hi all, im very new to the show world, i have a six month old blue staffy called Luna who is K.C registered and i took her to her first show yesterday.  She was the only blue staff there (not surprised) and i got chatting to a few of the other staffy people there who were very nice but did say she looked a bit too long in the leg and muzzle and slightly pitbull/old tyme irish looking. All the other staffords i did notice were much shorter, stockier with very blunt muzzles. one person even said it is possible that there may be pit behind luna's breeding as apparently her grandad (jolson's blue boy) was mated to a few pits..how true this is i dont know.

How could this be when she is K.C registered if its true? surely they wouldnt allow that to happen.

any help on this subject would be great!

Look here.....
http://www.crossguns.com/

SBT should be
"Size
Desirable height at withers 36-41 cms (14 to 16 ins), these heights being related to the weights. Weight: dogs: 13-17 kgs (28-38 lbs); bitches 11-15.4 kgs."

This is a breed which has been so intensely "pet bred" that, although the KC may have registered them, they often barely resemble the winning, bred to the KC standard,  type.

Its often posted here about 'only breeding for pets, no interest in Dog showing'.... You may be describing the inevitable results of this.

Of course there is also a danger when people breed for colour over breeding for the best type overall.

If colour is not a factor the breeder will choose the best quality of sire for their bitch regardless fo colour.

anyone breeding a recessive colour, wanting the colour first will be limiting their choice of dogs to use and therefor they may not have available or end up with the quality they might otherwise get.

Currently the best dogs in the breed are not blue, so your chance of getting a top quality dog of that colour is less.

Do not let this deter you, as after all the majority of dogs shown are not going to hit the heights, but we still enjoy showing them getting to see more of the breed and learning about them.

In the fullness of time once you get your eye in and get to know the lines of the breed better, you may decide to purchase a puppy of better quality to go on with in a few years, by then you will be much more knowledgeable, know what dogs produce what, get to know generations of dogs and be able to choose what appeals to you best in type temperament and quality.

Thankyou for your replies! Its funny but i looked at the ikc breed standard and she actually meets that one better than the English k.c, i would probably be better showing her in Ireland lol. I bought her from a pet breeder who owned both blue parents. Her line hasn't been shown for 4 gens. Is it true that the old fashioned staffies were longer in the leg, leaner, more terrier like etc than the modern show staffords who are shorter stockier and with blunt noses? I will upload a pic of her when I'm at the computer next.

I think you have always had staff types that were longer in the leg as well as shorter and more compact. After all, the breed was developed from the so called bull and terriers which were various crosses between bulldog types and the range of smooth-haired ratting terriers, some of which were very small and some taller, I think the length of leg was also a regional difference at one point.

Do the Irish kennel club not go by the fci one? If so the sizes are the same as the UK one.
I couldn't find breed standards on the Ikc website (some things don't work the same on my tablet) but saw mention of fci so assumed they go with that.

IKC definitely do use FCI standards so I can't see there being any difference. Comparing the two they are almost identical, the odd paragraph split up here and there, the odd word slightly different but overall identical descriptions used in both KC and FCI.

Obviously in such a very popular breed it may be hard to get anywhere at all at championship shows with a pet quality dog, but it can still be a good way to learn, and at open shows it may still be possible to pick up the odd award. My son is currently showing my least good dog -she is half working lines and half show lines of her breed (for good reasons, but that is another story) and therefore has her faults, but she has been GREAT for him to learn with. He will soon be able to handle a much better dog or even two for us, and then I will know he is fully capable of handling well. He has also learnt so much about how shows work. :)

Show staffords arent all short, stocky and with blunt noses. You just need to go to more shows and will probably notice differences under different judges. We were at Manchester.... Have you entered any other shows?

Not booked any more yet, would like to do a couple of open shows with her.