# Sticky  Is my dog a Mix, or Pure Blooded



## HeavyJeep

There are always those of us that would like to know what kind of dog we just got.. Whether saved in a shelter or from the side of the road, or a puppy from a friend or breeder. Either way the dog didn't come with "papers", so how do we find out?

This is a very sensitive subject to some because they don't want to be told they have a mutt, or a mix breed. Some want to be told they have a pit bull and jump right on the bandwagon of public ignorance and media's incorrect nomenclature.
Looks alone can never truly tell you what you have, sometimes not even the breed. Lots of dogs have similar traits that when mixed together (ie.. American Bulldog and a Spaniel, or Fox Terrier can look like a breed of pitbull, but it truly isn't) and without any knowledge to the family history of the dog you might never know.

There are those of us that love every being with a whole heart and it doesn't matter the lineage, only the heart of the dog in question. And there are those of us that also love knowing exactly went into the genetic make-up of the dog over a hundred or more years, to obtain some very specific traits for whatever purpose (ie. conformation, weight pull, agility, personal protection)

If you have the desire for the latter you need to first start with a pup from a reputable breeder, and therefore would not be looking to others for answers on what kind or breed of dog you have.

There is no sugar coating this answer so hang on.. There is no sense in calling something what it is not. If you have a "purebred" dog, you already know it, and if you need help reading the pedigree and understanding what you have better, then you can be helped.
If you have a random dog you got from anywhere, without papers, there will unfortunately never be a way to tell what breed of dog you own.

The term "pit bull" is used by the media and society as a generic label. 
There are additional breeds that frequently get confused with the American Pit Bull Terrier(APBT), which is very specific in its breeding program. I'll use KMDogs, another members' words here as I believe it best describes the differences.



KMdogs said:


> AST - AST or APBT lines bred away from performance/function and bred as a companion and show dog. Appearance, structure, etc is almost always held to that of registry standards be that AKC, UKC or ADBA..
> 
> Bulldog - This can be either used as a generalized term to refer to a scatter bred dog or an unproven APBT.. This isn't something to be held by negative light as Bulldogs make superb catch dogs and extremely versatile.. Keeping true to the APBT just unproven with respected ability surrounding pit dogs. Standards can go either way, some may conform some may not however typically, when i reference a hound as a Bulldog they still hold that function and ability.. Just not in that of APBT.
> 
> APBT - Tested and proven and bred from APBT lines.
> 
> Pit dog - Tested and proven with respected ability, doesn't have to be APBT. There are Mastiffs, Crosses, Mutts, APBTs, etc that all can be classified as such so long as they are proven to be..
> 
> American Bully - Bred down from proven American Bully lines in respected purpose, bred towards correct show standards, even temperament and compared to high end Bulldogs and American Pit Bull Terriers, lack of drive. Bred for companionship and show ring NOT performance or ability in work - purpose.
> 
> To know if you have any of these dog breeds you must not only know what genetically went into your pup but also know that the breeders are reputable, honest and have been dealing with respected breed for years to know what works, what doesn't and what temperament issues to look for. You also need to be able to trust that papers are not hung or falsely advertised in fooling..


 Breeding for monetary gain only is where bad breeding starts. Not culling the dogs that show traits that are undesired, and even worse continuing to breed them is how we have a problem in our dogs.
Google Nanny dog and know that the reputation of the APBT or its counterparts only went downhill recently, chalked up to bad breeding programs and folks with 0 respect, moral center or care for the dogs or the people they sell to, and what they have created.

Thank you


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## Pknattsr

Great post heavy jeep. I have a mutt and couldn't be happier. I hope many people read your post and understand what you are saying because it would save a lot of time of the forum and everyone can get back to the education, love and respect for the dogs that brought us here in the first place. Again great post.

