Official Standard

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

OFFICIAL STANDARD

HISTORICAL REVIEW Around the year 1880, popular breeder Charles Lloyd took his renowned American Pit Bull Terriers Lloyd's Pilot, Lloyd's Paddy, and Burke’s Rafferty from England to USA. These dogs were really outstanding in their time and embodied the standard by which American enthusiasts were to breed their American Pit Bull Terriers.

The Gas House Dog ( A.K.A. McDonald's Grip ) nació en 1870.

Lloyd's Pilot nació en 1878

Lloyd's Paddy,

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

FIAPBT E-mail: fiapbt@fiapbt.net - fiapbt@terra.es Phone/Fax: 918036953 Cellphone: 609-26-23-09 SPAIN - EUROPE

OUR FRONT COVER : Villaliberty´s Boudreaux (Bullyson).

Colby’s Pincher nació en 1896

OFFICIAL STANDARD Updated April 2nd 2009.

All standards created for any animal species, have a basis

For this reason, American Pit Bull Terriers being the wor-

weight when they were developed. In any animal species

king breed dogs par excellence, those breeders who consi-

you can come across with different standards, which were

der themselves professionals of the breed, should breed

created by experts for each particular species, for exam-

APBT samples which were in the official standard of Ameri-

ple : Racehorses have a suitable standard to set an ideal

can Dog Breeders Association (ADBA) or in the Federation

functionality in these animals, this way, you can approxima- International of APBT (FIAPBT).Samples which are in the te as much as possible in their morphology to be the suita-

official standard, will have a guaranteed functionality to de-

ble one in order to fulfill their mission, which is to run faster

velop any kind of job, since the offical standard of the

than other breeds of racehorses.

APBT is designed to get the best performance working in any kind of job, however strange it may seem and always

The same thing happens with any other animal species that to benefit the humankind.These extraordinary performanhumans entrust any kind of task; this way , we will have to create necessarily the standards to make them be the best, in the different disciplines that humans assign the animal species to be.

ces, are also movable why not, to canine sports.

HEAD: An APBT for any purpose with a well-proportioned head, must look the two thirds its shoulder width, and be a 25% wider in its cheeks than in the neck to the base of the skull. From the back of the skull to the stop, it must be the same distance as from the stop to the tip of the nose.The snout must be straight and square–shaped.

The depth from the top of the head to the lowest part of tha jaw is important. The jaw is closed by the muscle of the temporal fossa, making the pressure the animal needs over the coronoid process.

The head will be wedge-shaped when viewed from top or from side, when it is viewed from the front it is round. Dogs with excessive lips are not accepted.

Una cabeza exagerada, simplemente le hará llevar un peso excesivo que le restara funcionalidad a la hora de realizar el trabajo.

Eyes Teeth : The eyes are round, separated and situated in a low position.All colours are admitted and uneven eyes (eyes with different colours in the same amimal ).

Teeth : Scissors closure, pliers closure and inverse scissors closure are admitted, never enogmathism. The inverse scissors closure or “prognathism”, even though it is the most effective teeth closure to perform the prey work, mustn’t be neither excessive nor caused by the displacement of the jawbones, because if so, it will be considered as a fault.

Of the three admitted closure, the most effective to develop the work of the prey, is the inverse scissors closure or even with a small separation between the teeth of above with respect to those of down.

Neck : The neck must be strongly muscular to the base of the skull.

FRONT : The dog will have to own deep ribs. They are wide at the top, narrowing to the low part.The ribs house the lungs, which are not tanks but pumps.The ribs act as a bellows. Their effectiveness is related in the difference between the contraction and expansion volume. The ribs depth involves more room for the lungs to be bigger.

The Shoulders : Wll have to be a bit wider than the ribs at the level of the eighth rib. Too narrow shoulders won’t support a suitable muscular structure, but at the same time a too wide shoulder structure, makes the animal slower and adds it too much unnecessary weight. The shoulder blade must be situated at 45 degrees, or something less, of angle to the ground, and this will be wide and flat.

The Elbows : Must settle flat, with the humerus in an almost parallel trajectory to the spine. The elbow must reach below the ribs.

The forearm must be only a bit longer than the humerus and this one must be thick and solid, almost twice the thickness of the metatarsals, at the level of the hock.

The front legs and shoulders must be able to support a lot of work and their thickness can become a power at this point.

The feet, must be small and high inserted in the pasterns.

BACK TRAIN : This is the driving train of any four-legged animal. An 80% of an APBT work is developed in its hips and back legs.

A long and lean hip is extremely important, because it will provide a better support point to the femur, and this one must be shorter than the shinbone. The hip must be wide. Being like this, it will involve a wide lumbar area, allowing this way a wide surface for the insertion of the gluteus muscles and the femoral biceps, which are the biggest motors in the driving train.

TAIL : The tail will be low inserted; it will be long until a little before reaching the hocks. This one, has a thick base narrowing to the end. It must crank-shaped when the dog is relaxed.

