Physical Description of Pit Bulls

Pit bulls originated in England when breeders mated bulldogs with terriers, resulting in a strong, gentle, courageous dog who was brought to North America by English immigrants. Their strong and sturdy physical appearance including the shape of their physical body, height, weight and stature makes the pit bull a valuable candidate for a working farm dog.

An adult pit bull terrier weighs between 35 to 60 pounds for the males and 30 to 50 pounds for the females. The males can grow up to 21 inches at the withers and the females up to 20 inches. Their large, broad heads are shaped marginally round and flat with broadness running between the ears. Eyes are round and sit low on the skull and are set well apart. Eye color varies and include golden brown, hazel, blue, brown and dark brown. The strong muscular neck has tight skin, moderate in length and has a hardly noticeable arch at the crest.

The coat has a smooth, glossy appearance and is stiff to the touch. At times, the coat can appear straight, curly or wavy and comes in a variety of colors such as brown, fawn, white, sable, black, chocolate, red, blue, merle and mixed or multicolor. The physical appearance of the back is firm and strong with the topline barely inclining down from the wither to the level part of the muscular back. The chest is well-filled, wide and deep, giving a strong appearance. The ribs are sprung from the spine and extend well back, eventually appearing flat, forming a deep body that extends to the elbows.

The forequarters have muscular, wide, long shoulder blades, the elbows are set closely and the forelegs are strong and muscular. The hindquarters have a noticeably well filled in pelvis and rump with muscular, strong and slightly broad hindquarters with thick muscular, well-developed thighs.

Tails taper to a point and have a natural extension from the topline. Tails can appear long, bobbed or with a screw-like appearance. Feet are round and some may appear well-arched. They are round and well-proportioned to the body making it easy to carry the weight, height and stature well. Healthy paw pads are well-cushioned, tough and hard, lacking dryness or cracking.