The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was created in the nineteenth century
when the Old English Terrier was crossed with an earlier type of bulldog.
Bred for dog fighting, the breed declined in the 1930s when the sport was
declared illegal. To keep the breed from becoming extinct, fanciers in Staffordshire
worked to get the breed recognized by The Kennel Club of Great Britain.
This was accomplished in 1935. It was then recognized by the Canadian Kennel
Club in 1952 and the American Kennel Club in 1974. It is a contributor to
the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier that
are larger and taller. Another difference is that ears of the Staffordshire
are not cropped.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a devoted family pet. He is gentle with
children but can be ferocious with other animals. He needs plenty of exercise
to maintain his hard muscled physique.
The head of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is of medium length with a broad
skull. There is a distinct drop off (stop) from skull to muzzle. The muzzle
is of medium length with strong jaws and a scissors bite. The nose is black.
The ears are short and held half rose or prick. The eyes are dark and round
. They are set low and wide on the skull. The neck is heavy and slightly
arched. The shoulders are strong and muscular. The chest is deep and broad.
The back is fairly short. The legs are straight with large bone. The tail
is short and set low. It is not docked and tapers to a fine point. It does
not curl. The coat is short, close and stiff. Coat colors includes red,
fawn, white, black, blue or brindle, any of these with white. Unacceptable
colors are black and tan or liver. The average height is between fourteen
and sixteen inches. The average weight is between twenty-four and thirty-eight
pounds.
hetra@heath-est.freeserve.co.uk of England writes:
I trust this breed more than humans.
I have a mother and daughter and will be keeping another daughter from
her present litter. They are so loving and affectionate. They are the best
animals anyone could wish for if you have children (I have three children).
I have never had any problems with them (health or temperament), although
my eldest bitch isn't too keen on dogs outside our household. I have never
heard of any purebred Staffordshire being a nasty dog. I would trust my
girls with my life; much more than I would trust most humans. My girls never
want anything in return ... can we say that of people? No! I don't think
so.
ellenandstevenbaylis@hotmail.com of London writes:
The most devoted breed in the world.
We have a five-year-old daughter and when we were looking for a dog
that would be best suited to our family there was one phrase that grabbed
us: "Kind and gentle to his friends, especially children!" Well,
that was it and I can honestly say that they are the most loving and devoted
breed in the world. However, they are not for everyone! A Staffordshire
is a deceptively powerful dog for its size and need firm handling; it is
most advisable to attend obedience classes, if only to socialize them with
other dogs (this will reduce their aggression toward other dogs). Our Staffordshire
is eighteen months old and is not only devoted to us but also the family
cat (they sleep together every night) and guinea pigs, which he has protected
(but never aggressively) from the cat on a number of occasions. He goes
everywhere with us and despite his appearance likes nothing more than cuddling
up on the sofa or bed with all his family.
meehs1@yahoo.com of Minneapolis, MN writes:
Good-natured, powerful and full of energy.
First I'd like to point out that rating ANY breed of dog has as much
to do with the owner's knowledge and expectations of the breed as it does
anything else. If you get a Staffy Bull expecting a quiet, reserved little
couch potato, you'd probably end-up with a poor opinion of the breed. If
you do the proper research and get a Staffy Bull knowing that your pup will
grow into a powerful and energetic little dog, with a ton of energy and
enthusiasm, you'll think very highly of them indeed.
I've had my male Staffy Bull for three years now and he's just a great little
dog (if you consider 45 pounds a "little" dog)! He's very friendly
and outgoing. He recognizes that I'm his master at the end of the day, but
he LOVES everyone. I think that's quite typical of the breed. They're very
people oriented and really NEED your attention. These dogs are very active
both indoors and out. If you want a dog that will curl-up in the corner
and "disappear" when it's in the house, look elsewhere! They will
do that occasionally, especially when they're completely exhausted but you're
just as likely to find them running circles around the living room at full
speed as though the dog were on rails! Left unattended they will find ways
to entertain themselves that may not please their owners (such as reducing
a small end table into a large pile of splinters!).
These are tough dogs and they were in fact bred for ratting and fighting
(many hundreds of years ago). Therefore you have to be careful with them
around other dogs. Although they're more likely to play with a strange dog
than anything else, their rambunctious play can sometimes be mistaken for
aggression. They're not likely to start a fight but they will not back down
from one either, and once a fight is started, they will most likely finish
it! These dogs (and most any other dog) should always be kept in a fenced
yard or on a leash when outdoors.
These dogs are very easy to keep from a grooming standpoint. An occasional
bath and a quick brushing every other day or so is all that's really required.
They are very sturdy and hardy dogs too, and since they haven't been super
popular in the USA (and therefore have not been overbred like some of the
other breeds), they have very few genetic health problems.
Find as much information on the breed as you can before getting a pup (or
adult dog) and you will not be disappointed. These dogs make excellent companions
if you know what to expect.
Name withheld by request of England writes:
Bundles of joy.
I'm a very proud owner of this very undermined breed. I've owned him
for three years and couldn't imagine life without him. He is a loyal and
brilliant companion, and the most intelligent breed. Their characteristics
are out of this world. They are great with kids and great with other animals.
If summary, if you want to find the perfect partner, a Staffie is for you!
mrbill@cs.com writes on 2/10/01:
People loving dog.
I've owned a Staffordshire Bull Terrrier for 13 years. Before buying one
make sure you read all you can about this magnificent breed. They have energy
to burn they need strenous workouts every day to keep them content, they
love to work out and will work out till they drop if you let them. They
are full of life from sun up to sun down. They do not like to be left alone,
they are a people loving breed and their greatest joy is being with their
owner. They can be agressive to other animals, at the same time I have one
that lives with a pug and both of them are buddies. But if you own a Stafford
you must always be cautious of your surroundings, making sure there are
no other dogs in the area off leash because your Stafford may or may not
start a fight but your Stafford will not back down either. Never let your
Stafford off leash in public places, you're ownly asking for trouble not
ownly if there are other dogs in the area but because of all the scare from
the media alot of people are deathly afraid of any dog that even resembles
a "pitbull" which are also very good dogs if bought from a reputable
breeder and socialized and obedience trained which is a must for any breed
of dog.
fqdyma@tin.it of Italy writes on 1/17/01:
Joyful and lovely dog, great companionship and fun!
Our Staff is 10 months old. She comes from a renowned breeder, but she is
not a "beauty". Bullet came into our life after the sad loss of
our dog who died at the age of 5 years. I didn't want a big dog again, but
a smaller one to take everywhere with me, with the same lovely attitude
towards people. That's exacly our Staff: she loves, she adores people, much
more than dog! She is definitively a people-oriented dog. She prefers to
spend hours in a kennel in my car than to stay home (7000 meters garden
and 3 others dog). She is very kind and gentle, maybe even a little bit
shy, becouse we took her at 5 month and she has maybe a little kennel syndrome.
At the same time she is quite bold, and runs everywhere with our two Malinois.
She can turn from a calm, sleepy couch potato to a crazy jumper in few seconds.
We call her our flying piglet. The only problems since now comes from health:
she has red mange, and had a bening skin tumor (isteocitoma). She destroyed
even a couple of shoes when we left her alone. A dog that must live very
close to people to be happy.