UKC STANDARD from the United Kennel Club website.

General Appearance

The American Pit Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, solidly built, short-coated dog with smooth, well-defined musculature. This breed is both powerful and athletic. The body is just slightly longer than tall, but bitches may be somewhat longer in body than dogs. The length of the front leg (measured from point of elbow to the ground) is approximately equal to one-half of the dog's height at the withers. The head is of medium length, with a broad, flat skull, and a wide, deep muzzle. Ears are small to medium in size, high set, and may be natural or cropped. The relatively short tail is set low, thick at the base and tapers to a point. The American Pit Bull Terrier comes in all colors and color patterns. This breed combines strength and athleticism with grace and agility and should never appear bulky or muscle-bound or fine-boned and rangy. Characteristics

The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children. Because most APBTs exhibit some level of dog aggression and because of its powerful physique, the APBT requires an owner who will carefully socialize and obedience train the dog. The breed's natural agility makes it one of the most capable canine climbers so good fencing is a must for this breed. The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its willingness to work. The American Pit Bull Terrier has always been capable of doing a wide variety of jobs so exaggerations or faults should be penalized in proportion to how much they interfere with the dog's versatility.

Head

The APBT head is unique and a key element of breed type. It is large and broad, giving the impression of great power, but it is not disproportionate to the size of the body. Viewed from the front, the head is shaped like a broad, blunt wedge. When viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are parallel to one another and joined by a well defined, moderately deep stop. Supraorbital arches over the eyes are well defined but not pronounced. The head is well chiseled, blending strength, elegance, and character. SKULL - The skull is large, flat or slightly rounded, deep, and broad between the ears. Viewed from the top, the skull tapers just slightly toward the stop. There is a deep median furrow that diminishes in depth from the stop to the occiput. Cheek muscles are prominent but free of wrinkles. When the dog is concentrating, wrinkles form on the forehead, which give the APBT his unique expression.

MUZZLE - The muzzle is broad and deep with a very slight taper from the stop to the nose, and a slight falling away under the eyes. The length of muzzle is shorter than the length of skull, with a ratio of approximately 2:3. The topline of the muzzle is straight. The lower jaw is well developed, wide and deep. Lips are clean and tight.

Faults: Snipey muzzle; flews; weak lower jaw.

TEETH - The American Pit Bull Terrier has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite.

Fault: Level bite.

Serious Faults: Undershot, or overshot bite; wry mouth; missing teeth (this does not apply to teeth that have been lost or removed by a veterinarian).

NOSE - The nose is large with wide, open nostrils. The nose may be any color.

EYES - Eyes are medium size, round to almond-shaped, and set well apart and low on the skull. All colors are equally acceptable except blue, which is a serious fault. Haw should not be visible.

Serious Faults: Bulging eyes; both eyes not matched in color; blue eyes.

EARS - Ears are high set and may be natural or cropped without preference. If natural, semi-prick or rose are preferred. Prick or flat, wide ears are not desired.

Neck

The neck is of moderate length and muscular. There is a slight arch at the crest. The neck widens gradually from where it joins the skull to where it blends into well laid-back shoulders. The skin on the neck is tight and without dewlap. Faults: Neck too short and thick; thin or weak neck; ewe neck; dewlap.

Forequarters

The shoulder blades are long, wide, muscular, and well laid back. The upper arm is roughly equal in length to the shoulder blade and joins it at an apparent right angle. The forelegs are strong and muscular. The elbows are set close to the body. Viewed from the front, the forelegs are set moderately wide apart and perpendicular to the ground. The pasterns are short, powerful, straight, and flexible. When viewed in profile, the pasterns are nearly erect.

Faults: Upright or loaded shoulders; elbows turned outward or tied-in; down at the pasterns; front legs bowed; wrists knuckled over; toeing in or out.

