The fight may end in one of four ways: (a) a dog’s failure to scratch; (b) the owner’s calling the fight (analogous to the
manager of a boxer throwing the towel into the ring, a signal that the fighter has quit); (c) the death of one or both dogs,
or (d) one of the dogs jumping the pit. Failure to scratch is the most common way in which a fight ends. Less common
is the death of one of the opponents. The least common ending is a dog’s jumping the pit, which means the dog literally
jumps out of the pit in order to escape the opponent. This is rare because a dogman will not risk humiliation by bringing
a cur dog (dog who refuses to fight) to a fight. The dog who jumps the pit will surely die at the hands of his owner.
The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is the exclusive breed employed in pit fights in the United States today. This
breed has been bred over several hundred years to produce a dog who has an innate ability to fight and overcome his
victim. The APBT is specifically bred to fight. The pit bull is unique in his absence of threat displays when fighting. A
pit bull almost never bares his teeth, and rarely will he raise the hair on his back. When fighting, the pit bull neither
growls nor barks. The dog does not rear up and snap. Rather, he takes hold, shakes, and punishes with his hold. Dogmen
contend he wants to fight and fights to damage (Matz, 1984). This ability is found with such virility only in this
particular breed (Foran, 1994).