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FantasyStock — American Staffordshire Terrier
Published: 2006-06-22 03:16:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 3344; Favourites: 51; Downloads: 4536
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Please link back to =FantasyStock if you use this stockphoto. Other rules and stocks can be found here .I couldn't find this puppy's owner to ask his name. He's a "pit bull", but that breed carries so much of a stigma that I thought I'd title this by its true name... The American Staffordshire Terrier. Information about this breed can be found here: [link]
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Comments: 30
Pit Bull Terriers & American Staffordshires may be two different breeds, depending on who you ask. The famous author of dog books, Carl Semencic, says so, but he isn't necessarily the best source (although he does know his dog breeds). Unfortunately, the pit bull as a terrier is practically extinct--practically all the breeders these days have what I call "American disease". They breed their dogs for size, so the pit bull is large, thick-boned, with muscles...like the American Staff. Staffs used to be shorter & more squat than the Pit Bull, but even that isn't always true anymore.
Anyway, he looks impressive. More dog than I would need, though. I like the old time Pit Bull Terrier; 50 lbs. lean weight at most & his shoulders wouldn't be higher than your knees.
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This is a puppy! He looks like too much dog for you already? Well, it was kind of difficult to get him standing still for a shot.
I don't know much about pit bulls. I used the other name in the title because I didn't want anyone to discriminate against this little guy. (He's only 4 months old in this pic.) People seem to immediately have a strong opinion one way or another about that term, "pit bull." To be bred for fighting... Sad. How can anyone teach a puppy with such a sweet face to be so mean? And I've seen them attack, the mean ones. But I've seen the good ones too, that had nice breeding and good training. There's no such thing as a bad dog; there are only bad "masters."
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4 months old at that size? He isn't too much dog for me but definitely more than I'd want. By the time he reaches full size, he'll be about the size of a small camper trailer!
The old time pits didn't have to be taught gameness. It was in their genes. Still is in other breeds in a few less-developed parts of the world, where dogfighting is allowed. The training is more for physical strength & stamina than for any character attributes.
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FRANCIS... Little Francis... is now 100 pounds. (And he's still not fully grown until like around next December.) Anyway, he blames the furnature, cars, and us for shrinking because he just knows for a fact that he's a little dog, and the rest of the world got smaller.
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Well, back to pits...
I've heard that their jaws lock up. And I can't even find them (per se) on the Westminster site, so I really think they are so discriminated against because of that bad "bred & trained for fighting" thing about the breed in some parts of the world.
Really, even in Wisconsin, there's a rescue to remove fighting dogs from underground "trainers" and "breeders." I was at the dog park one day, and an off duty police officer had her newly adopted rescue pit there. She kept him on a leash, and kept complete control over his aggressive nature toward the other dogs. She got lots of evil eyes glaring at her, but when I approached to ask what the deal was about having sich an aggressive pitty in the dog park (which is against the posted rules), she explained that the only socialization this pit ever had with other dogs was to kill them. She was in the beginning of this (adult) dog's training to accept other animals without eating them. I had to commend her big time!! He was a strong dog, and she was a small cop. But I admired her tenacity.
On the other hand, there was a very relaxed the pit owner at the park one day that sat at a picnic table on the opposite side of the park from where his pit had wandered, reading a book, not paying any attention at all... The dog got into a fight with a chihuahua. Other owners used their cells to call the police and animal rescue. The ower of the pit was fined. (HUGE fine!) And he was banned from entering the dog park again. The poor little chihuahua lived, even though organs were exposed and hanging out of him after some guy got the chihuahua out of the pit's mouth. the chihuahua had to have a few surgeries and a full body cast! (He was rushed to the emergency vet clinic nearby.)
If it had not been for this guy, and ex-dog trainer (owner of a different dog), that knew how to get the pit to release, the chihuahua would have been food for sure. (The ex-trainer had to seriously punch the pit on the side of his maw and top of his head SEVERAL times before he let go. I was mortified by this, but even the rescue workers that showed up said, "it's the only way to get them to let go." The ex-trainer was a huge guy too, and he REALLY punched that pit HARD, and it seemed to have almost no effect until he had taken several blows to his head, even then, he seeed playful and uneffected by the whole thing afterward. I'd never seen such a thing! I couldn't even watch... All I could do was try to keep my own dogs out of it. (Tails always tries to break up arguements at the dog park, but this was one time that I wasn't allowing him to get involved.)