Body

The chest is deep, well filled in, and moderately wide with ample room for heart and lungs, but the chest should never be wider than it is deep. The forechest does not extend much beyond the point of shoulder. The ribs extend well back and are well sprung from the spine, then flattening to form a deep body extending to the elbows. The back is strong and firm. The topline inclines very slightly downward from the withers to a broad, muscular, level back. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched to the top of the croup, but narrower than the rib cage and with a moderate tuck-up. The croup is slightly sloping downward. Hindquarters

The hindquarters are strong, muscular, and moderately broad. The rump is well filled in on each side of the tail and deep from the pelvis to the crotch. The bone, angulation, and musculature of the hindquarters are in balance with the forequarters. The thighs are well developed with thick, easily discerned muscles. Viewed from the side, the hock joint is well bent and the rear pasterns are well let down and perpendicular to the ground. Viewed from the rear, the rear pasterns are straight and parallel to one another. Faults: Narrow hindquarters; hindquarters shallow from pelvis to crotch; lack of muscle; straight or over angulated stifle joint; cow hocks; sickle hocks; bowed legs.

Feet

The feet are round, proportionate to the size of the dog, well arched, and tight. Pads are hard, tough, and well cushioned. Dewclaws may be removed. Fault: Splayed feet.

Tail

The tail is set on as a natural extension of the topline, and tapers to a point. When the dog is relaxed, the tail is carried low and extends approximately to the hock. When the dog is moving, the tail is carried level with the backline. When the dog is excited, the tail may be carried in a raised, upright position (challenge tail), but never curled over the back (gay tail). Fault: Long tail (tail tip passes beyond point of hock).

Serious faults: Gay tail (not to be confused with challenge tail); kinked tail.

Disqualification: Bobbed tail.

Coat

The coat is glossy and smooth, close, and moderately stiff to the touch. Faults: Curly, wavy, or sparse coat.

Disqualification: Long coat.

Color

Any color, color pattern, or combination of colors is acceptable. Height and Weight

The American Pit Bull Terrier must be both powerful and agile so actual weight and height are less important than the correct proportion of weight to height. Desirable weight for a mature male in good condition is between 35 and 60 pounds. Desirable weight for a mature female in good condition is between 30 and 50 pounds. Dogs over these weights are not to be penalized unless they are disproportionately massive or rangy.

Gait

The American Pit Bull Terrier moves with a jaunty, confident attitude, conveying the impression that he expects any minute to see something new and exciting. When trotting, the gait is effortless, smooth, powerful, and well coordinated, showing good reach in front and drive behind. When moving, the backline remains level with only a slight flexing to indicate suppleness. Viewed from any position, legs turn neither in nor out, nor do feet cross or interfere with each other. As speed increases, feet tend to converge toward center line of balance. Faults: Legs not moving on the same plane; legs over reaching; legs crossing over in front or rear; rear legs moving too close or touching; rolling; pacing; paddling; sidewinding; hackney action; pounding.

Disqualifications

Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness or extreme shyness. Unilateral or bilateral deafness. Bobbed tail. Albinism. Note: Although some level of dog aggression is characteristic of this breed, handlers will be expected to comply with U.K.C. policy regarding dog temperament at U.K.C. events.

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THE ADBA STANDARD from the American Dog Breeders Association site.

Please see the ADBA Basis for Conformation in the APBT.

Lil Bit (ADBA), owned by Marty from Game-Dogs.com, is an example of a well-built, atheltic bulldog - the way the breed was meant to be!

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THE AADR STANDARD from the All American Dog Registry site.

All American Dog Registry standard for the AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER

There are many other standards for the APBT devised by various registries throughout the world. We at AADR have consulted with some of today's top breeders in arriving at our standard for the conformation. We want to concentrate on the trait and looks of some of the great pit dogs of the past.

The AADR Conformation Champion should reflect the great dogs of yesteryear. The problem is that there was so much variation in appearance, since the dogs where bred for performance. The traits that all the dogs had in common where the ones that were incorporated into the standard.

Obviously, there are very few perfect specimens, so it is not expected a show winner be exceptional in all areas, in general, a balance of many good traits is preferable to an outstanding head or a perfect tail or other near perfect trait.

GENERAL APPEARANCE A smooth, short coat, well balanced, giving the impression of great strength and ability. The demeanor should be fearless and bold, but the temperament MUST be totally reliable with people. The gate should be powerful and fluid, and a dog with exceptional conformation should seem to glide across the ground effortless in his stride.

