Hi everyone...I just want to ask about the American Staffordshire Terrier. I saw them at the show in my local city and have since read that they can be prone to extreme aggressiveness and that they are like the pit bull. I was just wondering if any one has any information about this from prior experience. I have a boxer at the moment and am looking for another gentle dog, but they won't be put together at any time.

Why will your dogs be kept apart? Jackie

Hello EV
The am staff is no more aggressive than any other dog. If however you are wary, dont get one, get another boxer or something you are not intimidated by. All the bull breeds are bully's and if they feel you are unsure they could play up.
Be safe get a breed you understand. Have you ever had a Staff or an APBT?. If not you need to do an awful lot more research, to the point where you dont need to ask questions about the stability of the breeds temp. I always say that if you have to ask for reassurance of a bull terriers good nature, you are not ready to own one.
Sorry if I sound as if Im having a go at you, I dont mean it that way. Ive been involved in bull terriers a long time, and the bad name that these breeds have, has largely been caused by inexperienced owners.
As Jackie asked: "Why will the dogs be kept apart?." Also you say "a gentle dog" why a bull breed then?. I dont mean they are not gentle, but most people wanting a gentle breed dont usually think of the bull and terrier variety.
Regards Mick

Well, our boxer is getting pretty old now and we're going to have to get her put down unfortunately. She has something wrong with her nerves and her legs slide out all the time. I haven't really looked into these dogs yet but I love staffordshire terriors and i didn't know that you could get american ones until I saw them at the show and they seemed very friendly.

If you've had any experiences with boxers they can have quite a temper as well and are extremely self-willed but by gentle I mean that they are very careful with children - they still jump and can be a little rough but you can be assured that they won't attack. Also, they don't look to fight with other dogs etc. When I mean gentle I don't mean like a poodle or something!!!

"When I mean gentle I don't mean like a poodle or something!!! "

Poodles, especially the minis and Standards, aren't naturally "gentle" ;) :)

Remember, just because you see a well-behaved, calm, gentle dog, doesn't mean that it emerged as such from puppyhood.
A lot of work, training, and socialization went in to make that dog so--especially once it hit the awkward teen years. Any dog can turn nasty or overbearing with abuse and/or mishandling :(

I've met quite a few Boxers, that while they were very nice dogs, jumped all of the time to knock me over in their eagerness. Not the breed problem, but a training problem :( :) Still, not a natural 'gentle' trait as such :)
good luck on your search :)
toodles

Hello EV
The amstaff is a very sociable creature. Great with kids and other animals. If you train it and socialise it properly. I personally think that most dogs can be good or bad, the owner of the dog decides which. If you are interested in the breed you are going about it the right way by asking questions. As Eoghania said they are terriers and terriers have a very strong will/character of their own. You have to be quite strong willed yourself as they will try to push their luck constantly.
We dont have a great deal of experience in the Uk of the amstaff, we do have a lot of experience in staffs and some of us have a bit of experience with APBTs. The amstaff is banned in the Uk under the DDA. (dangerous dogs act 1991). The amstaff is closer to the APBT than the UK staff. The best thing you can do is speak to breaders/owners etc and read books.
I assume you live in USA?.
Mick

I didn't know the AmStaff had also been banned :rolleyes: But Murph, it's getting easier to see why I've been so confused all these years with the varieties of bull t. breeds. Is there another breed out there that has been so varied, but with same lines/ancestry/basic look? Let's see, if I can figure out a quick listing to get it clear in my dizzy head.

Bull Terrier
Miniature Bull Terrier (hmmm, 25-30 pounds, I can't see as min. anything :rolleyes: ;) )
American Pit Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Did I leave any BT breeds out of this list? Is it a Staffordshire Terrier or SBT the actual name of the breed? Was the original Bull Terrier a mixture of English bulldog and a type of terrier? Or am I wrong?
toodles :Cool:

Oh Toodles. This could open up a heated debate.
I can only say what I think, as the bull terrier history can be patchy in places. The amstaff is one of the dogs listed on the DDA as being of APBT type. Also the Argentinian Dogo(White pit bull) and the (I think) Fila Brasiliero, and the Tosa.
The british bulldog we have today is nothing like the bulldog of yesteryear. Far too small, cant breath well enough, not athletic enough, and no real bite. The bull dogs of the time would have been much more like a big pit bull than our Bulldog. Yes the bull terriers came about by crossing bull and terriers. The larger bear/bull baiting dogs crossed with smaller terrier types. Im not sure which terriers were used, but I have heard the Manchester terrier(in the staff), and the Old English white terrier(in the bull terrier) were common crosses. This may not be correct.
The correct name for a staffie is: The Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Check out this site (Molossarworld) for the different varietys of bullys.

http://www.moloss.com/pct/

Nah, not looking for heated debate, just clarity in a murky world ;) :D :D You know me :)

I laughed when I first heard about the banishment of Argentine Dogo, Fila Braserlio (sp?) --- they look nothing like the bull terrier breeds. They're more like a lightweight mastiff type. Their attitudes are different too from terriers. But the breeders have been changing them in the last 10 years. They've become more muscular and massive. Not a nice sight either.

The Tosa Inu ban was ludicrous, since there was only 1 in the UK and he was pretty elderly at the time. Japanese Mastiff --- not bull terrier either :rolleyes: Wonks never know what they're talking about :(

I knew that the English bulldog had changed quite a bit from it's original look/size/attitude. That's one of the rationals for breed-up of the American Bulldog --which you know about, so I won't go into it :)

Unfortunately, there are certain breeds that seem to aim towards or are attracted by a certain type of rough individual. :( I think we all wish it wasn't so. I picked up a copy of the US DogWorld the other day.
This ad was in the back:
HOME PROTECTION JUST GOT EASIER --- with a ________ Caucasian
The Knock-down power of a .45.... with intellegence
*Natural Guard Dog - no training needed
*Ferocity is legendary when called upon to defend -COCA (club?)
*Prized so highly in Russia that exportation was expressly forbidden until 1989
____________Caucasians privide Formidable Intruder Deterrence while being gentle and affectionate with family and friends-
the ULTIMATE in home Protection
___________ ...... the Guardian Elite.

Very sad and scary to market a dog that supposedly "needs no training" :rolleyes:
toodles :Cool:

I saw some at the world show in Holland, they seemed quite taciturn, and were very well behaved. They did not seem prone to the same noisy firing up that I have noticed in the British Stafford at shows, where the dogs are quite vocal, but I think it is mostly posturing.

I would imagine that they are slow to anger, and threfore when they do, due to their size and powerful build, it could be quite nasty. Therefore I would imagine incidents involving Amstaffs may often be due to people not noticing that the dog has been pushed too far, not reading body language properly.

I have to keep saying this but your not that brainless
Mick

Flattery, flattery :D

Personally, I think that many people and owners of the Staffies/bull terr. breeds tend to forget that they are terriers.
It's fairly easy to do this, imo, since they don't follow the same small furry patterned look the rest have. And as I've said before, terriers are not for the faint of heart ;) :) There is an attitude and a fearlessness within the grouping. It takes guts/courage (lack of common sense?) to kill vermin of a similiar size. :rolleyes: And training terriers has to be a little bit different just due to their major streaks of independence.

I am very glad that my terrier mix is ONLY 16 pounds. I cringe to think what type of control she could possibly take if she was 40+lbs. Her antics would no longer be cute, that's for certain.

And Barbara is far from brainless. Pearls of wisdom always appear from her words :)