Live Life Team
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier or “staffie” as it is commonly known is a cross between an old English terrier and a Bulldog. It was originally bred as a fighting dog. It was widely used in bull and bear baiting as well as pitted against one another. This practice is less common and often illegal now, but does still occur. The Straffordshire Bull Terrior has seen many attempts to ban it, but this may be because it is commonly mistakenly associated with the Pit-bull Terrier.
This breed is a medium-sized and very muscular dog. Despite their compact and stocky appearance, they are very athletic. Their head is broad and their cheek muscles are highly defined. Their ears are small and pricked, and they display a wide mouth and have a scissor-like bite. Unusually for dogs they rarely drool. Their tail is medium length, and has been described widely as resembling an old-fashioned pump handle. They have extremely muscular hindquarters, which gives them their power. A wide variety of colours are seen: white, red, black, red with fawn, brindle and blue. These colours may all be blended with wide also. White with any color over an eye is known as piebald. Another is Skewbald, which is white with red patches. The coat tends to be smooth, and males are traditionally heavier than females.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a very reliable breed. They are intelligent and bold and renowned for being good with children. Despite being originally bred as fighting dogs, they can be successfully trained to live harmoniously with other pets. Spaying or neutering can also help decrease their level of aggression. This is a very active breed, so a long walk each day is a must. They would welcome more if possible. They are predisposed to overheating, so care must be taken when exercising in hot weather. They are a playful dog, which is one of the characteristics that makes them so good with children and popular as pets. However they do have a very strong jaw, which can easily cause damage to property. A Staffordshire bull terrier should be provided with a variety of chewy toys to prevent it using its owner’s furniture for this purpose.
On the whole it is a very healthy breed. However, there are several common conditions which afflict the Staffordshire bull terrier. Two of these affect the eyes. The first is distachiasis, which is more commonly known as double eyelash. The eyelashes growing in the wrong direction can rub on various parts of the eye and cause damage. The second is Persistent Hyperplasic Primary Vitreous and this affects the blood supply in the eye and can cause, amongst other things, hazy vision. Another common ailment of this breed is melanoma. This is most often seen on the stomach results from the dog’s love of sunbathing on its back.
