Breed Standard Coming Soon.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: The American Staffordshire Terrier should give the impression of great strength for his size; a well put together dog, muscular, but agile and graceful, keenly alive to his surroundings. He should be stocky, not long-legged or racy in outline. His courage is proverbial.
HEAD: Medium length, deep through.
CRANIAL REGION: Skull: broad.
Stop: Distinct.
FACIAL REGION:
Nose: Definitely black.
Muzzle: Medium length, rounded on upper side to fall away abruptly below the eyes.
Lips: Close and even; no looseness.
Jaws/Teeth: Well defined. Under jaw strong and to have biting power. Upper teeth to meet tightly outside lower teeth in front.
Cheeks: Very pronounced cheek muscles.
EYES: Dark, round, low down in skull, set far apart. No pink eyelids.
EARS: Set high. Cropped or uncropped, the latter preferred. Uncropped ears should be short and held rose or half prick. Full drop to be penalized.
NECK: Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.
BODY:
Topline: Back fairly short. Slight sloping from withers to rump with gentle short slope at rump to base of tail.
Loins: Slightly tucked.
Chest: Deep and broad. Well sprung ribs; close together, deep in rear.
TAIL: Short in comparison to size, low set, tapering to fine point; not curled or carried over back. Not docked.
LIMBS:
FOREQUARTERS: Front legs straight, with large bones. Set rather wide apart to permit chest development.
Shoulders: Strong and muscular, with blades wide and sloping. Pastern: Upright.
Forefeet: Of moderate size, well arched and compact.
HINDQUARTERS: Well muscled.
Hocks: Let down, turning neither in nor out.
Hind feet: Of moderate size, well arched and compact.
GAIT / MOVEMENT: Springy but without roll or pace. COAT
Hair: Short, close, stiff to the touch, glossy.
Colour: Any colour, solid, particolour, or patched is permissible; but more than 80% white, black and tan, and liver not to be encouraged.
SIZE: Height and weight should be in proportion. A height of about eighteen to nineteen inches (46 – 48 cm) at the shoulder for the male and seventeen to eighteen inches (43 – 46 cm) for the female to be considered preferable.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
- Dudley nose.
- Undershot or overshot mouth.
- Light eyes.
- Pink eyelids.
- Tail too long or badly carried.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS- Aggressive or overly shy dogs.
- Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities.
N.B:
- Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fullydescended into the scrotum.
- Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typicalconformation, should be used for breeding.
