call for a wide, flat head and a tapering snout, those for the American Bulldog identify a boxier shaped, wider (and again, shorter) snout, and not a wide, flat head at all, but a well muscled and round head.

A Wrinkle in the Program

American Bulldogs also generally have wrinkles on their heads and around their mouths. This is a telltale characteristic of their Mastiff lineage. A Pitbull being a Terrier bred dog, has much tighter skin and rarely any facial wrinkles at all. Even when crossbred together, American Bulldog to Pitbull, or Pitbull to American Bulldog, the wrinkles of the American Bulldog almost entirely vanish, leaving a tight skinned face easily identifiable as that not of Mastiff lineage, but of Terrier lineage. This then becomes another good litmus test in telling the difference between Pitbulls and all the other "bully type" breeds of dogs, even crossbred dogs. None of the other "bully type" breeds are of Terrier lineage, and as such, they all have wrinkles the Pitbull Terrier does not. Further, it is very rare in any dog bred to a Pitbull, to observe the "bully type" facial wrinkling of the other "bully type" breeds. The Pitbull's tighter facial skin is a dominant allele, a distinctive phenotype of the Pitbull, indicative of its Terrier classification.

Study the photographs above and you will see that these differences are clear and obvious. You simply cannot mistake an American Bulldog for a Pitbull, taking even a casual glance, as long as you know what you're looking for between them. They are altogether different animals.

And It's More Than Just Skin Deep Too...

Apart from the somewhat stark visual differences, there are also other less obvious, but still very important differences between Pitbulls and American Bulldogs. As mentioned previously, a Pitbull is a Terrier. Proper purebred American Bulldogs don't have a drop of Terrier blood in them, (any very limited and long previous outcrossings now long bred away). As mentioned, American Bulldogs, of all distinct types and bloodlines, are classified as a direct Mastiff offshoot. Just as the Bullmastiff, an American Bulldog is German Bullenbeisser and Mastiff bred dog, a Molosser, bringing with them the stable temperament, "big dog" confidence, and a complete lack of the Terrier's associated "small dog," tendencies.

Where Pitbulls can have a tendency towards hyperactivity, and tend to require a great deal of exercise to keep them out of mischief, and not frustrated, the American Bulldog, similar to other Mastiff dogs, tends to be more of an energy conservationist. They have energy, of course, they're true working dogs after all, but they're not typically found running in circles chasing their own tails, in an effort to burn off steam. They're a more purposeful, laid back dog, in most cases, than Pitbulls tend to be. There are exceptions, examples of both lazier Pitbulls and the rare American Bulldog with an inordinate amount of energy, but even then, it's not nervous energy, and such exceptions in no way disprove the rule.

American Bulldogs generally enjoy exercise and do well in jobs requiring energy and determination. Pitbulls truly need exercise, have an abundance of energy that must be regularly burned off, or they can sometimes become hyper active and/or aggressive as a frustrated response. The most active and energetic Performance Line American Bulldogs in the world, active catch dogs still used in catch combat against feral hogs, these dogs still make excellent pets in small apartments, with no more than a short walk every day. That is not the case for the typical Pitbull, who has a specific breed requirement of exercise.