The American Staffordshire Terrier (amstaff) is a dog that has a reputation for being violent and aggressive, but in fact and far from this belief, the owners of amstaffs claim that it is a quieter animal. Now, if aggressiveness is stimulated with blunt methods, it can become an uncontrollable animal. His extraordinary jaws can produce tremendous wounds to any other animal even bigger than him.
If you settle an American staff in your house, you will get a playful, energetic friend, without whom you will no longer imagine your life.
This breed is a fun lover and has gone from being an ancient pit bull terrier ancestor to being a much more docile family dog that gets along well with other pets, children and adults.
Photos of the American Staffordshire Terrier
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Physical characteristics
The appearance of the American Staffordshire Terrier speaks of its strength. The power is too much for the size of the animal. This is indicated by the highly developed musculature of all parts of the body. Together with this, the staff can be called elegant and fast.
The growth of adult amstaff dogs is 43-48 cm, the weight is respectively 22-30 kg. Females are sleeker, lower and lighter than males.
Distinctive features
- Head: not too large and wide, has an average length. The skull is almost flat, wide between the ears, in the shape of a square. Occipital protuberance is weakly expressed. The muzzle is of average length, the ratio of the length of the skull is 1: 1. The lips cover the jaws, do not sag.
- Ears: tied loud and wide. They can be acute or short, not cropped. The latter type is more appreciated if the shells are short and rest firmly on the cartilage (similar to a “pink”).
- Jaws: very powerful, dense and strong. Large teeth, white articulated in scissors.
- Legs: the anterior legs are parallel to each other, straight, well apart. Characterized by a moderate acute. Powerful bones, relief and athletic muscles. The elbows are pressed against the body, look strictly back. The hindquarters are also straight and parallel, with well (not excessively) developed muscles. Pronounced angulations. The legs are not large, round and picked up.
- Frame: the neck is strong, extending uniformly towards the tourniquet, has well developed muscles. It has an average length, there are no folds and sagging. The back is short, straight, with well -developed muscles. The rump is slightly tilted, moderately rounded, wide and muscular. Large and deep chest with rounded ribs. The tail is straight, short, attached low, slightly tapered towards the end.
- Pelage: short, moderately thick, hard, well adjusted to the body, right, shiny.
- Color: only one color is possible – cream to black. White, two -tone, bridging, spotted or pie are not allowed. There may be white marks, provided that they do not occupy more than 20% of the main color of the animal.
Character and behavior
If we are talking about the character of the amstaff, there is little other race of dog whose character would be described by such diverse and sometimes completely opposite epithets.
Reliable, intelligent, loyal, endowed with a considerable amount of pleasure and even a certain playful, balanced and experienced – this is what lovers of the race say of the staffi. Aggressive and vicious – such an assessment is given by the criticism of the race. But the latest character traits are associated in almost all cases either in nonsense or to education aimed at the training of precisely negative qualities.
With children
Amstaffs simply love children. According to the owners, these dogs become real nannies for them and are always ready to play and run with them. However, these dogs cannot always calculate their strength with precision, so it is worth monitoring the communication of young children with amstaffs and stopping excessive unleashing in time.
With other animals
The strong character of the staffire burrows can push them to settle things with other dogs, so we must teach them in early childhood to communicate peacefully with their fellows and to stop the unwanted behavior of the animal. If that does not fully succeed, the responsible owner will always hold the amstaff on a leash when other dogs appear, preventing them from communicating between them. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the staffi burials have a very strong hunt instinct and often hunt cats and other animals that run.
Health
American Staffordshire Terrier dogs are prone to diseases listed below:
- Dysplasia, arthritis, arthrosis – the affected joints bring unbearable pain, lameness.
- Bloating – The dog could die if not taken urgently.
- Genetic non-closure of the botalle duct – as a result, there is a lag in physical development.
- Diseases of the eyes.
- Deafness.
- Oncological diseases – most often mast cell cancer and mastocytoma.
- Skin diseases – licked granulomas are common.
- Histiocytoma is a benign vascular-connective tissue tumor of the skin.
- Obesity.
- Solar dermatitis is a pathological process that affects poorly pigmented or poorly protected skin areas.
Life expectancy
If you properly care for the American Staffordshire Terrier and feed it according to all the rules, it can live to be 13-15 years old.
Care
The American Staffordshire Terrier is a smooth naked breed. Therefore, you can brush your dog once a week and that will be enough. The eyes are generally cleaned daily, the ears are cleaned 2 to 3 times a week. Bat the animal once a week, cut the claws 3 times a month.
The breed can get used to living in an apartment if it walks and exercises daily.
Fun facts
- A record was recorded when an amstaff was able to drag a load weighing 135 kg. Considering that the weight of such a dog is about 30 kg, this case is the height of endurance and power.
- Representatives of the breed have proven themselves excellently in the service of the Ministry of Emergencies.
- One of the admirers of the American Staffordshire Terrier was Yuri Nikulin, he repeatedly spoke in defense of dogs when charges were brought against them for hatred of people.
- Among the American Staffordshire Terrier dogs, there are individuals who are panicky afraid of fireworks. During the fireworks, owners of such dogs have to insert earplugs into the ears of their pets.
History of the breed
The homeland of the American Staffordshire Terrier is America. In abbreviated form, such a dog is called “amstaff”. The history of the breed has its own interesting and even bloody details.
The distant ancestors of modern amstaff dogs were brought to America from England in the seventies of the nineteenth century. These dogs were named Bull Terriers or Pit Bull Terriers. Both in appearance and in character, the ancestors were very different from the current staff. They were powerful and aggressive. In connection with these qualities, bull terriers were used to work on farms, to guard houses. They went with them to hunt such animals as wild boars and bears. They also became participants in bloody dog fights.
In the United States, the attitude towards this type of dog has changed. At first they began to be called Yankiterriers or American Bull Terriers. The pets used were mostly companions. In 1972, the breed was officially named – the American Staffordshire Terrier. Representatives of this species differ from their English forefathers in greater power and less aggressiveness.
Amstaff is now a very popular breed. There is a large number of kennels that breed purebred Staffordshire Terriers.