American Dog Breeders Association Explained

American Dog Breeders Association
Abbreviation:ADBA
Type:Kennel club
Purpose:Promoting the Positive Aspects of the American Pit Bull Terrier
Headquarters:Salt Lake City
Location:Utah
Region Served:United States
Language:English

The American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA) is an all-breed dog registry founded in 1909 by Guy McCord and Con Feeley. The registry is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT in the U.S., but has multiple affiliate clubs located around the world.[1] The registry began by promoting the John Colby strain of pit bull types.[2] Over time, the focus changed to the registration and promotion of purebred American Pit Bull Terriers, a breed that few other breed registries have recognized because of its ancestral origins as a fighting dog in England and Ireland.[3] [4] The first official breed registry to recognize American Pit Bull Terriers was the United Kennel Club (UKC) in 1898 when it registered its first dog, "Bennett’s Ring", owned by UKC founder C. Z. Bennett.[5] ADBA sponsors various conformation dog shows, weight pulling competitions,[6] [7] and Top Dog Athletic Events consisting of three canine competitions: treadmill race, wall climb and lure coursing.[8] In 1976, ADBA began publishing a quarterly magazine titled The American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette.

History

The ADBA founded in 1909 by Guy McCord and Con Feeley, both of whom were breeders of American Pit Bull Terriers.[9] They were also friends with John Pritchard Colby of Newberry, MA. who was a breeder of fighting pit bulls which became known as the Colby strain. In the early 1900s, Colby advertised as having "bred and sold more fighting dogs than any one man in America."[10] In the beginning, ADBA considered the Colby strain as "the mainstay of the ADBA which prompted the boast of being the 'home' registration office of the Colby dogs." With the recognition of the American Pit Bull Terrier as a standard breed, the ADBA distanced itself from any association to dog fighting. Breeders with APBTs that were registered with the ADBA became persistent in their efforts to dispel the public's impression that the breed was used only for fighting purposes.

In 1951, the ADBA was managed by Frank Ferris and his wife Florence Colby, widow of John Colby. Activities of the ADBA were limited, but with an exclusive focus on the registration of American Pit Bull Terriers. In 1973, Ferris had his sights on retirement and sold the ADBA to Ralph Greenwood. A few years later, owners of registered dogs petitioned the ADBA to develop a breed standard for conformation dog shows, but they wanted one that was unique to the ADBA rather than copying the breed standards of the American Kennel Club (AKC) or UKC. In 1976, the ADBA formulated the APBT Heritage Conformation Standard on which ADBA sponsored conformation shows are judged; the goal being to maintain the "traits of intelligence, character, loyalty, and the athletic conformation that the breed was originally bred for hundreds of years ago."[11] That same year, ADBA also began publishing a quarterly magazine The American Pit Bull Terrier Gazette which features a variety of topics ranging from dog nutrition, human interest stories, and show results.

ADBA registration

Beginning in early 2015, ADBA investigated and identified issues in the APBT Stud Book which resulted in the following corrections:

The ADBA's breed standard for the American Pit Bull Terrier is the standard used in the UK for determining if a dog is of the prohibited "pit bull terrier type" under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.[14] [15] In response, the ADBA's breed standard for the APBT includes a disclaimer forbidding its use in determining if a dog meets the definition of a prohibited or restricted dog for breed-specific legislation.[16]

In 2009 the ADBA, along with the Endangered Dog Breeders Association, filed an amicus brief in the case of United States v. Stevens alleging 18 U.S.C. § 48 was too broad and violated the First Amendment.[17] [18]

Breeds

The ADBA is a club focused on preserving the American Pit Bull Terrier breed, and its conformation and sports events are mostly for this breed. Despite this, the club accepts to register all breeds recognized by the UKC and AKC, in addition to registering the new breed Working Pit Bulldog.[19] [20]

Breed specific laws

Within the meaning of section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991), a type of dog had a broader meaning than a breed of dog; therefore, in order for a court in the United Kingdom (UK) to conclude that a type of dog was a pit bull terrier, the breed standard set forth by ADBA for American Pit Bull Terriers was used as the axiom for all pit bull types, even though a particular dog did not meet the exact standard.[21] [22] Other countries such as relied upon as the identification protocol of Pit Bull types in "collaboration with Staffordshire University and contributors in the UK, USA, Ireland and Australia."

Notes and References

  1. Web site: American Dog Breeders Association American Pit Bull Terrier Clubs . American Dog Breeders Association . 2022-05-22.
  2. Book: Coile, D. Caroline. Pit Bulls For Dummies. March 2, 2001. John Wiley & Sons. 978-0-7645-5291-5. 12. May 22, 2022.
  3. Web site: Single Registration Requirements : American Pit Bull Terrier . United Kennel Club (UKC) . 2022-05-22.
  4. "Are "Pit Bulls Different? An Analysis of the Pit Bull Terrier Controversy . Anthrozoös. Lockwood. Randall. Rindy. Kate. 1(1):2-8 . 10.2752/089279388787058713. Bloomsbury Publishing. 1987. 2–8 . May 22, 2022.
  5. Web site: Breed Standards: American Pit Bull Terrier . United Kennel Club (UKC) . 2022-05-22.
  6. Book: Stahlkuppe, Joe. American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook. April 1, 2000. Barron's Educational Series. Google Books. 9781438081410.
  7. Book: Meyer, Susan. Hunting Dogs: Different Breeds and Special Purposes. December 15, 2012. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. February 4, 2019. Google Books. 9781448882878.
  8. Web site: ADBA Showground and Event Rules . American Dog Breeders Association . 2022-05-22.
  9. Web site: History of the ADBA . American Dog Breeders Association . 2016-05-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210423080651/https://adbadog.com/history-of-the-adba/ . 2021-04-23 . live . 2022-05-22.
  10. Web site: The Dog Fancier . 22. 1. 47. January 1913. September 20, 2019.
  11. Web site: History of the ADBA. May 16, 2016 . American Dog Breeders Association.
  12. Web site: American Dog Breeders Assoc APBT Stud Book Corrections. Tyler. Bullock. May 16, 2016.
  13. Web site: Breed Reclassification Process Underway. American Dog Breeders Association.
  14. Web site: Law Report: Dog 'type' not the same as 'breed': Regina v Knightsbridge. July 7, 1993. The Independent. Paul. Magrath.
  15. Web site: Dangerous dogs law: Guidance for enforcers (PB13225) . GOV.UK . Defra . 2009.
  16. Web site: Heritage American Pit Bull Terrier Conformation Standard®. January 27, 2018. ADBA.
  17. Book: Animal Cruelty and Freedom of Speech: When Worlds Collide. Abigail. Perdue. Randall. Lockwood. February 4, 2019. Purdue University Press. February 4, 2019. Google Books. 9781557536334.
  18. Web site: United States v. Stevens. SCOTUSblog.
  19. Web site: Register a dog with (ADBA) American Dog Breeders Association. American Dog Breeders Association. en-US. May 17, 2020.
  20. Web site: American Dog Breeders Assoc APBT Stud Book Corrections. Bullock. Tyler. May 1, 2016. American Dog Breeders Association. en-US. May 17, 2020.
  21. News: Behavioural, legal, medical and welfare implications of the DDA in the UK – a case history . shepherd . Kendal . 146 . 2009 . May 22, 2022.
  22. Web site: Law Report: Dog 'type' not the same as 'breed': Regina v Knightsbridge. July 7, 1993. The Independent.