HEAD The head should be wedge shaped and short and deep, as compared with most other breeds, with powerful jaw muscles

EYES Generally, a dark eye is perferred, but the color of the coat must be taken into account. Red dogs with red noses may have lighter (reddish or yellowish) eye with out penalty and the lids on dark dogs should be uniformly dark.

EARS The ears should be rose (half pricked), not large and heavy. Full dropped and fully erect (bat ears) are undesirable, however, ears are not an important trait as compared to the rest of the dog.

MOUTH The mouth should be tight and clean. The incisor teeth should comprise a sissor bit, meaning the top teeth should fit tightly over the bottom teeth. The canine's teeth should also fit together tightly. Undershot mouths, although not desired should not be considered a serious fault.

NECK The neck should have a slight arch. Muscular but not short, free from extreme looseness of skin.

FOREQUARTERS The front legs should be straight, and the feet should point forward. The elbow should be even with the chest, the elbow should not turn in or out.

BODY The body should be muscular with good bone. There should be a slight incline from the wither to the rump, the idea being to provide leverage for a driving dog, a short back with a slight roach is perferred.

HINDQUARTERS The stifle should be well bent, with the femur (hip bone) shorter then the tibia and fibula (bones in the lower part of the leg). The feet should point forward when the dog walks. A dog should not be considered cow hocked if its rear feet momentarily point outward when standing.

FEET The feet should be strong and of medium size, not splayed (toes splayed apart).

TAIL The tail should be shaped like a pump handle, with the tip about even with the hock. It should not be carried over the back and the hair should be short. A docked tail is a major fault.

COLOR Any color is acceptable. A black or or red nose is acceptable, but dudler (pink) nose is a fault.

SIZE The breed has Historically been of great size variation, however, Males are perferred not over 70 pounds and Females are perferred not over 60 pounds, as extremely large dogs seldom show fluid and agile movement.

Any departure fromt he forgoing points should be considered a fault. The seriousness of the fault shall be regarded in the proportion to its degree. A balance of these points is what is important here. A dog that is clearly superior in conformation to the other but has an undershot bite should still place above the others. Spade or neutered dogs shall not be entered in sanctioned events

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AKC AmStaff STANDARD from the American Kennel Club website.

General Impression

The American Staffordshire Terrier should give the impression of great strength for his size, a well put-together dog, muscular, but agile and graceful, keenly alive to his surroundings. He should be stocky, not long-legged or racy in outline. His courage is proverbial.

Head

Medium length, deep through, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop; and ears are set high. Ears - Cropped or uncropped, the latter preferred. Uncropped ears should be short and held rose or half prick. Full drop to be penalized. Eyes - Dark and round, low down in skull and set far apart. No pink eyelids. Muzzle - Medium length, rounded on upper side to fall away abruptly below eyes. Jaws well defined. Underjaw to be strong and have biting power. Lips close and even, no looseness. Upper teeth to meet tightly outside lower teeth in front. Nose definitely black.

Neck

Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.

Shoulders

Strong and muscular with blades wide and sloping.

Back

Fairly short. Slight sloping from withers to rump with gentle short slope at rump to base of tail. Loins slightly tucked.

Body

Well-sprung ribs, deep in rear. All ribs close together. Forelegs set rather wide apart to permit chest development. Chest deep and broad.

Tail

Short in comparison to size, low set, tapering to a fine point; not curled or held over back. Not docked.

Legs

The front legs should be straight, large or round bones, pastern upright. No resemblance of bend in front. Hindquarters well-muscled, let down at hocks, turning neither in nor out. Feet of moderate size, well-arched and compact. Gait must be springy but without roll or pace.

Coat

Short, close, stiff to the touch, and glossy.

Color

Any color, solid, parti, or patched is permissible, but all white, more than 80 per cent white, black and tan, and liver not to be encouraged.

Size

Height and weight should be in proportion. A height of about 18 to 19 inches at shoulders for the male and 17 to 18 inches for the female is to be considered preferable.

Faults

Faults to be penalized are: Dudley nose, light or pink eyes, tail too long or badly carried, undershot or overshot mouths.

Approved June 10, 1936

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Find the Pit Bull

Think you can properly identify a Pit Bull? Try your hand at the Find the Pit Bull game! Click the graphic below:

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