colby pit bull |Maintaining Purity Across 20 Generations of American pit bull terrier

The Colby family has continuously documented the breeding of American Pit Bull Terriers from 1881 to 1999, encompassing twenty generations of rigorously selected game dogs. In this pedigree chart, every dog is born into a closed lineage where only those individuals whose blood purity, gameness, and structural conformation meet the standards set by John P. Colby are ever mated.

Each generation carries 100 % original Colby blood, with no external lines introduced that might dilute the desired traits. While the foundation stock came from direct imports out of England and Ireland, subsequent generations have upheld meticulous pedigree records and strict inbreeding controls. This disciplined approach reinforces favorable genetics at every cross.

The sheer number of potential ancestors—over two million across twenty generations—demonstrates the scope of this breeding program: five generations involve 32 forebears, ten exceed 1,024, and twenty multiply into more than 2,097,000 possible combinations. Yet the Colbys simplify that complexity by limiting matings to proven APBT game-dog lines, ensuring type stability and preventing genetic erosion.

Their secret lies in marrying linebreeding—pairing close relatives to fix desirable traits—with the exclusion of dogs that fall short of structural, temperamental, or stamina standards. Each litter undergoes contemporary pit tests to measure gameness and thorough physical inspections to confirm the athletic build central to the true game dog.

Thanks to this method, the Colby line has preserved the essence of the original American Pit Bull Terrier: balanced temperament, impeccable structure, and an unbreakable will. Twenty generations on, that genetic purity remains alive, and Colby bloodlines continue to shape the pedigrees of elite APBTs worldwide.