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## ::::COACH::::

Good post man! I will have to send the new folks that ask this question to this thread


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## Sarah~

::::COACH:::: said:


> Good post man! I will have to send the new folks that ask this question to this thread


Very well put Heavy Jeep, I second what Coach said


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## ThaLadyPit

I'm going to make this a sticky so we can always find it when we need to reference it. HJ... Great post man!


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## ames

I think it's great. Can we also touch upon the self generated nanny dog myth since you mentioned googling it. Historically speaking the term "nanny dog" and the APBT was not popular until post 1976 and the first time associated with pit bulls in the early 80's. Yes the APBT is good with humans and can be amazing with children but they term nanny dog is a made up marketing ploy. Being great with children should never be used as an excuse for children to climb all over your dog or to babysit them as a man In Florida was charged with abuse when he left his 3 kids under 4 alone with his two "nanny" dogs when he went to work.

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## HeavyJeep

ames said:


> I think it's great. Can we also touch upon the self generated nanny dog myth since you mentioned googling it. Historically speaking the term "nanny dog" and the APBT was not popular until post 1976 and the first time associated with pit bulls in the early 80's. Yes the APBT is good with humans and can be amazing with children but they term nanny dog is a made up marketing ploy. *Being great with children should never be used as an excuse for children to climb all over your dog or to babysit them as a man In Florida was charged with abuse when he left his 3 kids under 4 alone with his two "nanny" dogs when he went to work. *
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com App


Astoundingly, for most of our history America's nickname for Pit Bulls was "The Nanny Dog". For generations if you had children and wanted to keep them safe you wanted a pit bull, the dog that was the most reliable of any breed with children or adults.
The Nanny Dog is now vilified by a media that always wants a demon dog breed to frighten people and LHASA-APSO BITES MAN just doesn't sell papers. Before pit bulls it was Rottweilers, before Rottweilers it was Dobermans, and before them German Shepherds. Each breed in it's order were deemed too vicious and unpredictable to be around people. Each time people wanted laws to ban them. It is breathtakingly ironic that the spotlight has turned on the breed once the symbol of our country and our national babysitter.
In temperance tests (the equivalent of how many times your kid can poke your dog in the eye before it bites him) of all breeds the most tolerant was the Golden Retriever. The second most tolerant was the pit bull.
Pit Bull's jaws do not lock, they do not have the most powerful bite among dogs (Rottweilers have that honor) they are not naturally human aggressive (in fact pit bull puppies prefer human company to their mother's two weeks before all other dogs), and they feel as much pain as any other breed (accidentally step on one's toe and you'll see).
The most tolerant, patient, gentle breed of dogs is now embarrassingly portrayed as the most dangerous. It would be funny if the new reputation did not mean 6,000 are put to death every day, by far the highest number of any other breed euthanized.
That's a lot of babysitters.

Ames, I believe the first mention of a nursemaid dog "nanny dog" describing a Stafford Terrier, in England was in 1904 (I can look for the play it was used in)
While I agree it is a coined term made more popular over the last 40 years, the history of the reason for the name is very old and made very aware.

What I bolded in your post I agree with whole heartedly,, what a dummy that Floridian was... While I would absolutely let my kids climb all over my dogs I am in constant eyeshot and am aware of random circumstances that may occur. This is where the responsibility of the owner comes in..:goodpost:


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## ThaLadyPit

Absolutely HJ! Always the responsibility of the owner/parent to supervise playtime, regardless of breed. I worry more about the interaction of my mutt boy and my children, not because he's aggressive or a danger to the children, but because he's still so astoundingly clumsy at almost 3 yrs old and is not aware of his size and power. He could do more damage by accident than my little APBT could.


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## HeavyJeep

To elaborate on the "nanny dog", I was not trying to say they have been called that for hundreds of years, as the term originated in mass back in 1971, and only got more popular recently.
I wanted to say the point was to read the history of how and why our breed(s) have these strict laws and incorrect views by the masses, created by thugs, drug dealers and band wagon members...


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## absea

That is a great explanation! That is a very nice looking dog.


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