DRE @ 12 Weeks Old
HISTORY OF THE STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER
Mankind has enjoyed the faithfulness of the dog by the side for countries. Few dogs desire to please their human masters as mush as the staffordshire bull terrier. Dogs in general have accommodated man and his every whim for generations anything to please the master. Today's Staffordshire Bull Terrier, in mind and body, echoes that sentiment with night and determination.
A SPECIALIST IN BODY AND MIND
before the days of dog shows and the purebred mating of champions, human recognised the merit in dogs that specialise in performing a specific job or task. We bred dogs that could hunt, herd, haul, guard, run, track and perform countless other tasks geared towards making humans lives more comfortable, enjoyable, and manageable. Each dog's anatomy reflected the task tha men set before him. The hunting dog had an insulated coat, a super sensitive nose, a short coupled body, a deep chest and straight, strong legs. The coursing dog had longer legs, a tucked-up abdomen (for speed), a deep chest (for lung capacity), keen eyesight, and a narrow, long muzzle (to slice the wind). The guard dogs were true heavyweights: massive and solidly boned with punishing jaws and nerves of steel.
Understand the Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a pet
required knowledge of the dog's history as a baiting and
fighting dog. No dog matches this breeds devotion to
it's master, in mind and body
The physical characteristics that set apart the staffordshire bull terrier are its impressive musculature, its strongly undershot strong jaws and large teeth, very pronounced cheek muscles, loose shoulders, roach black, low-slung body and long legs that bend in the forequarters. These are the characteristics of a fighting or baiting dog that enable it to perform the tasks that breed indeed all the bull and terrier dogs, were created to tackle. The decree'Go Low, pin and hold!' was in sooth a battle cry! This imposing physique was needed for the dogs to fight one another, as well as dodge and grab an ornery bull with their powerful gripping jaws and hold on to it without being tossed aside!
Baiting a bull, an animal twenty or more times the size of a dog, placed some obvious demands on the dog, its anatomy and temperament. The desired temperament of a bull and terrier dog for baiting was not a vicious, risk-taking daredevil. Instead, the baiting dog required an even-keeled, level-headed, obedient temperament, peppered with patience, indomitable courage and tenacity. The bulldog excelled in the pinning and holding of the bull, but lacked the flexibility required in the dog pit. thus, the smaller bull and terrier dogs were designed to take on this challenge and each other.
The characteristics of a fighting dog still distin
guish the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, including the
pronounced cheek muscles, long legs and loose
shoulders
Image the heart of the dog that willingly undertake such a task for the sake of pleasing his master! Baiting and fighting dogs were not the only kinds of dogs that risked their lives for their human counterparts. Indeed, harding and droving dogs, hunting dogs, and even the smaller terrier risked their lives for the sake of accomplishing their task. Nonetheless, the bloody endeavour of slaying bull overshadows almost any other taskset before dog.
The original fighting types were large, mastiff dogs with heavy, low-slung bodies and powerfully developed heads. Some accounts also descibed the deep, frightening voice of the mastiffs. In appearance, the mastiffs were appalling and frightful. Mastiff dogs yielded not only fighting dogs but also flock guards, scent hounds and other powerful hunters. Consider the size and fearlessness of such modern-day mastiff as Great Pyrenees, Kuvasz, Dogo Argention and Spanish Mastiff. Consider the size and features of the bloodhound, Great Dane,Newfoundland and Polish Hound. All these dogs derive from crosses to these powerful mastiffs of yesteryear.
ORIGINAL PURPOSES OF THE GREAT MASTIFFS
Historians have recorded many impressive duties amongst the purposes of these original mastiffs. Dogs used for war armoured,spiked, and collared became valuable weapons for human strying to defend themselves from t heir enemies. These dogs were not only brave but aggressive and resource full. As early as 2100B.C. dogs were employed for warring purposed. Many famous kings and tribes used dogs to claim their victories. The dogs were trained in combat and were uniformed with impenetrable metal shields and spiked collars to protect them from their foes who carried spears and other primitive weapons.
The American Staffordshire Terrier, shown here,
derived from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier from
crosses to other terriers in the U.S
Spanning the millennia, Hammurabi, Kambyses, Varius and henry VII were among the monarchs that valued dogs in their militia. These dogs were necessarily vicious and trusted no one exept their one master. Appropriately these war dogs were labelled Canis bellicosus.
The great mastiff also assisted man by hunting large, ferocious game. These dog commonly hunted in packs, maintained by the royals, and were used to pursue bison and aurochs in the wild forests. Dogs were also used to track the stag, considered a noble game,as well as the wild boar, the most dangerous of wild game, revered for its ruthless, nasty disposition. The mastiffs worked in conjunction with lighter, swifter dogs that tired the boar before the mighty mastiffs were releases to slay it, many men, dogs and horses were killed by the wild boars fighting for their lives. There are accounts of boar dogs being kept in kennel 6000 dog strong. Today, mastiffs are rarely used for these purposes, but there are still boar hunts in the U.S., Germany and the Czech Republic.
Bear hunting, even more popular today than boar hunting,was also a noble pursuit of the dogs of antiquity. The dogs were required to track the bear, cornerit and keep it occupied until the hunter arrived with their firearms. The bear is highly intelligent creature that could weight much as 350 kgs and could easily outmatch a dog. Mastiffs in India produce the most coloful tale of hunting, including the pursuit of buffalo, leopards, panthers and elephants! Regardless of the actual truth of many of these accounts, the stories underscore the fearless tenacity of these mastiff dogs that the ancestors of our Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
