to state the the sbt was a purpose bred pit fighting dog is historically incorrect.
the legislation banning all bloodsports was enacted in 1835 & the sbt was not recognised as a pure breed until 1935. even then the standard presented & accepted was controversial & amended in 1948.
this is not to say some didn't bred sbts as fighters, but the breed in general was not.
what we are talking about are the ancestors of the sbt. dogs that were in fact bred to a physical condition considered ideal for the purpose. the unlikely mix of the old bulldog & terriers prove to be that ideal combination.
people should consider the era & the area when formulating any opinion of the history of the breed.
books written by professional dog book writers give a scant, scatter gun histories, not only of staffies but of all their subjects
south staffordshire, the black country, is considered the place of origin of this wonderful little dog.
the era was one were the majority of the population lived in a feudal type environment not that far removed from the dark ages. they worked in the ''lords'' mill/mine/foundry, they lived in his houses, in his towns. they were depressed peoples living in what could probably be best descibed as squalor.
still remembering the era, the one thing these people had in abundance were rats....plenty of 'em.
households kept little house dogs to keep the vermin population under control, & as bed warmers on the cold nights. the dogs lived a selfserve existence, they weren't fed per se, the people couldn't afford to waste their food on dogs, they ate what they caught.
this was the era when dog fighting was a social event & a much loved ''sporting'' activity, it was also a chance for the worker to earn a few pennies by putting his dog in the pits at the local boozer on a saturday night..
to this end, oic vermin & bed warming, which invariably was that ideal mixture of bull & terrier .....not by accident. by design.....would assumed his part time job. pit fighter.
consider the time it would take from puppy to pit & you will realise these dogs, while purpose bred for their physical & mental attributes, were not exclusively pit dogs. far from it.
matter of fact if a census was performed at the time & mr bullnterrier had to list his primary duty as ''occupation'' it would have been ....''ratter''.
not romantic or swashbuckling i know....but true non the less.
staffy V stafford.
i can't believe someone is blaming the woes of the breed on people who call their little warrior dogs ''staffies''
staffy is the universally adopted, easily recognised, affectionate term in general use for this wonderful, much loved breed.
a question was also put how to better present the image of the breed to the public?. presenting an elitist front is certainly not the way.
''staffy'' certainly more portrays my little guys cheeky, exhuberant, fun loving, irreverent, larrikin, loving personallities than ''stafford''...pip pip, tally ho & away....too pompous for the breed imo. this is a cloth cap, gladstone bag , sleep at your feet in the pub breed.....not the deerstalker hat variety favoured by those who pay someone else to love 'em
besides amstaff people are more & more refering to their breed as ''staffords''.
i have staffies, six of 'em, well bred, healthy ankc registered, show competitive staffies....i luv 'em...they luv me....that's what it as all about.....share the love.
hey raz......gotta luv it......i didn't ever say they were bred as ratters, just that was their main job.
