…naturally
Perhaps the time has come to revise the color section of our breed standard. Maybe it should read –
“All colors and patterns allowed”
What this would accomplish in my opinion is an allowance for breeders to place the focus on more important parts of the breed standard and stop all of the prejudice, bickering and hypocrisy we now have over blue or tan pointed Staffords. Continue reading “What’s in a color?”
If you have been reading this blog over the years and you recently attended a seminar on the Stafford then you may have thought something seems very familiar. Yes, some of the thoughts we have written here on our website as far back as from 2008 have been used verbatim in both the TSK and the SBTCA Illustrated Breed Standard projects.
At some point in a breeders lifetime they will experience losses. They will mate a bitch who misses conception, lose puppies, lose shows, lose friendships, lose your oldies, certainly lose money and sometimes – may even lose faith.
Loss is just part and parcel of the experience. The way one deals with loss and how one is prepared for loss is what is so important. Continue reading “Lessons Learned”
The Stafford moves differently than the other Terrier breeds. To most all-rounder judges, the Stafford movement is quite misunderstood so oftentimes they tend to go with what is comfortable in the ring – whether that means bypass the Stafford due to lack of understanding it – or choosing a Stafford whose movement is more typical of a pretty show dog. Continue reading “Gait”
First let me state that we are not geneticists so in order to write this bit we have consulted a couple of Stafford folks who happen to also be experts in the field of genetics. The following information is what we gleaned from them. Thank you to Norman Berry (Rendorn) and Sian Hammond (Hammystaff) for your interpretations.
The easiest way to determine correct coat on a Staffordshire Bull Terrier is to put your hands on them. Run your hand along the coat from shoulder to croup. The coat should feel hard and smooth and sit close to the skin. The hairs themselves should be short and lie flat. When you rub your hand along in the opposite direction, the hairs should feel spiky. Continue reading “Coat”
Not much can be said about the hindquarters bit of the standard as it is fairly clear and concise. When you are looking at a dog’s rear assembly, their are multiple points to look at. BUT, they cannot be viewed as separate points. They have to be viewed as one assembly and how it fits together. Continue reading “Hindquarters”
“ Height at shoulder: 14 to 16 inches. Weight: Dogs, 28 to 38 pounds; bitches, 24 to 34 pounds, these heights being related to weights. Non-conformity with these limits is a fault. In proportion, the length of back, from withers to tail set, is equal to the distance from withers to ground.” Continue reading “Size, Proportion, Substance”