American Staffordshire Terrier: description and characteristics of the breed, care and maintenance, education and training

The American Terrier is a lively and cheerful dog. She can be a caring nanny for children, a brave defender and a faithful companion for walks. Legends go about the courage of the Amstaffs, with such a bodyguard you can not be afraid for your life. But the representatives of the breed are not simple in nature, they require serious and consistent education from childhood.

Description and characteristics of the breed

Modern amstaff can not be considered a fighting breed, despite the strong, muscular physique and death grip. The criterion for its selection in breeding is the assessment of exterior qualities, and not the ability to work. The American Staffordshire Terrier is not bred for fighting. There is no fighting fuse in it, which the pit bulls have become famous for, therefore, reckoning it to fighting breeds today is groundless.

History of breed origin

The dog bred in the United States of America was named the American Staffordshire Terrier. Her ancestors participated in fights with bulls. When the IFF standard was established in the second half of the 20th century, breed representatives began to constantly participate in exhibitions. Loyalty to the owner and the ability to calmly assess the situation has provided the Amstaffs with a reputation as excellent guards and athletes.

American Staffordshire Terrier breed standard

The average height of the terrier is 46 cm, weight 30 kg, life expectancy 13 years.This is a great dog for the family - a friend, nanny and guard. A loyal companion who will follow his master everywhere.

Breed Standard:

1. Appearance the dog is strong, stocky, it is quite well-fed and muscular. The movements are fast, powerful, at the same time elegant.
2. Head medium length, broad, with a pronounced transition from the muzzle to the forehead. Ears are short, located high, slightly raised above the head or standing form. The eyes are dark, with black eyelids. The jaws are strong, with a powerful grip. Distinctive cheekbones, black nose.
3. Body and limbs. Wide chest, belly tightened. Forelegs wide apart, straight, muscular hind limbs. The tail is short, set low, they are not docked.
4. Color a dog can have anything except hepatic and black and tan. The coat is short, shiny.

Disadvantages are light nose and eyelids, malocclusion.

The purpose and nature of the dog

Staffordshire terriers are great friends, they are ready to do everything to please the owner. This is a breed that is human oriented.

Devotion and love for man are the main qualities of amstaffs. Once the breed was used for cruel fun, arranging dog fights. Until now, the description of the breed carries the label of potentially life-threatening dogs.

Amstaffs have an interesting character trait - they do not single out one owner for themselves, but are equally devoted to all family members. For children, they will be indispensable friends in games, for adults - reliable guards and faithful companions. Such qualities make Amstaffa a wonderful family dog.

Amstaff puppy selection criteria

You need to buy an Amstaff puppy in a registered nursery. It is more competent to do this through the club by looking at photos of representatives from several breeding lines. The criteria for choosing a future pet will be health, character, beauty and price.

The cost in nurseries is an order of magnitude higher than in the market, in the store and among private individuals, but there is a guarantee that the money to buy will not be wasted. The purity of the pedigree is confirmed by documents, the animal will not have hereditary diseases and bad temper.

Each owner chooses the sex of the future pet based on personal preferences. If you do not want to bother with future offspring, you definitely need a male. The puppy you like is carefully inspected, it should have shiny eyes, clean coat, color appropriate to the breed. The kid should be cheerful and friendly, with thick legs and a large face.

Keeping and caring for a dog

When leaving, it is important to pay attention to proper feeding, training and daily physical activity, an annual examination by a veterinarian and preventive vaccinations.

In order to develop normally, the dog needs to receive a full range of all food components - proteins, fats, carbohydrates, trace elements, vitamins and water. All components must be in a certain balance.

Dry feed makes it possible to provide a balanced, complete diet. In theory, you can get the whole complex of nutrients from natural products, but to accomplish this in practice is very difficult. It will take a lot of time, knowledge, money. The best nurseries in the world use dry feed for feeding.

You need to choose the feed of a good producer, with a clear composition. You can’t buy low-quality cheap food, they can cause various diseases in the dog. In addition to dry food, you need to give natural products - meat, vegetables, chicken, quality sausage, dairy products.

Once every few months, you can transfer the dog completely to natural food, the basis of which is porridge. Such a sharp shake in the diet is useful for a healthy dog. A week of "diet" will benefit the pet.

How the dog reacts to food is evident from the number of times and how he goes to the toilet. He should not have diarrhea or constipation.If something of poor quality is eaten and diarrhea begins, it is advisable to give boiled rice instead of the next feeding. If the dog is allergic, old, sick, pregnant, she may only need natural food.

It is necessary to feed a pet after a walk, physical activity, and not before it. Compliance with this rule greatly affects the health of the dog.

Amstaff adult eats little, he needs a 250 ml cup of food in the morning and evening. The dog is prone to overweight, so it will be easy to notice that she is overfeeding.

Amstaff drinks a lot, he should always have water. The dog drinks all day and even at night.

How to train and educate amstaff

Continuous training contributes to the physical and intellectual development of the dog. She can learn to distinguish real danger from strangers and animals, calmly respond to ordinary noise.

Getting an amstaff, not everyone is ready to do it, train and train, spend money, time, effort. But the training of the American Staffordshire Terrier, like any serious breed, should not be left to chance. From childhood, it is advisable to accustom the puppy to the indisputable authority of the owner and clear submission.

If the dog begins to growl, showing his displeasure, it is necessary to turn it on its back. The animal must understand that it has no right to do so. In difficult, conflicting incidents there is no fault of the pet, only the person who brought him in and could not bring up well is responsible.

When an animal is not involved in training, it can regard any unexpected action by an outsider as an attack. If the dog was trained, showed her various situations, explained that there was nothing dangerous for her, she would behave calmly and obey the owner.

The dog should not have a zealous attitude to food, it must be brought up in it from childhood. No matter how hungry she is, she should start eating only after the owner’s permission. It is advisable to teach the dog not to pick up food from the ground.

Pros and cons of the breed

The minuses of the breed include its bloodthirsty reputation. If there are conflicts with the attack of dogs, everyone immediately recalls the amstaffs. The main cynological federation of Russia has banned defense disciplines with Staffordshire Terriers. Amstaffs, which were successfully used in various protective types of cynological sports, were outlawed. Their owners forgot about sports victories, and left rare trainings in private.

The advantage of the breed is its endurance, strength, agility. For amstaffs, there are such sports competitions in which they will be at their best. Serious appearance does not prevent them from cleverly catching flying saucers, repeating dance moves behind the master. Dogs are especially successful in power disciplines, where you need to show grip strength or tow a load.

For strangers, it is often not the dogs that are dangerous, but their owners. In the last decade of the last century, muscular dog breeds have become popular among the "new Russians". The angrier and more aggressive the dog was, the more confident and better its owner felt. This strange era is a thing of the past. Not a single dog of those years took part in breeding. But prejudices and an incorrect judgment about the breed remain; some are still convinced that the anger and aggression of the animal are a sign of its strength.

Amstaff is famous for his cool-blooded behavior and stable psyche, the dog quickly changes behavior in different situations. This is her undoubted advantage. She is able to critically interpret human behavior at the current moment, and does not conceal anger over past grievances.

How much are the dogs of the breed of the American Staffordshire Terrier

Amstaff puppies are different, it all depends on the purpose of the purchase. If you choose a future champion with excellent data and an impeccable pedigree, its price cannot be low. For such a puppy will have to pay about 40 thousand rubles.

A puppy with a small “marriage” in appearance, but not excluded from breeding, will cost about 25 thousand rubles. A pet that cannot be brought to exhibitions and allowed for breeding can be purchased for 5–10 thousand rubles.