American Staffordshire

Breed Type: Terrier

Weight: 57 to 67 lbs

Height: 18 to 19 inches for Males, 17 to 18 inches for Females

Coat type: Short and glossy coat.

American Staffordshire
American Staffordshire is a muscular and stocky dog breed which is powerful and athletic in nature. It is generally 17-19 inches in height and weighs about 18-23 kg. This breed of dog has genetic connections with American pit bull terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier. By nature, they are basically fighting dogs; however they are also used as guard gods, hunting dogs and farm fogs. They are popularly called as AmStaff. They are one of the most loyal dogs, however their loyalty and behavior depends upon the fact that how early they get trained.

History
Dog fighting was popular sport in America in mid 19thy century. Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Blue Paul Terrier were thus brought to America by the English immigrants in mid-9th century for dog fighting. In 1880, two Staffordshire Bull Terrier 'Paddy' and 'Pilot' were brought to America by Charlie Llyod in order to engage them in the dog fighting business. As these variety of dog had an impeccable fighting spirit, special efforts were taken to retain this fighting spirit in some native breed of America. In order to increase their size and weight as well as inculcate their fighting traits in American breeds, they were undertaken selective breeding. This was how the breed of American Staffordshire emerged. They were first recognized as a breed by the AKC in 1936, however the '; American' prefix was added to its name quite later to differentiate this breed from Staffordshire Bull Terrier. These dogs were used by American Army in World War I and ONE Amstaff ' Stubby' was even given the title of 'Sergeant'.

Appearance
American Staffordshire is a well built stocky dog breed which gives an impression of being agile and active towards environment. He has a broad skull with prominent cheek muscles and high set pair of ear. They have dark and round eyes set low in the skull and nose is definitely black. The neck of American Staffordshire is medium in length and slightly arched. They also a strong and muscular shoulder with fairly short back with a short slope towards the tail base. The chest of an American Staffordshire is deep and broad. They have straight, large leg bones with moderately arched feet. Their tails are also low set short tail. They have a short, stiff and glossy coat cover. They are available in various colors, except for all white, more than 80 per cent white, black and tan, and liver which are generally not encouraged.

Personality
Though the American Staffordshire dogs are strong and muscular they are not as wild as they are assumed to be. In fact on a contrary they are friendly with children and loyal to their masters. However, their loyalty is best observed when they are trained from a small age as because of their powerfulness, they are difficult to be handled later on. American Staffordshire dogs are also intelligent and understanding. They are best behaved if treated with care and kept in a friendly environment.