The breeds · terrier
AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 76
Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
AKC standard (temperament): from the breed's past history the modern dog draws indomitable courage, high intelligence and tenacity, with affection for its friends and children in particular, off-duty quietness and trustworthy stability, making it a foremost all-purpose dog. UKC: descendant of the Bull and Terrier crosses made in Great Britain in the late 1700s, named for Staffordshire; the characteristics line gives indomitable courage, high intelligence and tenacity, affection for friends and children, an all-purpose dog; viciousness or extreme shyness is a disqualification. FCI 76: utilization Terrier; Group 3 Section 3 Bull type Terriers, without working trial; traditionally of indomitable courage and tenacity, highly intelligent and affectionate especially with children, bold, fearless and totally reliable; aggressive or overly shy dogs disqualified. RKC: shares the Bull Terrier's ancestry, from Bulldog and terrier crosses made in the 1860s for vermin control and blood sports; developed in the Black Country of Staffordshire and northern Birmingham; recognised by the Kennel Club in the 1930s; despite its rough and ready beginnings known as a wonderful family pet. Wikipedia: bull-baiting and bear-baiting were outlawed by the Cruelty to Animals Act 1835, after which the bull-and-terrier crosses were bred for dog fighting; organised dog fighting in Britain largely ended with the Protection of Animals Act 1911; the breed has a reputation for pugnacity, and when challenged by another dog is known not to back away. AKC breed page scores: good with young children 5, good with other dogs 3, openness to strangers 4, watchdog/protective nature 3..
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
Center left blank: the standards print a range. Heights are related to weights in all three standards.
Weight
Center left blank: the standards print a range.
Coat
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the coat description (short smooth close coat = 4 on the ruled scale). No measured data.
How long they live, and what they costSources differ
Two numbers, two measures. Median lifespan: in a large sample of this breed, the age by which half had died; read it as the typical lifespan (UK, 2024, 584,734 dogs). Life expectancy at birth: how many years a newborn of this breed is expected to live, worked from the death rates at every age in UK veterinary records, the same life-table method used for people (VetCompass, 2022). It runs lower because every early death pulls the average down and because it comes from clinics, not registries. KENAI leads with the median and shows the other beside it. Neither is averaged.
Median lifespan
McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population; median across dogs that had died plus censored dogs per the paper's method.
Life expectancy at birth
Partner to the Dogs Trust median (12.0): the two UK studies use different methods and cohorts and are shown side by side, not averaged.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule. AKC scores are the AKC's own bands.
Energy
AKC scores are the AKC's own 1-5 bands, not a measurement.
Grooming load
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
Registry texts, the RKC and Wikipedia agree on the fighting and baiting ancestry; the standards themselves carry the temperament lines and none reaches a field use. Wikipedia's 'pugnacity' line is editorial and stands beside the standards' temperament lines.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA submissions skew to breeding stock; true population rate is likely higher. OFA all-data is undated.
Elbow dysplasia
OFA submissions skew to breeding stock; true population rate is likely higher. OFA all-data is undated.
What the studies found
Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.
Aggression, as studied
Editorial summary of other studies; the primary papers were not read. The C-BARQ 'Pit Bull' group in Duffy et al. 2008 lumps three breeds and is not used.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- USL-2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria (L-2-HGA)DNA test · American Kennel Club, Terrier Group Health Testing Requirements (parent-club recommended tests)
- USHereditary cataracts (HC, JC)DNA test · American Kennel Club, Terrier Group Health Testing Requirements (parent-club recommended tests)
- USElbow evaluationOFA · American Kennel Club, Terrier Group Health Testing Requirements (parent-club recommended tests)
- USHip evaluationOFA or PennHIP · American Kennel Club, Terrier Group Health Testing Requirements (parent-club recommended tests)
- USEye (ophthalmologist) evaluationnational breed club recommendation; also BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme in the UK · American Kennel Club, Terrier Group Health Testing Requirements (parent-club recommended tests)
- UKElbow testing and eye testing; DNA tests for hereditary cataracts (HC-HSF4-2) and L-2-HGARKC Good Practice: BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme, BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme, DNA · The Royal Kennel Club, Staffordshire Bull Terrier breed page (exercise, grooming and lifespan bands; history; health schemes)
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Staffie, Staffy, Stafford
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
All published breedsYour staffordshire bull terrier, on the record.
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