If the UK have the Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffie), the US have its American counterpart, the American Staffordshire Terrier. The US version, also called Amstaff, is of terrier and molosser bloodline and its ancestry links back to the bull-baiting history of the 1800s England. It is a second cousin to the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT), a breed that has a notorious bull-baiting reputation.
When bull-baiting was banned in the UK, breeders transported the fighter breeds to the US. English and Irish immigrants continued the breeding in the US in order to continue the fighting games but this time through dog to dog pit fights. When this past time died down, the breeding still continued only this time for companionship purposes.
Together with the immigrants, the Amstaff worked in newly established communities, farms and ranches. They became farm helps, pigs and bear hunters, guard dogs and companion dogs. Presently though, the Amstaff is more of a companion dog and competitor of various dog sport competitions.
The Amstaffs are hardworking, agile, docile and quick learners. They can learn tricks quite easily and are sensitive to the master's orders therefore they excel at competitions. Most times, you will see Amstaffs joining obedience and agility competitions and tracking and conformation games.
At home, Amstaffs make incredible companion dogs as they are obedient and sensitive to the orders of their masters. They can pick up all forms of behaviors and tends to emulate them. This is good and bad in a sense that if the master show good actions, the Amstaff will tend to be good but if a negative behavior is displayed, the Amstaff will tend to act unfavorably, too.
Their posture shows off an air of great strength, agility and poise that sometimes they tend to look intimidating. Indeed, this breed is what it manifests outwardly because inwardly they are indeed fearless, intelligent, and tenacious, however, they also possess a great amount of devotedness, friendliness and loyalty to their masters. This breed is sensitive and reacts automatically to any kinds of sounds and because of this, they tend to become excellent watch and guard dogs.
The Amstaff's body is short and stocky and it possesses a powerful, strong head. The coat is short, tightly wraps its body, glossy and rough to the touch. Its colors may appear in any solid, patched or parti shade except all white, black, tan and liver which are not well- encouraged.
Some people are still confused as whether the American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) and American Staffordshire Terrier are the same. In truth, they are two differing breeds and they have different body build and they're bloodlines have been separated by various breeding. However, the AKC allows double registration of the breeds therefore the Amstaff can be APBT and Amstaff at the same time, and vice versa.
About the Author:
Get a fill of innumerable American Staffordshire Terrier information from expert breeder and author Troy Howard. Go and visit his site today and learn how to train, groom and breed the American Stafford Terrier
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ufU2YGJLsmUVruPPLgynIoBYIZrKvC8aQSMNP1POl41huq8dNn2w-z4cmCWyuE9ZgZslGuKlKdDpIHCTfxjG3U1in--yquGMCh4jJ5HLz3lsyjsP_u46S_o6bMG9SdlNdbd5lM_Q7hxdqUIboyzcGQ=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sa0KyLsfZAxbRarCfd-seYWfTor8PzZItTT1EdywwjAauYJopCzkWkTjT5VKCpG5y-PJEg4PW9jFUWHfuDdfyMV_p5CrMBygZ-O-9GFm3YSo7UoT7jUXPsESx-Ngt8UeLeQa8nj1Ti9LCMfyp-RIw=s0-d)
Posts
