difference between irish staff and english staff

happy_face | 16:15 Fri 02nd Jun 2006 | Animals & Nature

9 Answers

am trying to find some info online about the difference in the Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Is it just that blue staffs are mostly referred to as Irish staffs?

Can anyone help witha website or advice please?

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Metz

Not sure if this will help http://dogbreedinfo.com/irishstaffordshirebull terrier.htm

http://dogbreedinfo.com/staffordshirebullterri er.htm

lankeela

SBTs were pitdogs in the '30s. People started showing them and got them KC recognised, a standard was based on a couple of well known dogs. Many still worked but their history is on any breed site or book on SBTs.
The history of the Irish Staff is murky and all the spiel and puppy selling tactics used to promote these dogs and illegal use namely fighting and badger baiting. These were pure bred SBTs and some were not registered. A lot were exported to the UK as Irish bred staffords some registered with the KC.
In the 80's mixed blood dogs started to appear, english bull terrier for size and SBTs and there was other types of terrier in them, these were used as fighting dogs; some of them started to be exported to the UK.
There were 2 well known fighting mixed blood dogs exported to the UK in the 80's these dogs were bred from along with others that had been exported.
One guy wrote a book and coined the name Irish Staffy but it is well known that you take all he wrote and especially pedigrees with a pinch of salt.
AT this time the American Pitbull Terrier was brought into the UK and proving itself in dogfighting circles becoming the choice for the dogfighter and Irish Staffs started to decline in popularity.
The Dangerous Dog Act was introduced after many attacks so the pitbull was made illegal, authorities rounded them up and put them to sleep. Owners started to hide under the name of the Staff and Irish Staff, in a lot of cases Irish Staffs are pitbulls and some Irish staffords have pitbull blood. Then there is pure bred Irish staffys then there are mixed blood dogs still around.

happy_face

Question Author

Good answer Lankeela but I'm totally confused as there's so much info. Are you saying that Irish staffs are likely to be pits or have pit in them?

lankeela

Basically, yes! Its just an excuse not to call them pitbulls.

happy_face

Question Author

so if people buy a staff which isn't KC registered they've got a good chance of getting one that's half pit?

Since pits aren't allowed in the UK what would happen if you had a 1/2 pit?

lankeela

Basically your dog could be taken away and destroyed and you could be fined under the Dangerous Dogs Act for having an unlicenced pit bull type that should be neutered, and must be muzzled in a public place and must not be sold or passed on. Had they stuck to the letter of the law there would be no pitbulls in this country now as they would all have died out. This is why people crossed them with other breeds and called them different names.

This is the problem with 'breed specific' legislation, it does not take into account the individual cases, it treats every animal of a particular breed as a 'criminal' and there have been many genuine cases of staffy crosses being confiscated.

lankeela

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
This act applies to all dogs, not just "fighting dogs"* and owners should be aware of its contents. The act applies to any dog deemed to be dangerously out of control in a public place. The penalty for having such a dog is either destruction of the dog or the owner may be disqualified from owning a dog for any time the court sees fit.

For further information see Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

*Under the terms of the act a "fighting dog" is described as one of the following:-

Pit Bull Terrier (also cross-bred pit bulls)
Japanese Tosa
"any dog of any type designated for the purposes of this section by an order of the Secretary of State, being a type appearing to him to be bred for fighting or to have the characteristics of a type bred for that purpose."

happy_face

Question Author

Blimey!! all this from an Irish Staff.

Thanks Lankeela you've been most helpful

Vemonika