American Staffordshire Terrier

angelkitty

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So there is adorable little girl at the shelter.. and we need to find a companion for our dog.. We lost our dog on Monday because of heat...

BUT,, she is a American Staffordshire Terrier ..

I don't know that much about them, Does anyone else???

Here's her petfinder.com thingy:
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/...?petid=8933627

\\We currently have our name in for a MALE Rotti,, but someone else has an application in,, so I doubt we get him.. But I'm really really really interested in this little girl...
 

catsallover

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I would google the breed and read up on it. Also, perhaps contact a good AST rescue for advice on bring this dog home- it will help alot in both the short and long run (this is what we did with our Boxer
). Some dogs of this "type" (bully breeds, I think they are called) have a high prey drive. If you have cats, you need to ask the shelter to check her with cats. Also, if your current dog is a female, you may want to seriously consider a male dog- sometimes female/female pairings in bully breeds don't work well.

Um, are your dogs not inside during this heat? (I assume this is what you mean...). Not trying to be judgemental, as I obviously don't know what happened, but if they are outside, you may want to work on an inside enclosure for them during the day, like in a basement or in the kitchen? If this isn't the case, I apologize for sticking my nose in your business during this difficult time.

Good luck!
 

goldenkitty45

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I'd find out the background and how well she gets along with people, kids, dogs, cats, etc. You have to watch them - you know they have the "label" of pit bull and can be aggressive if trained that way....so be very careful!

Also because of the breed, you might have to have extra home owner's insurance. I know they asked what kind of dog we had when we got home owner's insurance (we have a lab). Some companies will not give you insurance if you have a "pit bull"!

BTW she is a cute looking dog.
 

white cat lover

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I highly suggest reading up on the breed. Am Staffs & Pits are known to be stubborn dogs, I have heard them compared to Huskies as far as stubborn goes.

If you do adopt her, because of her breed, she will have to be highly well trained. She needs to be the "poster child" of her breed as many will "snatch their children away from that monster". Trust me, those people are everywhere.


I suggest checking with your neighbors, or at least letting them know you are getting her. Make sure your homeowners insurance will allow you to have a "Pit Bull"(Many do no care that it is a different breed, they're all the same).
 

miagi's_mommy

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She's adorable!
She doesn't look very staffie to me, though. she looks like a pit/staffie mix.
I would definately research the breed and they are AWESOME dogs but you need to exercise her a lot.

info on american staffordshire terriers :
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanstaffordshire.htm

and pit bull information :
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/americanpitbull.htm

http://www.pbrc.net/breedinfo.html

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/

http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/breedinfo.php

http://www.workingpitbull.com/aboutpits.htm

http://www.realpitbull.com/center.html

I love, love pit bulls and staffies and I hope to have one someday, rescued of course. please, please do your research before getting one. I hope you're able to adopt her. She's gorgeous.
Good luck with your search.
and please let us know what you decide.
you're really going to have to exercise this girl. they have a lot of energy but of course they're all worth it.
 

catloverin_ks

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Personally I think she looks great dane maybe? Dont get me wrong, shes beautiful!!


I suggest you do alot of research of pit bulls/mixes/etc!! As someone that owns one
They can be stubborn......but very loyal and loveable!!


Feel free to PM me if you want anymore info!

Good luck!!
 

moonlights mom

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Shes not a purebred Staff. Looks like a mutt maybe even some terrier in there based on the face. It's so said that they might kill her soon.
I hope you can adopt her. Can you go into the shelter for more info or do you have to submit an application? At our shelter, you just go in and pick out a dog to play with in the visiting room. If it's a good match you can adopt. Is your shelter the same way?

Good luck!!!
 

miagi's_mommy

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I would also consider bringing your dog to meet her. that's how we do it at the shelter where I volunteer to make sure everyone gets along okay.
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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The only thing I have to add to this is that Staffordshire Bull Terriers are wonderful dogs and known to be the very best breed - the VERY best - with children. American Staffies, though, are big powerful, strong dogs and you would do to have some experience and read up on the breed first. They are lovely dogs, but you need to be experienced. You already have a dog though so you obviously have some experience.

She is not big enough to be a full breed American Staffie. She looks beautiful - and quite manageable size-wise. And they have said she has a lovely temperament. I know it's not in the shelter's best interest to lie about their dogs in order to home them, it just wouldn't work.

I would take others' advice here and introduce the two to see how they go. Perhaps you could foster her for a few weeks to see how things work out?
 

