The story goes that the English White Terrier, that's now an extinct breed of dog, was crossbred with a pitbull to create the revolutionary American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT). Of course, no real evidence was proposed to confirm this theory so this is still remained just a sole theory. Not much historical evidence is available to confirm the true origins of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Throughout history one of the richest sports was "dog fighting". Of course, before the pitbulls arrived to America they were widely used for many daily activities such as fighting bears, bulls, dog on dog combat, and of course, baiting. Many countries such as Pakistan still engage in what is now known as "illegal dog fighting" activities where they starve dogs in order to make them extremely aggressive and deadly to an opponent. Those dogs get released and hell rises as those dogs fight each other to the death.

Many countries still engage in those activities including Russia, Turkey, and the United States. Although dogs are primarily thought of good for "fighting" there are many great things these canine beasts are capable of doing. These creatures can be used for a variety of diverse tasks such as hog catching, working with cattle, guarding, herding sheep, even pulling weights up to a ton! Clearly, dogs are useful for a lot more things than fighting, including pitbulls.

There's some evidence suggesting that the pitbull breed has originated from England, however, there is a lot of evidence to confirm that this breed was well established in other countries at that time as well. In the beginning of the 20th century the American Pitbull Terrier was one of the most popular breed. There are many World War 1 pictures, posters, and political cartoons portraying Pitbulls as America. This was eventually replaced by the American Eagle.

Many people often associate pitbulls with fighting and death. There is a huge overexaggeration of pitbull-caused deaths and attacks. Many people see the pitbull as a dangerous dog to own, and perhaps one of the fiercest dogs around. However, they choose to ignore the facts on this matter. Pitbulls are responsible for 18 deaths annually. To bring numbers into the picture let me paint something for you:

1. Annually, 40 children die by drowning in a 5-gallon water pail.

2. Annually, 50 children die by their cribs.

3. Annually, 150 people die by falling coconuts.

4. Annually, 350 people drown in their bathtubs.

5. Annually, more than 2,000 children are killed by their parents/guardians through abuse or neglect in the U.S. alone.

You are almost 3 times more likely to die from your crib than from a pitbull. But you don't see lawsuits and anti-crib associations trying to get rid of all cribs in the United States. Learn more about pitbull origins.