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The american pit bull terrier originates from the introduction of english and irish pit terriers into america during the mass immigration of the 1800's. The english dog's originated from cross breeding between terrier and bulldog breeds, the irish dogs origins were shrouded in secrecy. The pit bull terriers brought to america had been bred for dog fighting using the terrier breeds killing instinct and the bulldogs tenacity and powerful muscled body, they had been bred to be loyal and accepting of their human masters and were considered family dogs. The introduction of pit bulls to america saw the breed develop as the breed was crossed with bigger dogs to produce the american pit bull terrier.

The american pit bull terrier is an exceptionally powerful dog that is instantly recognisable. The dog has a broad chunky head with large cheeks that cover extremely powerful jaw muscles and has round eyes. The neck is thick and powerful dropping to strong, wide shoulders and a deep chest. Colouration is numerous but these short haired dogs can range in colour from brown, fawn to black, blue and white.

Contrary to popular opinion these dogs are not wanton killing machines, they do have violent tendancies toward other dogs but are no more violent toward people than other dog breeds. They are loyal, obedient and good with children and families. They make excellent guard dogs and are generally good with other family pets including other dogs if they have been socialised with the other pets from puppy hood.

The american pitbull generally stands between 18 and 22 inches tall, and weighs in between 10 and 50 kg, and has a few known health problems such as being prone to cataracts and congenital heart disease. American pitbulls have a life expectancy of around 12 years, have litters of about 5-10 puppies and need regular exercise to burn off excess energy. Colours vary from fawn pitbulls, to blue pitbulls, rednose pitbulls and black pitbulls.