Staffordshire Bull Terrier
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| Staffordshire Bull Terrier | |||||||||||||||||
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| United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||
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| Bull Staff,Staffie or Staffy | |||||||||||||||||
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The Staffordshire Bull Terrier (also known as Bull Staff), is a breed of dog, originally bred for bull-baiting, lion and dog fighting in Birmingham, England by James Hinks in the mid-1800s. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was originally known as the Bull Terrier and was later (incorrectly) changed to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to distinguish between more readily available and not necessarily as pure breeds of the Bull Terrier. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is an English breed of dog and should not be confused with the much larger American Staffordshire Terrier.
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Appearance
- Staffies can come in any solid color except liver, and white with any color spots (known as pied). Brindled coats and brindled spots are also allowed. Black and tan Staffies are sometimes seen but are considered an unacceptable color.
- The dogs stand 14 to 16 inches at the withers and weigh 24 to 38 pounds with bitches on the lighter side and male dogs on the heavier side.
- The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a stocky, muscular dog with a broad head, thick neck, deep chest, powerful jaws, relatively short snout, and short floppy ears. The cheek muscles are usually large and increase the impression of strength in the jaws. The coat is uniformly short and may be coloured black, brindle, white or tan (a reddish tan). The belly is covered by sparse hair only.
Temperament
The Stafford (Staffie or Staffy) is renowned for loyalty to their owners and stability of temperament, qualities which can make them a good family pet. When properly bred and socialised, they are fond of people, playful, energetic, and not naturally aggressive. They are normally excellent with children and their small size adds to their appeal as a family pet; however, they have extremely high energy, which makes them more than a handful for inexperienced owners. They are also highly intelligent and playful.
Its origins as a fighting breed can make the Stafford prone to dominance fights with other dogs. For this reason, Staffords (especially unneutered males) should not be brought into close contact with other same sex dogs, especially if the other dog has aggressive tendencies. It is wise to avoid such confrontations, bearing in mind the strength and fearlessness of the Stafford. However, Staffords will play or co-habit happily with other dogs that are not aggressive, provided that they are brought up together or closely watched during the first weeks of co-habitation. Dogs left alone with Staffords have been killed, even after few days of apparently pacific behavior. The absence of the alpha member (the human owner) of the pack may precipitate a dominance struggle.
History
In the mid-1800s, Terriers of all kinds were bred to fight animals for entertaianment, such as bulls and lions even. They were sometimes beaten to the point where when placed with other dogs would attack. This caused a "sport" known as Pit fighting to erupt. This piece of their history has given Staffies an awful reputation.
One such breed that eventuated from this era of fighting dogs was known as the Bull Terrier. The dog was originally bred to an improved form by a James Hinks of Birmingham. In 1888 the Bull Terrier standard was published by the Bull Terrier Club in England. The Bull Terrier eventually became popular as a family animal and gentleman's dog and even had its own breeders club in Birmingham. This, unfortunately, did not last long as most of the members never returned from the trenches of the First World War.
In the words of James Hinks II, "My father owned dogs of the bravest of the old breeds and had experimented in their breeding. He had also crossed in the white English Terrier and the Dalmatian. In this way he produced a pure-white dog which he called the Bull Terrier."
The idea was to develop a stylish gentleman's dog breed for its good looks. The "down face" snout was introduced later by a stud; this feature was later reverted in some lines of the breed.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is known in Austraila to have saved many children's lives. Children and these magneficent dogs are placed in a pin and left unattended. Anything from bugs to rattle snakes are killed by the dogs, and along with anything that could be a hazard.
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