American Pit Bull Terriers have become one of the leading performance dogs in the world. Their intelligence and desire to please makes them extremely trainable. Their athleticism lends to their being suited for an endless number of tasks and events. The structure of the APBT permits them to be physically sound as they perform both simple and strenuous activities. Because they have a solid and stable temperament, the APBT can accomplish just about anything with skill, style, and grace.
WEIGHT PULL
One of the most common events the APBT participates in is weight pull. Because they are a physically strong breed they excel in their ability to pull large amounts of weight easily. The competition of weight pull began as an offshoot of the sled dog competitions. After racing, owners would challenge each other to see whose dogs were the strongest pullers.
Starting around 1984, the International Weight Pullers Association (IWPA), comprised of mostly Alaskan Malamute owners, began creating rules and the competition of weight pull was born. Today weight pull uses three different cart systems: sleds, wheeled carts, and rails.
There are a number of different organizations that offer weight pull competition including the United Kennel Club (UKC), IWPA, American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA), the, and the International Pulling Association (IPA). Weight pull competitions can be found all over the world and are extremely popular with the APBT fancier.
AGILITY
Traditionally a sport you find the Border Collie, Shetland Sheepdog, and the Australian Shepherd is agility. However, the APBT is well suited for the sport. Agility was developed in Great Britain and has its roots in the sport of obedience and equestrian hunter-jumper competitions. In 1978 the world famous Crufts Dog Show held the first recorded agility competition that was comprised mostly of jumps.
Later, as the sport progressed, obstacles such as tunnels, teeters, A-frames were added. The sport has developed into being one of the top canine competitions all over the world. Because the APBT has a high degree of athleticism and trainability, they are commonly seen on the agility course. Agility is one of the best ways in which to form a partnership with your dog as well as to build confidence in both the dog and handler.
Organizations that offer agility include: United Kennel Club (UKC), American Kennel Club (AKC), National American Dog Agility Council (NADAC), and the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA).
OBEDIENCE
The APBT has proven to be a very good obedience dog and has demonstrated the skills to do well in competition. They are easy to train and have an intense desire to please. The sport has shown an increase in the participation of the breed in recent years. Because the APBT is an energetic and active breed, basic obedience training is a crucial part of breed ownership. The sport of obedience was developed in England with an English Society wishing to exhibit the skills of their sheep herding dogs, their police dogs, and their army dogs. Dogs are required to exhibit basic manners through a series of exercises including heeling both on leash and off, staying in place in both the sit and the down, and coming when called. The United Kennel Club is one of a few organizations providing a venue for obedience.
RALLY OBEDIENCE
Rally has its foundation in the sport of traditional obedience. Developed by Charles L. Kramer, rally began as a set of exercises intended as a warm up for obedience competition. APBT’s have become quite popular as rally obedience dogs. Rally consists of a variety of stations in which the dog and handler follow set directions to perform maneuvers that gradually increase in difficulty the more advanced a team becomes.
Because rally is a faster paced sport than obedience, the APBT with its quick intelligence and athletic ability, is highly competitive in the sport. The most popular organizations that offer Rally Obedience competitions are the UKC, AKC, and the World Cynosport Rally.
DOCK JUMPING
The power of the APBT, coupled with their tenacity, high drive, and their ability to stay focused lends itself well the competition of dock jumping (Also called Dock Diving). The APBT is a high energy breed that possess a great deal of athleticism and this sport gives them an avenue in which to showcase those traits. Dock Jumping as a sport has risen in popularity since 1997 when the first competition was offered by Purina Farms in conjunction with the Incredible Dog Challenge. Dock jumping has become very popular with APBT owners due to its fast paced and exciting environment. Finding dock jumping competition is easy with a number of organizations such as UKC, United Air Dogs (UAD), Splash Dogs, North American Diving Dogs (NADD) offering the sport.
BARN HUNT
Of all of the sports available to the APBT, the competition of barn hunt is probably one of the most suited events for the breed to participate in. Because the APBT is a terrier has the natural born ability to control vermin, barn hunt gives them an opportunity to perfect the skills so expected in the breed. Barn Hunt involves searching for rats in a simulated barn environment. The welfare of the rats is an extreme priority in this sport and they are completely protected from injury during competition.
Encased in hard, industrial strength tubes, the rats are hidden amongst hay bales and the dogs are required to locate the rat tubes and make a determination if they contain a rat or not.
The dogs then signal to the handler that they have found a rat and the handler must then acknowledge the find based on those signals. The requirement for each level become more and more complicated as the teams develop skills. Created by Robin Nuttal with a basis in earth dog competition, barn hunt is an avenue best suited to show the inherent nature of the breed.
LURE COURSING
Of all of the events that the APBT can participate in, it is lure coursing that brings to the forefront the intense athleticism, tenacity, and soundness this breed possesses. Although actual competitions are only for Sighthounds, all breeds are given the opportunity to participate in aptitude tests and the APBT is extremely well suited to the challenge.
High prey drive lends itself to the exhibition of the ability of the breed to complete quick and supple movements and a high rate of speed. Despite the fallacy of the APBT to be Brachycephalic, the APBT is superior in this sport due to its ability to process the large amounts of air required to run at top speeds for an extended period of time.
Lure coursing is one of the oldest of canine sports and has been in practice at least since the Pharaohs of Egypt. Both the UKC and the AKC make this exciting sport open to the APBT.
SERVICE AND THERAPY DOGS
Probably one of the best showcases of the solid temperament of the APBT is the fact that they make excellent therapy, search and rescue, and service dogs. Because of their gentle, loving nature, and inherent love of people, the breed has proven to be an extremely solid choice to provide all types of health and healing to their human counterparts. Recently it has been increasing evident that dogs can perform a number of different behaviors that can greatly improve a person’s ability increase the quality of their daily lives.
A service dog is any dog trained to perform a function for a person with a disability as related to that disability. Service dogs require intense amounts of training and exposure to a number of different situations. Because the APBT is so adaptable, they are increasingly becoming a very popular choice for a trained service dog. Usually associated with assisting the blind, there are a number of services that a service dog can provide. Some of the services provided most commonly by the APBT are those involving some type of chemical detection. They can frequently be seen helping with anxiety, PTSD, diabetes, seizure detection, heart irregularities, as well as mobility support.
As therapy dogs, they can be seen providing love and comfort in a number of different medical situations. Places you most often find the APBT acting as a therapy dog are in hospitals, nursing homes, women’s shelters, and in various children’s programs. In this way, the APBT provides support for people and gets essentially what they crave most – being loved on, pet, and scratched behind the ears.
OTHER
There is a great deal of other events that the APBT has been known to participate. Nose work, disk dog, fly ball, herding, carting, protection, and hunting are just a few of the many events open for exploration to the APBT.
The American Pit Bull Terrier is a breed that has established its versatility through athletic ability and temperament to be one of the premier performance breeds in the world. All over, in every country, the APBT can be found participating in just about every dog sport known to mankind. And loving it! The United Kennel Club offers a wide variety of performance events in which your dog can participate. Find the event that both you and your dog enjoy and get ready to form a bond with your dog like you’ve never imagined.