MANTLE : The mantle can be any colour or combination of them, with the exception of the merle colour. It must be short and strong. The shine of the mantle usually reflects the health of the APBT, a vital sign.

SKIN : It must be thick and loose, but without folds, with the exception of the neck and the chest, which must be loose enough to show some vertical folds.

WITHERS HEIGTH : The withers heigth in males can vary from 38 cm to 48 cm, and in the females; from 35 cm to 45 cm.

WEIGHT : In spite of many people’s belief, APBT is a small breed dog, at most medium-sized, finding the weight of the males that can vary from 13 kg to 27 kg; and in females from 12 kg to 23 kg. Someone might have a pure APBT specimen that weighs three or four kg over these weghts, but surely it would have to be fat. Not accepted ;Excessively large or massive dogs.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : The APBT will have to be square-shaped viewed from side, the distance from the shoulder to the hip point must be the same distance from the shoulder to the ground.The animal will tread high and it will have a maximum point of support for its body weight.

The American Pit Bull Terrier is a complete athlete. Its morphology is developoed for speed, power, agility and force. It will have to be balanced in all directions, too much of something steals another thing, at the moment of performing any kind of work.

The selection of American Pit Bull Terrier breeding, at combining The standard (functionability) with its heart (balance, intelligence, courage, determination, bravery and nobility), the result is unbeatable, discovering the best breed dog to perform all kind of works and sports, however adverse the circumstances are at the time of executing them.

Gr Ch Boudreaux’ Badger Rom / Por

IS THE APBT A LARGE-SIZED BREED? Updated April 2nd 2009.

Let’s first acknowledge that there are a lot of greedy and dishonest “pseudo breeders” whose main concern is to make a quick profit by taking advantage of misinformed and inexperienced buyers to whom it is easy to sell crossbreds as if they were purebred American Pit Bull Terriers.

When addressing the question at hand in this segment, we must come to terms with the fact that ever since the APBT canine breed started being developed and began to evolve as a canine breed centuries ago, it’s always been bred as a small-sized breed or even medium-sized at the most because it is due to its smaller size that it is able to perform better as a working breed. As a matter of fact, Tudor’s “Dibo”, the very best APBT of all times, used to weigh only 20 kilos.

Tudor’s Dibo And now we move on to the opinions of three experienced

balanced working dogs with a whole lot of heart and game-

enthusiasts of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed, begin-

ness and always very eager to please its owner no matter

ning with Mr. Mariano Peinado, President of the FIAPBT.

what.

The APBT has a unique weight-to-power ratio advantage

Mariano Peinado, President of the International Federation

that no other breed has. But in order to keep it that way,

of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

esthetics or superficial beauty should not be considered at

First of all, I wish to say that I love the American Pit Bull

all when selectively breeding the APBT.

Terrier breed, whether it be from one genetic branching or

By following these suggestions we will save this pure breed

another, of any color, physical structure, or bodyweight, as

from extinction so that it may continue to excel as the most

long as it’s a purebred within its standard and of course,

successful canine working breed to perform any job, no

provided the authenticity of its official pedigree has been

matter which one, and all while still displaying a great heart

previously verified as this would be the only document to

attached to all those virtues that are so typical of this breed

certify pureness of breed.

such as gentleness, braveness, fearlessness, gameness,

It’s of vital importance for everyone involved in breeding

heritage, along with the ever spectacular physical enduran-

American Pit Bull Terriers to keep on breeding them with

ce so typical of this breed.

the same purpose in mind, which is to perform as well-

An APBT weighing in between 25 and 27 kilos is considered a

just crossbreed dogs at random, and even crossbreed dogs of

large-sized APBT. If any heavier, the work performance of the

different canine breeds that are phenotypically similar to the

alleged APBT will greatly suffer due to exhaustingly carrying ex-

APBT, and so these crossbreds are sold as purely bred top-of-the

cess bodyweight which is rather atypical to this pure breed.

-line APBT’s. This is all possible due to the lack of knowledge of inexperienced new buyers, and also because when a dog weighs

Therefore, it is so important not to increase the size of this breed, or else the authentic APBT will become extinct and a whole new breed would be brought on instead; something we, the APBT lovers, would never agree to.

35, 40, or more kilos (Bullies, Blues, Bandogs, etc.), it looks really spectacular with a huge head and a huge body and a lot o esthetic beauty but also very little work performance ability when compared to a purebred APBT. These types of dogs are wrongfully called APBT’s, and are the most appealing to newcomers due to their spectacular looks. Unethical greedy breeders are well aware

The APBT breed has become quite popular in many different

of this and therefore don’t hesitate to commit this type of fraud.

countries. But unfortunately this doesn’t do the breed any good because it creates a greater demand for these dogs to be bred, which in turn sets the stage for smart but unethical breeders to easily take advantage of the evident lack of knowledge and experience of enthusiasts who are just getting started with this breed.

These greedy breeders don’t even bother to get really good APBT

And so, to finally answer the question as to whether or not the APBT is a large-sized breed, the answer of course is ¡absolutely not!

studs and bitches to start their breeding programs. Instead, they

Mar Bartolomé, Breeder of American Pit Bull Terrier.

