Standard or description of the anatomy and nature of the ideal American Staffordshire Terrier

 FEDERATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE

Secretariat General: 13, Place Albert I – B 6530 THUIN (Belgie)
 

FCI -Standard  N° 286 / 01.12.1997/ GB

American Staffordshire Terrier

ORIGIN : U.S.A.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE VALID ORIGINAL STANDARD : 03.09.1996

FCI‑CLASSIFICATION : Group  3      Terriers

                                    Section 3     Bull type Terriers

                                    Without working trial

GENERAL APPEARANCE : The 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.

HINDQUARTERS : Well muscled.

Hocks : Let down, turning neither in nor out. 

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.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

Note : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Source: FCI, www.fci.be