by Rabenschwarz

Created on: December 25, 2009   Last Updated: December 26, 2009

American Staffordshire Terrier   

Origins

The American Staffordshire Terrier was developed in the United States of America during the nineteenth century. It was originally a dog bred for fighting and was developed by breeding the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to Bulldogs and it is thought that other terriers were tossed in there as well but the primary breeding is between the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the Bulldog. The result was a larger and heavier dog from the English Staffy and has a larger more powerful head. This breed was originally bred as a fighting dog and was pitted not only against other dogs but Bulls and Bears as well. Contrary to popular belief these dogs were never bred to be aggressive to humans and during the development of the breed any dog that showed aggression to humans would be killed. Thankfully the civilized citizens won out over the dog fighters and in 1900 dog fighting was banned and the Amstaff as it is called by fanciers of the breed found other uses in the military and police force, as animal actors, guard dogs and family companions. In recent times the Amstaff has proven very good at canine sports like agility, weight pulling and Frisbee.

Appearance

The American Staffordshire Terrier is a medium sized dog that is in appearance the master body builder of the dog world. Its physical appearance should always be one of strength and they should be well muscled. The head should have a very powerful profile. The eyes should be large, round and set far apart. The ears are positioned high on the head and may be cropped or uncropped. I prefer uncropped because I think it just looks better, the dog doesn't endure unnecessary surgery and dog fighters started cropping the dogs ears so they couldn't be grabbed onto during the fight. The dog is perfectly noble looking with natural ears. The coat comes in all colors and is short but thick, stiff and glossy. While all colors and combinations are acceptable by the AKC it is frowned upon to have a dog that is 80% or more white in color.  The tail should be natural, meaning it is not to be docked. The Amstaff stands 16-19 inches tall and weighs around 57-67 pounds with males usually on the larger end of the scale.

Temperament

The American Staffordshire Terrier is a well balanced, active and family friendly breed when properly raised and socialized.  The Amstaff has a high level of intelligence and is rather active and people orientated. It is friendly

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