THE STAFFORD
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a breed of dog with a history and origin more complicated than it is given credit for, but for the sake of those who are just getting acquainted with these dogs, I will do my best to simplify it. Before we proceed however, I would like to establish that the Stafford was never created to be a Nanny Dog, that's a big marketing scam, but it is true that they are great with children.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was officially recognized by Kennel Clubs, particularly The Kennel Club of England, in 1935, when the original standard for the breed was written. However, the origin of this type of dog is more blurry, and at times uncertain. The general consensus amongst studious enthusiasts, is that they diverged from a common ancestor with the Bull Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier, a battle cross of old bulldog-type and terrier-type dogs created for their performance and usefulness in blood sports and hunting respectively, this common ancestor is popularly known as "The Bull And Terrier Dogs", whilst others would argue the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, is the original Bull And Terrier dog, and I myself believe the Stafford to be the purest descendant of the Bull and Terrier these matters of ancestry and descent are always in debate. Nevertheless, these were dogs traditionally kept by workers in the chain and iron factories and by miners. The hard jobs and harsh lifestyle shaped men and women that were not squeamish about their entertainment, in which animals - dogs in particular - played a major role. Blood sports (although illegal) were common, hence where the "bull and terrier" and later the Staffordshire Bull Terrier comes in. These were dogs bred and kept mainly for dog-on-dog combat, but they were alternatively used for ratting, hunting and baiting other animals such as badgers or fox. It was for these activities that these dogs were made and selected for. While some families and lines being a bit more specialized in one area or another (sometimes varying per region), the breed was always versatile and adaptable, ideally always willing to engage on to any opponent it was faced up against.
By essence, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a fighting dog, and although the selective pressure for that purpose has diminished over the past couple decades, the heart of the breed still beats for action - or at least, it should! Due to their heritage and origins, the stafford has a natural predisposition for animal and particularly dog-on-dog aggression, and this is something every potential owner should know and be reasonably prepared for. These dogs have an active nature and love to be engaged in some kind of activity, from sports such as athletics, agility, bikejoring, dockdiving and so on, to work (hunting and so on) to just running with their owner on a trail, being given a hobby or a job is ideal for the mental wellbeing and satisfaction of a stafford. They crave engagement with their owner and family and can become depressive and mellow should they not be offered enough activity and challenge - those two should be a key for owning a content stafford.
The stafford requires mental and physical challenges, something which demands extra of their body and mind in order to be successfully accomplished, that is where the staffordshire bull terrier finds their happiness. Having always been bred and selected for high intensity, life threatening activities and jobs, to this day these dogs are in their element when given the opportunity to express their intense character and drive. They enjoy testing themselves and being tested in what they can do. A life too slow and monotomous as that of a couch dog will leave a stafford depressed and unfulfilled.
Don't let that scare you off though, the staffordshire bull terrier is your best friend, and a fantastic companion to those willing to put in the time to meet their needs and enrich their lives. Their commitment to their owner is particularly strong and profound, they can be quite sensitive and in tune with their people and are great company all round. These dogs are the life of the party wherever they are, with their active, clownish disposition and carefree approach to life. They are confident dogs that should feel in control of their space and ready to take on the world. In the hands of a dedicated owner, the stafford can thrive in any environment, from an apartment to a house, to a farm, given their fair share of activity, they are home where their people are.
DEVELOPMENT
STAGES OF GROWTH
As the breed is quite diverse genetically, some families and lines may have different trends, but I will speak on my observations with my own family of dogs as well as unrelated dogs I know and watched develop over the years.
Starting at around 5-6 months, puppies will begin to shed their deciduous teeth, as well as begin to enter what I call, "the ugly duckling" stage, in which males are typically more affected than females. This is when their bodies start looking a little all over the place and their limbs almost look loosely attached, this is normal as they're in a state of rapid growth. Usually between 7 months to 1 year (for females) and 8 months to 1 and a half years (for males) this becomes even more pronounced, toplines may look funny since often their back legs will grow faster than their front legs and throw them a bit out of whack. they might also look lanky, they're also typically a bit spicier and more impulsive, like any teenager, before they start to fill out and their structure and temperament begins to stabilize and mature.
After 1 and a half years, physical changes will become quite minor and hard to notice. Females will typically come into heat between 10-14 months, but some do as early as 6 months. Temperament continues to mature into what they'll settle in to as full adults.
Stafford's bodies will undergo minor developments up until the age of 2.5 to 3 years, and so will their minds, reaching full mental maturity at roughly that same age window, at which point they enter their prime years for performance, which will last to about 6 years. At that point they may no longer be at their prime, but they should still be healthy, happy and capable to keep up in activities as usual until the age of 10, when they may begin to slow down a bit. (Check "life expectancy" section above for more on late life tendencies.)
