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American Staffordshire Terrier
The American Staffordshire terrier is a second cousin of the American pit bull terrier. Early bulldog-terrier crosses were brought to the US by British and Irish settlers, especially after the American Civil War, where they were mainly used as hunting dogs, farm dogs, and guard dogs.
The American Staffordshire Terrier is a medium-sized dog that ranges from a height of about 18 to 19 inches (45.7 cm-48.3 cm) at shoulders for the male and 17 to 18 inches (43.2 cm-45.7 cm) for the female, and weighs from 44-77 lbs (22 to 40 kg). The dog is of muscular, square build, solid black nose, and gives the impression of great strength, agility, and grace for their size.
The American Staffordshire Terrier is a companion dog. They require a very large amount of time for rough, or hard working play. They enjoy weight pulling and agility training. Amstaffs are alert and will respond to any sound they hear.
Amstaffs are courageous, tenacious, friendly, extremely attentive, and very devoted dogs. They learn quickly from the subtlest of our behaviors. They are thus not only highly responsive during training but also pick up good habits, such as house training. This can become a problem when an owner unknowingly allows the dog to pick up bad behaviors. A typical training regimen should begin at 8 to 10 weeks of age. It has been proven that Positive Reinforcement Training works very well with this breed.
Areas that have passed breed specific legislation banning or restricting the ownership of Pit Bulls and "pit bull type" dogs most often also ban the Amstaff, as the Amstaff is without a doubt similar to the American Bulldog.
Some of the content on this page was originally published on Wikipedia.
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