When immigrants moved from England and Irland to the USA in the 1800's they brought along their Staffs.
These dogs often continued
to fight in the pit's of America, a "sport" almost as popular as in Europe.
The Staffs from different regions in England
and Irland was blended together to form this American Staff, then called Pit Dog, Pit Bull Terrier, American Bull Terrier, and
also Yankee Terrier. The American did favor a
larger dog than the English Staff and breeders aimed to produce a dog which were higher and heavier.
The breed was well
known in the late 1800's but it was not recognized by the American Kennel Club before
1936. Up to 1936, when the American Kennel Club recognized the American Staffordshire, the Pit Bull Terrier and the Am. Staff was the same breed.
In the beginning 50 dogs were accepted by AKC as Staffordshire Terriers (as the Am. Staff was called those days), among them
the famous "Petey" from the The Little Rascals.
The United Kennel Club had, however, recognized the American Pit Bull Terrier already in 1898, which means that the AKC just
took some speciments of the Pit Bull and registred under another breed-name.
From this point the AKC American Staffordshire Terrier and the Pit Bull, which were still bred as a working and performance dog,
grew apart. However, many still consider them as the same breed, just different lines.
Until 1972 the breed was called Staffordshire Terrier, but to avoid confusion with the already existing British Staffordshire
Bull Terrier, the breed was renamed to American Staffordshire Terrier.
Sadly we can see today that the American Staffordshire Terrier, along with its brother the Pit Bull Terrier, is banned and
outlawed in many countries, especially in Europe.
Gutsy Guido of Deafol.
Owned and pictured by Sidney Portier, Holland.