The original APBT is medium height and weighs 19 kilos

As far as I’m concerned, I’ll continue breeding the original

on average. This has consistently meant more functionality, APBT phenotype because this way I will somehow contriagility, and power, thus outperforming any other canine

bute to preserve the APBT the way it is really meant to be.

breed.

Also nowadays, APBT’s are being crossbred with other More and more frequently nowadays, the tendency is to create a taller, more massive APBT. This however harms the unmatched performance of the American Pit Bull Te-

physically similar breeds and the result of it is a bigger and heavier dog that instead of being a real APBT is actually a large-sized crossbred.

rrier for which it is really admired.

Let’s not continue to degenerate this already endangered If the American Pit Bull Terrier’s size continues to be increased, we could end up making the mistake of turning it into a whole new different breed that will have nothing to do with the original APBT. That’s why I believe we should seriously reflect on whether or not we want an American Pit Bull Terrier or a new canine breed.

breed, let’s keep it from the extinction caused by the high degree of current crossbreeding brought upon by some self proclaimed “lovers of the breed” whose real love is not for the breed but rather for the money they can make off of it.

Jorge Solé, breed expert and trainer of APBT. Final Conclusion: From my standpoint, a real American Pit Bull Terrier is a dog with certain physical characteristics that make it different from any other breed.

These characteristics are: Power, speed, agility, and most of all, an incredible weight to power ratio.

Those who claim to selectively breed and sell large-sized American Pit Bull Terriers (over 30 kilos in bodyweight), in our opinion, don’t love the breed. Additionally, to produce large-sized dogs which will then be deceivingly labeled as American Pit Bull Terriers, a short cut is taken which is based on crossbreeding different large-sized breeds that have nothing to do with the authentically purebred APBT in

If an alleged 40-kg American Pit Bull Terrier (molossian) is

order to produce very marketable dogs that look appealing

capable of maintaining these characteristics, it could be

to the untrained eye (Bullies, Blues, Bandogs, etc.) just to

that the breed is being perfected. Otherwise, it’s being de-

make a profit while totally disregarding the damage done to

generated which will bring irreversible consequences to our the pureness of the breed and to the ripped off buyer. beloved and authentic American Pit Bull Terrier.

Ch Garner's Chinaman Rom Gr Ch ACE Max Dugan Vitali

Knowles' Ch Buckhide

Gr Ch Chavez' Llantas

Gambler’s Gr Ch Virgil Rom

CD's GD Ch Lady Tessa

G.K.M’s A/A II Just Tuff Enough

Doble Gr Ch Reloaded's Persephone Of Matrix

Bezzi's Gr Ch Gordon Rocky

Meeds’ Ch Beef

OFFICIAL STANDARD Italy, conformation, September 4th and 5th 2010.

The judge placed the dogs at a short distance for one minute, though spaced safely enough far between. In this way, the judge was better able to get the valuable feedback needed to determine that the championship honors were to be awarded to ANTONELLI’S BUBBA JR. The great similarity in the conformation of the championship finalists was so close that judge-

BJ y Antonelli´s Bubba Jr According to the judge’s explanation, in his judgment of the American Pit Bull terriers he considered some aspects that are not included in the standard but which according to him are extremely important. These are a wholeheartedly positive attitude and friendliness towards people, controlled temperament, and an eagerness to do the work and please their masters. None of these aspects is evident in the morphology of the APBT. Nonetheless, years of judging experience enables a judge to appreciate these

Mariano Peinado had no other choice but to carefully compare and value even the tiniest difference between the two best-in-show finalists.

BJ got second place in the championship, placing second to BUBBA. BJ won the trophy awarded to the best athletically conditioned APBT. .

subtle signs and reliably determine what an APBT is like on the FIAPBT Judge: Mariano Peinado

inside.

Zwolinskin’s Miss Rolex won the best in show award in the under12-months category competing against APBTs from both the ADBA and the FIAPBT. She also won the best-in-show award in the puppy category against the UKC’s APBTs. What an extraordinary APBT.

UKC Judge: Kimberly Allison

Zwolinskin’s Miss Rolex

The ADBA is the institution that offers the most reliable pedigrees by proceeding very differently from other organizations that also offer pedigrees. The ADBA has a research department that insures the accuracy of their pedigrees. The ADBA will contact the breeders directly should there be any need to verify the truthfulness of a pedigree. And this is something that no other organization does. The ADBA has a very thorough and computerized control mechanism to fully prevent fraud in their pedigrees.

Needless to say, after the ADBA has conducted an investigation to establish the veracity of a pedigree from another organization (UKC, IKC, BFK, SDR, etc.), and if it turns out to be in fact a legitimate pedigree, the ADBA will homologate such pedigree as an ADBA pedigree and the FIAPBT will also approve it based upon the fact that it has been previously researched and approved by the ADBA.

FIAPBT MAILING ADDRESS Apdo. Correos, 39 28760 Tres Cantos - Madrid

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