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 These
greatly took a fancy of the Romans, so much so that
they sent large numbers of them to Italy, from where
their influence
spread to many parts or Europe. The breed seems to have
persisted in this country for many centuries without
any marked variation and, shortly after the Norman Conquest,
it was used for baiting bulls, lions and bears. A writer
on sport in around the 1400 describe a dog of great
size, strength and courage, with a large heavy head
and short muzzle and baiting large animals and was from
its description, a direct descendant of the Pugnaces.
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From the middle of the
sixteenth and seventeenth century, Bull and Bear
baiting were Royal sports and very fashionable among
highly placed people, which must have stimulated
the production of suitable dogs, these however appear
to have been of large Mastiff type. By the end of
the seventeenth century the sport seemed to have
declined a lot and as a result, the nature of the
contest changed dramatically. |
Previously the nature of the game was to throw the
Bull that was unchained. Since the cost of this was
to high for the lower class community at the time the
regulations were gradually modified to suit a lighter
and smaller type dog, more suited to the purse of his
owner. The aim for the dog was to pin the tied up bull
down by its noise. The sport was then made illegal in
1835.
| The Bulldog is the first direct ancestor
of our Staffordshire Bull Terrier. As a bull baiting
became less popular, dog fighting enjoyed a sudden
surge of interest towards the end of the eighteenth
century. Men who had been famous for the prowess
of their bull baiting dogs began to gain recognition
as owners of fine fighting dogs. Such a man was
Ben White from London who fought his dogs in most
of the pits in the city. |
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Some modification of the dog was necessary. The bulldog
was a bred to pin and hang on at all costs – exciting
enough when he was pitched against an animal of magnitude
and ferocity of a bull but boring in the extreme when
pitched against another dog. The muzzle needed to lose
its lay back and the teeth to become larger – so that
different grips could occur and plenty of blood could
flow. All of which was to please the roaring the crowd,
the more blood there was the happier they were. While
these changes could have been successfully obtained
by selective breeding form the existing bulldog stock,
it seems more likely that some terrier blood was introduced.
The name given to this type of dog - bull-and Terrier
– supports this later theory.
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The bull and Terrier was a quick but
strong dog with a longer muzzle that the earlier
bulldog. Apart from bull baiting he was mainly used
for ratting and badger baiting. With such a bloody
history you might wonder how this dog could have
become the very popular family pet that is undoubtedly
is today. |
The bulldog of 1800, the Old English Terrier and the
White English Terrier, all of which are now extinct
are then the principle ancestors of the three types
of Bull Terrier living today, i.e. the Staffordshire,
the Bull Terrier, and the Coloured Bull Terrier. The
relationship is indicated in the chart, although its
broadly correct is not necessarily the whole truth.
Bulldog -------------x------------------- Old English
Terrier ¦ ¦ Staffordshire Or
White English Terrier ---------x-------------- (Bull
and Terrier)
¦ ¦ Bull Terrier (white)-----------------x-----------------Staffordshire
¦ ¦ Coloured Bull Terrier
Some time about 1800/1820, the Bulldog was crossed
with the Old English Terrier and produced the Staffordshire.
Round about 1850 the Staffordshire was bred with the
White English Terrier, and possible other breeds, form
which by selection the Bull Terrier (White) was evolved.
Some forty years ago breeders decided to produce a coloured
shaped like a White, so they crossed the latter back
to it ancestor, the Staffordshire, and by selection
for the type required succeeded in perfecting the Staffordshire
Bull Terrier.
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The name derives from the Latin 'terra'
which means 'earth'. From primitive times man has
hunted, and our earliest writers on the subject
have acknowledged the terrier. This animal was so
named because it was employed underground to force
fox, badger and otter from their lairs. He was also
kept for the purpose of killing rats, weasels and
other vermin, which infested the countryside when
it was less cultivated than is the case today. |
The first mention of the terrier is in the accounts
of Edward I, in 1299-1300: "Paid to William de
Foxhunte, the King's huntsman of foxes in divers forest
and parks for his own wages and the wages of his two
boys to take care of the dogs - £9 3s"….
"Paid to the same for the keep of twelve dogs belonging
to the King"…."Paid to the same for the
expense of a horse to carry the net…"
The next mention is by Edward, 2nd Duke of York, in
his book The Mayster of the Game (1413). This was the
first manuscript book of sport to be written in the
English language, and in it he mentions "small
curs that came to the terriers". One of the earliest
pictorial representations of the terrier is given in
Strutt's Sport and Pastimes. It consists of an engraving
from a 14th century manuscript, which depicts a dog,
assisted by three men with spades, engaged in unearthing
a fox. There is no doubt that this terrier record given
to us by Strutt is the oldest upon which any reliance
can be placed.
| Probably
the most important figure, who was accepted nationwide
as the father of the 'new breed' of fighting dog,
was
the Duke of Hamilton. His Grace spent lots of time
and money
perfecting this breed, and he frequented all the
known pits
with his dogs, that were seldom beaten. He was inundated
with
enquiries from titled folk keen to acquire some
of his young
stock, for to own one of the Duke of Hamilton's
breed
was a feather in the cap of anyone in the Fancy.
The
Duke was a well-known sporting gentleman, and his
racehorses
well well to the fore in all the big races. He often
frequented th cellars in some well-known inns in
Glasgow
and the surrounding areas, like the Beehive in Kirkintilloch,
the Zebra and the Zaracin's Head in Glasgow.
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As a young man, the Duke took a great
interest in fighting dogs about 1770, then developed
his own fighting strain from a lighter and quicker
bulldog of the day that he also kept. In H.B Chalon's
painting of Wasp, Child and Billy, owned at the
time by Mr. Henry Boynton, who acquired them after
the death of the Duke of Hamilton in 1801, you can
see that their likeness in type to the present day
Stafford is remarkable. |
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The
First club show for the breed was held in August
1935
in the Midlands at Cradley Heath, where sixty
dogs
and bitches were entered. In 1937 fanciers in
the London area got together and started a club
for the South of England and today there are
breed clubs from the North of Scotland to the
West
Country, including Northern Ireland and Southern
Ireland. The fame of the breed has judges, ideas
and animals occurring between them and the country
origin. Championship status was granted to the
breed in 1938 and the first challenge Certificates
were
awarded at the Birmingham National Dog Show in
that year. The first champions of the breed, both
born
in the midlands, were Ch. Gentleman Jim and Ch.
Lady Eve, who finished their championships at
the Bath
Show in 1939. To get championship show status,
breeds
of the day had to work hard to reach a total of
750
registered Stafford’s. Staffordshire Bull Terriers
have
come a long way in their short history, thanks
to the
efforts of their faithful admirers and their own
excellent
character they have now found a place for themselves
in almost every sphere of the dog world. They
are occasional winners of the coveted Best in
show awards, beating longer established breeds.
They have won Obedience Championships and have
been accepted for training by charities such as
Pets As Therapy to work as PAT dogs. Above all
that and most of all they have proved themselves
extremely suitable as a family pets, and are astonishing
with children.
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