American Staffordshire Terrier

Good-natured with people; some won't tolerate other dogs.
An American Staffordshire Terrier
Photo: Oldwald4tler
Adult male
25–32 kg
55–70 lb
Adult female
18–25 kg
40–55 lb
Lifespan
12.5 yrs
Class · Companion
also Family, Sport

What it's like

The breed is confident, alert and tenacious, and is usually affectionate and good-natured with people. Some individuals are intolerant of other dogs, a trait generally put down to the breed's fighting ancestry.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
A lap or leaning dog
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Cooperative, with its own ideas
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
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Living with one

It has a short coat. It sheds through the year rather than in big seasonal moults. Plan on a brush once a week. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An American Staffordshire Terrier is a medium dog, heavier than a Border Collie and lighter than a Golden Retriever. Males end up clearly heavier than females. It is one of the heaviest medium breeds.

The breed is stocky and muscular for its size, with a broad skull, pronounced cheek muscles, a strong jaw and dark, round eyes set low. Ears may be cropped or left natural, though the standard prefers them uncropped. The short tail tapers to a point and is not docked. The coat is short, close, stiff to the touch and glossy, and the standard permits any colour, though some are discouraged.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male American Staffordshire Terrier puppy is already as heavy as a grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
11 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
0102030402m4m6m9m12m18m
0102030402m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
5.4–6.9 kg 11.9–15.2 lb
4.4–6.0 kg 9.7–13.2 lb
3 months
8.0–10.2 kg 17.6–22.5 lb
6.2–8.5 kg 13.7–18.7 lb
4 months
11.6–14.8 kg 25.6–32.6 lb
8.8–12.1 kg 19.4–26.7 lb
5 months
14.9–19.0 kg 32.8–41.9 lb
11.1–15.3 kg 24.5–33.7 lb
6 months
17.8–22.7 kg 39.2–50.0 lb
13.1–18.0 kg 28.9–39.7 lb
7 months
19.9–25.5 kg 43.9–56.2 lb
14.5–19.9 kg 32.0–43.9 lb
8 months
21.5–27.4 kg 47.4–60.4 lb
15.5–21.3 kg 34.2–47.0 lb
9 months
22.6–28.8 kg 49.8–63.5 lb
16.2–22.3 kg 35.7–49.2 lb
10 months
23.3–29.7 kg 51.4–65.5 lb
16.7–23.0 kg 36.8–50.7 lb
11 months
23.8–30.4 kg 52.5–67.0 lb
17.1–23.5 kg 37.7–51.8 lb
12 months
24.1–30.8 kg 53.1–67.9 lb
17.3–23.8 kg 38.1–52.5 lb
15 months
24.7–31.6 kg 54.5–69.7 lb
17.9–24.6 kg 39.5–54.2 lb

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical American Staffordshire Terrier lived to about 12 and a half years, shorter than the typical medium breed. The group was small, so treat the figure as rough.

Where it comes from

The American Staffordshire Terrier descends from England's bull-and-terrier dogs, crosses of the old baiting Bulldog with game terriers, bred for bull-baiting and dog fights. The dogs reached America in the 1800s under names such as Pit Bull Terrier and Yankee Terrier, were registered as Staffordshire Terriers in 1936, and took their present name in 1972 to set the heavier American dog apart from England's Staffordshire Bull Terrier9,10.

The American Staffordshire Terrier became a separate breed in the twentieth century. The American Kennel Club accepted these dogs as a show breed, not a fighting one, and breeders began selecting for a steadier, more uniform type. Many early dogs were registered both with the American Kennel Club and as American Pit Bull Terriers with the United Kennel Club. Over the following decades the two lines drifted apart. The Kennel Club in Britain does not recognise the breed. Besides fighting, such dogs reportedly worked on farms, as catch dogs for cattle and hogs, as guards and as household companions.

Breed standard

The American Staffordshire Terrier is judged against standard no. 286, in group 3, Terriers4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured American Staffordshire Terrier figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a medium-sized breed is most likely somewhere in the middle.

Compare with related

Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Terriers · Medium
American Pit Bull Terrier
Terrier · Medium
American Bully
Terrier · Large
American Bulldog
Working · Large
Or compare the American Staffordshire Terrier with any breed you choose
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Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·