American Staffordshire Terrier

The American Staffordshire Terrier is intelligent, hard-working and stoic. They have a loyal and devoted nature which helps to foster a strong bond with a family.

They have a suspicious nature with strangers, their use as a guard dog implying some degree of aggressive tendencies, which can be attributed to being a self-defence response. Socialisation from an early age can help to minimise the development of fear-based defensive aggression.

American Staffordshire Terriers can be motivated by food which helps learning and training, also furthering the dog's bond to the family. However, as with other terrier breeds, the American Staffordshire Terrier may tend to be difficult to disengage from an activity or behaviour.

American Staffordshire Terrier History:

The American Staffordshire Terrier can trace its roots along way back to the nineteenth century in England. The English Staffordshire Terrier was created when various terriers were crossed with the Bulldog. This led to the active and powerful breed coming to the attention of the United States public in the 1870s.

American breeders then sought to increase the size and weight of the American Staffordshire Terrier, primarily for fighting. That practice, however, was banned in the early 1900s and two separate variations of the breed were gradually developed. These breeding efforts resulted in a Staffordshire Terrier that was recognised as a separate breed by the American Kennel Club in 1936. The current name of American Staffordshire Terrier was adopted in 1972.