Speaking of Petsmart...

[Guest Mutts4Me]

As a spinoff of DO's topic, I was walking into work today and saw this older lady with a gorgeous Pit Bull. And I mean, nicely proportioned, good size, awesome ears, sweet pinto pattern (light blue eyes, though). Anyway, I asked her politely, "Is that a Pit Bull?"

How to describe the reaction... She wasn't shocked, and she must have been used to the question, but she seemed embaressed, sort of? And she said "No, she's an American Bulldog." And so I said "oh, is she a puppy, then?" But she was over a year old. So unsure of what else to say, I just pet it and said "pretty pup," and walked on.

I dunno. She looked like an excellent example of a pit bull (except the blue eyes, is that normal?). Do American Bulldogs come under 50 lbs?


Anyway, I also saw two dogs that looked almost exactly like my own mutt. It's so funny to see mutts that look so similar - and I don't mean like one springer or border cross looking like a dozen other springer or border crosses, I mean real, uncertain mutts. One was in the store, the other I was helping to groom. I kept thinking I was grooming Sas :oops:

[Lucky Chaos]

I've seen Pits with blue eyes. Is there any chance she could have been, not lying but not wanting to say what her dog really was? I'm sure those of you out there who own pitties get a lot of rude people. Maybe she was just tired of that because she thought you may have been one of those rude people? Just a guess.

[AllAmericanPUP]

no, american bulldogs are generally 80lbs and up
I think there are some are like 60 lbs. but not under

but AB's have big square heads with more lip, unlike the pit bull who is suppose to have less lip and a smaller not so square head..

did the dog look like this?(AB)


Height- Dogs 22-28 inches (55-70 cm.) Bitches 20-26 inches (52-65 cm.)
Weight- Dogs 70-120 pounds (32-54 kg.) Bitches 60-100 pounds (27-45kg.)

[__crazy_canine__]

Hmmm, I dont get it... I mean its possible what LC said, but if you have a good dog then you should be proud of that, not try to deny it. :-?

Ive never heard of an American Bulldog being under 50 pounds. The smallest Ive heard of was around 65. The standard says the smallest is 60 for females.

And anyway most AmBulls dont look anything like pits but I suppose thats mostly because a lot of breeders are looking for a more "bulldog" look. There are some that do have a more pittie look to them though.

It probably was a pit bull. I have seen pits with blue eyes before too. Its not very common but its difinitely more common than a 50 pound American Bulldog!

[CincoandDahlilasgirl]

maybe it was a mix with pit and ambull?

[hicksstar]

Maybe with all the pit bull hype she was trying to hide the fact that it was a pit bull?????? :-?

[gooeydog]

It's possible she was afraid to tell you she's an APBT, maybe she's had bad experiences before after people finding out. Another thing to consider is that some rescue groups or shelters will label dogs that are most likely APBTs as other breeds or mixes in an effort to make them more adoptable, so maybe she was told otherwise. There are some smaller ABs, and some performance line ABs very closely resemble large APBTs, so it's possible the dog was an AB, though I'd be more inclined to believe not.

[imported_Kat]

It sounds like she was trying to cover up that her dog was a pitbull. :-?

[kendalyn]

Maybe it was just a small American Bulldog.

Lots of things could stunt a dogs growth. Maybe it was malnourished as a puppy.

I think generally the best information about a dog's breed, is from that dog's owner.

[ShatteringGlass]

There is a grooming customer of mine, and her dog is clearly a Pit, but she is so adiment that its an American Bulldog. People are weird.

[Guest Mutts4Me]

Well, as I said... if blue eyes are acceptable... I would say that was the nicest example of an APBT I've seen in person (and my city's overflowing with 'em). Just perfect.

I like American Bulldogs, I've researched them, and I've heard lots of stories of them being mistaken for pits. I've always thought I wouldn't be able to make that mistake (unless they were pups) because they really don't look that much alike, the Scott type looking more like them than the Johnson type, but neither looking really like a good APBT.

Oh well. That dog made my heart flutter, whatever the case :angel:

[imported_Kat]

DO I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to clueless owners at the vets where I worked. I listened to blatant lying when it came to wolf hybrids and pitbulls but some owners just simply didn't know what breed of dog they had especially if it was a rescued dog.

[CincoandDahlilasgirl]

Well sometimes shelters get dogs that they can't tell what mixes they are so they come up with a mix they think the dog is.

[kendalyn]

I did say generally people know what sort of dog they own.

[quote name='DivineOblivion19']Later she came in with a Pit Bull she'd gotten from a shelter. The dog was a nice example of a Pittie, but she was told that the dog was a Boxer/Lab mix

If it's from a shelter, nobody can know what breed the dog is. Even Lab/Boxer probably isn't accurate as most mutts are mixes of more than 2 breeds. They're only describing what the dog looks like. So Pit bull or Lab/Boxer would be right.

[kendalyn]

DivineOblivion19 napisał(a):

Just because a dog is in the shelter doesn't mean that it's a mixed breed.

No, but it does mean you can't be sure if it is purebred. This one may have been but I'd say an awful lot of pitties out there (even ones with papers) are not purebred.

[AllAmericanPUP]

it's not that hard to tell if a dog is purebred.
i mean yes some are so badly bred that they dont look lik their breed standard.

but just cause they are in a shelter doesnt mean that what breed they are is questionable.

when I went to the shelter the other week there was a purebred GSD and a purebred Boxer.
not question about it, they were purebred.