The American Staffordshire Terrier is well-known for its extreme strength when compared to its body size. This breed is very muscular, agile and stocky with a powerful and broad head. This breed is used for guarding, weight pulling, police work and as watchdog. It isn’t a long legged dog and hence its outline isn’t racy.
American Staffordshire Terrier Facts and Information
- One of several breed commonly known as pit bull.
- Originated in USA
- Life Span: 10-12 years
- Weight: Female: 62–88 lbs (28–40 kg), Male: 62–88 lbs (28–40 kg)
- Height: Female: 17–18 inches (43–46 cm), Male: 18–19 inches (46–48 cm)
- Puppy price: Average $800 - $1000 USD
Diet
Being a muscular and energetic dog, American Staffordshire Terrier requires a well-balanced diet routine. Approved dog food should be provided not exceeding the daily allowable amounts. And to clean its teeth, meat bone should be available. Overeating may result in decrease in hunger of the dog. Garlic with yeast will help keep the coat and skin healthy.
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Height and Weight
The average height of American Staffordshire Terrier ranges from 16 inches to 19 inches (41cm-48cm), with male members from 17-19 inches and the female ones from 16-18 inches. Weight of this breed varies from 57lbs-67lbs (25-30kg).
Lifestyle
The best suited climatic condition for this breed is the warm weather. American Staffordshire Terrier can live happily in an apartment with regular exercises. These are very active dogs indoor and don’t even need a yard. Exercising in the form of long walks or playing in a park is adequate for this breed.
Lifecycle
The litter size of American Staffordshire Terrier is 5-10 puppies on an average.
Breeding
While breeding, the most important thing to test for American Stafford Terrier is Ataxia which is a hereditary medical condition. This problem however is a recessive trait and if only one parent is tested clear from Ataxia, it’s adequate for the puppy to be free from this disease.
Appearance
The length of the muzzle is medium and on the upper side, it is rounded and falls abruptly below eyes. The eyes are round, dark and far apart from each other. Due to the skull shape and size, the jaw is very powerful. No dewlap or looseness in the lips is observed and these are even and close. The ears which can be cropped are high on the head.
However, the uncropped ears are more famous among these dogs. The coat of this breed is thick and is made of glossy and stiff hair. It can come in a variety of colors like parti, solid, patched, etc. The tapering tail which is un-docked is short as compared to the body and tapers to the end point.
Lifespan
The average life expectancy of this breed is 9-15 years.
Health Issues
Some American Staffordshire Terriers are prone to thyroid problems, heart murmurs, tumors, skin allergies, hip dysplasia, congenital heart and hereditary cataracts. Another very serious health issue in this breed is Ataxia.
History
Staffordshire is an English region where cross breeding between bull-dog and a number of terriers took place somewhere in the nineteenth century. It resulted in the development of muscular, combative and active Staffordshire bull-terriers.
This breed was then brought to the US where the American breeders increased the weight and intensified the head structure by further breeding; thus, giving rise to a whole new and popular breed recognized as American Staffordshire Terrier.
It is heavier and larger than its nearest cousins, namely the English Staffordshire terriers. As a result of ban of dog fighting in the US in 1900, development of two strains of this breed started. The one in show line was named as American Staffordshire Terrier and the non-show line was named as American Pit-Bull Terrier. But nowadays these two lines are again bred for similar gentle qualities. AKC recognized American Staffordshire Terrier in 1936.
Grooming
This breed is easy to groom because of their short and smooth hair. Regular brushing using a brush having firm bristles, dry shampooing or bath are important for their health and cleanliness.
Images, Pics, Photos and Pictures Of American Staffordshire Terrier
Shedding
American Staffordshire Terrier is an average shedder. After bathing, it is recommended to rub with a piece of towel or chamois to gleam the coat. So for owners who don’t want hair all over the house or car seats, this breed may prove to be a good choice.
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Temperament and Personality
The American Staffordshire Terrier is intellectually sound, outgoing, happy, confident and stable. It is amusing in a number of ways, extremely affectionate and a loyal family pet. It feels comfortable in spending time with both children and adults. This dog breed always tries to please the owner and is very obedient to them. What makes it even more special is its character of intelligent guarding and its courageous temperament.
American Staffordshire Terrier is a dog full of life. This friendly nature and qualities have resulted from the careful breeding over past 50 years. It can become a persistent and courageous fighter if provoked. It is highly protective of the owner and their property, and can fight to death if it finds its loved ones in danger. This breed is highly tolerant to pain. But if untrained, some of them may be quiet aggressive towards other dogs. So it becomes necessary to socialize this breed at n young age so as to curb such tendencies.
Housebreak with such a breed guarding is a difficult task and have attained this reputation by proving it time and again. Along with protecting quality, it is quiet popular as a companion dog. It can prove to be the best friend of a person if it is trained properly, socialized and taken good care of.
It is not a kind of passive owner dog and those owners who don’t understand the pack order should either adopt this principle or avoid such breeds. They need a confident, firm and consistent keeper with proper leadership. The goal of training should be to attain the pack leader kind of status. For a dog, it is a natural instinct to have a well-defined order in the pack.
The leader should be the owner and should always stay at higher order. Dogs follow the rules and don’t cross the lines as set in the pack and hence these should be clearly defined.
Overall, these courageous dogs have the character to make a great pet with the right kind of keeper who knows the basics of keeping a companion dog.