In the late 1800′s to early 1900′s English immigrant workers left the UK with their Staffies or known then as Bull and Terrier crosses and later on the United Kennel Club (UKC) recognized them as the breed known today as the APBT also later down the line many would have described their APBTs as Staffordshire Terriers and then American Kennel club (AKC) recognized them as American Staffordshire Terriers(the word “American” was added to avoid confusion with their smaller British cousins the SBT) to distance them from the dog fighting and bull baiting years, it is thought that “Petey” (the dog from little rascals) was the first Pit Bull Terrier to be recognized as what is now referred to as an “Am Staff”, the AST, APBT and SBT were all a result of selective breeding from Bulldogs and Terriers,

so people who say that a ‘Staff’ and a ‘Pit’ are two completely different breeds couldn’t be more wrong, yes they have differences mainly height at the shoulder, also “Pit Bull” is a not a breed it is a generic term used in the USA to describe three breeds sharing similar psychical characteristics:

The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT)

The American Staffordshire Terrier (Am staff) and

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffie)

the same principle of selective breeding was applied to all ‘Pit Bull types’ (including Staffies), so you could say that a Staffordshire and a Pit Bull Terrier are much the same breed just split over the years by different kennel clubs and breeding standards, all three breeds were desired and praised for their friendliness towards humans (which was also bred in).

When did the love between ‘Pit Bull types’ and Humans begin to fade? No one knows, I can only assume that it was down to a minority of idiots who stigmatized them between the 1980′s and now.

Hope all what I have said makes sense.

Great article Ryan.