The history of the breed

The American Staffordshire Terrier was one of the first American breeds to be developed. The type of dog is believed to have originated in Great Britain and the very earliest ancestors of the breed are believed to be mastiff-like dogs that are found in the origins of many breeds. Far back in England, these mastiff-like dogs were bred down to a smaller dog type and some became bulldogs.

Originally what these bulldogs the butchers 'and peasants' dog and helped them move and keep the cattle quiet. The dogs literally kept still by biting into their mule. This developed into something of a folk pleasure, to see the butcher's dogs bite while the butcher killed the cattle. For some reason, it was believed at the time that cattle that had been stressed by dogs before they were slaughtered gave a tastier meat. This in turn gave rise to a host of other types of entertainment. One of these was to see dogs chasing and killing rats. At that time there were many rats in England and people had fun placing dogs together with hundreds of rats in so-called "pits" (arenas). Betting was made on which dogs could kill the largest number of rats the fastest. This led to the need for a faster type of dog and they therefore mated the bulldogs with the English terriers. The breeds that were crossed are believed to be Black and Tan Terriers and Old White Terriers.

When it finally became far too easy for the dogs to catch and kill rats, the competition-oriented owners and spectators devised new challenges. It became popular that the bulldogs and bull and terrier dogs were used to fight with bears, badgers and also with each other. This type of bull and terrier dog was eventually split into the three modern breeds Staffordshire bull terrier, Bull terrier and American Staffordshire terrier.

The early bulls and terriers eventually came to America with immigrants from England and Ireland. In America, the dogs became larger and heavier, probably due to the crossing of the now extinct Blue Paul Terrier. Some remained in the cities and were also owned here by the same type of gambling and betting owners as in England and Ireland. The dogs fought against each other in pubs in New York, Chicago and Boston. A product of some of these dogs is the breed we now know as the Boston Terrier.

In the late 19th century, a dogfighting registry was established in America to have an overview of award-winning pedigrees and publish rules for dogfighting organizations around the country. United Kennel Club, UKC, registered the dogs as American Pit Bull Terrier. Although this fighting background is perhaps the most talked about, it was actually a small number of dogs that were used in dog fights. Most of the bull and terrier dogs were owned by farmers and others who lived in the country. There, the dogs still worked as cattle dogs and protected against both two- and four-legged intruders. Their main task was companion, family and farm dogs. These dogs were also considered one of America's national breeds and became extremely popular. They appeared in movies like "Little Rascals" and "Our Gang". The dog called "Pete the pup" in the movies is a pit bull terrier. They came to adorn the front page of the magazine Life a number of times. The courage of the race is something that is found in its history and they were the American symbol on recruitment ads for the American military during the First World War.

In the early 1930s, a group of breed enthusiasts asked to register their dogs in the American Kennel Club, AKC. The dogs were already registered in the UKC but its owners were not interested in dogfighting. They wanted to market the breed as a family and show dog. They formed a national breed club and wrote a standard and the breed was finally accepted in 1936 with the breed name Staffordshire Terrier. This was just one year after the English Kennel Club accepted the English Bull and Terriers named Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The standard for both the English and American breeds was written similarly and also contained some identical phrases. At that time, the breeds were more similar in size and structure than they are today. During the 1940s, the use of the American Staffordshire Terrier as a fighting dog in America ceased. The name Staffordshire Terrier was changed to the American Staffordshire Terrier in the early 1970s in connection with the AKC also recognizing the English breed Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

In the late 1980s, the American Staffordshire Terrier came to Finland and was shown, among other things. in Sweden at Greater Stockholm. The first Swedish-owned American Staffordshire Terrier with FCI-approved registration and with show results included in SKK's database was Admiral van Schwarzkopf. Admiral von Schwarzkopf was born 24/12 1990, he was after CH Chico com Eisplats and CH Schallers Baccara. He became Swedish champion in May 1993 and international champion in June 1994. His litter sister Attraction At Lewi's was taken in 1991 in Sweden. In 1994 came the first US import, the bitch Thorngrens Absolutely Divine. Thereafter, dogs of the breed American Staffordshire Terrier were imported to kennels and thus the Swedish breeding was underway. In 1995, the Swedish Amstaff Club was formed, which is the breed's representative in Sweden. In 2017, the club changed its name to American Staffordshire Terrier Club - Sweden.

​

Breed development and future
The powerful selection tool of the American pit bull terrier and its ancestors is dog fighting. Historically, this has led to awards:

• courage / deed

• willingness to complete their task / gameness

• accessibility to people / manageability

• mental endurance / perseverance

• physical endurance

• strength and agility

• rapid reactions

• exchange drive / fighting spirit

• pain tolerance

 

This has given human-friendly dogs with little defensiveness and sharpness, winning skulls with a willingness to take in physically and with a lack of self-preservation drive, mentally stable dogs without aggression, a great prey interest that can be directed at other dogs, a willingness to fight and quick reactions. The American Staffordshire Terrier breed has been based on these characteristics. The selection pressures that shape the breed today are: appearance, BPH results, health status and sports merits. This affects how the breed develops from what is an american pit bull terrier. Some original traits require a still even selection pressure in order to be maintained and since game breeding has not been used for a long time, the traits that were previously awarded have slowed down. Today, the breed is a very social and pleasant family dog, with a family that has the time and interest required to raise and satisfy it. It is a dog that needs a lot of closeness and a clear, but calm upbringing. It also works well for e.g. track, nosework, agility, wightpulling and obedience.

​

Health

It is basically a healthy breed. The most common problem is skin conditions such as itching, rashes, red paws and allergies. A large proportion of the X-rayed dogs have hip dysplasia (HD) and elbow dysplasia (ED). Therefore, the breed has a health program since 2014-01-01 with a requirement that the parent animals have official HD and ED status before mating. Another racial disease is cerebellar ataxia (NCL-A, instability and coordination difficulties, so-called amstaff ataxia) which is an incurable neurological disease. Ataxia must be inherited from both parents for the dog to become ill.

​

Properties / Mentality

Amstaffen should be stable, happy, fearless and stubborn and radiate liveliness, courage and self-confidence. It is a very social, curious and agile dog and therefore likes to be involved where things happen. It rarely misses anything that happens in the environment. It has a great need for closeness to people. The breed can be perceived by some as pompous and brittle. The breed very rarely submits to other dogs.

​

Size and appearance

Height at withers for males is 46–48 cm and females 43–46 cm. The weight for males is 28-33 kg and females 19-25 kg. All colors occur. It should give the impression of great strength for its size. Balance between strength and agility is of utmost importance. The breed has a short coat that is very easy to care for.