Depends on what type of pitbull you are talking about (there are multiple pitbull breeds). Ratting is a big one, which is where their terrier parts come from. In frontier America they were used as all purpose dogs for hunting boar, ratting, guarding and herding. In the early 20th century they were primarily bred for companionship as they were seen as a breed that encompassed American values and were largely seen as a mascot for America up until around ww2. You’ll see pitties as the primary dogs on most 19th and early 20th century american media, from ww2 properganda to little rascals to the personal pets of Helen Keller, Roosevelt, Mark twain and Edison.
In the 70’s and 80’s was when their reputation for fighting dogs emerged following its illegalization in America and how common the dog was as a stray (because they were the popular “all american dog”). But since it was already illegal it wasn’t exactly the best breeders doing the breeding, so they weren’t really very good at selecting for specific traits, nor did it really last long enough to really take off. Breeding a dog to be a dog fighter is a little like breeding a horse for the glue factory, its not really something a serious dog breeder would waste their time on.
So after they weren’t bred to fight bulls and bears, what were they bred to do?
Depends on what type of pitbull you are talking about (there are multiple pitbull breeds). Ratting is a big one, which is where their terrier parts come from. In frontier America they were used as all purpose dogs for hunting boar, ratting, guarding and herding. In the early 20th century they were primarily bred for companionship as they were seen as a breed that encompassed American values and were largely seen as a mascot for America up until around ww2. You’ll see pitties as the primary dogs on most 19th and early 20th century american media, from ww2 properganda to little rascals to the personal pets of Helen Keller, Roosevelt, Mark twain and Edison.
In the 70’s and 80’s was when their reputation for fighting dogs emerged following its illegalization in America and how common the dog was as a stray (because they were the popular “all american dog”). But since it was already illegal it wasn’t exactly the best breeders doing the breeding, so they weren’t really very good at selecting for specific traits, nor did it really last long enough to really take off. Breeding a dog to be a dog fighter is a little like breeding a horse for the glue factory, its not really something a serious dog breeder would waste their time on.