American Staffordshire Terrier

The American Staffordshire Terrier is the most versatile dog in the world. Proven as a working dog, they also became a gladiator dog of sport. Sound temperament and loyalty makes him a worth companion. These dogs are people oriented and possess balance, strength, and agility. Courage and devotion are it’s greatest qualities.
A.MUZZLE: Square at the base of the face and slightly wedged to nose.
B.STOP: The stop should be deep, make a crevasse leading to the occiput across the forehead.
C.FOREHEAD: Forehead to be free of wrinkles and wedge shaped.
D.OCCIPUT: The muscle between the ears should form a V shape between the ear and middle of the head leading down to the back of the neck.
E.SKULL: Slightly rounded. The widest point of the head should be between the eye and the ear
F.EARS: Cropped or uncropped, free of wrinkles, and set high on head.
G.NECK: Tapering from shoulder to head. Proportionate to dog.
H.WITHERS: Muscular and higher than the topline but no higher than the rump.
I.TOPLINE & BACK: Sloping downward from withers to rump. Distance between withers and rump should be equal to the distance between point of shoulder and foot.
J.RUMP: Broad hips with muscular tone and slight arch from topline to tail.
K.TAIL SET: Base of tail should fit the shape of the slope from topline to tail. Tail set high in the back is undesirable.
L.TAIL: Tail should be no longer than the hock of the back legs, thick at the base and tapering to the end. Medium in length as compared to the rest of the body. (Not held over back)
M.REAR PASTERN AND POINT OF HOCK: Rear stifle should be perpendicular to ground in stacked position and approximately a 45-degree angle from back of leg to stifle over the hock.
N.UPPER THIGH: muscular and long as compared to rear pastern.
O.ABDOMEN: Showing definition and slight tuck above the rib cage.
P.RIB CAGE: Ribs well sprung, showing definition and muscularity.
Q.STIFLE & ELBOWS: Stifle should be perpendicular to ground in stacked position. Elbows line up directly under shoulders. No turning in or out from rib cage.
R.FEET: Feet proportionate to legs. Toes medium in length and close to one another.
S.CHEST: Deep chest with moderate width. Depth of chest should be longer than width.
T.POINT OF SHOULDER: Wide, sloping toward elbow and muscular.
U.JAWS: Well pronounced, muscular, and widest point of head.
V.FLEWS: Tight and wrinkle free.

TEETH: Should be forward scissors bite, teeth meshing closely together to make a tight bite. (Front teeth tightly in front of back teeth is a forward scissors bite.) Fault: Level bite, under bite.
EYES: Any color other than glass and both the same color (watch eye). Fault: Bulging eyes, walleye or cross-eye. NOSE: Any color. Fault: Butterfly nose (flares out).
COAT: Glossy, short, and stiff. COLOR: Any
WEIGHT: 35 to 55 pounds for females and 45 to 75 for males. HEIGHT: 16 to 20 inches for females and 18 to 24 inches for males.
MOVEMENT: Single or double tracking, but must do the same front and back legs. Back remains level during travel. Ground covering seems effortless.
FAULTS: Legs not moving on same plane, legs over reaching, legs crossing. Rolling, pacing, crabbing, pounding, paddling and side winding.
DISQUALIFICATION: Deaf, blind, lame, bobbed tail, monocryptoid (one testicle), undershot, overshot, rye mouth, extremely shy, extremely aggressive, long coat, bulging eyes, watch eye, glass eye, wall eye, cross eye, color not matching, spayed, or neutered.