Is this the Breed for you?

Staffords are not for everyone, and here’s why.

Before the nineteenth century, bloodsports such as bull baiting, bear baiting and cock fighting were common forms of public entertainment. Bulls brought to market were set upon by dogs as a way of tenderizing the meat and providing entertainment for the spectators. Dog fights with bears, bulls and other animals were often organized as entertainment for both royalty and commoners. Early bull and terriers were bred for one chief characteristic known as gameness. The pitting of dogs against bear or bull tested the gameness, strength and skill of the dog. These early bulldog/terrier crosses provided the ancestral foundation stock for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the Bull Terrier, the American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier. This common ancestor was known as the “Bull and Terrier”.

Bloodsports such as bear and bull baiting were officially eliminated in 1835 as Britain began to introduce animal welfare laws. But since dogfights were cheaper to organize and far easier to conceal from the law than bull or bear baits, bull and terrier owners turned to pitting their dogs against each other instead. Dog fighting was used as both sport (often involving gambling) and a way to continue to test the quality of their stock. The quality of pluckiness or “gameness” was highly prized, and dogs that gave up during a fight were reviled as “curs”. As an important aside, fighting dogs were often handled in the pit during fights, by both their owners and the judge, so were bred to be as trustworthy with humans as they were aggressive towards other dogs.

At Firestone Staffords we do not condone or engage in dog fighting, but we do not shy away from the truth of the Staffords history. Such dogs are a great and serious responsibility and I believe it is important to let potential Stafford owners know about the history of the breed and it’s genetic inheritance. There is no other dog like the Stafford. They are a loyal and trustworthy friend and companion; most happy when they are lounging sprawled out on the kitchen floor or playing patiently with children.

Below I have compiled some excerpts from longtime Stafford breeders or folks who founded the breed. I present these excerpts as a historical reference for those researching the breed and its history, as well as to give a good context for the modern day Staffords temperament and drive. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier as it is presented below is what we at Firestone are working to preserve, safeguard, and continue to produce into the future.

“The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a smooth-coated dog. It should be of great strength for its size and, although muscular, should be active and agile”.(Excerpt taken from the Canadian Kennel Club Breed Standard)

“Yes, fighting dogs. Not people fighters, or even people or property protectors, but dogs designed and bred to fight other dogs ferociously, effectively, unquestioningly, enthusiastically, and to the death if necessary. SBT’s remain fighting dogs even if they don’t currently participate in organized dogfights, in the same way that Labradors remain hunting dogs even if the vast majority are household pets, or that Collies are herding dogs, etc., etc. Staffords today will vary in their willingness and ability to fight, but this apparently has always been the case. And the extraordinary, complex Stafford character and physical capabilities are largely, directly attributable to its origin as a fighting dog.” (excerpt from http://www.staffordmall.com/prettifying the SBT

“Staffords were bred for more than a century for the sole purpose of fighting. When bull-baiting finally ceased, about 1835, the men who worshipped at the shrine of the Game Dog transferred their devotion from the bull-ring to the dog pit. Dog-fighting had long been very popular and bulldogs had been crossed with various terriers to produce the combination of dauntless courage with agility and endurance which was even more necessary in the pit than the ring. At first, the resulting crossbreds, which must have been anything but uniform, were called “bull-and-terriers” and, as the best of them were used for breeding, a new breed was gradually evolved which became known as ‘bull terriers.” Some of these bull terriers took after their bulldog ancestors and were quite heavy “cloddy” dogs of up to 50 lbs in weight. Others, which took after the terriers, were only between 10 and 20 lbs. There was no “type”, as the term is understood by modern dog-breeders. Men did not care what they looked like so long as they would fight.” (excerpt from Staffordshire Bull Terrier by Phil Drabble)

“All good Staffords are game, but some are essentially boisterous and rough while others are equally docile and gentle, both characteristics being passed on through strains as definitely as physical appearance. Two very famous dogs, which I happen to have known very well, exhibited these tendencies to a marked degree–Ch. Gentleman Jim and Great Bomber. Jim was all that his name implies, and generally speaking his offspring are tractable, intelligent and easily trained. Bomber on the other hand just could not keep still, was overflowing with boisterous friendliness and extremely headstrong. His type need an exceptionally firm (and occasionally heavy!) hand to control, whereas it is easy to hurt the gentler type’s feelings and make them deeply offended with a few harsh words.