2dogmom

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No way is that a purebred Staffie, not with that narrow head and long muzzle. The head looks like Great Dane more than anything else, but Danes are usually upwards of 100 lbs. The ears say Terrier, but there are so many kinds.
If you have met her and she is affectionate towards you then go for it.
Good luck!
 

arlyn

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I've never in my life seen legs that long on a staffie.
I've also never seen a staffie that could come close to being a large dog


This dog is a dane mix, maybe Am Bulldog, but not a staffie.
Seriously, a staffie should come much closer to resembling a barrel with legs.
 

krazy kat2

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One of the coolest dogs I have ever been around was an Amstaff, pure bred, and he looked nothing like that one, except that they are both dogs. His buddy was a cat that their owner had rescued from an abusive home. They would play and cuddle, but never did one raise an angry paw to the other.
That may be a very nice dog, but the previous posters have given some really good advice on intros and most everything else on wether he should join your household. Good luck!
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

I've never in my life seen legs that long on a staffie.
I've also never seen a staffie that could come close to being a large dog


This dog is a dane mix, maybe Am Bulldog, but not a staffie.
Seriously, a staffie should come much closer to resembling a barrel with legs.
I think you are thinking of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and not an American Staffordshire Terrier. They are related but separate breeds.

The SBT reaches a maximum height and weight of 16 inches and 38 pounds:


The AST reaches a maximum height and weight of 19 inches and 67 pounds:


And peeps, I just have to point this out because I've seen it so much here. Dogs are not `stubborn', and breeds that are harder to train (such as Huskies) are not `stubborn'. They are just less motivated by pleasing their owners. If you understand what motivates a dog, and can communicate with it in a way that is meaningful to the dog, you will not come across one that you can class as stubborn. It's a misnomer that I hear every day, and one that I find upsetting as it is inaccurate and outdated.
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

IAnd peeps, I just have to point this out because I've seen it so much here. Dogs are not `stubborn', and breeds that are harder to train (such as Huskies) are not `stubborn'. They are just less motivated by pleasing their owners. If you understand what motivates a dog, and can communicate with it in a way that is meaningful to the dog, you will not come across one that you can class as stubborn. It's a misnomer that I hear every day, and one that I find upsetting as it is inaccurate and outdated.
I agree 100%. In fact, mythbusters did a show on that, using Huskies as an example to train.
 

arlyn

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Nope, I know the difference, I worked with Staffies for close to 20 years

I would not consider them large dogs, nor are they long legged like the petfinder girl.
Am Bulldogs are large and long legged.

To me, a large dog is a large dog 80+ pounds
 

goldenkitty45

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There are so many breeds out there that were bred for specific things. Some breeds developed to be "thinkers" - those are the independent working dogs - like herders, sled dogs, etc. They have to "ignore" people and figure out how to best herd or face situation that humans may or may not be aware of.

Huskies, etc. have to be more independent on a harsh trail for survival of themselves and the human. I certainly would not want a poodle, pug or greyhound to be pulling a sled in snow and expect to survive


Hounds are bred to hunt - and they are trained to follow thru, so your beagle is more interested in following the rabbit trail then to play ball with a human.

And SOOO many people label the pit bulls as different breeds. Our dog board did a test one time of pictures of about 30-40 different "pit bulls" or types and you had to figure out what the real one was. Unless you really knew your breeds, 95% of the people could not pick out the true bull dogs, and there were many surprises as to what the dog really was. I'll admit that I had a hard time figuring it out and got it wrong
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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Originally Posted by Arlyn

Nope, I know the difference, I worked with Staffies for close to 20 years

I would not consider them large dogs, nor are they long legged like the petfinder girl.
Am Bulldogs are large and long legged.

To me, a large dog is a large dog 80+ pounds
Oops! Sorry...
A lot of people do get them mixed up.

Though from what I understand of breed classification the weight range you are referring to would technically be `giant' breed, would it not?

Oh - and Coco, I saw that Mythbusters. Wasn't it great? They chose two elderly rescue Huskies to demonstrate that you can, indeed, teach an old dog new tricks. Fabulous!
 

arlyn

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To me a giant would be 100+

She's a pretty dog, but not a staffie, as I said, closer to a Dane/Am Bully mix (it's the ears I swear)
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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I didn't think she had any Staffie in her at all when I opened the pic!
But it's hard to tell from one photo. I thought she looked more Dane / Pointer. I'm surprised, though, that the site would advertise her as a pure Amstaff when she is clearly a mix.

Either way, she looks gorgeous.
 
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