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The Staffordshire Bull Terrier first came into existence in or around the seventeenth century. As bull baiting declined in popularity and dog fighting enjoyed a surge of interest, it became necessary to develop a dog which possessed a longer and more punishing head than the Bulldog and also to combine strength and agility. It is therefore believed that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was derived from the fighting Bulldog of the day with some terrier blood introduced. This cross produced what was known as the Bull and Terrier or Pit Dog; these dogs were renowned for their courage and tenacity and despite their ferocity in the pit were excellent companions
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed received championship status in 1938 when CC`s were awarded for the first time at the Birmingham National. The first two Champions of the breed were Ch. Gentleman Jim and Ch. Lady Eve. The popularity of the breed has now spread abroad with well established clubs in many countries.
The modern day Stafford is a dog that loves the attention and the love of the family environment and thrives in these conditions give him a red hot fire or a very hot radiator to cuddle up to he is then in his element of course your seat next to the said items as well. A more loyal trustful friend you will not find apart from the mad times when he wants to run around your house at 60 miles per hour to get rid of all the pent up energy he has, he will follow you to the end of the world to please you.
The sound Temperament of the Stafford is the most important factor for us when in the choosing of a dog, In this fact we will always pay several visits when choosing a puppy looking how he behaves with the rest of the litter (does he sit with the rest of the puppies, how does he react around the rest when it is play time and what does he do when it is feeding time). Course there are still people in the breed who think that the make up of the Stafford is still dependant on how the aggression side of the dogs make up is. We are not these types of people in the past we have spent to much time trying to work on the effect of trying to convince people of the good nature of the dogs.Inside the breed there is a lot of good work being done with the pat dogs that are being taken around old people’s homes and sick children homes for the education of people of Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed, Some people to believe that only a good Stafford’s is one with a bad temperament behaviour. Of course there is a time when on some occasions when confronted with a badly behaved dog the dogs will stand there ground but we like to think that the dogs we breed do not go looking for trouble. This is what we advise when we have new owners at our home we always talk to them about the socialising of there new dog they have inside there family’s and friends home with other pets at the earliest age. We now have a growing family of Longdrive Stafford’s that are able to be mixed with other types of dogs without the behavioural problems associated with early times of the Stafford. In the new climate we are living with (Dangerous Dogs Act) and the problems aboard this is most important to this breed to make sure that we don’t have the same legislation as they have aboard in some countries.
In our own circumstance we are able to have had 3 dogs & 3 bitches living, sleeping and feeding in the same rooms without the usual problems associated with this breed, We never become complacent with these arrangements especially when you have bitches in seasons but in the last 15 years or so of the twenty plus years we have had with this breed we have had no trouble with the dogs (we do put this down to good temperament of the dogs we have had breed and bought) but also of the early introduction of the dogs at a early age to the rest of the family. A good socialised dog is a good companion not just for you but also your family and friends. | |
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How could you possible not enjoy the beauty of being able to see your family of Stafford’s running lose in the woods together playing and not see the benefit of a good socialised family of Staffordshire Bull terriers doing what is natural (going back to were the dog came from the Wolf) hunting together of course they very rarely ever get near to the wild life never mind catch it and as you must be aware that wild animals mostly live on wild berries, nuts and anything else they can scavenge to survive . We must admit these facilities are not open to everyone as not everyone as a wood 4 miles down the road but it is also nice to be able to walk in the park and not have to worry about other dogs that are in the park.
The Health of the Stafford also comes into play when we start talking about diet we in these times seem obsessed with what we feed not only ourselves but also our animals. For us a complete Dry food (we use Doctor Johns Platinium) but this only works if it is worked in conjunction with a good excise program. A Good level of fitness can only be achieved by this, We do not think you can get animals to look good by dieting alone It does not work and to look at a dogs feet will always give you tell tales signs of this(spreading of the toes, smooth pads to list but a few examples) We should also be prepared to look what ingredients are in the food.
A good balance between diet and exercise will always be seen by two methods one is in the condition of the coat and the second is in the stoles of the dog, sometimes one diet suits one dog but does not necessary suit another one, but all dogs need a good exercise program to fit in with the diet of the dog. The exercise deficiency sometimes shows up in the forms of certain injury’s to the dog, so the more regularity of the program of exercise the better as far as the dog is concerned.We always look for signs of deficiency in the coat of the dog for example is the dogs coat dry, scaly or dull these are good signs to look for.
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THE LONGDRIVE STORY