No dogs are physically tougher than Staffords, for they seem almost impervious to pain. I have seen my own bitch, which is “broken” to ferrets, go into the ferret pen to see what she can scrounge. One of the ferrets “pinned” her through the lip and hung on, which must have been pretty painful. Yet she didn’t get annoyed or make any fuss but calmly came to find me to have it throttled off. It is this indifference to pain which makes them such peerless fighting dogs. Almost any dog will fight if he is winning, but it takes an exceptional dog to fight a long losing battle and then go back for more, when he has the chance not to; yet a good Stafford will go back so long as he can crawl across. Despite this the breed is not naturally pugnacious, and it is unusual for a Stafford to begin his first fight. He is either “set on” by someone or attacked and fights back in self defense. But once he (or she, for bitches will fight) has tried fighting there is nothing they would rather do. And that is why I advise no one but a real enthusiast to embark upon the ownership of one of these dogs. The man who wants a dog for a household pet, but who expects it to run loose and look after itself will soon regret his choice. I have known them run loose in the streets and play with other dogs for two or three years. But sooner or later they either get hurt playing or mixed up in someone else’s quarrel and suddenly realise what fun they have missed. From that time forth they need no second invitation and they fight to kill. Neither water nor any of the usual remedies will part them and I have seen a dog fighting a collie twice his size in a canal, where the owner of the collie had thrown them to part them. But the terrier could not loose and they both very nearly drowned before we could get them out. And owners who are not enthusiastic are often averse to getting sufficiently mixed up in the bother to choke their dog off, which is the only effective way.

Anyone who is willing to take the necessary pains to train and exercise a potential handful of trouble will be amply rewarded by finding it far less onerous than he thought. He will get devotion undreamed of in lesser breeds-and “Stafford men” regard all other breeds as curs. He will get a dog which is a peerless companion for children, though it will be necessary to watch that he doesn’t “help” too vigorously if his young master has a quarrel with a playmate. He will have a dog which is unbeatable on rats and will be game to have a go at any other quarry his master selects. Some Staffords have made very fine gun dogs but, oddly enough, a high proportion are gun-shy, though often not initially. My own bitch for instance, came shooting quite happily at the beginning of her first season. She gradually took a dislike to the gun and it almost seemed as if it wasn’t the bang to which she objected but that she came to realise that something got killed when it went off and that my marksmanship wasn’t so hot. Similarly many Staffords make fine water-dogs and I have seen them matched to beat spaniels and retrievers over a distance, but it is necessary to introduce them to water gradually and in warm weather, or they often will not take to it at all.

In a word, the Stafford is a dog of very exceptional character. Take great pains to develop it and direct it into useful channels and there is no breed in the world as good. Let it grow haphazard without training or care and you will have a villain whose only aim in life is to fight. “And to keep a fighting dog”, they say, “you have to be a fighting man.” (excerpt from Staffordshire Bull Terrier by Phil Drabble)

“In game dog breeds, aggression towards humans has been deliberately bred out. His entire purpose in life was to combat another animal, not a human being. Using the fighting dogs as an example, it would be impractical to handle a dog during the heat of battle if his attention was drawn away from his adversary to the human that was attempting to pick him up. The dog that bit a handler would be immediately killed for his transgression and would definitely not be given the opportunity to breed this trait back into the breed.

Gameness is a willingness to succeed or overcome, no matter what hardship must be endured. A game dog is determined to beat its opponent, no matter what odds are stacked against it, even unto death. The quality of gameness should not be confused with prey drive or aggression, in a nutshell gameness is simply the will to win. This trait cannot be taught to a dog or a man. It is an innate quality extremely difficult to reproduce in dogs, yet one of the easiest to lose. As we breed for conformation in the Bull and Terrier breeds, we should not sacrifice gameness for the sake of conformation. This invisible inherited trait makes our breeds unique. It also passes on the steadfast rock-steady temperament that has made our dogs such wonderful companions.

Gameness remains one of the most admired characteristics. The will of American fighting men to overcome hardship, adversity, and insurmountable odds has provided the freedoms that we enjoy and the successes we have achieved. In dogs, gameness shows up in their will to accomplish the tasks we assign to them. Whether it is finding a lost child in the wilderness for the Bloodhound, retrieving a downed bird in frigid water for the Retriever, making scratch with a broken stifle for the Bull and Terrier, or catching a wild boar for the American Bulldog; our faith is renewed and our admiration for “man’s best friend” increases when our dogs are game enough to perform the duties for which they were bred.” (Excerpt from Gameness, Aggression, and Prey Drive in Dogs by Paul Skelton)