These two dogs, male and female, were particularly affected by the "ugly duckling" stage, so I selected them to illustrate the development trends I observe.
STAFFORD HEALTH & OTHER QUIRKS
Staffords are by nature a very sturdy, robust and vigorous breed, their bodies are resilient. There are no characteristic conditions in Staffords (like hip dysplasia in German Shepherds, or early onset cancers like in some lines of Golden Retrievers, Boxers, etc.) Although articular conditions can sometimes occur in the breed, it is uncommon, and they are for better or worse, often asymptomatic to articular health conditions when compared to most other breeds, which makes the chances of having a stafford that actively suffers from one of these conditions somewhat rare.
This is also not a breed known to have any food sensitivities, on the contrary, they should be able to thrive on the basics. They are also very sound in the mind despite having very high drive, and are ideally able to shut down when not in a work / sport setting, there is low incidence of neurotic or compulsive behaviors in the breed (chasing light reflections, pacing in circles, biting their own tails, and so on.)
A newly emerging issue in staffords is BOAs and other breathing difficulties, as well as issues with temperature control and a tendency to overheat. This is most often seen in dogs with muzzles too short and no selection on physical aptitude.
As I cover in the home page, I test my dogs for articular conditions, and through sports, I test their breathing and thermal control capabilities as well as their overall physical durability, and strongly select for healthier, sounder dogs, aiming to have a high % of dogs that are free of these conditions, however, as these are polygenic conditions, controlled by multiple testable genes that cannot be tested in a lab, it is therefore impossible for any other (honest) breeder, myself included, to provide 100% guarantee that no dog I produce will ever be affected, I can only guarantee that I am doing what is in my power to avoid it. All my breeding dog's health testing is available in their individual profiles for public viewing.
• LIFE EXPECTANCY - Typically, a good, well bred stafford that's lived a healthy active life has a life expectancy of 12-16 years, with causes of death quite often being tumors somewhere in the body. It is very typical for them to be asymptomatic to these tumors until the situation is severe, either that or the tumors themselves will develop very rapidly. It's not something that tends to drag on for long, so (on average) they are not the type of dog that will have a slow and gradual, years-long decline in quality of life, but rather an abrupt decline, which spares them and their people of a lot of stress and suffering.
• DEMODICOSIS - All dogs have the microscopic mites that causes demodicosis, called Demodex Canis, just like humans have their own demodex mites that live in our eyebrows and eyelashes, so if you look for them, you might just find them. In a healthy dog, these mites will cause no harm, however, in dogs with a weak immune system, they can become over populated and cause hair loss, red and scaly skin and secondary bacterial infections. Unfortunately, this can happen in Staffordshire Bull Terriers occasionally, some families and lines more than others. It often happens in young dogs with an under developed immune system, old dogs, or dogs that have their immunity compromised due to other environmental factors and is easy to treat with immune boosters and mite control medications or creams. My breeding dogs do not display this, but it impossible to guarantee that no dog I breed ever will.
• COPROPHAGY - Coprophagy is the behavior of eating feces, sadly, this is common in the breed, but thankfully, it is not in itself indicative of any health issues in staffords, but is instead a behavioral tendency that exists in the breed and is genetic, probably goes together with their usually very high food drive. The behavior is not harmful to the dog, but it is disgusting for us, thankfully it can be easily managed and / or trained out. Yes, this behavior is somewhat common for my dogs.
• MISSING TEETH - A somewhat common occurrence in staffords is missing teeth, particularly, the P4 premolar. It is unknown what gene is responsible for this, although it is heritable, it's difficult to predict when it's going to appear. Although not ideal, it causes no harm or limitation whatsoever to the dog.
A simple overview on
Stages of
Two examples of
A brief summary on
A COUPLE CONSIDERATIONS
Remember that I value my dogs very dearly and I am screening you as a client as much or more than you may be screening me as a breeder. My priority is not commercial gain, I invest a lot in my dogs, from importing dogs from abroad to imported quality vaccinations, multiple health testing costs, high quality food, weekly trainer, pregnancy ultrasounds, event fees, to name a few.
Getting a puppy from me is not as simple as asking me "Do you sell puppies?" or "Price?" after doing minimal research on me, the breed, or my dogs. I'm hoping for some passion from you as a client as well, and you can do better than that! These are dogs that will ideally live to 12-18 years, have a whole individual personality on top of breed traits, it is not a shoe or a purse and should not be bought with that mentality.
Lets have a conversation about your potential puppy, what you're looking for, ask me about the parents... Yes, you are paying for my work behind the puppy itself, but at the end of the day you are acquiring a living being, it's a big decision that goes far beyond the initial purchase costs. To be a responsible buyer you must put a couple other factors before that, do your research, get to know me a little and let me get to know you a bit as well. If you're looking for a cheap, easy purchase that requires little research or effort from you, I am not the right breeder for you!
Before we proceed
