Breed Info
General Description
American Staffordshire Terriers are smart, confident, good-natured companions. Their "courage is proverbial". They can be described as keenly aware of their surroundings, game for anything, and lovable 'personality dogs' around the house. They love both mental and physical challenges and give their all in anything they do.
Amstaffs are stocky, muscular bull-type terriers with a broad head, dark eyes, and pronounced cheekbones. They are typically 17 to 19 inches tall at the shoulder and come in many colors and patterns. They have a springy gate that shows off their confidence and move both graceful and agile.
History
The Great Amstaff vs. APBT Debate
While the breed’s overall history & original purpose is a heavily debated topic, there is also a long- standing debate about whether or not the American Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff) is actually an American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT).
There are three dog registries that play an important role in this debate. Each were founded and recognized the APBT as a breed during different points in history.
- The United Kennel Club (UKC) was the first registry to recognize the APBT in 1898, the same year it was founded. UKC’s founder, C. Z. Bennett, owned the first registered APBT.
- The American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA) was founded & recognized the APBT 1909. ADBA’s founders were also owners of APBTs.
- The American Kennel Club (AKC) was founded in 1884. However, it wasn’t until the early 1930’s that AKC decided to recognize and register APBT. Most importantly, AKC would not accept the breed name itself due to the association with dog fighting. In 1936, AKC approved a different breed name and recognized the APBT as the ‘Staffordshire Terrier’.
- AKC changed the breed’s name again in the 1970’s to what we know it as today, American Staffordshire Terrier. This was done to reduce the confusion between completely unrelated, yet similarly named breeds such as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Some argue AKC’s decision to recognize the APBT under a different name is the source of the heated debates surrounding the breed. Here’s why – The original dogs registered as Staffordshire Terriers in 1936, were all UKC registered, purebred APBT.
Once a breed is recognized, the dog registry will ‘open’ the stud books, which simply allows an owner to single register a purebred dog using the pedigree maintained under a different approved registry. Some registries indefinitely allow single registrations of a dog, while some ‘close’ the stud books and only allow litter registrations after a certain period of time.
AKC is an organization that closes the stud books after a specified time, meaning the source of any new registrations are the offspring of two AKC registered dogs. Oppositely, UKC is an organization that leaves the stud books open, allowing the single registration of any dog with an AKC registration & pedigree.
During the period AKC stud books were open for Amstaffs, 50 purebred APBT with UKC pedigrees were registered. For genetic diversity within the breed, AKC did open the stud books a few more times over the years, allowing more APBT to register, but the last time was in 1970.
Closing the stud books on a breed has consequences, both good and bad. On one hand, it does help ensure the integrity and accuracy of a breed’s pedigree and purebred status. On the other hand, it creates a finite amount of genetic diversity within a breed. Hundreds of breeds are recognized by more than one legitimate, reputable registry, but those dogs can’t produce offspring with any dogs outside of the registry with closed books, or the offspring won’t be eligible for registration.
Over time, the registration limitations and difference in the wants/needs of breeders have caused a division in bloodlines between AKC, UKC, and ADBA registered dogs. In turn, appearances started to vary between the dogs, each registry having slightly different genetic phenotypes.
Difference in phenotypes are common in many breeds. Many herding and hunting dog breeds have a division between field/working bloodlines and show/pet bloodlines. There is also a geographic division in some breeds, such as Doberman Pinschers, who have vastly different looks between American bloodlines and European bloodlines. However, those breeds aren’t as heavily debated as the APBT.
As each new registry recognized the breed, there were people who chose to select one registry and only maintain their pedigree through them. So, even though it all started with UKC, there are some dogs who currently have registrations with only AKC, UKC, or ADBA. However, some owners opted to continue registering through more than one registry.
For decades, some dogs were cross registered with all three registries, AKC, UKC, and ADBA. In fact, some of those tri-registered dogs were judged against each registry’s breed standard and obtained titles across all three registries. However, ADBA stopped registering any dogs that were also AKC registered Amstaffs as APBT in 2015.
Even though ADBA has branched off, the original registry to recognize the breed (UKC) still deems the Amstaff the same breed as the APBT. They’re registered as the same breed, share a breed standard, and are judged against that single standard in Conformation.
No matter where you land in this debate, the fact remains that many dogs continue to be dual registered with AKC & UKC. Because of that, there dogs who earn titles under the breed name American Staffordshire Terrier AND American Pit Bull Terrier.
Those dual registered, dual titled dogs have proven themselves to not only conform to the AKC Amstaff breed standard, but also to the UKC APBT breed standard.
Breed Standards
A breed standard is a document issued that describes the characteristics of an ideal example of a breed. It includes specific parameters/expectations on physical traits, temperament, and capabilities that a dog should exhibit. These documents don't exist for the sole purpose of conformation shows and their importance spans well beyond the sport itself; Breed standards are crucial to maintaining a breed's looks, functionality, and temperament through generations. When used properly they help ensure breeds as we know them today continue to be that for generations to come.
You can view both AKC and UKC's breed standard by clicking the links below.
Health Testing
Heart Health
It is recommended that our breed have a cardiac evaluation to check for genetic diseases.
This is done with one of the following:
Congenital Cardiac Exam with examination performed by a Cardiologist
Advanced Cardiac Exam
Basic Cardiac Exam with examination performed by a Cardiologist
Genetic Mutations
There are 6 known genetic diseases that are considered "breed- relevant".
- Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) - A progressive degenerative disorder of the spinal cord that can cause muscle wasting and gait abnormalities.
- Hyperuricosuria & Hyperuricemia or Urolithiasis (HUU) - A condition that causes kidney and bladder stones composed of urate.
- Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis 1 (Cerebellar Ataxia)- A form of lysosomal storage disease that causes progressive central nervous system malfunctions, such as seizures, behavior changes, vision loss, and abnormal gait.
- L-2-Hydroxyglutaricaciaduria (L2HGA) - A metabolic disorder that can cause seizures and behavior changes.
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy (CRD1) - Retinal disease causing progressive vision loss with blindness typically occurring by 2 years old.
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy (CRD4) -Retinal disease causing progressive vision loss with varied age onset, averaging around 5 years old.
All of these are recessive, where a dog needs 2 copies of the genetic mutation to be affected by the disease. In some cases, affected status does not guarantee disease onset and in others, it's not a matter of if, it's when symptoms will begin.
Additionally, A dog carrying 1 copy of the gene does not have the disease and is considered a carrier of it. A dog with no copies of the gene are considered clear. It's critical that dogs who carry 1 copy of the gene are only bred to dogs that do not have a copy, to ensure offspring will either receive 0 or 1 copy of the gene.
Our dogs are tested for all breed relevant diseases and are only bred either clear to clear status or clear to carrier status to ensure our dogs are not affected by genetic diseases.
Orthopedic
There are many components of orthopedic health. However, certain areas have been identified as problematic for dogs and as part of the health testing process, are evaluated by experts using x-rays.
Hips, elbows, and patellas are commonly X-rayed and evaluated in Amstaffs. However, hips are the only one required for our breed.
Other
It is recommended that Amstaffs get an ACVO Eye Exam and are periodically tested for Autoimmune thyroiditis.