Pit Bulls » How Strong Are American Pit Bulls?

How Strong Are American Pit Bulls?

American Pit Bulls are a type of dog that was carefully bred for many different purposes. 

Historically, they’re raised as guard dogs, fighting pets, hunting partners, and more. Even so, American Pit Bull is a sweetheart by heart and can be a great family dog.

Unfortunately, there are still misconceptions and prejudices surrounding this sweetheart due to their name and history. And all of these have created an unfair reputation of American Pit Bulls being a dangerous dog.

In reality though, they are no more likely to be aggressive than other dogs with similar temperament attributes.

Nevertheless, one can still wonder how strong American Pit Bulls are. This is especially if you’re thinking of getting one, or just curious due to its breeding history and body build.

In this article, we will explore how strong are American Pit Bulls by looking at their bite force and weight-pulling ability.

How Strong Are American Pit Bulls?

Although American Pit Bull seems stronger than others, there is no way to confirm it without measuring them. Besides, to know how strong a dog is, one not only needs to look at the breed, but also the weight and height.

Moreover, there isn’t any official measurement about the strength of all dog breeds. Thus, you can’t make a judgment on the strength of American Pit Bulls by their breed history, nor compare with other dogs because of their look.

How Strong Are American Pit Bulls

In addition, as with many other aspects of dogs (and cats too), there are wide variations between individuals of the same breed. Hence, it’s hard to accurately determine how strong they are.

Additionally, every dog has their own expertise and capability. Depending on how you use them, you will get a different result. 

Labrador Retrievers, for example, are usually used in weight-pulling competition; while German Shepherds are employed for search and rescue operations. So, this makes it harder to say one dog is stronger than the other

All in all, the best way to know how strong American Pit Bulls are is from the American Kennel Club Breed Standard. This is a written description that contains information about every breed, from their physical characteristics to abilities.

So, if you want to know the attributes of your Pit Bull, their personality as well as their ability, you can search for the information through them. 

free report

Get the 7 Biggest Training Mistakes free report!

How Much Pressure Does An American Pit Bull Bite Have?

As far as we know, the bite force of an American Pit Bull is measured to be at over 235 pounds of pressure per square inch (PSI). This makes them one of the strongest dog breeds around. 

In fact, when you look at bite force relative to body weight, they’re one of the strongest dog breeds in the world; even stronger than a Rottweiler or a German Shepherd.

So, what is bite force and how do people measure it? Well, bite force is the pressure an animal exerts when it clamps its teeth onto something.

Principally, there are two ways to measure bite force. The first is to use a pressure gauge; the second is using a device that calculates the amount of force an animal applies when they pull backward while an equipment attaching to their teeth.

Typically, when measuring bite force using a pressure gauge, researchers have to wait for the dog to bite down onto something. This may take a few seconds and there is a risk they open their mouth before it gets fully closed.

For this reason, the results tend to be lower and have some inaccuracy. Which is why the second method is always preferable since you can expect an accurate bite force measurement. 

How Much Weight Can An American Pit Bull Pull?

For decades, American Pit Bulls have been used in weight-pulling competitions. It is a competition where a dog needs to move forward while being attached to a cart or sled.

So how much weight can an American Pit Bull can actually pull? Is every American Pit Bull able to pull the same weight?

How Strong Are American Pit Bulls

Well, the reality is it varies from dog to dog, even though all of them are from the same breed. Some American Pit Bulls can pull several hundred pounds, while others might not be able to pull even a few pounds.

The thing is many factors influence how much weight an American Pit Bull pulls. Factors like the dog’s age and health, sizes, training they received, and etc., all can affect the outcome. 

Hence why as an owner, you need to remember that not all dogs are created equally. Just like with people, there are always differences between each individual. 

How Strong Are All Breeds Of Dogs?

As mentioned earlier, there is still no official measurement of the strength for each dog breed. However, we can still make an estimation based on some available information.  

For example, it’s known that the bite force of a German Shepherd is 200 PSI, while a Rottweiler’s bite force is 380 PSI. As for Labrador Retrievers, their bite force is just shy of 100 PSI.

From here, you can notice that every dog is different, just like us humans. Despite some having pretty similar attributes, the bite force will still have huge differences. And this concept applied even among the same breed.

However, there is one obvious characteristic to guess which dog is stronger, which is their body build. Bigger dog breeds usually are stronger than smaller dog breeds, but this also means they can be slower too due to the build.

We know that smaller dogs tend to be faster than larger dogs, all thanks to their lower body mass. With lesser mass and lesser muscle to contract, they are lighter and can move around quicker. 

However, all these are face value judgments based on their build. End of the day, we still need a proper mechanism to calculate each breed to know how strong each of them is. 

Final Thoughts

American Pit Bull

Looking at the build and bite force result, it’s clear that American Pit Bulls indeed are very strong dogs. They have a bite force of over 200 PSI and are capable of pulling many times their own weight.

With such many abilities, it’s no wonder in the past, American Pit Bulls were used for many different purposes. Even till now, they’re still everyone’s favorite for roles like hunting dog or to use for a competition.

Anyway, keep in mind there is still no official measurement that can be used to compare American Pit Bulls strength to other breeds. With so many factors to look at, and each dog is different, it is hard to get an absolute result on the strength. 

Free Training Mistakes Report

Learn the 7 Biggest Training Mistakes Pit Bull owners make for free! Just add your email below and get the free report.

Author: Matthias

Hey all! I’m Matthias and I love Pit Bulls (as you probably can guess lol). Until a couple years ago I had Blaze next to me while writing the articles for this blog and he was my inspiration, he still is but - hopefully - from a better life 🙂

I am not a veterinarian or veterinary health care specialist, so nothing in this blog should be taken or used as a substitute for professional help. Use our content as information to have a basic understanding about Pit Bulls but always look for expert advice, specifically when treating or diagnosing your Pittie.

Hope my articles are of any help to you, your family and especially your Pit Bull. Thanks for stopping by, enjoy!

Follow me on:     

Leave a Comment