For over one hundred years Americans knew pit bulls for what they did best. Babysitting.
Vintage photos of cute kids with their pit bulls. Though one little girl looks a mite apprehensive.
Please tell me she doesn’t have her hand in the doggie’s mouth.
Nah, she’s clutching the collar. It’s just a little obscured at first glance by the line of the dog’s jaw.
Everybody knows that Rottweilers make the best babysitters. Cite.
Not all of those looked like pit bulldogs to me, but then again I’m no expert on dog breeds. Some looked like what I’ve heard called English bulldogs, and a couple like just plain mutts.
I do agree that bulldogs in general were/are very popular in America.
My grandparents had pitbulls when my dad and his brothers were young. They stopped keeping dogs when they bought the winter house in Florida in 1959, my dad said that they thought that it would just be too hot for the dogs to be happy in the winter. Sorry none of the pictures survived the housefire my parents had in 84, but there were the classic kids and dogs type pictures of all 3 boys with the various dogs.
I like pitties, though I have a preference for alsatians/german shepherds and rhodesian ridgebacks. I grew up with labs and retrievers. My dad really like a breeder named something like Tigatho, 1 of his dogs was Tigatho’s Brass Tacks.
Those photos seem strange because of all the negative Pit Bull media coverage but I can easily believe it. The line of dogs that played Petey on the Little Rascals were Pit Bulls or Pit Bull mixes. Pit Bulls as a breed weren’t known for general aggression towards people and they are usually quite good with kids.
And broccoli.
The perception of Pit Bulls has changed A LOT in the past few decades. They weren’t thought of then the way they are now. Remember that ultimate party animal of the 80’s, Spuds Mackenzie? People loved that Pit Bull but there is no way that Budweiser would use one for a mascot today. Some people would pee in their recliner the first time they caught a glimpse of a Pit Bull in a commercial these days.
There’s Buster Brown and Tige too.
Here Tige seems to have about 50 teeth. He’s actually kind of sharklike.
I think she’s grabbing his collar as if to say protect me from the loony with camera. 
I love these pictures. I have a pit bull/Germans shepherd cross. He is the sweetest most gentle (actually kinda wimpy) dog I’ve owned. I’ve fostered and worked with pit bulls in the past. I love these dogs. Circulating these pictures and stories is very good for the breed.
Spuds was a Bull Terrier. The name sounds similar but is not the same breed as a Pit Bull Terrier.
A Bull Terrier also looks nothing like a Pit Bull. I don’t know why people confuse the two. The heads arecompletely different shapes. 
And the Bull Terrier is also the current mascot for Target.
Kinda sad seeing vintage photos of fine dog breeds before they were debased by breeding for the wrong traits.
My top candidate for “used to be fantastic” is the American cocker spaniel. Check out turn of the century photos (or earlier) and you’ll see a solidly built little sporting dog.
Compare to this mess.
Pit Bulls aren’t a single breed of dog and include both of those mentioned.
"A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.
Many jurisdictions that restrict[clarification needed] pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,[1], Miami, Florida, U.S.[2] and Denver, Colorado, U.S.,[3] apply the restriction to the modern American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, or any other dog that has the substantial physical characteristics and appearance of those breeds. However a few jurisdictions, such as Singapore[4] and Franklin County, Ohio, U.S.,[5] also classify the modern American Bulldog as a “pit bull-type dog”, while in the United Kingdom a pit bull is an American pit bull terrier.[6] All of the breeds share a similar history, with origins rooted from the bulldog and a variety of terriers. The dogs called bull terriers before the development of the modern Bull terrier in the early 20th century may also be called pit bulls. Pit Bulls are popular breeds used in dog fighting."
A lot of that definition reflects a legal understanding that has been broadened to catch more dogs under breed-specific legislation. Most sources say the pit bull consists of three breeds: The American Put Bull Terrier (APBT), the American Staffordshire Terrier (or AmStaff, a breed so close to the APBT that some dogs carry dual registration), and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier ( the sonewhat smaller English version, fodly called the Staffy or Staffybull).
Additionally, some people have now suggested that the oversized, widebody mixes that have become popular among urban backyard breeders be designated a new (fourth) breed of pit bull, which they are calling the American Bully. Whether the Ambully gets established as a true breed or not is like asking whether “ginormous” will be a real word in 100 years – we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Bull Terrier proper is not a true pit bull but is closely related. Pit bulls were not (normally) called Bull Terriers in the past, by the way, but the “Bull and Terrier” breed, after the bulldogs were crossed with the Black and Tan and other terrier breeds a few hundred years ago.
Pit bulls have been bred for behavior, not for conformation to a look. It is often remarked upon that their appearance is somewhat variable (that’s part of the reason the legal definition used for breed-specific legislation often specifies that the police or animal control get to decide what breed the dog in question is, not the legal owner, a vet, or a breed registry. If that sounds to you like it could lead to mistakes or abuse of authority and the rounding up of dogs that aren’t even pit bulls, you may see part of the problem people have with BSL.)
A lot of people specifically blame this magazine cover for popularizing pit bulls with the thug crowd (although to be honest the “old-school dogfighters” who bred pit bulls in the past were not morally on a higher plane, of course).
Elderly folks are almost always happy to meet our pit bulls and seem to lack the modern negative perception. And sometimes they really miss dogs they used to know. You should have seen the old gentleman on the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach touching Simone like he was drawing strength from a holy relic.
Even your own cite says that Bull Terriers such as the Budweiser & Target dogs are not one of the “pit bull” breeds.
Wonderful link. Thanks for sharing.
Most are pits, although I saw one that seemed to be a Dalmatian. My sister has a rescued Pit Bull that was used as a bait dog. He is such a sweetie and I don’t think you could make him mean and aggressive if you tried. She also has a big, goofy Rottweiler. Excellent dogs, both!