American Staffordshire Terrier
Encyclopedia : A : AM : AME : American Staffordshire Terrier
The American Staffordshire Terrier is a breed of dog. The breed is descended from American dog fighting breeds and was intended to be a show strain of the American Pit Bull Terrier. American Staffordshire Terriers were first recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1936. They are a member of the Terrier and Molosser groups.
Appearance
The American Staffordshire Terrier is a large dog that ranges from 16 to 19 inches at the withers, and weighs from 57 to 67 pounds.
He is muscular and strong, and gives the impression of great strength and agility for his size. His chest is deep and broad, and his neck is heavy. He has a broad skull, pronounced cheek muscles, and strong jaws. His ears may be half prick, rose, or cropped.
The coat is short and glossy and can be of any colour although all white, mostly white, liver, and black and tan are not encouraged. His nose must be black.
Temperament
These dogs should be courageous and tenacious. They are friendly towards humans. They should not be suspicious of strangers, and because of this are not necessarily good guard dogs.
Similarities to other Bull Terriers
The American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier are closely related breeds, sharing a common ancestry as recently as the early 1900s. The main physical difference between the breeds is that the American Staffordshire Terrier is not permitted to have red ("Dudley") nose leather, whereas American Pit Bull Terriers may have nose leather of any colour, including red, black and blue. The American Staffordshire Terrier is also often of larger bone structure, head size and weight than their American Pit Bull Terrier cousins.
In terms of temperament, the American Staffordshire Terrier is accepted to be less tenacious and non-dog aggressive (non "game") than the American Pit Bull Terrier. The American Staffordshire Terrier is a much larger and heavier dog than the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier, to which it is also closely related.
Breed-specific legislation
Areas which have passed breed specific legislation banning or restricting the ownership of Pit Bulls usually do not include the American Staffordshire Terrier in this legislation.
External links
- All Dogs Breeds - [Amstaff]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.