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Now you know what I'm watching for whenever I go to my mother's place & take Buddy or Sarah for a walk. Buddy would have no chance at all against a big dog, & Sarah's only chance would be to outmaneuver him until she could get under a car or something. The owner of the Chihuahua-eating bear trap on legs deserved the fine, IMNSHO. His inattentiveness was what caused the incident, after all. (If it were my call to make, I'd have levied him a fine plus about 15 lashes at the whipping post. On the other hand, it's been said I'm overly strict in my legal opinions.)
No, pits' jaws don't lock up. That's a myth. However I'm surprised the ex-trainer was successful in getting the pit bull to let go. The only method I know of that works for certain is a breaking stick. It's a piece of hardwood which is pointed, but not very sharp, on one end. The way it works is you grab the dog's scruff with one hand, shove the breaking stick in between the dog's teeth at a certain spot where they don't meet when the jaws are closed, & lever the jaws open. It's all about leverage; if you do it right, no dog can keep his jaws closed, however strong he may be.
In case you were wondering where I got this info, I read it from an authoritative source. I have never participated in dogfighting, nor would I. Just so you don't get the wrong idea about me!
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See, I don't think YOU would let such a thing happen to Buddy or Sarah. You'd get a hold of that big dog quickly enough because you're watchful. I mean, the little dog's owner might have been able to prevent it if the big dog had been taken hold of by the collar. Of course, I own a big dog. And I know how to make certain that he's under MY control, which involves supervision.
As for the pitty's jaw's locking up, I hear a lot of different things from different trainers about all different dogs (mostly mine). I think it also has to do with the person's attitude about pits to begin with.
As for your attitudes about law making and fact finding sources, I hope you haven't been indulging in that awful politics forum again! (LOL!)
So, you know photos, right? What does "night mode" do? It is for ANY photos taken at night?
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"Night mode"? 
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Yeaa... digital. 
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i hate how people judge dongs simply because of name and all that. its bloody ridiculous. yes yes, pitties are the sort of dogs used in ifghts and all that and if raised incorrectly can be dangerous, but on a whole..so can any other bloody dog. out of all the dogs i ever worked with/been around i have NEVER had issues with a pittie related breed.
Staffies are my FAV dogs. but not amstafs. i think they are differant from your regular Staffordshire Bullterrier. either way, this is a beautiful puppy.
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Awww! Thank you! He seemed well socialized! I think it's important in raising a puppy to make sure it has lots of socialization, so it can be relaxed around other dogs and people.
I'm a golden retreiver dog lover myself. The breed won me over before I ever even owned one. They just make such nice, easy-going companions. I have one golden, and one mixed golden. They're the loves of my life! (You know, aside from my man...)
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goldens are nice dogs, seem much more easy going than the much compared labradore. i dont have any dogs at the moment and wont have another till both kids are around 3 & 4..then i think huby wants a staffy, but said if i want another chihuahua he'll get me one. lol. maybe not...
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the only difference between a pit and an amstaff is their job title... pitbulls are working dogs and amstaffs are typically show/family dogs. but they still both get bat reps because of their looks alone. most people cant even tell the difference between pits, amstaffs, staffy bulls, american bulldogs, boxers, etc etc so on and so forth.
this little guy is cute though, looks like he's still a pup 
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One of my favourite breeds of dog ^^ Other than a boxer, and I want a pitbull/boxer mix ^^ that'd be the utmost of adorable
Cute picture ^^
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Thanks! Yeah, I like that breed, but I don't know a ton about them. I adore boxers too, but I'm a golden retriever girl at heart.
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lol I have a boxer/lab mix ^^ lol hm...I wonder what a golden/boxer mix would look like lol
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I saw a golden cocker spaniel the other day. What a cutie! He's going to get bigger than I think those owners realize. His paws were gigantic! I'd love to see your dog. That's an interesting mix. If you have a photo, please feel free to link me to it.
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lol alrighty, I think I have one in my gallery: [link] ^^ lol his paws are ginormous! lol he's 120 lbs, too lol his name is Armani Tuxedo because he's black with a white patch down his chest lol
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OMG! 120 lbs.? CRAZY! I bet those were some interesting puppy years. Large breed dogs seem to be big puppies for at least three years.
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He's still in his puppy years XD he's getting bigger and bigger lol
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Man! That's a huge puppy to still be filling out. WOW! I understrand though. It's worth all the puppiness and playfulness to get to the grown up, comfortable companion years.
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lol...he'll be a puppy forever, he's got the boxer in him
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Oh! 
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