American Staffordshire Terriers

by Jeff
(USA)

Zoe And Buzz

I am the proud papa of 2 American Staffordshire Terriers, Buzz and Zoe. I have shown them on the circuit and they are both AKC Champions, but have now retired from the show ring.


I got Buzz (Champion Michl R Smokin Buzzsaw) and Zoe (Michl R Sizzlin Hot Shot)when they were 6 weeks old with no intention of actually showing them. The breeders saw them at 6 months old and were amazed at how well they had developed and asked if I would show them. I did and very shortly they won enough points to become champions.

As far as training has gone, they are very willing to please but are food motivated more than anything. Having treats makes training very easy as long as your training is consistent. They are very stubborn breed and must be taught at an early age and reminded very often that they should be submissive to all humans.

They can get excited easily, so you must be calm with them to keep their intensity to a minimum. Especially around those that are afraid of the breed.

Mine have no aggression towards humans whatsoever, but other animals are not very welcomed by the two. They are not the type of dog to be left in the backyard and forgotten about, they require a lot of attention and affection and will give it back in return - tenfold!

If you can't make them part of the family and include them in all of your activities, they probably aren't the dog for you.

If left in the house together mine will become destructive of pillows and such, but only if I haven't done my part in exercising them enough. Exercise is essential and should be frequent to keep them happy and healthy. I ride my bike and run them with me as much as possible as well as take them on long walks and trail hikes.

They are a very sturdy breed with minimal health problems and a good life expectancy. Mine have only had minor skin allergies in 8 years.

They are spoiled daily in that we allow them to jump into bed with us in the morning for a couple hours. Of course they love to be under the covers. This is essential bonding and cuddling time which is what they love most.

They should be fed a high quality high protein diet. I feed mine small amounts of grain free organic kibble along with my own mixture of cooked ground turkey, potatoes, broccoli and carrots with a couple of different supplements.

Commercial dog foods are absolute c**p, but that's another story. As you can tell by the photo, they are very photogenic and we dress our dogs up for holidays to make postcards for our family and friends.