The Staffordshire Bull Terrier

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276 – September, 2026

By Phil Briasco

HEAD:

The Stafford is NOT a head breed. But, as in most breeds, it is certainly important to breed for type. It seems that we have changed the head from the Founders original intent with either incorrect interpretation, or exaggeration of the Standard. The word Bull and Terrier lets us know the breed is a mixture of these two. How much of each and which–Bull Dog and Terrier–is not mentioned. However, by researching the Terriers, and the Bull Dog of that time (1930-1935), we can create a good basis for the Founders understanding. Below are the earlier Terrier heads that they were comparing their new breed to at that time.

You can easily see the original intent.

1. The longer muzzle. After observing the length of muzzle in the pictures below on the Terriers they were comparing their new breed to, and seeing the muzzle on Gentleman Jim, (first Stafford to receive a CC in the UK), we can see the Founders intent. Remember 42 teeth fitting into a shorter muzzle must either be crowded, or smaller. If we have a shorter muzzle, the closer we get to being Brachycephalic. We would suggest 2/5ths muzzle to 3/5ths skull, or at the very least, NO SHORTER THAN 1/3rd-2/3rds.

2. As you can see, they also wanted a somewhat flatter skull and a head that leaned more towards level planes.

3. The Standard calls for a distinct stop. “Distinct means distinguishable to the eye or the mind”. Notice, all the stops on the Terriers that were researched were very slight. We think the Founders wanted more than in these pictures, but definitely not exaggerated.

By examining the picture of the Stafford that was the model for the Standard, Jim The Dandy, and Gentleman Jim–the first Stafford to be awarded a Championship in 1939–you can see the Founders intent.

By understanding the head that the Founders wanted, I hope you would please keep in mind there is not only one correct head (CHOSEN BY ONLY A FEW), BUT MANY VARIATIONS THAT ARE EQUALLY CORRECT.

BITE:

Click here to read the complete article
276 – September, 2026

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Posted by AnthonyA on Sep 27 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.