Ulli :-)

[Cheyenne Indians AST]

I have to agree on certain issues you mention .
We as i also see it , are weird people , in the eyes of alot of breeders and fanciers of this breed.
The biggest problem and you already mention it , is that they dont understand what the amstaff is all about , they want to own a golden retriever with the looks of an amstaff ..so soft inside.
Now i dont like dogs that are killers , not that people are afraid of them , i want a dog with a hugh sence of courage - temperament in a good way - the most important for me is the will to please.
That will to please , the courage is what made me feel in love with this breed.
Certainly not just the looks - no for me the real amstaff is a dog that is certain of itself , wants to please and has spirit.
There is nothing more excellent that to have a dog that wants to please you and in the mainwhile enjoys it.

Im not that loved by most breeders in holland as well - but there is one issue that does make me upset more then anything else : the board of the official amstaff club are talking bad behind my back , telling lies and dont encourage working the breed.
No they want couchpotatoos owned by families ..while the average owners are different ..they are young and alot of them took the breed for its looks , not knowing much about her background other then the stories others might have told them.

Jealousy within this breed is extraordinary ..they rather kill eachother then protect the breed > im sure you'd agree

I think that its possitive to hear that there is a social behaviour test, but be fair this test can only work when all dogs , all breeds are tested - thats fair towards us ..and because there was a 'problem 'with biting accidents almost everywhere in the world , banning our kind of breeds was a solution for those governements ..well at least that was what they thought to start with.

Hopefully one day all dogs in the world will suffer under the same rules we have to - thats fair and not pointing out fingers just on us while our breeds are not the ones causing the problems.

[Cologne King`s AST]

Hello John!

I also think that`s a better place to talk about our breed and our point of view. It`s nice to write with somebody who has a resemble opinion as I.
For me the temperament makes an Am. Staff so special. I love their happyness, their courage, their power, their way to looks into my eyes and also that they want to please their owner anyway. But I also think that is the danger of our breed, because it`s easy to teach them bad things. Bad and stupid people use this attribute to make them aggressive. And they pull our breed into the dirt. All this makes me so disapoint and sad. But no matter what happend, I never will stop loving this wonderfull breed.
But let us speak about other things!
We have an Am. Staff. breeding Club that only breed working-dogs. I saw a lot of them working and they made a really nice work. The only thing what I don`t like at all is that this dogs looks like mixed breed dogs or sometimes like Pitbulls. Don`t understand me wrong I`m not against Pittbulls, but I don`t like it to mixed different breeds. I know that this Club imported Pittbulls from the US, mixed them with their Am. Staffs and this puppies get an VDH/ FCI pedigree. I have spoken with one member of this Club and he told me that he think Pittbulls and Am. Staffs are the same breed. I don`t agree with him, a long time ago it was the same breed, but they went different ways and now I don`t think it`s the same breed.
So I must come to the end, because my dog`s want to go for a walk.

Regards

[dakota]

Well , I do agree.

This breed is so much fun, When I first saw an amstaff that was in 1999. It just went straight to my heart, not the looks first but the character , we were visiting some friends which had two amstaffs, a male and a female, we went in their house and those dogs,
I saw the strong mind in their eyes, the stable character, the will to please and the o so known welcome-dance. I was happy to see those dogs, We did return every weekend because we helped this family with ordinary thing like shopping...
i learned about amstaffs, I read the books that i could borrow from them, and every weekend I was happy to return to those two wagging tailly amstaffs

their love for human and their gentle play with kids, their rough play with adults, those eyes that returned love, respect and strong mind.

We allways wanted a good working sheperd with good hips. But boy , those amstaffs did knock me out of my socks, my boyfriend agreed, it is no sheperd we want, we want that kind of dog , that strong minded, devoted amstaff.
Allthoug they can be real lap-sitters lolhihii, they have great working skills too.

the muscles and the looks were also splendid but their character was the first thing we noticed.

It is strange maybe that we first fall for the character but in a second way i'm glad we did, we are sure we did not take this breed for only his great looks but for his character.

Some say; he is dangerous, not capable of working...
When i hear that i burst out in tears, how could you say he is no worker and is a danger to mankind when you don't know the breed?

then a nephew of my husband said , why don't you take a collie instead of a pitbull or whatever it is called. They are great sportsdogs and they are clever.

so you mean amstaffs are stupid? Why would I change my mind? I don't need a collie , it's an amstaff i like, i want and i will have.
And you will see. they are great dogs in sports.

it is hard to fight again it, that way of thinking, and first I was angry and sad too, now I still growing in the fact, my dog is my teammate, he will never let me down, and what you think about our breed doesn't change my feelings about it.

One day you will see what great dogs they are and by that time you missed a hole bunch of fun all those years when i was happy with my dog.

[Cologne King`s AST]

I agree with you!
I love this breed and most their character. Their character makes them so special. I also like their athletic body and that they want to give 100%. All this makes them so unique!!! ;D

I don`t know how it is in your country. Here in Germany it`s difficult, becauce I must fight against so much prejudice. Not only normal people have prejudice against our breed, also other Am. Staff`s people and working-dog people with other breeds, becauce I make IPO sport with my Am. Staff. A lot of people think it`s not posible to make IPO with our breed. They think our dogs become killers if you make IPO with them. To changes their minds is, like John has written it: "only lost time". It makes me so sad, that so many people has bad feeling about our breed.
It was very difficult to find a good working-dog club, without prejudice. But I have found one and I`m really happy about this. A lot of members asked me, why I choose this breed and not a working dog breed. I told them my point of view and a lot of them like my male:"Zeus", but the most told me that they don`t woud buy an Am.Staff. becauce they are sometimes so stubborn. Nobody here think that Zeus is stupid only stubborn. I think they are right, he is really stubborn. And it`s sometimes very difficult with him.

I think the nephew of your husband knows nothing about working dogs and also Am. Staff`s. And I also think he dosen`t see a different between stupid and stubborn. If he think a Collie is so clever, he should show me one that do IPO sport. Maybe they do agility or obedience, but I never saw one that do IPO sport. I think they are not hard enough for this kind of sport.

Regards