American Staffordshire Terrier

  • Group 3: Terrier
  • Section 3: Bull type Terriers
  • Without working trial

United States

Amstaff

Male 46-48 cm, Female 43-46 cm

Not specified

The American Staffordshire Terrier is one of the FCI ( number 286, Group 3, Section 3) recognized breed of dog in the United States.

Origin and History

Under the name American Staffordshire Terrier, this breed is recognized internationally since January 1, 1972. Previously, there was no uniform naming. The dogs were known as "Pit Bull Terrier ", " American Bull Terrier ", " Yankee Terrier" or " Stafford Terrier". This led to many confusions, what is to be excluded with the present name.

The progenitor of the "Am Staffs ," as they are known colloquially, the " Bull and Terrier", which was used in the UK for dog fighting and about 1860 came to the U.S. with British immigrants. In England, animal fights were completely banned since 1835, thus leaving you also the area of ​​the legal prohibition of dog fighting. Especially in the Northeast of the U.S. dog-fighting was done professionally from about 1880.

1898, the United Kennel Club ( UKC ) was founded in Michigan. The club had the task to maintain the "Pit Bull Terrier ", as he was at that time widely known and promoted. This included the adoption of binding competition rules for dog fighting, to which the members of the UKC were tied. Even then there were magazines, was that reported almost exclusively on dog fighting. The names were then " The Dog Facier " or " Bloodlines ".

In the further course of breeders began to move away from the orientation of the race on dog fighting and to make the American Staffordshire Terrier for exhibitions interesting. 1936, the breed standard of the American Staffordshire Terrier by the American Kennel Club (AKC ) was officially recognized. Then there arose a dispute for the correct breed name because the name Yankee Terrier was at that time quite prevalent for this dog breed. The word pit, the name for a dog fight court, was - according to Todd Fenstermacher may be out of political correctness ( dog fights were officially banned ) - dropped, however, retained the name part Staffordshire as a recollection of the last days of animal fighting in England.

So it was then to split the race in American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier, because of the AKC dog fighting is not tolerated and thus the American Pit Bull Terrier still remained with the UKC.

Appearance

The following features shall be required as a general, but other forms can occur.

The head is large, wedge-shaped and very strong. The nose is black, eyes dark and round, nestled deep in the skull and wide apart, pigmented eyelids. The ears are set high and either rose or half pricked ears ( Kippohr ) be worn. The weight is not specified, a shoulder height of about 46 to 48 cm for males and 43 to 46 cm for the females is the preferred size.

The coat of these dogs is short and glossy. Any color, solid color, multi-colored or spotted is approved. The following colors are undesirable:

  • Black and tan: Regarded as characteristic of the breed Doberman, Rottweiler and Manchester Terrier.
  • Liver-colored
  • Lack of pigmentation on the nose ( more of a feature of the American Pit Bull Terrier)
  • More than 80% white ( in more than 80 % white coat pattern the risk of a genetically predisposed deafness is high. )

From the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier is distinguished by its three-inch larger shoulder height and correspondingly higher weight.

Nature

The American Staffordshire Terrier is generally considered hardy, intelligent, good guard dog, affectionate and very playful. Because of his background, he is considered to be very athletic and requires a lot of movement and outlet.

Racial problems

The American Staffordshire Terrier is one, with the exception of Lower Saxony, Germany, in all countries to the list of dogs that are colloquially referred to as " fighting dogs". In almost all German states subject to the attitude of strict conditions. The import of this breed to Germany is consistently prohibited. The breed is in Switzerland in all 12 cantons with race list on this list, the attitude is there a permit. In the cantons of Geneva, Valais and Zurich keeping, breeding and importation shall be forbidden. This also applies to Denmark, where the American Staffordshire Terrier breed is on the list of dog law.

As with all breeds that are generally counted as fighting dogs, there is also the American Staffordshire Terrier a controversy about the breed -related hazard for humans. Critics assume an exaggerated attack and fighting behavior. A comparative study of list dogs with golden retrievers, however, concludes that there are significant differences in aggressive behavior do not exist.

working dog Attack dog Conformation show Digital Object Identifier
56448
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