American Staffordshire Terrier Dog

The Mastiff or American Staffordshire Terrier is a breed of dogs originating in England, though now widespread in the U.S. and elsewhere.

History
There is little known history and accurate records of the breed and what it looked like but there are indications the breed was part of the dog fighting arena when dogs pitted against bulls and bears was popular.

There was another sport they were used for ratting, with the dog that caught and killed the most rats being the winner. There is an indication that the breed descended from an old Spanish breed of terrier, bulldog type dog.

After arriving in the United States in the 19th century it was finally recognized as a breed in 1936 when it was registered and recognised as a separate breed under the name “Staffordshire Terrier” in recognition of the province where the breed supposedly originated and in 1972 the Americans added the adjective “American”.

General Appearance
The American Staffordshire Terrier, must give you a first impression of great strength because of their size and musculature development and the head should be broad at the forehead and slim down at least to two-thirds of the length
to reach the snout.

The legs should be independent and not come together when the animal walks, with the proportion in relation to the width of the shoulders should correspond to the same length as measured to the eighth rib.

The animal should have a broad chest with well developed pectoral muscles with a short tail that appears inserted above the hip with a good angle to the front legs with minimal movement at a run.

Coloration
The fur color can be anything from white to black and color-keyed as the animals are in the Canary Islands, with mottled or striped body patterns however the non white ratio across the dogs body should not be more than 40% of the total body area
.
Conformation
The eyes should be dark and round and be orb like descending into the base of the front edge of the eyelids and the dog’s lips should be black as any colour pigmentation is considered a fault within the racial standard if you are showing the dog.

Light eyes and nose are also considered pigmentation faults according to the breed standard and the ears should be lifted and petal-shaped.

Size
The height from the ground to the withers the space between the shoulder blade and spine, must be between 46-48 cm. in males and females between 43-46 cm and they must weigh between 25-35 kg and 20-30 kg respectively.

Character and temperament
The Trained American Staffordshire Terrier
For his strength and courage this breed has been used as a fighting dog, but has many qualities that make it suitable for different jobs.

These dogs are courageous, tenacious, friendly, extremely attentive and caring and are bred to be gentle with humans. The American Staffordshire Terriers are guard dogs by nature, and a protective or aggressive behaviour accompanied by fearlessness is generally not a good sign.

The dog is protective of his family and home and discerns the time to protect and the time to relax. They are good with children and with their owners and tend to get along with other dogs and cats and even any other animal if trained to do so from an early age.

They learn quickly by observing behaviour, that is why special care must be taken during their domestication and learning as habits good or bad are easy to acquire as they are very sensitive animals.