American Staffordshire Terrier. Joseph Janish

BOOKS^®

       AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER

       ISBN 13: 978-1-59378-248-1

       eISBN 13: 978-1-59378-983-1

      Copyright © 2004 • Kennel Club Books^®A Division of BowTie, Inc.

      40 Broad Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 USA

      Cover Design Patented: US 6,435,559 B2 • Printed in South Korea

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, scanner, microfilm, xerography or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

      Photography by:

      Paulette Braun, T.J. Calhoun, Alan and Sandy Carey, Kent & Donna Dannen, Isabelle Français, Tony George, Carol Ann Johnson, Bill Jonas, Nikki Sussman and Wil de Veer.

       Illustrations by Renée Low and Patricia Peters.

      Special thanks to the owners & breeders of dogs featured in this book: V. D. Broek, J. Duval, Tony George, Cindy Gerritsen, Peter & Ingrid Göppel, Frans Herzig, Beth Jones, Rachel Kruidenier, B. Ockhuizen, W. Ruisch, Max van Slijpe, Steffie van Slijpe, R. Snip, Joe Terrazas, Wil de Veer, Denine Vooris, John Willett, Janine M. Wolf and Tonny van Zantvliet.

       Behind the impressive musculature and iron determination of the American Staffordshire Terrier flows the blood of mastiffs of 3,000 years ago.

      How can a dog possibly be so perfect? One must look to the development of the breed, which begins as long ago as 800 BC, when Phoenician traders first brought to England a strain of mastiff from Asia. The original mastiffs were bred to bring down, fight or hold large and aggressive prey such as wild boars, bears or big cats—animals that are as likely to fight as to run away. Ancient mastiffs had incredible fighting ability and courage and were highly prized throughout Asia and Europe.

      Around 400 AD, a second strain of very tough mastiff reached English shores. This dog was called the Alaunt. English butchers and farmers turned the Alaunt into the world’s first true bulldog (then referred to as the “bulldogge”). In medieval times, the working English Bulldogge was the first dog to develop the so-called lockjaw grip, which really has more to do with a dog’s gameness than any structural difference in its jaw. These Bulldogges had the ability to chase, catch and hang onto the nose, cheek or throat of a much larger animal and not let go—no matter how hard the beast struggled or how much punishment the dog was forced to absorb. Throughout the medieval, Elizabethan and early industrial periods, Bulldogges routinely caught horses, cattle and boars.

       “The Westminster Pit” is a print that dates back to 1820, illustrating the popular “sport” of dog fighting, the game for which the American Staffordshire Terrier (or pit bull) was designed.

      These Bulldogges were usually found in farm and butchery work, and sometimes in staged competitions. When catching domestic farm animals, the Bulldogge was usually able to make the hoofed creature submit to the excruciating pain of the bite before being harmed himself. When ready to submit, a bull would lower its head to the ground and allow the Bulldogge to drag him backward to the butcher. The bull would then be slaughtered or put into a holding pen. It was for this type of work that the Bulldogge was commonly known as a “butcher’s dog.”

       This 1803 Bulldogge is one of the forebears of the American Staffordshire Terrier. Note how much slighter this dog is compared to today’s Bulldog and AmStaff.

      In addition to biting and holding, the early working Bulldogge also had the ability to throw a bull to the ground by rapidly corkscrewing his body when the big beast was off-balance in the middle of a stride. It was possible for an experienced 80-lb Bulldogge to topple an 1800-lb bull.

       The broad-skulled qualities of the AmStaff come from his ancestor, the Bulldog. This is T. Reveley’s famous illustration depicting Bulldog expressions.

       Frances C. Fairman’s painting from the early 20th century of the well-known Bulldog, Eng. Ch. Silent Duchess. Note the broad chest and well-muscled body.

      Though his main opponent was usually a bull, the Bulldogge or “butcher’s dog” was also used against bears, lions and other ferocious carnivores. These staged fights were called “baits.” In England, the English Bulldogge evolved for the sole purpose of bull baiting. Bull baiting was a cruel sport in which a tethered bull, brought to market for slaughter, would be attacked by bulldogs with the notion that the meat would be tenderized by the bulldogs’ attacks prior to slaughter. The contention that the meat was tenderized during these brutal bouts was not based on any fact and, indeed, served no real purpose other than to line the pockets of the men who trained their dogs to participate in these sadistic blood matches. During these matches, the dog would assault the bull, avoid the stomping hooves and slashing horns, grab a nose or ear and hang on until the bull collapsed from exhaustion or lack of oxygen. Many of the dogs were crushed by stomping hooves, disemboweled by slashing horns and tossed through the air, causing broken legs, backs and skulls when they hit the ground. On the whole, both the dogs and the bulls suffered greatly. However, every class of person from commoner to royalty enjoyed these spectacles as a means to divert themselves from the violence and disease of their day-to-day lives.

      The Bulldogges used on bears and large meat-eaters were heavier than the ones used solely on livestock. Speed was not as important against the larger opponents and, because the fights would take place in enclosed areas, endurance was less of a factor. Whether large or small, the working English Bulldogge that survived this grueling gauntlet of animal combat became the greatest canine warrior ever.

       CANIS LUPUS

      “Grandma, what big teeth you have!” The gray wolf, a familiar figure in fairy tales and legends, has had its reputation tarnished and its population pummeled over the centuries. Yet it is the descendants of this much-feared creature to which we open our homes and hearts. Our beloved dog, Canis domesticus, derives directly from the gray wolf, a highly social canine that lives in elaborately structured packs. In the wild, the gray wolf can range from 60 to 175 pounds, standing between 25 and 40 inches in height.

       An old-style English Mastiff, Edgar Hanbury’s Rajah, drawn by R. H. Moore, bears quite a resemblance to the AmStaff.

      In 1835, animal baiting contests were made illegal in England. The only baiting that survived the ban was dog baiting or dog fighting. Once bull baiting was banned, dog breeders who appreciated the fierceness, courage and tenacity of the Bulldogges turned their attentions to breeding dogs for the purpose of dog fighting. Coal miners in Staffordshire crossed English Bulldogges with scrappy terriers and continued the gladiatorial tradition in clandestine matches that are still held today.

      From these Bulldogge-terrier crosses evolved the Bull and Terrier and the Staffordshire Terrier. These crosses were bred for aggression